AU or Depaul/Kent Forum

[CJ_1111]

I have a dilemma.

I finished my first year at John Marshall law school in Chicago. I sought a transfer and got accepted to DePaul and American. I'm still waiting on Kent. I would love to to to AU but I have no scholly and tuition and COA will be around $65k. Whereas if I were to attend a law school in Chicago, I can continue to live at home. No scholly at DePaul either, and I'm sure that will be the case as well if I get into Kent. However, I'll be saving about $20-25k p/ year by staying home. Any advice?

Thanks!

[blurbz]

I have a dilemma.

I finished my first year at John Marshall law school in Chicago. I sought a transfer and got accepted to DePaul and American. I'm still waiting on Kent. I would love to to to AU but I have no scholly and tuition and COA will be around $65k. Whereas if I were to attend a law school in Chicago, I can continue to live at home. No scholly at DePaul either, and I'm sure that will be the case as well if I get into Kent. However, I'll be saving about $20-25k p/ year by staying home. Any advice?

Thanks!

How much are you paying at John Marshall?

I know Kent/Loyola/Depaul are all steps up for you....But I don't know how much those steps are worth. I have pretty good relationships with a few partners at firms in Chicago and I know when I spoke to them about getting jobs in the city, they mentioned Kent/DePaul/Loyola (albeit after a number of other schools) and did not mention John Marshall. This isn't news to you, though. But the question remains: How much more would you need to pay at one of those schools?

AU doesn't seem to make much sense given the huge cost differential.

Congratulations on putting yourself in a position to make these kinds of decisions.

Good luck!

[CJ_1111]

I have a dilemma.

I finished my first year at John Marshall law school in Chicago. I sought a transfer and got accepted to DePaul and American. I'm still waiting on Kent. I would love to to to AU but I have no scholly and tuition and COA will be around $65k. Whereas if I were to attend a law school in Chicago, I can continue to live at home. No scholly at DePaul either, and I'm sure that will be the case as well if I get into Kent. However, I'll be saving about $20-25k p/ year by staying home. Any advice?

Thanks!

How much are you paying at John Marshall?

I know Kent/Loyola/Depaul are all steps up for you....But I don't know how much those steps are worth. I have pretty good relationships with a few partners at firms in Chicago and I know when I spoke to them about getting jobs in the city, they mentioned Kent/DePaul/Loyola (albeit after a number of other schools) and did not mention John Marshall. This isn't news to you, though. But the question remains: How much more would you need to pay at one of those schools?

AU doesn't seem to make much sense given the huge cost differential.

Congratulations on putting yourself in a position to make these kinds of decisions.

Good luck!

Thanks. Well at Depaul, I would be paying full tuition and as stated before, I'm sure that will be the case at Kent as well. Both will run about $38k, but I will be living at home which will save me on housing (about $800-$1000 p/ month), transportation, food and any other miscellaneous stuff that a law student will need. I'm getting a $9000 scholly from JMLS but I refuse to graduate from a fourth tier school, and hence the transfer. So I'm comparing $38k p/ year in Chicago to $65k p/ year at AU. The difference would be about $27k more for attending AU, totaling to an additional $54k more or less over the next two years plus interest.

I should be thrilled about these new opportunities but this dilemma is causing me a headache. I almost wish I didn't get into AU so I don't have to make such a difficult decision.

[Cleareyes]

Where do you want to work?

[CJ_1111]

My family is in Chicago so ideally, I would want to work in Chicago. However, I wouldn't mind working in DC as well, but the issue with that is AU is overshadowed by GULC and GW. I know that Chicago is a tough market because Kent/Depaul/Loyola are competing with NW and U of C, but at least my debt won't be as high.

[Cleareyes]

I wouldn't go into more debt to go to a second tier school in a city with lots of competition where I had no ties unless I really wanted to work in that city. "I wouldn't mind working in DC" is not a strong enough desire to justify leaving the place you ACTUALLY want to work.

[CJ_1111]

Does anybody know whether AU is a "national school" or a "regional school"?

[keg411]

Does anybody know whether AU is a "national school" or a "regional school"?

Regional.

[Jack Smirks]

I would advise you to take the DePaul transfer. You're right in not wanting to graduate from John Marshall but moving all the way to D.C. to attend AU is NOT worth it. DePaul from what I hear has a decent alumnus network and I would suspect you have a much better chance of "plugging in" an area where you have family ties. SO yeah, I'm saying DePaul for sure, check back in if you get into Kent.

[Undergradut]

DePaul or Kent, FTW. American is way too expensive, and it's not as good as DePaul or Kent for getting legal work in Chicago.

[Case2L]

Definitely DePaul/Kent. They have the same reputation in Chicago as American has in DC, and you'll save quite a bit of money by living at home (you'll likely pay $1000+ per month to live in the District). I'm sure you've been told this before, but in case you haven't; ranking isn't that important beyond the top 20 or so. Top 50 is merely an illusion, and American doesn't have much more prestige in the legal community than DePaul/Kent, and certainly not in Chicago.

[CJ_1111]

in at kent!

[Scottie88]

Congrats ! Im attending jmls in the fall and am also set on graduating from either depaul/kent/loyola. Is this extremely difficult/ what percent of the class do you need to be in for a chance at transferring to another school in chicago? i'm from Chicago and want to practice here. Thanks