Illinois 30k a year vs. Vanderbilt 5k one time Forum

[planQ]

Hey I have until the end of the week to decide. If I go to Illinois it means pretty much no debt, but if i go to Vandy it means about 100k of debt or more. As a side note I do like/kind of want to work in the south.

[bk1]

Illinois is the better financial deal, but I guess you should take Vandy since you like the South and it is a better school, assuming you don't mind burning through the $100,000 in savings you seem to have saved up.

[dpk711]

Actually if you are getting 5K from Vandy you will be in significantly more than 100K in debt. Also for Illinois even with 30K/year, you will be in significant debt unless you're living at your parents' house or something.

[Straw_Mandible]

Actually if you are getting 5K from Vandy you will be in significantly more than 100K in debt.

Not necessarily true. Some people have a well-cultivated savings account. Still others have wealthy and/or supportive parents.

[dpk711]

Actually if you are getting 5K from Vandy you will be in significantly more than 100K in debt.

Not necessarily true. Some people have a well-cultivated savings account. Still others have wealthy and/or supportive parents.

True, I guess I was assuming to much. OP, do you have $$$ or parents willing to give you $$$?

[planQ]

Actually if you are getting 5K from Vandy you will be in significantly more than 100K in debt. Also for Illinois even with 30K/year, you will be in significant debt unless you're living at your parents' house or something.

Parents helping out.

[planQ]

My main question is the higher rankings 17 vs 23, and relatively higher prestige of the name worth the extra debt?

[dpk711]

My main question is the higher rankings 17 vs 23, and relatively higher prestige of the name worth the extra debt?

For the South, Vandy is significantly better than UIUC, so yes, I would say it is.

[bball25]

I don't know enough about either schools placement in the south but 90k is a lot of money. Would you be willing to live in others areas (such as the midwest) would be the deciding factor for me. If you are then UIUC; if not and your dead set on the south I would try Vandy.

[mrwarre85]

Vandy is a prestigious top school, Illinois is not. There is a huge drop off in rankings between the two. Vandy is worth 100k more if you want to work in the South. Vandy has terrific placement throughout the South, Illinois has close to zero placement.

If you want to work in Chicago, having ties plus Vandy is still your best bet. Big drop off.

[planQ]

Vandy is a prestigious top school, Illinois is not. There is a huge drop off in rankings between the two. Vandy is worth 100k more if you want to work in the South. Vandy has terrific placement throughout the South, Illinois has close to zero placement.

If you want to work in Chicago, having ties plus Vandy is still your best bet. Big drop off.

So you think the drop off from 17 to 23 is really significant? I will admit that looking at the rankings really did make it seem like a bigger difference then it appeared at first.

[bk1]

So you think the drop off from 17 to 23 is really significant? I will admit that looking at the rankings really did make it seem like a bigger difference then it appeared at first.

The difference between 17 and 23 is really big. In reality, there is a stark difference between the T18 (Vandy/UCLA/USC/UT) and those just below them (GW/WUSTL/etc). There are certain differences in ranking that are nonexistent (e.g. the difference between 15 and 18 which is UCLA and USC).

[mettasutta]

So you think the drop off from 17 to 23 is really significant? I will admit that looking at the rankings really did make it seem like a bigger difference then it appeared at first.

The difference between 17 and 23 is really big. In reality, there is a stark difference between the T18 (Vandy/UCLA/USC/UT) and those just below them (GW/WUSTL/etc). There are certain differences in ranking that are nonexistent (e.g. the difference between 15 and 18 which is UCLA and USC).

If you use NLJ250 stats as a metric, BC/BU are notable exceptions to the "drop-off" theory...both outperform their rank, esp. BC. In fact this year they trumped T18s like Vandy, USC, Texas, WUSTL (http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNL ... 2483173162). But you're correct, generally speaking.

/Boston trolling.

To the OP: Vandy all the way, since you want the south. Since you have nothing to lose since you've already been accepted, perhaps you could negotiate for more scholly money using merit aid from other schools as leverage, although I'm not so sure they would budge.

[CaseClosed]

Are you kidding? This thread should read Illinois 90k vs Vandy sticker. Illinois all the way! I would def not go to to Vanderbilt at sticker price just for some false southern "prestige." Illinois has made new efforts to improve their rankings by adding to the career services center among countless other things. Sounds like you will be getting In state tuition at Illinois. If so, are you sure you won't return to the midwest? I think you'd be making a mistake by passing up a fine institution to be over 100k in debt just for a couple spots of higher ranking and southern prestige. If you do well at Illinois you won't have a problem getting a job in the south.

[stylishlaw]

It really depends on your career goals. I'm passing up 75K at Wash U. for Vandy so I can get a better shot at BigLaw on the east coast.

Illinois would be the better choice if you want to do government/PI stuff. If you want BigLaw, I can't really recommend taking a gamble on being in the top 10%.

[Magnolia]

Do you have ties to the south? Are you willing to work in the mid-west as a worse case scenario?

If either answer is no, definitely go to Vandy.

If both of those answers are yes, then it depends on how debt averse you are and how badly you want biglaw. Vandy will give you a much better shot (at both biglaw and southern biglaw). Are those better odds worth 100k to you?

[drylo]

Are you kidding? [...] I would def not go to to Vanderbilt at sticker price just for some false southern "prestige." [...] If you do well at Illinois you won't have a problem getting a job in the south.

Are you kidding? If OP really wants to work in the South, Illinois is not much of an option. If you are going to go to a state school (that is not Michigan or UVA), go to the state school where you want to practice, or at least in the region where you want to practice--e.g., Tennessee, UNC, UGA, Alabama, etc. Illinois has zero prestige in the South.

Caveat: if you are from the place where you want to work, then you might be able to get away with going to Illinois. But the point is that Vandy's prestige in the South is not "false prestige," especially compared to some random Big 10 school. No offense to Illinois (seriously), but if you want to work in the South, why would you go to Illinois? (And, yes, there is a good chance you have to answer that question in an interview.)