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I'm trying to decide between the two. Pepperdine offered me 20k/yr with no stipulations. Fordham would be at sticker price. I'm from NJ, about 10 minutes away from the GWBridge, so I would be commuting from home to save the 18k a year. Considering the money I'd save from living at home, the cost of attendence difference between the two is about a 12k (fordham of course being the extra 12k). I have no preference on state. I want to do corp law, not necessarily biglaw. HELP!

Do you want to live east coast after school? If yes-> Fordham. If you really want to live in CA after graduation then I think prob go to Pepperdine; but if they are offering 20K total (not per year) I think Fordham is your choice.

Corporate law is pretty much biglaw.

If you want to work in CA (specifically SoCal) after graduation then go to Pepperdine. If you want to work in NYC after graduation go to Fordham. I would probably take Fordham in this case.

When choosing between two very regional law schools, I'm unapologetically a fan of attending in the region where you have the strongest ties. There are a myriad of reasons for this. In your case, I'd say go to Fordham for that reason alone.

Additionally, NY entry level legal market >>> SoCal for biglaw. If they're roughly the same price, I think you can maximize your chances with Fordham.

Pepperdine is offering me 20k per year, and I'm really not sure where I want to live. Love both states

peterssm wrote:Pepperdine is offering me 20k per year, and I'm really not sure where I want to live. Love both states

Do you have significant ties to LA?

peterssm wrote:Pepperdine is offering me 20k per year, and I'm really not sure where I want to live. Love both states

Fordham is far better for NYC than Pepperdine is for SoCal. If Fordham only costs you 12k more total then I say go to Fordham.

my fiance is from socal, but has no issues with moving. And although it will be 12k more to go to fordham vs. pepperdine, that is considering the commute. It would be about an hour commute to and from, I'm not sure if this is advisable or an issue? thanks guys for your input

peterssm wrote:my fiance is from socal, but has no issues with moving. And although it will be 12k more to go to fordham vs. pepperdine, that is considering the commute. It would be about an hour commute to and from, I'm not sure if this is advisable or an issue? thanks guys for your input

The hour commute would draw away from your personal time. As someone who currently commutes a little over 1 hour each way to my job I would say that it definitely sucks, but that it is worth it considering how much better of a school Fordham is than Pepperdine.