Opinions Please Forum

[taxnstuff]

Having a bit of a hard time chossing between Albany and Buffalo, or not going to law school and working solely as an accountant. I have plans of staying in upstate NY/Vermont/NH, and am enamored with upstate EASTERN New York.

Both schools would be essentially free, as Albany is full schol, and Buffalo would be 30k in tuition however I am 90% sure I wouldnt end up paying it myself after graduation. Visited Buffalo due to what appeared to be better job prospects for upstate NY and although the school was nice I learned WNY was not my cup of tea. I felt like I was in a zombie movie walking through the downtown.

I do not know exactly what field I want to end up working in, but it will involve tax and/or business law. Id be ok with government I think. If I end up changing my mind and want to work in NYC/DC, I would have a job through connections.

The problem is Albany being a tier 3 makes me cringe, even though I am pretty sure for my situation it dosent really matter. I have also heard consensus that if I go to Albany I will work in government or be unemployed, and subsequently die. If I don't go this year I probably will never do it, and would really like to supplement my education through going. Another consideration is that going to law school for a year will allow me to transport my cpa to any state besides NY (150 credits).

Thanks in advance for the feedback

[mpj_3050]

Even though you don't think you will pay for the loans, what stipulations do the scholarships come with? As for Albany being 3rd tier, remember the rankings are useless after a certain point because the schools are regional.

I would study for the CPA and then maybe see if you still want to go to law school in a few years.

[taxnstuff]

I have my cpa and am currently working full time in public accounting. The issue is that I am limited to NY as I don't have 150 credits, at least for most states you need 150. It would be nice to be able to move my CPA to VT, NH, any other place I might want to go ten years down the road. The scholly stips are top 50%, and honestly if I can't do that I shouldnt even go and/or drop out. So I am very confident I can do top 50%.

[jigalion]

I have also heard consensus that if I go to Albany I will work in government or be unemployed, and subsequently die.

lol.

I am 90% sure I wouldnt end up paying it myself after graduation.

If you have someone else paying off the loans and would have a job lined up in another field if you changed your mind -- I'd say fuck it and roll the dice at Buffalo . Then again, I voted "tldr" because I thought it was funny so I may not be a beacon of wisdom.

[pereira6]

Gotta throw in my 2 cents here.

I go to UB undergrad, and I absolutely love the place. Sad to leave, honestly.

Where in downtown did you go? I enjoy it down there, especially by Erie Harbor/HSBC arena. You shoulda seen how crazy this place was for Sabres games.

I'm glad you liked the school. It has a lot to offer.

Personally, I think you should come to UB and enjoy it...I think there's much more to this place than you saw in the day you were here.

I'm biased because I'm pretty much the poster boy for UB, but I think there are opportunities for people to enjoy it as much as I do!

edit: UB places grads in Albany as good as, if not better, than Albany. This is because Albany isn't even a semblance of a good school. UB dominates the upstate New York market, not just western. This is because not many Cornell/Columbia/NYU grads strive to work in upstate/WNY or NYS government, and Albany and Syracuse don't have a decent reputation like UB does. UB doesn't have a stellar rep, but it's much better than those two places.

[taxnstuff]

My problem with Buffalo is I did not like the region at all, and therefore I think it would be dumb to go to a school thats advantage is placing well in that region. Before I visited I expected to go to Buffalo.

Albany however places well for its target region, which is an area I want to live and work in. Employment out of eastern NY is irrelevant. I know what a difference this makes because I am currently working in a region I abhor. Employment out of eastern NY is irrelevant. I have friends upstate, and I love most everything about the area.

Also, what is your source on Buffalo placing better east of syracuse? Ive heard the exact opposite in the past week, from very reputable sources that UB has no real advantage once you get out of WNY. And in terms of Albany being a bad school, Ive heard that its a great education and experience with nice facilities. Its just ridiculously overpriced at sticker, and provides limited to no help for big market jobs. Both are 2 things that are irrelevant for me.

Sorry if I seem to be making my own case to go to Albany when the thread was meant for others input, but the more I think about it the more I think its the right choice.

[pereira6]

My problem with Buffalo is I did not like the region at all, and therefore I think it would be dumb to go to a school thats advantage is placing well in that region. Before I visited I expected to go to Buffalo.

Albany however places well for its target region, which is an area I want to live and work in. Employment out of eastern NY is irrelevant. I know what a difference this makes because I am currently working in a region I abhor. Employment out of eastern NY is irrelevant. I have friends upstate, and I love most everything about the area.

Also, what is your source on Buffalo placing better east of syracuse? Ive heard the exact opposite in the past week, from very reputable sources that UB has no real advantage once you get out of WNY. And in terms of Albany being a bad school, Ive heard that its a great education and experience with nice facilities. Its just ridiculously overpriced at sticker, and provides limited to no help for big market jobs. Both are 2 things that are irrelevant for me.

Sorry if I seem to be making my own case to go to Albany when the thread was meant for others input, but the more I think about it the more I think its the right choice.

UB doesn't have a significant advantage over Syracuse in the Hudson Valley region, but an advantage nonetheless.

I think you hit the nail on the head when you said that the two things irrelevant to your decision are Albany's weaknesses. I think that answers your question! Enjoy Albany. It's a good town, that's for sure.

I should also note I love UB MUCH more than I love Buffalo, but I think Buffalo is a decent place to be. But let's say I am certainly excited to go on to bigger and better things.

[Emma1]

I have my cpa and am currently working full time in public accounting. The issue is that I am limited to NY as I don't have 150 credits, at least for most states you need 150. It would be nice to be able to move my CPA to VT, NH, any other place I might want to go ten years down the road. The scholly stips are top 50%, and honestly if I can't do that I shouldnt even go and/or drop out. So I am very confident I can do top 50%.

What do you mean you need 150 credits? Are you referring to CLE? Not sure why you are connecting this to law school? Have you thought of an MBA? Why not practice during the day and start an evening MBA program at night. Just a thought.

[taxnstuff]

Accounting by itself bores me, tbh. The pay is nice but I feel like I can do better. I majored in it because I didn't know what I wanted to do and accounting is versatile, or so I was told. I would really like to be a tax attorney.

The 150 credit thing isnt really a factor, its just an added bonus.

[taxnstuff]

Skipping Buffalo deposit. Going to retake the LSAT over the summer, and possibly begin work on a new website I call "www.not-so-top-law-schools.org". Most likely going to Albany, for a JD and some waffle fries FO FREE. Thank you for those who provided helpful advice.

[CanadianWolf]

Albany for free is the better choice for you because it is in the area where you want to live & work. Build up a network & you should be able to gets a lot of referral work.
The area around Albany is beautiful, even though the cities are old & worn down.

[aliarrow]

Given your goals Albany should be fine.
So you can take one vote from the TL;DR and put it into Albany (didn't read before voting).

ETA: Want to work in East NY State, have connections to major cities, full scholarship. Why is Albany not blowing away the competition in this poll?
Mindless prestige whores.