Top Law Schools

Just wanted some input from everyone about this decision. I was just recently accepted to Tulane law school with a 6,000 annual deans scholarship. This school does seem like a great school with a national reputation. Attending Tulane each year is going to run me 35,000 (scholarship factored in) + 20,000 cost of living = $55,000 a year. I also got into Rutgers-Newark with no scholaship which will cost me 24,000 a year + 20,000 cost of living = $44,000 a year.

Pros of Tulane = Better job prospects coming out of this school. It is a private school which means it has a stronger alumni base than Rutgers which is a state school. The student body seems to be a close bunch. I want to have options after graduating when it comes to jobs in the Mid-Atlantic (region I desire to practice law) and Tulane just seems to place their students in Mid-Atlantic jobs well.

Cons of Tulane= 11,000 dollars a year more, which is not that bad. My biggest concern is moving away from my family in philadelphia and my fiance for a long time. But I really want to have options when I graduate from law school rather than being tied down to one region only.

Pros to Rutgers- Great law school, nice faculty and staff. Only one hour drive from Philadelphia so I am practically close to home near my family.

Cons to Rutgers- Job placement in North Jersey seems to be mediocre and placement in NYC seems only to be for the top 5 or so students in the class. Going to school in Newark for 3 years would suck but I would be closer to my family.

My future goals- I want to one day be my own boss whether that is having my own law firm or whatever. I would not mind coming out of law school and working my tail off for a few years in order to learn the trade but I want to have the security that I will find a good first job after law school. I am not really a big fan of big law but if it will open alot of doors for me in the legal profession, I would go for it. I just want to have options at the end of the day and for 11,000 dollars more a year, Tulane might give me the options I am looking for. I might also be wrong.

What are your thoughts on this matter and what would you guys do?

SpWiseGuy wrote:
Pros of Tulane = Better job prospects coming out of this school. It is a private school which means it has a stronger alumni base than Rutgers which is a state school. The student body seems to be a close bunch. I want to have options after graduating when it comes to jobs in the Mid-Atlantic (region I desire to practice law) and Tulane just seems to place their students in Mid-Atlantic jobs well.

Cons of Tulane= 11,000 dollars a year more, which is not that bad. My biggest concern is moving away from my family in philadelphia and my fiance for a long time. But I really want to have options when I graduate from law school rather than being tied down to one region only.

Pros to Rutgers- Great law school, nice faculty and staff. Only one hour drive from Philadelphia so I am practically close to home near my family.

Cons to Rutgers- Job placement in North Jersey seems to be mediocre and placement in NYC seems only to be for the top 5 or so students in the class. Going to school in Newark for 3 years would suck but I would be closer to my family.

To the bolded statement – what are you talking about? Lol. Virginia has one of, if not the strongest law alumni base in the country and it’s a state school. Even for UG, public schools have the edge for strong alumni base (Penn State, Ohio State, Florida etc.)
To answer your question, it just really depends where you want to live/practice. Because you are already so close to Rutgers I’m guessing you may have some ties to the Philly/NJ area, which would be extremely helpful as far as networking. I’d lean toward Rutgers unless you really want to practice in the south.