$60K at BU vs. Michigan vs. Northwestern Forum

[beamsmehome]

$60K at BU is $20K/year renewable each year and not conditional to a certain GPA.

I am interested in biglaw or other firm work when I graduate. Not certain where, but probably on the East Coast (NYC/Boston/Philly/DC) or Chicago-area. Don't know what kind of law either, just definitely not crimlaw.

I feel like Michigan vs. Northwestern would come down to personal preference - but what do you think of some money at a top 25 school versus (likely) none at other options? I'm going to the ASWs and obviously not going to make a decision based on a tls poll, but would like to see if anyone raises some good points. Thanks!

[starstruck393]

I'd go with Michigan; and you may still get money from them. What are your numbers?

[beamsmehome]

I'd go with Michigan; and you may still get money from them. What are your numbers?

PM'd.

[Kronk]

I picked Northwestern.

[beamsmehome]

I picked Northwestern.

Thoughts as to why, if you don't mind me asking?

[Kronk]

I picked Northwestern.

Thoughts as to why, if you don't mind me asking?

Closer to a major market than Michigan, and in general Chicago > Ann Arbor in my opinion. I don't think Michigan is that much better of a school, and I think the student body at NU is arguably better than Michigan's (if you consider LSAT a better metric than GPA, which a lot of people seem to). They are a lot easier with money so it's likely you'll get a significant amount of aid from them.

[beamsmehome]

I picked Northwestern.

Thoughts as to why, if you don't mind me asking?

Closer to a major market than Michigan, and in general Chicago > Ann Arbor in my opinion. I don't think Michigan is that much better of a school, and I think the student body at NU is arguably better than Michigan's (if you consider LSAT a better metric than GPA, which a lot of people seem to). They are a lot easier with money so it's likely you'll get a significant amount of aid from them.

Thanks for your input. I still have my fingers crossed that more good money news in on the way

[im_blue]

I picked Michigan. If you got a full ride at BU, then maybe this would be a question.

[vanwinkle]

If you want BigLaw, and you're not sure where you want to practice yet (meaning portability would be good), go to Michigan.

[Flanker1067]

I picked Michigan. If you got a full ride at BU, then maybe this would be a question.

This is how I feel. 60K just not enough. This means you will still come out of law school with more debt then could reasonably be paid without Biglaw or LRAP except less likely to be able to get big law.

[awesomepossum]

I'm at Michigan so I'm obviously biased.

Here's what I think though. You ought to visit. I personally chose U of M over a higher ranked school because of what I saw at preview.

I think if you're undecided about where you want to go in the long run, that's another thing in favor of Michigan. We're really not tied to any particular market so we get employers from all over coming to our OCI.

At the end of the day, between NU and Michigan it should come down to what you like, and hopefully you'll see some of that at preview.

[rayiner]

At the end of the day, between NU and Michigan it should come down to what you like, and hopefully you'll see some of that at preview.

Coming from the opposite side of this discussion, I gotta agree with this too. I think you need more money at BU to justify that if you want biglaw, but as for Michigan versus NU, it comes down to culture. The schools have very different feels: bigger/smaller, older/younger, urban/college town, separate campus/integrated campus, etc. You really should visit both and see which you like better.

EDIT: With one proviso being if you want DC, I might take Michigan anyway. NU's reach into highly-selective DC firms seems to be pretty weak, and Michigan's might be stronger given it's historic reputation.

[im_blue]

I picked Michigan. If you got a full ride at BU, then maybe this would be a question.

This is how I feel. 60K just not enough. This means you will still come out of law school with more debt then could reasonably be paid without Biglaw or LRAP except less likely to be able to get big law.

Yeah, BU would still mean $120k in debt compared to $200k for Michigan.

[beamsmehome]

At the end of the day, between NU and Michigan it should come down to what you like, and hopefully you'll see some of that at preview.

Coming from the opposite side of this discussion, I gotta agree with this too. I think you need more money at BU to justify that if you want biglaw, but as for Michigan versus NU, it comes down to culture. The schools have very different feels: bigger/smaller, older/younger, urban/college town, separate campus/integrated campus, etc. You really should visit both and see which you like better.

EDIT: With one proviso being if you want DC, I might take Michigan anyway. NU's reach into highly-selective DC firms seems to be pretty weak, and Michigan's might be stronger given it's historic reputation.

Thanks for your input. I definitely plan on visiting both... I was curious to see what people thought regarding the aid package; it seems like most (not in law) people I talk to have no idea why I'd pass up $60,000... but yeah, my first impulse was that it wasn't enough $$$ to change the game.