Top Law Schools

I'm deciding between Iowa, Loyola Chicago, and SLU. Iowa's obviously ranked much higher than the other two, but I received no scholarship and would pay out-of-state. Loyola gave me 21,000/yr. SLU gave me 28,000/yr. I want to work in Chicago, but I wouldn't be too upset with St. Louis. Either way I'm not sure I want to work in a big law firm, so I'm leaning towards less student loans. But I'm not sure I want to pass up a top 30 school either and Iowa has cheap COL. Any helpful advice?

Yes, pass up the Top 30 law school.

mjb3421 wrote:I'm deciding between Iowa, Loyola Chicago, and SLU. Iowa's obviously ranked much higher than the other two, but I received no scholarship and would pay out-of-state. Loyola gave me 21,000/yr. SLU gave me 28,000/yr. I want to work in Chicago, but I wouldn't be too upset with St. Louis. Either way I'm not sure I want to work in a big law firm, so I'm leaning towards less student loans. But I'm not sure I want to pass up a top 30 school either and Iowa has cheap COL. Any helpful advice?

What are the stipulations on the scholarship? If requires anything above median, you're probably better off going to Iowa, just in case you lose it. Which, if its above median, you likely will. If its just a good standing scholarship, then absolutely take Loyola.

Given that you want to be in Chicago area I would take Loyola.

Justathought wrote:

mjb3421 wrote:I'm deciding between Iowa, Loyola Chicago, and SLU. Iowa's obviously ranked much higher than the other two, but I received no scholarship and would pay out-of-state. Loyola gave me 21,000/yr. SLU gave me 28,000/yr. I want to work in Chicago, but I wouldn't be too upset with St. Louis. Either way I'm not sure I want to work in a big law firm, so I'm leaning towards less student loans. But I'm not sure I want to pass up a top 30 school either and Iowa has cheap COL. Any helpful advice?

What are the stipulations on the scholarship? If requires anything above median, you're probably better off going to Iowa, just in case you lose it. Which, if its above median, you likely will. If its just a good standing scholarship, then absolutely take Loyola.

There are no stips on the SLU scholarship. The Loyola scholarship requires me to maintain at least a 3.0

Don't worry about rankings. They are mostly meaningless. Iowa is a better school not because it is ranked higher, but because it places better.

SLU sounds like it would be really cheap for you. If you like St. Louis, I'd go to SLU. You can maybe wind up in Chicago by going to SLU, and SLU has a great rep down here.

edit: how are you figuring only 8k/year in COA? You got 28k/year to go to SLU. That puts your COA at like 20k+.

I'm going to Iowa OOS - you get in-state tuition 2L and 3L years if you work as a research assistant, or a TA, or if you're on an editorial board for a journal. They make it pretty easy to get those jobs, which also give a small stipend, and it's only about 10hours a week. In state at Iowa is about 1/2 as much as OOS, so the savings get to be pretty significant.

Yes, it is true that Iowa is the best school on your list. But, Loyola places more students in the city than all but 4 schools. It is true that a lot of this is self-selection, but this doesn't undermine the fact that Loyola has a decent enough rep in Chicago that if you do well, you will be able to get a job in the city. As far as the 3.0 stip, try to get that removed, but 3.0 at Loyola isn't terribly difficult. I got offered the same thing and in the letter they said that 90% of students maintain that. I assume that's a bit inflated, but its still not median.
Bottom line, if you are worried about loans, Iowa at that price is too high; you will probably get a job in Grand Rapids, which, because of the COL, will be tough to pay off 150K with. If you go to SLU, you WILL work in St. Louis, and if you go to Loyola, you will likely work in Chicago, but you better get damn good grades.

Some T30's are worth sticker. Iowa is not one of them.