Cumberland for free vs. UF @ sticker Forum

[seriously????]

Cumberland is one of the worst law schools in America. UF for sure. There is not enough money that Samford could give you to make that worth your while.

but outside the T20 with a few exceptions, all of these law schools are the worst in America for a large majority of the students. at least for a full ride, his monthly payments will be only a couple hundred a month as opposed to a grand a month.

[AU2010NC]

I am fairly well connected in the area. I know a few attorneys personally, and two of them are from Cumberland and one from FSU. When I was just trying to decide between FSU and UF, they said it doesn't really matter, and with the scholarship offer to Cumberland, they seem to be telling me to take the money. My parents also have connections with a other attorneys coming from Cumberland, FSU, and UF. I feel that I can find a job back here with relative ease, which is why I am trying decide if it really is worth the money. I'm pretty sure my parents are going to help out on rent/food, so I could basically walk out of Cumberland without any debt at all, compared to 60k at UF.

I sent an email to both UF and FSU to try and negotiate, but Ive heard that UF doesnt really do that and I'm not sure about FSU. Also, I'm not sure even a full tuition scholarship to Cumberland would squeeze any money from them, not to mention my low LSAT doesn't help either. However, I think even a small scholarship to FSU or UF would make it automatic for me.

[sundance95]

I'm not sure even a full tuition scholarship to Cumberland would squeeze any money from them, not to mention my low LSAT doesn't help either. However, I think even a small scholarship to FSU or UF would make it automatic for me.

You're being too debt-averse, while not being risk-averse enough. UF is cheap, even with the recent tuition hike. Paying some debt and having a job is a lot better then having no debt and no job, and three years' of salary opportunity cost right out the window.

[GrapeApe]

Contrary to the elitist U.S. News worshiping hacks that infest these boards, I suggest Cumberland without reservation. Going to law school for FREE cannot be over-valued. Even if you get the In-State rate at FL, you are looking at $45,000.00 in debt.

Being debt free puts you WAY ahead of the game.

Keep in mind that the average poster here worships at the altar of U.S. News and doesn't understand anything beyond OH NOEZ RANKINZ.

[FeelTheHeat]

Contrary to the elitist U.S. News worshiping hacks that infest these boards, I suggest Cumberland without reservation. Going to law school for FREE cannot be over-valued. Even if you get the In-State rate at FL, you are looking at $45,000.00 in debt.

Being debt free puts you WAY ahead of the game.

Keep in mind that the average poster here worships at the altar of U.S. News and doesn't understand anything beyond OH NOEZ RANKINZ.

Sometimes I like to light my straw men on fire and make s'mores.

[sundance95]

Contrary to the elitist U.S. News worshiping hacks that infest these boards, I suggest Cumberland without reservation. Going to law school for FREE cannot be over-valued. Even if you get the In-State rate at FL, you are looking at $45,000.00 in debt.

Being debt free puts you WAY ahead of the game.

Keep in mind that the average poster here worships at the altar of U.S. News and doesn't understand anything beyond OH NOEZ RANKINZ.

$45,000 for a JD that can actually get you a job is a great deal.

[seriously????]

the op said he can already get a job regardless...

[Danteshek]

Just go to UF already

[Wactawshus]

In the panhandle there are areas that hold a Cumberland degree equal to UF. That, combined w/ your connections, makes the 'quality' of the schools a wash from my perspective. And although I can't speak to life in Birmingham, I can undoubtedly say that IMO Gainesville, a.k.a. Hogtown, is a miserable place to live 8 months out of the year for anyone over the age 22.

If you don't care about the difference in mobility that the UF degree surely dominates that of a Cumberland degree, then taking the free ride might not be a bad deal. I guess what I'm saying is that if I met someone who chose Cumberland over UF, faced w/ the same circumstances as you, I would not find them crazy for making that decision.

[sundance95]

the op said he can already get a job HIS FIRST JOB regardless...

[20160810]

UF. Period.

[romothesavior]

Contrary to the elitist U.S. News worshiping hacks that infest these boards, I suggest Cumberland without reservation. Going to law school for FREE cannot be over-valued. Even if you get the In-State rate at FL, you are looking at $45,000.00 in debt.

Being debt free puts you WAY ahead of the game.

Keep in mind that the average poster here worships at the altar of U.S. News and doesn't understand anything beyond OH NOEZ RANKINZ.

Sometimes I like to light my straw men on fire and make s'mores.

GrapeApe, you are an idiot.

[tarakit]

I think you should really look into how awful Cumberland is further... I do think that once you get to a certain level in the rankings, prestige doesn't matter as much. However, Cumberland's quality has gone down a lot lately... Like I said before, the bar passage rate has gone down to something like 65-70% the past few years. I know it would be free, but this is three years of your life that you would spend with a very real possibility of not passing the bar. To give you an idea of how awful this bar pass rate is, it is only a few percentage points higher than Birmingham School of Law, an unaccredited, part-time night law school that will allow anyone to attend and doesn't require an LSAT score.

Do not go to Cumberland.

[JamMasterJ]

Just a thought,

you could go to Cumberland do well, transfer with $$$ hopefully after your first year. This make economical sense unless being 100,000 in debt is nothing to you.

I'm not sure if this has been touched on but at almost every law school in the country it is impossible to transfer with scholarships. This advice is ridiculous, not to mention the fact that you shouldn't go somewhere with the intention of transferring, as Romo already mentioned.
Furthermore, even if you can go to Cumberland with a job lined up, it won't be as helpful with your second and third jobs as the UF network and reputation.

[mst]

UF. No question.

the people suggesting cumberland are doing you a huge disservice. most of the time i take the time to explain what im talking about, but this should be so obvious that im gonna just let it go. ignore at your own peril.

[seriously????]

not so sure about a disservice. if one is median at either schools, chances for anything other than doc review may be slim, at least you won't be in debt if you goto cumberland. but you already have connections, so this may not even be a problem. sure, if you are top 15% at either school, job prospects will be better at UF, but again, you will still be able to find your first job at cumberland, and have no debt.
also while going to cumberland will not guarantee you a spot in the top of the class, you can reasonably believe that you have a good shot to be a top student, or at least the admissions staff believes so. and maybe cumberland has too many unqualified graduates, which is why their bar pass rate is low. but again, you have afull ride, so you should not be one of them.
T3's and T4's definitely do have a bad rep in certain circles. but the one circle where they don't have a bad rep is in the eyes of their alumni. there are plenty of successful lawyers from t3's and t4's, and if they see a good candidate from their alma mater, they are not going to think not to hire you because your school is shit. they want to enforce that they went to a good school, thus will give a very good look to solid students from their school.
if you are set on biglaw or a job that requires being a top student from a school with some prestige, don't goto cumberland. but if all you want is a solid job, no debt to provide you with versatility in terms of the the job you can choose, the decision you make is an equal tossup.

[J21]

Cumberland is one of the worst law schools in America. UF for sure. There is not enough money that Samford could give you to make that worth your while.

Are these your only 2 feasible options? Have you considered retaking and going next cycle?

How is Cumberland one of the worst law schools in America?? Evidence of that?

[mst]

not so sure about a disservice. if one is median at either schools, chances for anything other than doc review may be slim, at least you won't be in debt if you goto cumberland.

that's just not true. uf's employment prospects might be bad ITE, but its still (arguably) the best law school in a large state and you will have much better prospects at median here than you will at cumberland, especially if you give a shit and work at networking and internships over the 3 years rather than treating it like another 3 years of UG like many other uf law students...

[FuManChusco]

I genuinely think GrapeApe is a troll. It's obvious right?

[seriously????]

not so sure about a disservice. if one is median at either schools, chances for anything other than doc review may be slim, at least you won't be in debt if you goto cumberland.

that's just not true. uf's employment prospects might be bad ITE, but its still (arguably) the best law school in a large state and you will have much better prospects at median here than you will at cumberland, especially if you give a shit and work at networking and internships over the 3 years rather than treating it like another 3 years of UG like many other uf law students...

networking, networking, networking...that can only be done at UF, not cumberland?

[romothesavior]

networking, networking, networking...that can only be done at UF, not cumberland?

It is possible anywhere, but it is easier at a school that is respected.

[Bill Cosby]

I genuinely think GrapeApe is a troll. It's obvious right?

Really, really stupid is always a possibility.

[mst]

networking, networking, networking...that can only be done at UF, not cumberland?

It is possible anywhere, but it is easier at a school that is respected.

oh snap. but yeah, this. and if you're gonna say "cumberlands respected" you might have a case but i think the vast majority of the people on this board, in the profession, and in the real world would agree that uf surpasses it in that regard by a longshot.

[seriously????]

completely agree, but it is not like UF is harvard. Further, say a community has 1000 lawyers. 800 respect UF, while only 200 respect Cumblerland. obviously, a huge advantage for UF...but how many people fully utilize all of their networking opportunities. If one can really get 100% value out of the 200 attorneys who respect cumberland, that person is in a better position than one who half asses his networking with the attorneys who respect UF. and if it really comes down to networking, id take the 50plus K id save by not going to UF and take my chances...
but again, OP, reevaluate your connections, and if you feel like you can definitely land a job no matter what...again, a tossup.

[sundance95]

completely agree, but it is not like UF is harvard. Further, say a community has 1000 lawyers. 800 respect UF, while only 200 respect Cumblerland. obviously, a huge advantage for UF...but how many people fully utilize all of their networking opportunities. If one can really get 100% value out of the 200 attorneys who respect cumberland, that person is in a better position than one who half asses his networking with the attorneys who respect UF. and if it really comes down to networking, id take the 50plus K id save by not going to UF and take my chances...
but again, OP, reevaluate your connections, and if you feel like you can definitely land a job no matter what...again, a tossup.

800>200. HTH