Top Law Schools

Hey everyone. I was going to throw this out there and see what the input was. I applied this fall, and am currently trying to decide between Notre Dame and The University of Iowa. Notre Dame has been my top choice all along, but I would be paying sticker to go there. Iowa, on the other hand, would be much cheaper because of in-state tuition. I will graduate with no undergraduate debt, and will have the first year paid off at Notre Dame and whatever the equivalent to that would be covered at Iowa. I guess the real question: is Notre Dame worth the extra $18,000 / year? Will I be able to pay it back? Any and all feedback would be great!

Also, something that might make a difference. I want to practice in the Midwest, although not necessarily Iowa.

I'd go ND

Fall 2011 is in the future.

Make a poll.

And to actually answer, that is iffy (at least to me). ND has better national recognition, of course, but Iowa is definitely a decent school. And the vast majority of attorneys will be aware that it is a respectable school. You'll have to figure out for yourself if you'd rather pay the extra $54K, give or take, over 3 years to have a ND degree. Visit both schools, see what you think, yada yada. If money is not at all an issue to you, or not much of an issue, then I wouldn't think too hard about it.

For whatever it's worth, I was in a similar position to you, albeit with 2 different schools that are similarly placed, and ended up doing the more expensive option (the one in the top-20). I don't regret it, but my scholarship to the mid-20s/low-30s school wasn't nearly as large either. When the difference is $5K/year, I think you should go for the tougher school. But when it is $18K/year, ehhhh, that's a lot more.

Oh, and I think both of those schools should get the Midwest. And they will both be able to get you Midwest outside of Iowa or Indiana as well, if that's what you pursue.

You Gotta Have Faith wrote:Make a poll.

And to actually answer, that is iffy (at least to me). ND has better national recognition, of course, but Iowa is definitely a decent school. And the vast majority of attorneys will be aware that it is a respectable school. You'll have to figure out for yourself if you'd rather pay the extra $54K, give or take, over 3 years to have a ND degree. Visit both schools, see what you think, yada yada. If money is not at all an issue to you, or not much of an issue, then I wouldn't think too hard about it.

For whatever it's worth, I was in a similar position to you, albeit with 2 different schools that are similarly placed, and ended up doing the more expensive option (the one in the top-20). I don't regret it, but my scholarship to the mid-20s/low-30s school wasn't nearly as large either. When the difference is $5K/year, I think you should go for the tougher school. But when it is $18K/year, ehhhh, that's a lot more.

Oh, and I think both of those schools should get the Midwest. And they will both be able to get you Midwest outside of Iowa or Indiana as well, if that's what you pursue.

Thanks! I will definitely make a poll. And I appreciate the input too. While money isn't a make it or break it deal for me, it is a big deal.

Both are solid schools, but the ND name will carry you farther...I'm not sure sure about paying sticker though. Perhaps you write a scholarship negotiation letter leveraging your offers from peer schools. I have done this successfully, and if you'd like to see a sample letter, feel free to PM me!

I wouldn't pay sticker for ND. Not worth it. So Iowa.

I would think that ND would match. If you don't have a preference on where you work, definitely go Iowa, but for many places, you'll need the ND name

54k is a lot of dough, and iowa is no slouch. nd is better... depends where you want to work.

I would never go to ND at sticker.

dpk711 wrote:I would never go to ND at sticker.

What if you had a 150 and 3.0?

Hmmmm, tough one. Try to negotiate, but if you can't get anything from NDLS, I don't think it's really worth sticker either. PM me if you have any questions about ND.

flexityflex86 wrote:

dpk711 wrote:I would never go to ND at sticker.

What if you had a 150 and 3.0?

Then I wouldn't apply to law school.

dpk711 wrote:I would never go to ND at sticker.

We now list total COA at $59,000 per year.

You don't think we're worth that?

flcath wrote:

dpk711 wrote:I would never go to ND at sticker.

We now list total COA at $59,000 per year.

You don't think we're worth that?

ND is an excellent school with great name recognition and portability (in comparison to similarly ranked schools), but when a peer ends up being $54K cheaper, the latter is a better option. I vote Iowa if the scholarship negotiation is not successful.

mettasutta wrote:

flcath wrote:

dpk711 wrote:I would never go to ND at sticker.

We now list total COA at $59,000 per year.

You don't think we're worth that?

ND is an excellent school with great name recognition and portability (in comparison to similarly ranked schools), but when a peer ends up being $54K cheaper, the latter is a better option. I vote Iowa if the scholarship negotiation is not successful.

Yeah I was kidding.

The $59K thing is a true atrocity. To be fair though, an inordinate number of my classmates are from loaded families.

Really depends on how debt adverse you are. ND is in the tier of schools where I personally start thinking sticker isn't the end of the world. With that said I am much less debt adverse than the majority of TLSers and I can definitely see the argument against ND. FWIW I think ND is a good deal better than Iowa and would go to ND.

Iowa is not really a "peer" to ND, but I think ND at sticker is a lot. That said, I can see the ND experience being incredible for some. The architecture is stunning, the history mind blowing and the views are spectacular. If you can take the cold as you prob. can if you're from the midwest, few schools will offer a higher quality of life. I personally would prefer three years in Bloomington, because that town is hella fun, but no question ND is more portable.