Denver with 75k scholly vs CU-Boulder full Forum

[jayman6]

What do you all think? $25k/year at Denver so long as I stay in the top half of my class. I was also accepted at CU, but don't expect to receive merit aid. Any thoughts are appreciated.

[CanadianWolf]

Are you in-state for Colorado ? If so, what do you estimate to be your total costs of attendance at each law school ?

P.S. You may want to consider changing the poll to reflect whether Colorado's "full price" is resident or out-of-state tuition for the first year. Also would help to know of any specific career goals & preferred location after graduation. Basically, more info. would help.

[renorunningirl]

Boulder is by far the better school and instate tuition is very reasonable. If you are from out of state Colorado will grant you instate tuition after a year (there is paperwork you need to do as soon as you get there, I'm not sure of the details but I am sure the financial aid office would help you). I visited the school this summer and it was really nice. The facilities are new and well designed and it seems like the school is really committed to student success (lots of outside interaction with faculty). They are also much more generous with scholarships for returning students (as opposed to incoming). Good luck

[CanadianWolf]

Could you elaborate on the scholarships for returning CU law students ? Does OP have scholarship restrictions or requirements from DU ?

[renorunningirl]

Basically what I was told but the admissions person who guided my tour is that there are simply more scholarships set up buy alums and other groups for 2L's and 3L's than for incoming students (even one set up by recent graduates to pay for lift tickets for skiers...) Not sure about numbers just that it is very possible to obtain a scholarship even if you are not admitted with one...

[patrickd139]

Renorunningirl: excellent 'tar.

Sorry I don't have anything of substance to add here, OP. Anecdotally, I've heard DU grads are having a rough go of it ITE.

[jayman6]

Thank you to those who have responded so far. I am OOS, but will pay approximately $135k for CU Law assuming I obtain residency after the first year. Also, my stipulation at DU is to remain in the top half of the class.

I am not particularly interested in a specific area of practice as this time, but I am interested in working in Colorado (preferably Denver).

Thanks again for your thoughts.

[CanadianWolf]

Is it fair to estimate DU's cost of attendance at $54,000 for the first year, $56,000 second year & $58,000 the third year ? If so, then the total cost for three years would be about $93,000 after deducting the $75,000 scholarship. Colorado, assuming modest tuition & expenses increases should run about $150,000 for three years if resident tuition is granted for the second & third years. The difference in cost, therefore, is roughly $57,000 for all three years tuition, fees, books & living expenses.

There is also a risk of losing the DU scholarship after the first year.

If you want to live & work in the Denver area, then it seems to be a tie, in my opinion. Of course, it would be smart to determine why DU fell in the USNews rankings while Colorado rose quite a bit last year.

[jayman6]

Is it fair to estimate DU's cost of attendance at $54,000 for the first year, $56,000 second year & $58,000 the third year ? If so, then the total cost for three years would be about $93,000 after deducting the $75,000 scholarship. Colorado, assuming modest tuition & expenses increases should run about $150,000 for three years if resident tuition is granted for the second & third years. The difference in cost, therefore, is roughly $57,000 for all three years tuition, fees, books & living expenses.

There is also a risk of losing the DU scholarship after the first year.

If you want to live & work in the Denver area, then it seems to be a tie, in my opinion. Of course, it would be smart to determine why DU fell in the USNews rankings while Colorado rose quite a bit last year.

Good points. DU's tuition does raise at a considerable rate each year, as I'm sure the story will be the same with CU considering the budget issues in Colorado. It's a tough decision for me, but it would be made a lot easier even if CU only offered me a total award of $15-20k.

[BeautifulSW]

The folks that tell you CU Boulder is the best law school in the Rocky Mountain West might be right or they might be wrong but I can tell you that CU's reputation is sterling. Head and shoulders above everyone else, including my own N.Mex., AZ, ASU, and DU.

I don't know how fair this perception really is. I've worked with a couple of dozen DU trained lawyers over the years and in the State government/small-to-mid law environment where I am, they seem to be as well trained as anyone else. For a $50,000 difference in total cost, I would think pretty hard about accepting DU's offer. There's some risk here, I suppose, but fifty K is fifty K and that student loan interest can build up fast. There's no guarantee of a Denver-style BigLaw job even coming out of CU. Besides, I much prefer Denver to Boulder but that's mostly a matter of taste.