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expensive tier 1 school vs. inexpensive tier 2?

Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2011 2:05 am
by renee88
So, here is my situation: I've been accepted to George Mason with an $8000 scholarship- with out-of-state fees, I'll be paying 26,000 a year plus the high cost of living near D.C. On the other hand, I've been accepted at several tier 2 schools with larger scholarships: $21,000 a year at Baylor (putting me around 18k in tuition), $17,700 at LSU (11k in tuition), and Cincinnati (8500 scholarship so I'll be paying 13k with the KY metro rate).

I know those schools seem pretty random, but Mason is really the only random one- I have family in Louisiana and TX and near Cincy. In addition, if I go to LSU, I can live rent-free.

I have no debt but I'm also pretty broke from undergrad, and like everyone else I'm trying to weigh the pros and cons. If it were all about location I'd probably choose Baylor or LSU, but George Mason also seems like a great law school and its grads have the best employment prospects of any of these schools (99%). I truly do not care about making a ton of money, but I just want to be able to pay off my debts in a reasonable amount of time.

Any advice? It would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!!

Re: expensive tier 1 school vs. inexpensive tier 2?

Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2011 2:19 am
by aspire2more
Where do you want to practice after graduating?

Re: expensive tier 1 school vs. inexpensive tier 2?

Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2011 2:28 am
by renee88
I would prefer the southeast or Texas, but I'm not set on one location. I'm definitely not interested in living in the northeast, or upper midwest (I'm from Louisiana but I've lived in Wisconsin for 10 years, and am entirely ready to leave).

Re: expensive tier 1 school vs. inexpensive tier 2?

Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2011 2:38 am
by aspire2more
I'm not extremely familiar with these schools because their environment isn't for me, but based on that I would say LSU or Baylor. Cincinnati doesn't make as much sense to me if you're trying to relocate to the south. I'd only say George Mason if you were pretty set on practicing in VA. Since it seems like you'd rather be much further south and not have so much to pay back, I'm not sure I'd rack up the debt you'll incur at GM.