Hypothetical Situation Forum

[klevashov]

I was thinking about this recently, and wanted to hear some of your opinions on it.

Take a hypothetical candidate, who can either attend a T7-14 at sticker, or take a full ride to a T20-30. Between these two choices, the candidate must either accept ~$140,000 in debt, or the forfeiture of some career prospects that he could have potentially attained by going to a higher-ranked school. If the candidate chooses the T7-14, he will be funneled only into the career paths that will allow him to repay the debt (and that's IF he's lucky enough to land one of these jobs). Coming out of the T20-30, however, he will face worse job prospects, but will not have the crushing weight of debt on his back, so his career limitations are only those inherent in graduating from a T20-30.


Which path would you choose and why?

[bk1]

I don't think this option is given to most people, though I could be wrong. Those with numbers to get into the lower T14 but not the T6 probably won't get full rides from schools ranked 20-30. Even if they do, you won't necessarily get your choice school to give you a full ride. Someone who wants to work in CA and gets a full ride to WUSTL but not UCDavis is put in even more of a bind because you are discounting degree portability. Also of note is the fact that their is a difference in prospects between MVP and Georgetown.

Sticker at a T14 is also a helluva lot more than $140k. That being said, I'd generally take something like MVP over a 20-30 for free, but I know tons of people lean the other way.

[imisscollege]

20-30 if you really like the region. i think that's what it comes down to.

[klevashov]

Okay, let's take a specific case. Take a candidate with a 3.7/169. It's possible that he pays sticker at a T7-14, OR could apply to GW ED. As per GW's website:

"Applicants who are certain The George Washington University Law School is the right law school for them and who wish to be considered for a full-tuition GW Law Presidential Merit Scholarship may choose to apply through the Binding Early Admission/Presidential Merit Scholarship Program.

Applicants admitted through this early admission program will be awarded a full-tuition scholarship.



So, would it be prudent to take sticker at a T7-14 at a school that serves a nearby market (Virginia, Georgetown), or to go ED on GW?

I'm not asking for me (haven't taken LSAT yet, gearing up for Oct 9), but it seems like an interesting choice.

[blink]

I don't think this option is given to most people, though I could be wrong. Those with numbers to get into the lower T14 but not the T6 probably won't get full rides from schools ranked 20-30. Even if they do, you won't necessarily get your choice school to give you a full ride. Someone who wants to work in CA and gets a full ride to WUSTL but not UCDavis is put in even more of a bind because you are discounting degree portability. Also of note is the fact that their is a difference in prospects between MVP and Georgetown.

Sticker at a T14 is also a helluva lot more than $140k. That being said, I'd generally take something like MVP over a 20-30 for free, but I know tons of people lean the other way.

It continues to astound me that there are people who think they can attend a top law school and not know the difference between their/there/they're.

[bk1]

20-30 if you really like the region. i think that's what it comes down to.

Agreed. There is a difference between going to a school to work in that state where you will face almost no competition from outsiders (i.e. IU-B, Iowa, Wisconsin, Georgia) versus aiming for a large impacted market (i.e. Fordham for NYC, WUSTL/Notre Dame for Chicago) where the school is not the top dog.

[bk1]

It continues to astound me that there are people who think they can attend a top law school and not know the difference between their/there/they're.

Grats, bro.

[dakatz]

The 20-30 range school that is free. I would also qualify that just a bit and say that as long its a school in the general region where I would like to work. For example, I lwant to work in the northeast, so I wouldn't go to Iowa or UC Davis even if it were free. But a school like GW/BU/BC for free? Hell yes I would take that over a T7-T14 at sticker. No question.