Top Law Schools

Monetary figures in the poll above reflect total cost, not total scholarships.

*The Kent scholarship is $30K/year contingent on maintaining a top 25-30% GPA. If GPA is between this number and medain, scholly is halved to $15K/year for the remaining years. Below median and I lose the scholarship. Also, I have an additional $3000 scholarship offered to me for the first year from their Labor Law program. So tuition would be $7K the first year, and $10K the second and third years, but other labor law scholarships would be available for those years as well.

Goals: Chicago biglaw. Other than that, I'm pretty much open-minded right now.

Wisconsin's cost is in-state tuition.

I've already pretty much made my decision, but I want to see what TLS thinks.

Well there's one vote, and you know who it was for.

Although I will say that the Kent offer sounds enticing. A decent T2 school in the city you want to practice looking at about 30k in debt? Sounds like a great deal.

romothesavior wrote:Well there's one vote, and you know who it was for.

*Sorting hat* Better be...........Wisconsindor!

JCougar wrote:Monetary figures in the poll above reflect total cost, not total scholarships.

*The Kent scholarship is $30K/year contingent on maintaining a top 25-30% GPA. If GPA is between this number and medain, scholly is halved to $15K/year for the remaining years. Below median and I lose the scholarship. Also, I have an additional $3000 scholarship offered to me for the first year from their Labor Law program. So tuition would be $7K the first year, and $10K the second and third years, but other labor law scholarships would be available for those years as well.

Goals: Chicago biglaw. Other than that, I'm pretty much open-minded right now.

Wisconsin's cost is in-state tuition.

I've already pretty much made my decision, but I want to see what TLS thinks.

If your goal is Chicago BigLaw, you will have to be in the top 10% from Kent...and the market in Chicago is beyond saturated. Even if you could land a BigLaw gig, you're looking at a couple years' deferment. Good luck.

A'nold wrote:*Sorting hat* Better be...........Wisconsindor!

Whatever this is, it just went over my head...

Locke N. Lawded wrote:

JCougar wrote:Monetary figures in the poll above reflect total cost, not total scholarships.

*The Kent scholarship is $30K/year contingent on maintaining a top 25-30% GPA. If GPA is between this number and medain, scholly is halved to $15K/year for the remaining years. Below median and I lose the scholarship. Also, I have an additional $3000 scholarship offered to me for the first year from their Labor Law program. So tuition would be $7K the first year, and $10K the second and third years, but other labor law scholarships would be available for those years as well.

Goals: Chicago biglaw. Other than that, I'm pretty much open-minded right now.

Wisconsin's cost is in-state tuition.

I've already pretty much made my decision, but I want to see what TLS thinks.

If your goal is Chicago BigLaw, you will have to be in the top 10% from Kent...and the market in Chicago is beyond saturated. Even if you could land a BigLaw gig, you're looking at a couple years' deferment. Good luck.

First statement = true

Last statement = unlikely... I doubt c/o 2013 is looking at deferrals like the last few classes.

And a'nold was letting his nerd colors shine with a Harry Potter joke.

romothesavior wrote:

Locke N. Lawded wrote:

JCougar wrote:Monetary figures in the poll above reflect total cost, not total scholarships.

*The Kent scholarship is $30K/year contingent on maintaining a top 25-30% GPA. If GPA is between this number and medain, scholly is halved to $15K/year for the remaining years. Below median and I lose the scholarship. Also, I have an additional $3000 scholarship offered to me for the first year from their Labor Law program. So tuition would be $7K the first year, and $10K the second and third years, but other labor law scholarships would be available for those years as well.

Goals: Chicago biglaw. Other than that, I'm pretty much open-minded right now.

Wisconsin's cost is in-state tuition.

I've already pretty much made my decision, but I want to see what TLS thinks.

If your goal is Chicago BigLaw, you will have to be in the top 10% from Kent...and the market in Chicago is beyond saturated. Even if you could land a BigLaw gig, you're looking at a couple years' deferment. Good luck.

First statement = true

Last statement = unlikely... I doubt c/o 2013 is looking at deferrals like the last few classes.

And a'nold was letting his nerd colors shine with a Harry Potter joke.

Along with being TLS's token hedger, I am also the token Harry Potter nerd.

In-state at Wisco seems too good to pass up. If WUSTL was throwing more $$ at you, it would almost be a no-brainer, but the cost difference is just too large, to me at least.

Edit to add: If Kent was throwing one of their full ride + stipend schollies at you, that would probably change things.

I'd take Wisconsin. I'm having a similar debate right now, except I'm OOS at Wisconsin, my Kent scholarship was weaker (I've since withdrawn -- decided it wasn't worth it), and I've got nothing from WUSTL so far. =(

Scholarship at WUSTL would've been nice. Great school, but not worth 140-150k in debt IMO, sorry romo.

byunbee wrote:Scholarship at WUSTL would've been nice. Great school, but not worth 140-150k in debt IMO, sorry romo.

I agree. But it is worth 100k, IMO. And that's how much OP would pay.

But really, Wisconsin and Chicago-Kent are both really good options at the price.

romothesavior wrote:

byunbee wrote:Scholarship at WUSTL would've been nice. Great school, but not worth 140-150k in debt IMO, sorry romo.

I agree. But it is worth 100k, IMO. And that's how much OP would pay.

But really, Wisconsin and Chicago-Kent are both really good options at the price.

OP isn't factoring COL for some reason.

I'd say Wisco but prepare to stay in state.

Desert Fox wrote:

romothesavior wrote:

byunbee wrote:Scholarship at WUSTL would've been nice. Great school, but not worth 140-150k in debt IMO, sorry romo.

I agree. But it is worth 100k, IMO. And that's how much OP would pay.

But really, Wisconsin and Chicago-Kent are both really good options at the price.

OP isn't factoring COL for some reason.

I'd say Wisco but prepare to stay in state.

I wondered about that. Living in Chicago would cost way more than 10k.

Desert Fox wrote:I'd say Wisco but prepare to stay in state.

Is Kent really going to do better than Wisconsin in Chicago?

darklighter13 wrote:

Desert Fox wrote:I'd say Wisco but prepare to stay in state.

Is Kent really going to do better than Wisconsin in Chicago?

Last year was a shitshow in Chicago. Neither gave gave more than a tiny shot last year. It's better but WUSTL would be better than Wisco.

JCoug, which would be a better backup market for you? St. Louis or Milwaukee (or Wisconsin generally)?

Desert Fox wrote:Last year was a shitshow in Chicago. Neither gave gave more than a tiny shot last year. It's better but WUSTL would be better than Wisco.

romothesavior wrote:JCoug, which would be a better backup market for you? St. Louis or Milwaukee (or Wisconsin generally)?

This is a good question to ask. Based on everything we now know about the Chicago market, Chicago may be very tough coming out of any of those schools right now (and for most schools).

romothesavior wrote:JCoug, which would be a better backup market for you? St. Louis or Milwaukee (or Wisconsin generally)?

I probably wouldn't care between the two. I was born in Milwaukee, and my family and a lot of friends are there, but most of my best friends are scattered around the country. St. Louis is close enough for easy holiday visits though.

JCougar wrote:

romothesavior wrote:JCoug, which would be a better backup market for you? St. Louis or Milwaukee (or Wisconsin generally)?

I probably wouldn't care between the two. I was born in Milwaukee, and my family and a lot of friends are there, but most of my best friends are scattered around the country. St. Louis is close enough for easy holiday visits though.

Well that didn't help. I still vote Milwaukee and Wisconsin.

Desert Fox wrote:

darklighter13 wrote:

Desert Fox wrote:I'd say Wisco but prepare to stay in state.

Is Kent really going to do better than Wisconsin in Chicago?

Last year was a shitshow in Chicago. Neither gave gave more than a tiny shot last year. It's better but WUSTL would be better than Wisco.

This is the reason I put my deposit down at WUSTL. Wisconsin's reach into Chicago is almost nothing ITE. WUSTL's is diminished, but there's still plenty of Chicago firms set to OCI there this fall. And if things end up returning to normal by the time I go through OCI, my guess is that WUSTL is going to be picked before Wisconsin by Chicago firms that are looking to expand their hiring again. Then again, I have to do well enough to have a chance at OCI in the first place for any of it to matter...

But let's add in COL and total it over 3 years:

WUSTL ($100K tuition plus $39K COL = $139K)
Wisconsin ($51K tuition plus $36K COL = $87K) 62.5% of WUSTL's cost
Kent ($27K tuition plus $45K COL = $72K) 51.8% of WUSTL's cost

Also, WUSTL places into markets that make it easier to pay off debt. Milwaukee biglaw pays around $120K/year, so that's the best I could hope for coming out of Wisconsin.

With that $ breakdown, I'd definitely eliminate Kent. Have you asked them to up you to full + stipend?

Nightrunner wrote:Well, congrats on making your choice, man. I would choose Wisco over WUSTL (in fact, I did), but I see you've thought things through for yourself.

Good luck!

Sorry if I come off as an ass (and off topic), but Nightrunner, you're going to Wisc with a 173?

A'nold wrote:With that $ breakdown, I'd definitely eliminate Kent. Have you asked them to up you to full + stipend?

No, I haven't. Perhaps I should try. I really hadn't ruled them out, because if I could go to school there for cheap, I could be in good shape to network and get something on the more preferable side Chicago small law. Order of the Coif there is the only way someone's getting Biglaw, but I wouldn't absolutely need biglaw if I went there.

Also, I have a graduate degree already from IIT, so I have some affinity for them already. And a bunch of friends in Chicago.

Nightrunner wrote:Well, congrats on making your choice, man. I would choose Wisco over WUSTL (in fact, I did), but I see you've thought things through for yourself.

Good luck!

It's not an easy decision for me. Madison is awesome. But I want a Chicago job, and Wisconsin makes that hard ITE. I know I'd have more fun in Madison, too. But I've had enough fun...it's time for me to study.