Top Law Schools

Ok this is probably my last post for a few. Here I am with more drama. St. Johns a school I didn't consider seriously until they awarded me a full scholarship with no stips. It is part time evening program so I can keep my pretty decent job. Same with Fordham. Cardozo is full time so I am pretty sure I will assume COL loans for first year at least plus having to contribute 14,000 a year to tuition. I am 35 and will be 39 when I am done with law school so I don't know big law options for that age outside of T14 schools. I want to practice law with the least amount of debt so do trade ranking for 0 debt and the freedom to practice law on my own terms? Thanks for input

St. Johns no stips seems like a no brainer here.

St. Johns. Cardozo is not worth the difference. And Fordham is a 50/50 chance of turning into an unmitigated jobless disaster for you.

Will you be able to treck out to Jamaica every day to take part time classes? I crossed STJ off my list pretty quickly because I knew that I would not want to commute there, and you need to go to class. If you work in the city, taking public transportation there is a pain in the neck (one to two hours easily). If you drive from the city, assuming most of your classes will start at around 6-7, you'll be spending a lot of time in rush hour traffic. If you go to Fordham and keep your job, any way you could cover the remaining cost of tuition? Or at least accrue little debt? Because if you come out of Fordham with under 50k, I think it's worth it over St. John's full ride.

I know a full-ride from St. Johns sounds nice but I have to vote for Fordham. It's a significantly better law school and is still offering you a decent chunk of change

I'd go with St. John's here. Yes, Fordham is the best school out of the bunch but let's face it, biglaw is not an easy option from even Fordham and at 39, you're chances are even lower. Plus, your prior WE will be helping you get a job and that won't change no matter where you go. Plus, St. Johns is free!!!! There's no stips and you can work to pay for your cost of living expenses (and depending on how much you are earning, you'd actually be saving money).

Barring any other factors that are particular to your situation, I'd go with St. John's. Would you be stupid to take Fordham instead? Definitely not but I just don't think it's worth the extra money. But in order to determine this, I'd try to get an accurate estimate of how much of Fordham's class is jobless versus St. John's class. If St. John's is hurting really badly and Fordham has most of their students at least employed as a lawyer fulltime, then this might be enough reason to go to Fordham. Also, if Fordham is a lot easier to commute to, or if you are IP (which I think is much better at Fordham, no?) then go there. Or, if Fordham's cost will be quite minimal due to your earnings while working, then go there. What do you estimate your debt to be at by the time you graduate if you were to go to Fordham?

You will want to go to Fordham. Although the US News ranking might not show it, from what I've heared Fordham is in its own tier right under NYU and Columbia, while Cardoza and Hofstra sort of get lumped together. St. Johns on down is basically not going to get you employment in the metropolitan area unless you are in the top 10 people (and that's not percent).

edit: Now i can't decide, as I just saw you'll be 36 upon starting law school. I know next to nothing about how that factors into the equation, and I don't think I can really speak to it. However, that being said, I would be hesitant to tell anyone to go to St. Johns, even at full scholarship. So maybe I would say toss a coin between Cardozo and Fordham.

Total Litigator wrote:You will want to go to Fordham. Although the US News ranking might not show it, from what I've heared Fordham is in its own tier right under NYU and Columbia, while Cardoza and Hofstra sort of get lumped together. St. Johns on down is basically not going to get you employment in the metropolitan area unless you are in the top 10 people (and that's not percent).

edit: Now i can't decide, as I just saw you'll be 36 upon starting law school. I know next to nothing about how that factors into the equation, and I don't think I can really speak to it. However, that being said, I would be hesitant to tell anyone to go to St. Johns, even at full scholarship. So maybe I would say toss a coin between Cardozo and Fordham.

if this is even remotely true for non-big law legal jobs in NYC, then no St. John's it is. Then I'd say Fordham EASILY wins over Cardozo for those respective scholarships AND Fordham is parttime which means that you will not have to borrow for living expenses in NYC- that's is a very smart decision (as I personally am taking out a lot of loans just to live in NYC, *sigh*).

Fordham. They are giving you a good amount of money and it's a way better school. I crossed St. John's off my list because I found it to be a depressing commuter school for kids from Queens and possibly Long Island. And yes, it is a huge pain in the ass to get there - I can't imagine working and commuting there at night.
I didn't have a full ride from St. John's, but I did have a decent $30K, and sometimes you have to look at more than just the money if it's not the right fit.

No love for cardozo at all huh?

blacklawboss wrote:No love for cardozo at all huh?

Actually, I like Cardozo a lot - I applied and was sad to be waitlisted. But there's no doubt that Fordham is a better school. However, if you want to go to school full time to focus on your studies, then Cardozo is a very good option with the merit aid that you have.

Lawst wrote:

blacklawboss wrote:No love for cardozo at all huh?

Actually, I like Cardozo a lot - I applied and was sad to be waitlisted. But there's no doubt that Fordham is a better school. However, if you want to go to school full time to focus on your studies, then Cardozo is a very good option with the merit aid that you have.

Are you going to SJU?

blacklawboss wrote:

Lawst wrote:

blacklawboss wrote:No love for cardozo at all huh?

Actually, I like Cardozo a lot - I applied and was sad to be waitlisted. But there's no doubt that Fordham is a better school. However, if you want to go to school full time to focus on your studies, then Cardozo is a very good option with the merit aid that you have.

Are you going to SJU?

Nope, Rutgers-Newark. It ended up being the best deal for me tuition and scholarship-wise and it's also good for public interest, which is what I'm going into.

ETA: Also, I liked it there - a visit can make such a difference. I was pleasantly surprised.

Decision made thanks for all the support

blacklawboss wrote:Decision made thanks for all the support

Fordham?

blacklawboss wrote:Decision made thanks for all the support

...And? Don't leave us hanging! It's probably Fordham, though.