Top Law Schools

So after considering my options and eliminating a few schools based on personal/financial reasons, I'm left with these three schools. I'm desperately confused and unsure of what to do--not a good position to be in with seat deposit deadlines looming I'm hoping for good, substantive advice!

COA at UConn and Ohio State would be approximately equal, whereas Temple would cost slightly more since I've heard it's not easy to obtain in-state residency for 2L and 3L years. I love Philadelphia and would love to go to law school there since I'm already familiar with the city and have family closeby. My preference after graduating from law school is to have a job in Philly/Tri-State area.

My main qualm is not the fact that Temple might potentially cost more, but the fact that I'd be giving up going to a school with better name recognition and perhaps better job prospects in UConn and Ohio State. Maybe I'm wrong.

At this point, I sorta wanna be convinced that Temple is the better choice for me. However, I fear that I may be biased toward Temple based on my personal preferences. What do you guys think? Am I rational to consider OSU and UConn under these circumstances? Is Temple the best choice for me? Put some sense in to me please! Any advice is appreciated. Thank you!

[quote="voltage88"]My preference after graduating from law school is to have a job in Philly/Tri-State area. quote]

Temple will be happy to have you. Thus, I vote Temple.

rebexness wrote:

voltage88 wrote: whereas Temple would cost slightly more since I've heard it's not easy to obtain in-state residency for 2L and 3L years. I love Philadelphia and would love to go to law school there since I'm already familiar with the city and have family closeby. My preference after graduating from law school is to have a job in Philly/Tri-State area.

How much is "slightly more"?

All signs point to Temple, IMHO.

Assuming in-state tuition at OSU and UConn for 2L and 3L and out of state tuition at Temple for all three years: Temple's COA would cost 20K more than OSU and 18K more than UConn

Normally, these cost differences would be significant. However, given my geographical preferences I don't really think it's that important. The only thing that keeps me thinking twice about Temple, like I said, is foregoing better name recognition and employment prospects from UConn and Ohio State. Maybe I'm being irrational--hence why I'm asking you all

Temple has better employment numbers than UConn at the moment; anyway you want to slice it. UConn is ranked 56 and Temple is 61, but Temple's equally credentialed, in terms of numbers. Finally, the only place UConn would enjoy a prestige advantage would be in New England. Everywhere else it would be even, or in some limited cases, in favor of Temple.

I think since Temple is cheaper, you should absolutely cross UConn off the list, unless you want NE exclusively. Choose between OSU and Temple based on where you want to work. OSU will give you a little more mobility, but not enough to bank on Philly, if that's where you'd like to work after graduation.

Edit: Wait, sorry. I see Temple is more expensive. Don't cross UConn off the list. The question should be now, are better prospects in Philly and better employment numbers in general worth 18k? Its close, so its your call. I'd probably still take Temple over UConn for 18k. OSU is looking pretty attractive though, if you're not married to Philly. I'd go there I think

Sorry its early and I initially read that as Temple being cheapest.

Justathought wrote:Temple has better employment numbers than UConn at the moment; anyway you want to slice it. UConn is ranked 56 and Temple is 61, but Temple's equally credentialed, in terms of numbers. Finally, the only place UConn would enjoy a prestige advantage would be in New England. Everywhere else it would be even, or in some limited cases, in favor of Temple.

I think since Temple is cheaper, you should absolutely cross UConn off the list, unless you want NE exclusively. Choose between OSU and Temple based on where you want to work. OSU will give you a little more mobility, but not enough to bank on Philly, if that's where you'd like to work after graduation.

Well, Temple would actually be more expensive than UConn over 3 years. It looks like everyone gets in-state tuition at UConn for 2L and 3L, whereas it's hard to establish residency at Temple. That's how I made my calculation. But given my familiary with Philadelphia and desire to stay in the tri-state area, I don't think too much about the cost difference.

voltage88 wrote:

Justathought wrote:Temple has better employment numbers than UConn at the moment; anyway you want to slice it. UConn is ranked 56 and Temple is 61, but Temple's equally credentialed, in terms of numbers. Finally, the only place UConn would enjoy a prestige advantage would be in New England. Everywhere else it would be even, or in some limited cases, in favor of Temple.

I think since Temple is cheaper, you should absolutely cross UConn off the list, unless you want NE exclusively. Choose between OSU and Temple based on where you want to work. OSU will give you a little more mobility, but not enough to bank on Philly, if that's where you'd like to work after graduation.

Well, Temple would actually be more expensive than UConn over 3 years. It looks like everyone gets in-state tuition at UConn for 2L and 3L, whereas it's hard to establish residency at Temple. That's how I made my calculation. But given my familiary with Philadelphia and desire to stay in the tri-state area, I don't think too much about the cost difference.

Yeah its too early for me to read properly. Edited my post!

Given your desire for Philly, I think you have to go to Temple. Its one of the best choices for Philly, and certainly way better than the other two options.

Justathought wrote:Given your desire for Philly, I think you have to go to Temple. Its one of the best choices for Philly, and certainly way better than the other two options.

Yeah, I figured as such. Having to pass on a big-name Big Ten school is making this decision a lot more difficult than it should be...and the fact that I love fall in Connecticut...

voltage88 wrote:

Justathought wrote:Given your desire for Philly, I think you have to go to Temple. Its one of the best choices for Philly, and certainly way better than the other two options.

...and the fact that I love fall in Connecticut...

Hush. Fall in Philadelphia will make you want to fall in love. /gay

arvcondor wrote:

voltage88 wrote:

Justathought wrote:Given your desire for Philly, I think you have to go to Temple. Its one of the best choices for Philly, and certainly way better than the other two options.

...and the fact that I love fall in Connecticut...

Hush. Fall in Philadelphia will make you want to fall in love. /gay

Haha true. are you attending?

voltage88 wrote:

Justathought wrote:Given your desire for Philly, I think you have to go to Temple. Its one of the best choices for Philly, and certainly way better than the other two options.

Yeah, I figured as such. Having to pass on a big-name Big Ten school is making this decision a lot more difficult than it should be...and the fact that I love fall in Connecticut...

and the fact that YOU PROMISED that if we won the championship....

Honestly, I hate to break it down to the regional mantra, but if you want Philly, Temple. If you want the midwest/Ohio, OSU. If you want the Northeast/CT, UConn. If you know you want Philly, IMO, it's worth the slightly higher price tag for Temple.

snapdragon wrote:

voltage88 wrote:

Justathought wrote:Given your desire for Philly, I think you have to go to Temple. Its one of the best choices for Philly, and certainly way better than the other two options.

Yeah, I figured as such. Having to pass on a big-name Big Ten school is making this decision a lot more difficult than it should be...and the fact that I love fall in Connecticut...

and the fact that YOU PROMISED that if we won the championship....

Honestly, I hate to break it down to the regional mantra, but if you want Philly, Temple. If you want the midwest/Ohio, OSU. If you want the Northeast/CT, UConn. If you know you want Philly, IMO, it's worth the slightly higher price tag for Temple.

haha I obviously made that promise thinking UConn would for sure lose against Kentucky. Glad they proved me wrong So wait...you're telling me the beautiful foliage of the New England fall and cheering on the Huskies at the XL Center come basketball season isn't enough to lure me away from Temple? I'm saddened.

voltage88 wrote:

snapdragon wrote:

voltage88 wrote:

Justathought wrote:Given your desire for Philly, I think you have to go to Temple. Its one of the best choices for Philly, and certainly way better than the other two options.

Yeah, I figured as such. Having to pass on a big-name Big Ten school is making this decision a lot more difficult than it should be...and the fact that I love fall in Connecticut...

and the fact that YOU PROMISED that if we won the championship....

Honestly, I hate to break it down to the regional mantra, but if you want Philly, Temple. If you want the midwest/Ohio, OSU. If you want the Northeast/CT, UConn. If you know you want Philly, IMO, it's worth the slightly higher price tag for Temple.

haha I obviously made that promise thinking UConn would for sure lose against Kentucky. Glad they proved me wrong So wait...you're telling me the beautiful foliage of the New England fall and cheering on the Huskies at the XL Center come basketball season isn't enough to lure me away from Temple? I'm saddened.

I want it to be enough ( btw you're forgetting board games and wine night, which I intend to host), but alas, I cannot in good faith stand here and tell you to go to UConn over Temple for Philly. It's really cloudy today already, don't want to increase my chances of being struck by lightning.

It's true that I love Philly. Part of the reason why I'm leaning towards Temple is also because I just think I'd be happier in an urban setting. Been through the whole small college town thing in the Midwest and I just think I'm more of a city person. Since I'm familiar with Philly and can see myself being happy there I think this increases my chances of being a more successful student there. Maybe this is faulty logic but it makes sense to me :/

voltage88 wrote:It's true that I love Philly. Part of the reason why I'm leaning towards Temple is also because I just think I'd be happier in an urban setting. Been through the whole small college town thing in the Midwest and I just think I'm more of a city person. Since I'm familiar with Philly and can see myself being happy there I think this increases my chances of being a more successful student there. Maybe this is faulty logic but it makes sense to me :/

No, I don't think it's faulty - similar reasoning played a small role in my choice (I went to UG in Hartford so I know the general surrounding area of UConn pretty well). I will say, with regards to UConn, it is NOT in the country. Hartford definitely has less to offer than Philly, but it is in an urban bordering on suburban environment. Just in case you're wavering

snapdragon wrote:

voltage88 wrote:It's true that I love Philly. Part of the reason why I'm leaning towards Temple is also because I just think I'd be happier in an urban setting. Been through the whole small college town thing in the Midwest and I just think I'm more of a city person. Since I'm familiar with Philly and can see myself being happy there I think this increases my chances of being a more successful student there. Maybe this is faulty logic but it makes sense to me :/

No, I don't think it's faulty - similar reasoning played a small role in my choice (I went to UG in Hartford so I know the general surrounding area of UConn pretty well). I will say, with regards to UConn, it is NOT in the country. Hartford definitely has less to offer than Philly, but it is in an urban bordering on suburban environment. Just in case you're wavering

I think Hartford def has perks. I thinks it's a great place to study law for those who prefer to have little distractions but still wanna have access to an enjoyable social life. My heart is torn. I'll have to decide before the seat deposit deadline on the 15th for Temple ugh