Top Law Schools

I know I've posted this before, just still trying to get more viable opinions...

-Wake has given me 27,500 a year with a top 2/3 stipulation. If I fall out of the stipulation I keep half.
Wake is 36,500 a year, so it would cost me around 10,000 a year to go there + living which will be a little less than 10,000, maybe 8,000 a year. So I'm guessing Wake will cost me around 60,000 when it's all said and done...

-Nova has given me 35,000 a year with a 3.15 stipulation (Around top 48% I think). This is pretty much full tuition at Nova give or take 1,000 bucks. They also have given me a 1 time 10,000 grant which I can use for living my first year. So in the end I'll be paying for 2 years of living at around 10,000 a year probably and barely any tuition and fees. The grant has a non-binding agreement that I will contribute to similar funds down the road. Nova will probably cost me around 25,000-30,000 when it's all said and done.


I have been in Philly my whole life (my family is also here) so I'm sure I wouldn't mind being here a little longer, but for some reason I really feel like I would like the idea of living down south and working in Charlotte. I just have never been there for a significant period of time so it's hard to commit to it all out. The weather up here can be a little taxing and like the idea of a bit slower pace (not sure how slow though) and nicer people. That being said, when Nova came back with the full tuition and grant...It became kind of hard to say no to it just because of the offer to go to law school for almost nothing. Part of me wants to commit to Nova because its the logical choice especially financially (I am very debt averse), but another part of me doesn't want to have to live in Philadelphia my entire life...Would there be any possibility of working in Charlotte with a law degree from Villanova? The whole choice is starting to wear on me because I pretty much flip flop every other day. I'd hate to choose Nova and never leave Philadelphia and always say what if, but I'd also hate to choose Wake, not like it down there (which I don't think is very likely) and feel like I'm 30,000-35,000 more in debt for no reason, and not be able to leave the south.

Any thoughts/comments from those facing similar choices would be much appreciated...

Go to Wake
-Managable debt
-More well known, especially in the South and will give you a much better shot at Charlotte

Any other thoughts or people making a similar decision? any feedback appreciated.

Don't go to nova, even on a full ride. If you're one of the few to end up with a job requiring a law degree, it won't pay well.

Wake is your best option far and away. Just don't go in expecting biglaw. You should end up with a law job that will pay enough to pay your debt, though.

Go with Wake. It'll serve you better for getting a good job and the difference in cost will end up being negligible when you consider that Nova's job prospects are kind of murky and Wake grads make pretty good money with solid prospects in NC.

Dude, first of all, congrats on the acceptances and the scholarships.

That being said, WF all the way.

This is pretty easily Wake Forest unless you don't like NC.

They're both cheap, but WF has significantly looser scholarship stipulations. And while WF will cost you more it is a far better school. In 2009, around 80% of WF grads got full time jobs as lawyers whereas only 60% of Nova grads got full time jobs as lawyers (Source: USNWR via http://www.lawschooltransparency.com). These schools are of completely different caliber and WF blows Nova out of the water.

That being said, if you really want to stay in PA then go to Nova, but if you are okay with working in NC for a while then WF is by far the better choice even though it costs more. WF at 60k is a good deal.

Thanks for the advice guys...I appreciate it. I'm definitely not set on Villanova but my family/parents are which makes it difficult...but I do feel like Wake is the best option deep down.