Brooklyn $$$$ vs.... Advice greatly appreciated Forum

[btwn3and20characters]

So here's the deal...

I have been accepted at Brooklyn who, upon my withdrawal (it could have been a bluff), just offered me a full ride + stipend.

interestingly enough I didn't get in anywhere else (HOLD at cardozo) though I didn't apply to many schools, but I was planning on working for at least a year and perhaps taking the LSAT over (scored a 164) and reapplying.

Is Brooklyn worth it even with a full ride? It fell several spots in rank, even though down by the 60's each rank is marginally less valuable than, say, T-14. I'm leaning towards doing corporate law, yet I already have a job in the financial sector. I am sure I can do better on the LSAT next time around but I am not sure if it is worth a) the opportunity cost of working a year, and starting my legal career a year later; b) the time and stress of studying again at the risk of not doing THAT much better thus leaving me in the same position with another year of my life behind me; and c) the distance from school (I'm still in UG) which might soften me a bit prior to 1L. What are peoples' thoughts leaning one way or the other?

I don't believe I am too debt averse since I am fresh out of undergrad with no serious liabilities. The prospect of coming out of ls with no debt, however, is enticing and though I cannot predict my 1L, I hope to bust by arse and network my way into a nice biglaw job.

If anyone is in the same position or has any thoughts on the matter, I would appreciate any input. I am also from NYC, btw, so I can even live at home and further minimize my costs.

Thanks.

[vanwinkle]

Graduating with zero debt sounds promising. However, what stipulations are there on the scholarship? Usually these things come with GPA requirements, at least from schools like BLS.

[btwn3and20characters]

I believe it is top 40%. I hear BK is competitive but I am confident that I can reside in that tier of the student body. I know biglaw is possibly from brooklyn after looking at top firms' sites. Though they hire mostly from top schools they generally give a handful of Brooklyn (and comparable schools') students positions assuming they are at the top of their class and possibly have law schools "softs" so to speak.

I don't know what exactly I want to do with law, though I understand the better the school the more options one has. Still, life is rather short and I feel that wasting a year or two of my life working just to end up in a similar situation afterward is simply not prudent. Man, when did we come to make tough life decisions? I remember thinking not too long ago "hmm...am i going to play Zelda or Smash brothers after school today?"

Thanks for the reply

[You Gotta Have Faith]

There is a lot to be said for free, especially at a decent school (though I'm aware not the most elite either). But I don't really know what you want to do either. I'll leave it at that.

How "comfortable" do you feel about maintaining the top 40%? Even if your numbers are pretty far above median, that is a far cry from a certain thing. You will actually have to take law school pretty seriously and put your fair share of work and effort in. I think if you go in with that realization, you should be okay.

[btwn3and20characters]

I actually feel quite comfortable maintaining the top 40% of my class. A big reason I didn't get into better schools is my rather low GPA. I started as a financial econ major and have since picked up a second "pre-law" major. I have about a 3.9 in it and I am bringing that game into LS. and its a 3.9 of philosophy and history seminars all of which require 4-5 hours of reading a day.

Thanks for all your thoughts so far.

As an aside, does anyone have any idea why the 3 non-t14 NYC schools all fell in rank this past year? I'm curious I always felt that once a school starts inching up in rank it gains momentum, assuming no huge bump in the road, and continues to go higher until it reaches a point where going further up in rank gets reasonably difficult (really notable alumni, etc.) Anyone want to shed some knowledge?

[hoopsguy6]

Depends on how good your current job is. What do you do exactly? Finance sector is pretty vague

[Grizz]

I believe it is top 40%. I hear BK is competitive but I am confident that I can reside in that tier of the student body. I know biglaw is possibly from brooklyn after looking at top firms' sites. Though they hire mostly from top schools they generally give a handful of Brooklyn (and comparable schools') students positions assuming they are at the top of their class and possibly have law schools "softs" so to speak.

40% doesn't sound too onerous. I would go, but drop out if I lost the scholarship money. Keep in mind that biglaw is going to be incredibly hard to achieve from Brooklyn. If we take the NLJ250 as a rough metric for biglaw, Brooklyn doesn't even crack the top 50. The lowest of the 50 is Chicago-Kent with 13.2% placement, so you're looking at maybe about a 10% shot at biglaw. So just residing in the top tier isn't gonna cut it. You have to be the tippity top of your class.

[DanInALionsDen]

I believe it is top 40%. I hear BK is competitive but I am confident that I can reside in that tier of the student body. I know biglaw is possibly from brooklyn after looking at top firms' sites. Though they hire mostly from top schools they generally give a handful of Brooklyn (and comparable schools') students positions assuming they are at the top of their class and possibly have law schools "softs" so to speak.

40% doesn't sound too onerous. I would go, but drop out if I lost the scholarship money. Keep in mind that biglaw is going to be incredibly hard to achieve from Brooklyn. If we take the NLJ250 as a rough metric for biglaw, Brooklyn doesn't even crack the top 50. The lowest of the 50 is Chicago-Kent with 13.2% placement, so you're looking at maybe about a 10% shot at biglaw. So just residing in the top tier isn't gonna cut it. You have to be the tippity top of your class.

Beware of section stacking for scholarship recipients.

[SaintClarence27]

I believe it is top 40%. I hear BK is competitive but I am confident that I can reside in that tier of the student body. I know biglaw is possibly from brooklyn after looking at top firms' sites. Though they hire mostly from top schools they generally give a handful of Brooklyn (and comparable schools') students positions assuming they are at the top of their class and possibly have law schools "softs" so to speak.

40% doesn't sound too onerous. I would go, but drop out if I lost the scholarship money. Keep in mind that biglaw is going to be incredibly hard to achieve from Brooklyn. If we take the NLJ250 as a rough metric for biglaw, Brooklyn doesn't even crack the top 50. The lowest of the 50 is Chicago-Kent with 13.2% placement, so you're looking at maybe about a 10% shot at biglaw. So just residing in the top tier isn't gonna cut it. You have to be the tippity top of your class.

Beware of section stacking for scholarship recipients.

THIS. We've seen a few on here with EXACTLY the same scholarship.