Choosing between Emory($$) or Cornell (sticker) Forum

[kchuey]

I've already accepted at Emory with a 54k scholly but just got in to Cornell. No idea what to do. Looking for any thoughts.

[dpk711]

Career goals?

[glewz]

Unless you are determined to practice in Georgia or have something huge against Ithaca, you should attend Cornell.

[dpk711]

Unless you are determined to practice in Georgia or have something huge against Ithaca, you should attend Cornell.

This is probably true, although Cornell at sticker is a risky investment.

[aliarrow]

Cornell, not close

[thecynic69]

Recently, I feel a lot of info has come out on Emory (including a leaked employment survey of 3Ls), and it basically confirms everyone's concerns. But Cornell at sticker is harsh...setting aside people for whom money is no concern, it is hard to recommend that kind of debt. I'm surprised you don't have some acceptances/$ at some inbetween schools...

If forced to choose between these two options, I guess I have to recommend Cornell...

[kchuey]

My career goals are going in to health law, and I was planning on getting my MPH at Emory along with my JD. Also I am from Atlanta and live here now, so that makes my decision a bit harder. I'm planning on visiting Cornell asap since I haven't yet. Anyone know what Ithica is like as a student?

[CanadianWolf]

Ithaca is a great place to spend three years, but if you want to live & work in Atlanta, then Emory is better in your situation.

[Aberzombie1892]

Ithaca is a great place to spend three years, but if you want to live & work in Atlanta, then Emory is better in your situation.

This is a good assessment.

OP - can you use your Cornell acceptance to get more money from Emory?

[09042014]

That scholarship will still leave you swimming it debt. Unless you'd turn down NYC biglaw for Atlanta shitlaw, I'd take Cornell.

[cool of law]

You should double deposit to buy some time then leverage more money from Emory with the Cornell acceptance.

Cornell is the better school, so if you go to Emory, go for free

[Omerta]

I go to Emory, couple of thoughts for you:
(1) What's your primary interest: law or public health? Maybe you shouldn't get a jd if you want to stay in public health. "But I could write laws and thinking like a lawyer and blah blah" no you won't. You could understand the law relevant to your field without a jd.
(2) Emory has a great public health school, I don't know about Cornell's. Emory also gives you more externship opportunities during the year.
(3) Other posters assumed biglaw was your goal but a jd/mph doesn't scream biglaw aspirations to me--would you want to work in ATL or NYC?

This is a good assessment.
OP - can you use your Cornell acceptance to get more money from Emory?

No, Emory doesn't negotiate scholarship amounts.

Recently, I feel a lot of info has come out on Emory (including a leaked employment survey of 3Ls), and it basically confirms everyone's concerns. But Cornell at sticker is harsh...setting aside people for whom money is no concern, it is hard to recommend that kind of debt. I'm surprised you don't have some acceptances/$ at some inbetween schools...
If forced to choose between these two options, I guess I have to recommend Cornell...

It wasn't a leaked employment survey, it was an informal survey of 3Ls that was intentionally posted here. Nobody has provided a similar survey from another school, so don't be fooled into comparing apples (2008 employment data) to oranges (2011 employment data).

[thecynic69]

My career goals are going in to health law, and I was planning on getting my MPH at Emory along with my JD. Also I am from Atlanta and live here now, so that makes my decision a bit harder. I'm planning on visiting Cornell asap since I haven't yet. Anyone know what Ithica is like as a student?

If you can't track down a cornell law student to answer your questions, I'm happy to speak to the student experience in Ithaca through the eyes of a ugrad.

[ballpop]

While I would still take Cornell, remember that it costs 7k more per year in tuition (and I would say CoL is probably similar)

54+~20=74k---not insignificant

Though Cornell certainly has a better LRAP if you go the PI route

[jrose5]

Cornell.

[thecynic69]

I go to Emory, couple of thoughts for you:
(1) What's your primary interest: law or public health? Maybe you shouldn't get a jd if you want to stay in public health. "But I could write laws and thinking like a lawyer and blah blah" no you won't. You could understand the law relevant to your field without a jd.
(2) Emory has a great public health school, I don't know about Cornell's. Emory also gives you more externship opportunities during the year.
(3) Other posters assumed biglaw was your goal but a jd/mph doesn't scream biglaw aspirations to me--would you want to work in ATL or NYC?

This is a good assessment.
OP - can you use your Cornell acceptance to get more money from Emory?

No, Emory doesn't negotiate scholarship amounts.

Recently, I feel a lot of info has come out on Emory (including a leaked employment survey of 3Ls), and it basically confirms everyone's concerns. But Cornell at sticker is harsh...setting aside people for whom money is no concern, it is hard to recommend that kind of debt. I'm surprised you don't have some acceptances/$ at some inbetween schools...
If forced to choose between these two options, I guess I have to recommend Cornell...

It wasn't a leaked employment survey, it was an informal survey of 3Ls that was intentionally posted here. Nobody has provided a similar survey from another school, so don't be fooled into comparing apples (2008 employment data) to oranges (2011 employment data).

Hey fellow 3L classmates,

In response to the recent U.S. News events, the administration claims that, as compared to other law schools, we are too accurate with our reporting for post-grad employment. Since there is no compilation of employment statistics for our class, a few of us decided that we would like to gather that information.

In an effort to satisfy our curiosity and improve transparency, we are trying to gather accurate information. We are asking that you take two minutes to anonymously respond to a five question survey about your employment prospects. Our ONLY motive is to gather information. The ONLY thing that we are going to do with the responses is send them back to 3L class so that we all can get an accurate sense of our class’s employment prospects. Please encourage everyone to fill this out!

This survey is purely a product of student effort and in no way reflects or is affiliated with Emory University School of Law.

---
sounds pretty leaked to me. and true, it isn't 2008 anymore, but the economy still sucks, and if anything, Emory's name has been dragged through the dirt (in addition to falling a large number of ranks), which is bound to retard a rebound in job prospects for the school. Normally, I wouldn't expect moving up or down a few ranks (even as many as 6) to significantly impact job prospects, but this has been a very visible fall...

[mths]

My career goals are going in to health law, and I was planning on getting my MPH at Emory along with my JD. Also I am from Atlanta and live here now, so that makes my decision a bit harder. I'm planning on visiting Cornell asap since I haven't yet. Anyone know what Ithica is like as a student?

If you can't track down a cornell law student to answer your questions, I'm happy to speak to the student experience in Ithaca through the eyes of a ugrad.

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... =4&t=41118

you should find a lot of answers there already and if you want to know anything else feel free to PM me or ask more questions in the thread

[dissonance1848]

This is a no brainer. Cornell has a good LRAP if you don't want biglaw, and if you want biglaw, you have a 40% + chance at it. Emory's LRAP I am sure is worse, and chance at biglaw is <20%. Also, specialty rankings are worthless, who cares about Emory's healthcare law ranking?

[Omerta]

I guess you and I have a different understanding of what 'leaked' means.