Top Law Schools

I originally applied to Syracuse as a safety school, but now it is up in the rankings (T2) and they gave me a rather large scholarship (almost a full ride). I also got in to Cardozo, which seems like a nice school and it is much more prestigious than Syracuse.

I will be paying for school almost completely through loans so money is important.

Is Cardozo worth the extra $130,000 in debt?

Does a large scholarship to Syracuse make Syracuse worth while?

from what i know, cardozo is more stable in rankings. the recent move in syracuse might be short lived.

although im not a fan of debt, i think cardozo is a better play.


what is practice of law your interested in (location isnt much of a concern since they're both in NY [although one is in a better place than the other]?

I was worried about the stability of its rankings. It was a rather large and somewhat sudden jump. Of course Syracuse alumni and faculty alike are assuring me they will continue to move up in the rankings.

Truthfully, I am not really sure what kind of law I am looking to get in to. I'd love to be a trial lawyer but I certainly do not want to close any doors without having a better grasp on specifics.

One other note - I'm not sure if I want to stay in NY (or even the Northeast for that matter.) I've heard from many people that nationwide, Syracuse might have more of a reputation than Cardozo, however I am not sure that would hold true in the realm of law.

Any thoughts?

What are the stipulations to the scholarship at Syracuse?

Cardozo is certainly not worth anything close to sticker. Factor in a crazy COL and you will be in so much debt you'll want to jump off the Empire State Building.

Based on the limited info. shared in your posts, Syracuse seems to be the better choice.
It would be interesting to know your GPA & LSAT stats.

Does that $130K count cost of living?
I'm inclined to think Syracuse, because with your scholly and COL you'd have very little debt.
At either one you'd have to be near the top if you want "biglaw."
But at 'cuse you don't have to go chasing $$$ so much b/c you won't owe much. Plus at Syracuse there's really not much competition for local jobs when you graduate, while at Cardozo the competition will be enormous.
NEITHER is going to carry you nationally. Dozo will put you in the NYC area and Syracuse will put you upstate and MAYBE NYC if you do really well.

Cardozo is not worth sticker, as fine of a school as it is. Not that Syracuse is a great option for NYC either given the competition. If you wanted to work in Rochester or Albany you might be able to justify picking 'Cuse.

I do not think Cardozo is worth sticker prince in my honest opinion. In addition, you will have the competition from CLS NYU and Fordham. If you really want to do law and do not have aspirations of taking the big/mid law route, then Syracuse would be the best option for you. However, if you have a good job in hand, I would take the LSATs again to increase your chances for admission.

SU, no question - Cardozo is a better school but the tuition+COL will destroy you if you aren't part of the 10% (generous estimate) that will get a biglaw offer.

I think it may be true to a degree that Syracuse has more national presence than other low T2's, but most of the opportunities will be in NYS. Anecdotally, most of the lawyers here in Central NY (and across upstate) come from SU, UB, or Albany, with all 3 schools being similarly respected and not much competition from others. That's 4 decent sized markets (Syr, Albany, ROC, and Buffalo) for three schools. I think that makes for pretty good odds of finding a job that will allow you to pay back your (minimal) loans and live somewhat comfortably; at least better than the <10% of doing so coming from Cardozo. And ranking fluctuation doesn't matter, especially at this level. Anyone who will hire a Cuse grad now will still hire them if they go back to TTT status next year.

Syracuse without a doubt.
Cardozo's ranking stability isn't going to get you a job

Nobody who matters cares about USnews when you are comparing local schools except within the same market. NYC is way over-saturated.

What's, if any, the stipulations on your $$$ for 'Cuse??

They gave me $40,000.00 as long as I maintain a 3.0. In truth that doesn't seem so bad, but I've never been in law school. Is this doable? Just like all everyone else going in to 1L, I'm planning on doing much better (at least top 10%). But I am hoping I can at least pull off a 3.0

CoryMatthews wrote:They gave me $40,000.00 as long as I maintain a 3.0. In truth that doesn't seem so bad, but I've never been in law school. Is this doable? Just like all everyone else going in to 1L, I'm planning on doing much better (at least top 10%). But I am hoping I can at least pull off a 3.0

Curves for some schools are published here: http://www.nalplawschoolsonline.org/

Looks like a 3.0 is a little better than bottom quarter at SU. Take the $!

If your stipulation requires LESS than median....go to SU by all means.

At least try asking Cardozo for some money before making a final decision. That works more often than you might think. You might even admit that you are looking at a near-full ride at Syracuse. Now granted, they might only give you 5K-10K, but that might be enough to you, who knows?

All that said, if you get no money from Cardozo, and the GPA requirement at Syracuse seems doable after your research, I'd probably go for the moolah.

I would say syracuse; even if it isn't up there in the rankings, it's still a respectible school as a whole. Take the money, and enjoy having minimal debt. It will make the rest of your life much easier/worthwhile.

am060459 wrote:from what i know, cardozo is more stable in rankings. the recent move in syracuse might be short lived.

although im not a fan of debt, i think cardozo is a better play.

hell. no. terrible advice.

dont even consider Cardozo OP

People are so short sighted with rankings. The drop out of the top 100 was uncharacteristic. Syracuse has traditionally been a tier 2 law school, our good buddy Joe Biden went there when it was ranked muuuch higher. But the drop was a 1 year aberration, Syracuse is thought of has been a tier 2 school. Cardozo is not at all stable in the rankings, it's only been around for about 30 years and has only been stable the last 6-8 years where it has moved around between 50 and 60. Cost of living is much cheaper in Syracuse, but employment prospects are certainly much better from Cardozo. It's a debt aversion question which only the OP can really answer. I went to Syracuse undergrad and know plenty of people that did well from the law school there, but that was all pre ITE. Now it's a tough call, that said, employment from Cardozo is no Columbia/NYU and you will be in a world of debt from there at sticker.

cuse

Would a Syracuse degree transfer well into surrounding regions (New England, PA...)?

I vote for Syracuse. You'll have a MUCH easier time getting your foot in the door because it's the only law school for hours and only one school in the region is ranked well enough to blow a Syracuse degree out of the water. I think that it's just as mobile as Cardozo due to the fact that there are so few law schools in that area of the country. If you get your foot in the door in Syracuse, work your way up to a well-known firm with a satellite office there, you'll probably be pretty golden.

As for the stability: I know they took a lot of my classmates, offering them lots of money, a few years ago. Judging by the increase in rankings they seem to be continuing that trend... and I think they're going to continue offering students big scholarships in order to improve their ranking so long as they have money to offer. My classmates they took talked about the school's goals and that they made it clear that this was their strategy.

Had similiar decision last year. took the money and went with cuse. I don't know of anyone who talks up cardoza, they may be ranked higher but your job prospects are the same from either school. Also, nyc market is tough, and you will have to be top 10 from either school to even have a chance.
Also, cuse 1L curve requires 70-75% of students to be between 2.9 and 3.1.

I am just going to ask this again, what is the transferability of Syracuse like?

balzern wrote:I am just going to ask this again, what is the transferability of Syracuse like?

Northern PA like Pittsburgh seems plausible. Syracuse is at least as mobile as UB or Albany.

thanks hiro, I appreicat it!