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I'm in my mid-30's, looking to make a transition from auditing/consulting to law. Strong preference in favor of practicing in SoCal. I have minimal debt at present and some savings, but I am very debt averse. Would not mind big law for awhile (will probably be "forced" to go this route due to visa situation), but would like to start own practice eventually. Also, I will be an international student and will need my prospective employer to sponsor an H-1B (have been on H-1B the past few years).

Would appreciate your thoughts, especially if you're also a non-trad/career changer. TIA.

Is the UCLA $30K over three years? That seems pretty low considering your NU scholarship. Maybe you can get them to increase it? I can't see choosing UCLA over NU without more money.

src42 wrote:Is the UCLA $30K over three years? That seems pretty low considering your NU scholarship. Maybe you can get them to increase it? I can't see choosing UCLA over NU without more money.

I have already tried twice to get UCLA to increase (sent them my Vandy and NU offers), but so far have come up empty. The $30K is total over three years.

jman77 wrote:

src42 wrote:Is the UCLA $30K over three years? That seems pretty low considering your NU scholarship. Maybe you can get them to increase it? I can't see choosing UCLA over NU without more money.

I have already tried twice to get UCLA to increase (sent them my Vandy and NU offers), but so far have come up empty. The $30K is total over three years.

You did send a letter right? Not the actual Vandy/NU offer letter...right?

jman77 wrote:

src42 wrote:Is the UCLA $30K over three years? That seems pretty low considering your NU scholarship. Maybe you can get them to increase it? I can't see choosing UCLA over NU without more money.

I have already tried twice to get UCLA to increase (sent them my Vandy and NU offers), but so far have come up empty. The $30K is total over three years.

Wow, that's lame. I'd go with NU or CLS. You can probably get to SoCal from CLS and even from NU if you work hard at it.

jeremysen wrote:

jman77 wrote:

src42 wrote:Is the UCLA $30K over three years? That seems pretty low considering your NU scholarship. Maybe you can get them to increase it? I can't see choosing UCLA over NU without more money.

I have already tried twice to get UCLA to increase (sent them my Vandy and NU offers), but so far have come up empty. The $30K is total over three years.

You did send a letter right? Not the actual Vandy/NU offer letter...right?

I sent an e-mail explaining my situation with pdf's of the other offers attached.

src42 wrote:

jman77 wrote:

src42 wrote:Is the UCLA $30K over three years? That seems pretty low considering your NU scholarship. Maybe you can get them to increase it? I can't see choosing UCLA over NU without more money.

I have already tried twice to get UCLA to increase (sent them my Vandy and NU offers), but so far have come up empty. The $30K is total over three years.

Wow, that's lame. I'd go with NU or CLS. You can probably get to SoCal from CLS and even from NU if you work hard at it.

That's also where I'm leaning. Although, I am also seriously considering WUSTL due to the debt minimization factor. I might have to work harder if I attend there to get back to SoCal, but at least I will have a lot of flexibility if I don't have to deal with a ton of debt. With my savings, I can probably graduate from WUSTL with zero debt.

Pretty tough to say no to CLS or NU, though. If I wasn't international, I'd probably be more gung-ho about taking on debt.

Updated to reflect info from Columbia. Would greatly appreciate everyone's input.