Narrowed it down: Two Choices Forum

[FullThrottle]

Hey All,

I have narrowed down my choice to 2 schools: Ohio State U and Villanova U.

I am interested in corporate law. I currently work in copyright law for a large NY corporation.

I strongly prefer living in Philadelphia over Ohio. I have visited both schools.
Please fill me in on which choice is better for me and why.

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Ohio State w/ $8500/year
Pros: Cost: $110,000-130,000 for 3 years w/ instate tuition
Excellent campus
Great facilities and exceptional community
Low cost of living
Few students transfer out
Strong leverage in Ohio market plus strong Ohio bar results

Weak Cons: corporate law program not a strong school focus

Strong Cons: Location: difficult to access and far away from everyone I know
Graduates mostly stay in Ohio


Villanova U w/ $10,000/year
Pros: Excellent campus,
Great location
Superb law school building and facilities
Well developed tax and business law programs

Weak Cons: Price: $120,000 - 150,000 for 3 years
Bar results could be better

Cons: Competative market in Philly
Career placement concerns
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For additional information on my interests see my older thread: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... w=viewpoll

Thank you for your time

[reverendt]

Under most circumstances I'd say Ohio.
But if you know you wanna work in Philly, go with 'Nova.

[scribelaw]

This isn't even close, OP.

THE Ohio State University.

OSU dominates a bunch of good legal markets in Ohio and actually has decent BigLaw and clerkship numbers -- better than its ranking. At Nova, have a decent likelihood of being unemployed and a very strong likelihood that even if you do get a job, it won't pay enough to manage those loans.

Your pro con list is heavy on things that aren't really relevant -- how nice the campus is, etc. If you're going to drop $100,000 on something, the only important question is: What kind of job am I going to get for it? OSU wins that in every way.

(Also: Blue font? Really?)

[FullThrottle]

Thank you for the responses.

Should I factor in any additional considerations, positive or negative, from either school?

[Nicholasnickynic]

You should browse these boards more and figure out the types of things that really matter.

Then make a decision.

[jitsrenzo]

Consider if you'll be able to go into corporate law from those schools.

[EdmundBurke23]

This isn't even close, OP.

THE Ohio State University.

OSU dominates a bunch of good legal markets in Ohio and actually has decent BigLaw and clerkship numbers -- better than its ranking. At Nova, have a decent likelihood of being unemployed and a very strong likelihood that even if you do get a job, it won't pay enough to manage those loans.

Your pro con list is heavy on things that aren't really relevant -- how nice the campus is, etc. If you're going to drop $100,000 on something, the only important question is: What kind of job am I going to get for it? OSU wins that in every way.

(Also: Blue font? Really?)

I concur

[FullThrottle]

Talked to a few practicing lawyers and did a little more forum research after work: the "Discuss your law school" section was quite helpful.

Ohio's comfortably stronger than Nova. I'm ready to submit my deposit to OSU.

Thank you for the input.