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Decision time is rapidly approaching (tomorrow) and I am still stuck deciding between two offers between Catholic University and Drexel.

I received a substantial scholarship from Drexel (27,500/year) and a smaller one from Catholic (13,000/year). In order to keep my scholarship at Drexel, I need to get above a 2.97 GPA (with a 3.2 curve I believe). At Catholic, I will need to be in the top 25% of my class in order to keep the money.


Although I am from the Philadelphia area and comfortable living and working there, I have also lived and worked in the DC area and prefer DC to Philly. My dilemma is whether or not going to Catholic just to be in DC is worth the extra tuition and living expenses. In light of the legal hiring market, I am just torn as to whether or not geography should govern my decision over financial considerations.

thanks in advance for your help! any advice is appreciated.

mab1212 wrote:Decision time is rapidly approaching (tomorrow) and I am still stuck deciding between two offers between Catholic University and Drexel.

I received a substantial scholarship from Drexel (27,500/year) and a smaller one from Catholic (13,000/year). In order to keep my scholarship at Drexel, I need to get above a 2.97 GPA (with a 3.2 curve I believe). At Catholic, I will need to be in the top 25% of my class in order to keep the money.


Although I am from the Philadelphia area and comfortable living and working there, I have also lived and worked in the DC area and prefer DC to Philly. My dilemma is whether or not going to Catholic just to be in DC is worth the extra tuition and living expenses. In light of the legal hiring market, I am just torn as to whether or not geography should govern my decision over financial considerations.

thanks in advance for your help! any advice is appreciated.

From what's said on here, neither of these schools have very strong prospects. The top 25% stipulation + higher COL + less money at Catholic would lead me to say that Drexel is the better choice in this case. It will not get you DC, but you have a better prospect of graduating with manageable debt.

snapdragon wrote:

mab1212 wrote:Decision time is rapidly approaching (tomorrow) and I am still stuck deciding between two offers between Catholic University and Drexel.

I received a substantial scholarship from Drexel (27,500/year) and a smaller one from Catholic (13,000/year). In order to keep my scholarship at Drexel, I need to get above a 2.97 GPA (with a 3.2 curve I believe). At Catholic, I will need to be in the top 25% of my class in order to keep the money.


Although I am from the Philadelphia area and comfortable living and working there, I have also lived and worked in the DC area and prefer DC to Philly. My dilemma is whether or not going to Catholic just to be in DC is worth the extra tuition and living expenses. In light of the legal hiring market, I am just torn as to whether or not geography should govern my decision over financial considerations.

thanks in advance for your help! any advice is appreciated.

From what's said on here, neither of these schools have very strong prospects. The top 25% stipulation + higher COL + less money at Catholic would lead me to say that Drexel is the better choice in this case. It will not get you DC, but you have a better prospect of graduating with manageable debt.

No Temple/Villanova/Rutgers Camden?

HeavenWood wrote:

snapdragon wrote:

mab1212 wrote:Decision time is rapidly approaching (tomorrow) and I am still stuck deciding between two offers between Catholic University and Drexel.

I received a substantial scholarship from Drexel (27,500/year) and a smaller one from Catholic (13,000/year). In order to keep my scholarship at Drexel, I need to get above a 2.97 GPA (with a 3.2 curve I believe). At Catholic, I will need to be in the top 25% of my class in order to keep the money.


Although I am from the Philadelphia area and comfortable living and working there, I have also lived and worked in the DC area and prefer DC to Philly. My dilemma is whether or not going to Catholic just to be in DC is worth the extra tuition and living expenses. In light of the legal hiring market, I am just torn as to whether or not geography should govern my decision over financial considerations.

thanks in advance for your help! any advice is appreciated.

From what's said on here, neither of these schools have very strong prospects. The top 25% stipulation + higher COL + less money at Catholic would lead me to say that Drexel is the better choice in this case. It will not get you DC, but you have a better prospect of graduating with manageable debt.

No Temple/Villanova/Rutgers Camden?

Drexel curves to a 3.2? That seems extraordinarily unlikely.

Drexel is probably better due to lower Cost-of-attendance (COA).

i got waitlisted at Temple. do temple grads have a chance of getting into the DC market?

mab1212 wrote:i got waitlisted at Temple. do temple grads have a chance of getting into the DC market?

No, but neither do Catholic grads. If you want DC, I would recommend retaking. Even if you don't mind Philly, I would still recommend retaking. Drexel won't put you in a great place come OCI time.

For DC, it seems the cutoff should be George Mason (especially if you're a VA resident). Any school below Mason is a gamble and will likely lead to doc review. I think people fail to realize just how many people want to work in DC, and there are only so many jobs to go around.

CUA places well in the federal government where it has a deep alumni network. It helps that students at any of the DC schools, like Catholic, have the opportunity to take internships at federal agencies over the course of the academic year. The school does not place many students in "big law," but that is not really its focus. The biggest downside to CUA is that it is a private school with a very high cost of attendance. Again, CUA's public sector focus helps there because you can eventually have your federal student loan debt forgiven under the College Cost Reduction Act of 2007 if you take a career in the public sector.

PS: You can't really rely on maintaining top 25% percent, but you can make a good effort at it if you're intensely dedicated from day one. Grades are largely a function of your capacity for suffering -- I mean out-working your peers. Just try not to think of them as "frenemies." :p

Unless you have a job waiting for you after graduation or you can't pay the balance with savings / parents (and didn't have something better to do with that money), the best choice is none of the above. If for some bizarre reason these were your only 2 choices and you couldn't retake or delay your plans, then obviously Drexel.

The curve at Drexel is actually just under a 3.0--probably where the 2.97 requirement comes from.