Top Law Schools

telephuse wrote:How much should one value being in NYC during law school? Is the networking potential and the culture that you'll pick up worth, say, $50K or even $90K over the course of a law school education, or are these abstract factors not really worth considering as we make our decisions?

I want to move to consulting or lobbying in the endgame of my legal career - will having gone to school in NYC pay off eventually, as opposed to living in an MVBP city during what are probably my final "formative years?"

D. H2Oman wrote:Good luck trying to quantify that

telephuse wrote:Is the networking potential and the culture that you'll pick up worth, say, $50K or even $90K over the course of a law school education

disco_barred wrote:

telephuse wrote:How much should one value being in NYC during law school? Is the networking potential and the culture that you'll pick up worth, say, $50K or even $90K over the course of a law school education, or are these abstract factors not really worth considering as we make our decisions?

I want to move to consulting or lobbying in the endgame of my legal career - will having gone to school in NYC pay off eventually, as opposed to living in an MVBP city during what are probably my final "formative years?"

This is the wrong question to ask.

MVPB >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Fordham if you want biglaw. NYU / Columbia are worth a premium over MVPB because new york city firms higher deeper into the classes there, not because of 'networking'.

telephuse wrote:How much should one value being in NYC during law school? Is the networking potential and the culture that you'll pick up worth, say, $50K or even $90K over the course of a law school education, or are these abstract factors not really worth considering as we make our decisions?

I want to move to consulting or lobbying in the endgame of my legal career - will having gone to school in NYC pay off eventually, as opposed to living in an MVBP city during what are probably my final "formative years?"

sharpnsmooth wrote:

telephuse wrote:How much should one value being in NYC during law school? Is the networking potential and the culture that you'll pick up worth, say, $50K or even $90K over the course of a law school education, or are these abstract factors not really worth considering as we make our decisions?

I want to move to consulting or lobbying in the endgame of my legal career - will having gone to school in NYC pay off eventually, as opposed to living in an MVBP city during what are probably my final "formative years?"

people overrate how expensive manhattan is compared to other parts of the metro area. rent is a bit expensive, but if you're going to school at NYU or whatever, you don't need to do any car payments (can save 400 a month b/w insurance and a 199/mo lease). what's more is you never really have to pay for transportation. walking from the village to midtown is under 2 miles, and a good way to keep in shape.

grocery shopping is ridiculous (trader joes is considered reallllllllly cheap), but there are bargains to be had... there are a lot of $1 pizza places. i disagree about it being significantly more expensive. my gripe with new york is that unless you go to Columbia or NYU, you might not have a job in NY out of college cause there are so many schools. Fordham in a different state might put you on top of the food chain, but in NYC, you're a distant third.

OperaSoprano wrote:

sharpnsmooth wrote:

telephuse wrote:How much should one value being in NYC during law school? Is the networking potential and the culture that you'll pick up worth, say, $50K or even $90K over the course of a law school education, or are these abstract factors not really worth considering as we make our decisions?

I want to move to consulting or lobbying in the endgame of my legal career - will having gone to school in NYC pay off eventually, as opposed to living in an MVBP city during what are probably my final "formative years?"

people overrate how expensive manhattan is compared to other parts of the metro area. rent is a bit expensive, but if you're going to school at NYU or whatever, you don't need to do any car payments (can save 400 a month b/w insurance and a 199/mo lease). what's more is you never really have to pay for transportation. walking from the village to midtown is under 2 miles, and a good way to keep in shape.

grocery shopping is ridiculous (trader joes is considered reallllllllly cheap), but there are bargains to be had... there are a lot of $1 pizza places. i disagree about it being significantly more expensive. my gripe with new york is that unless you go to Columbia or NYU, you might not have a job in NY out of college cause there are so many schools. Fordham in a different state might put you on top of the food chain, but in NYC, you're a distant third.

You will get a job. Fordham =/= NYLS. (IE, employment reporting standards are not based on a teensy fraction of the graduating class.) The odds that the job will be biglaw have obviously decreased, but the school is strong and well connected enough that people are getting other legal jobs. Most don't pay six figures, but some pay more than you might think. I recently found out the starting salary for attorneys at my nonprofit, and I was pleasantly surprised.

clintonius wrote:If you're looking to go biglaw, absolutely not. Take Columbia.

sharpnsmooth wrote:

OperaSoprano wrote:

sharpnsmooth wrote:

telephuse wrote:How much should one value being in NYC during law school? Is the networking potential and the culture that you'll pick up worth, say, $50K or even $90K over the course of a law school education, or are these abstract factors not really worth considering as we make our decisions?

I want to move to consulting or lobbying in the endgame of my legal career - will having gone to school in NYC pay off eventually, as opposed to living in an MVBP city during what are probably my final "formative years?"

people overrate how expensive manhattan is compared to other parts of the metro area. rent is a bit expensive, but if you're going to school at NYU or whatever, you don't need to do any car payments (can save 400 a month b/w insurance and a 199/mo lease). what's more is you never really have to pay for transportation. walking from the village to midtown is under 2 miles, and a good way to keep in shape.

grocery shopping is ridiculous (trader joes is considered reallllllllly cheap), but there are bargains to be had... there are a lot of $1 pizza places. i disagree about it being significantly more expensive. my gripe with new york is that unless you go to Columbia or NYU, you might not have a job in NY out of college cause there are so many schools. Fordham in a different state might put you on top of the food chain, but in NYC, you're a distant third.

You will get a job. Fordham =/= NYLS. (IE, employment reporting standards are not based on a teensy fraction of the graduating class.) The odds that the job will be biglaw have obviously decreased, but the school is strong and well connected enough that people are getting other legal jobs. Most don't pay six figures, but some pay more than you might think. I recently found out the starting salary for attorneys at my nonprofit, and I was pleasantly surprised.

on that note would you recommend fordham on a 60-80% free ride over columbia with no money, and all loans?

disclaimer: i am willing to live poor for 2-3 years after law school as long as i can guarantee i will make bank when i'm 30.

jl2032 wrote:the sticker price at CLS is making me think twice about that...

what if after i start, i realize i don't want biglaw? i guess i'd be forced to do it just to pay off the debt...
meanwhile fordham pt would be free and i could keep my job and make money while i go...



is it worth paying sticker just to be able to carry the name Columbia around for the next thirty years?

jl2032 wrote:the sticker price at CLS is making me think twice about that...

what if after i start, i realize i don't want biglaw? i guess i'd be forced to do it just to pay off the debt...

meanwhile fordham pt would be free and i could keep my job and make money while i go...



is it worth paying sticker just to be able to carry the name Columbia around for the next thirty years?

jl2032 wrote:the sticker price at CLS is making me think twice about that...

what if after i start, i realize i don't want biglaw? i guess i'd be forced to do it just to pay off the debt...

meanwhile fordham pt would be free and i could keep my job and make money while i go...



is it worth paying sticker just to be able to carry the name Columbia around for the next thirty years?

jl2032 wrote:I just renegotiated and got something, not much at all, but enough to get me to take CLS with all its glorious debt.

(Everyone where I work wants me to work here while I go to school and to come back and work here after I graduate, so they are pulling for Fordham)