Top Law Schools

I have to pick one of these two. Both are offering me marginal scholarship money, both have similar grade requirements to keep it(maintain a 3.0), both have similar costs of living, both are very regional, WVU is a little more tutition wise but if I could get instate after my forst year it would measurably cheaper but I've heard its next to impossible to qualify for instate tuition if you are an o.o.s there for just school.

I've been to both Cleveland and Morgantown. Morgantown is an isolated mountain town but it's campus and law school building are great. Cleveland is a city with an urban campus. I used to live in Cleveland years and years ago so I know what areas to avoid.

I don't give much weight to their rankings. I know Cleveland-Marshall is a ttt and WVU just got tt status but they are not that far apart from each other that their rankings matter, WVU is 95 and Clevelnad-Marshal is in the 120's.

The difference in ranking doesn't matter here, but there are definitely reasons to consider WVU over Cleveland-Marshall. Namely that WVU will dominate WV, whereas CM has to compete with Case Western (and OSU) for Cleveland jobs.

Do you want to work in Cleveland or WV? There's your answer.

bk187 wrote:Do you want to work in Cleveland or WV? There's your answer.

I could see myself working in either place. I called WVU's admin office and they were candid with me telling that it is very unlikely that I would be able to qualify as a resident for instate tuition after my first year. C-M's admin office said that most of their o.o.s's get instate tuition after their first year. I verified what both schools told me by looking up each state's procedure for qualifying for residency. For me that makes C-M 22k cheaper overall. I know WVU is a better school but is it 22k better?

Right now I'm leaning towards Cleveland because I visited Morgantown and I don't know if I could adjust to living in a place that during the school year is predominantly an undergrad town and when school is out is just a small town in the middle of the mountains.

cinephile wrote:The difference in ranking doesn't matter here, but there are definitely reasons to consider WVU over Cleveland-Marshall. Namely that WVU will dominate WV, whereas CM has to compete with Case Western (and OSU) for Cleveland jobs.

This.

WVU dominates the whole state of WV whereas CM grads compete with kids from Akron, Case, OSU, and Capital for jobs in Ohio.

I am going to recommend WVU, even if it costs an extra $20K. The job prospects are better, even if they are limited to WV. Cleveland took a bigger hit than many areas when the recession hit, and many, many C-M grads are struggling; even those that earned strong grades.

From what I have read (I am going to WVU), it's nearly impossible to get in state tuition after the first year. I believe you need to go a full year without attending any state school in West Virginia to be eligible, so that would pretty much eliminate your chances. If you can defer for the year and go next year, I believe you can get in state tuition.

Champion of the Sun wrote:

bk187 wrote:Do you want to work in Cleveland or WV? There's your answer.

I could see myself working in either place. I called WVU's admin office and they were candid with me telling that it is very unlikely that I would be able to qualify as a resident for instate tuition after my first year. C-M's admin office said that most of their o.o.s's get instate tuition after their first year. I verified what both schools told me by looking up each state's procedure for qualifying for residency. For me that makes C-M 22k cheaper overall. I know WVU is a better school but is it 22k better?

Right now I'm leaning towards Cleveland because I visited Morgantown and I don't know if I could adjust to living in a place that during the school year is predominantly an undergrad town and when school is out is just a small town in the middle of the mountains.

Look at Morgantown this way: During the year, there are lots of undergrads to get with and during the summer, you can just enjoy the scenery and do a lot of out doors-y things. Cheat Lake is fucking gorgeous and I would love traveling to that area in the summer time.

joncrooshal wrote:From what I have read (I am going to WVU), it's nearly impossible to get in state tuition after the first year. I believe you need to go a full year without attending any state school in West Virginia to be eligible, so that would pretty much eliminate your chances. If you can defer for the year and go next year, I believe you can get in state tuition.

This is 100% true. No instate for WV unless you resided there a year before school. Once you are considered out of state, you're out of state for the duration. WV has raised their tuition 2k or more each year for the last 3. There is no way to justify 30K per year out of state (just tuition) at WVU. Period.

OP, everyone recommending WVU for job prospects is drunk on moonshine. The best jobs in West Virginia pay 60-70k, and there are maybe 15 openings at those firms yearly. I know tons of WVU grads who are out on their ass or working menial law jobs. Granted, the situation probably isn't much better at C-M, but at least it's cheaper.


The best answer is probably not to go to either.

TTH wrote:OP, everyone recommending WVU for job prospects is drunk on moonshine. The best jobs in West Virginia pay 60-70k, and there are maybe 15 openings at those firms yearly. I know tons of WVU grads who are out on their ass or working menial law jobs. Granted, the situation probably isn't much better at C-M, but at least it's cheaper.


The best answer is probably not to go to either.

Granted, 60-70 goes a long way in WV.

The top ~30 percent from the Class of 2009 was making 54-70K with the top 18 percent making 70K+. I would say your numbers are a bit off, but not by much. Certainly not as bad as some other schools in the range and better than some ranked above.

[quote="TTH"]OP, everyone recommending WVU for job prospects is drunk on moonshine. The best jobs in West Virginia pay 60-70k, and there are maybe 15 openings at those firms yearly. I know tons of WVU grads who are out on their ass or working menial law jobs. Granted, the situation probably isn't much better at C-M, but at least it's cheaper.

My situation is some what different in that if I can't find a job I have a pretty rock solid plan B. This plan B won't be a high paying affair but it is all but guaranteed. Now I really can't see myself living in WV and working there for the foreseeable future after law school. The same is true with Cleveland but having lived in Cleveland before I prefer the urban setting much more over the undergrad dominated isolated small town feel of Morgantown. I am going to be turning 30 during 1L and am in no way shape or form interested in being around Natural light swilling 18-21year olds. At least in Cleveland there are tons of pubs and places to go to let off steam that cater to an older crowd.

I feel that WVU is not 22k better than C-M and that if I went to WVU I would like the law school but I won't be spending every waking moment at school even if I wanted to I'd probably go insane trying to do so and that I'd be forcing myself into believing I like it in Morgantown. But I am obviously torn between a decision based solely on academics vs one made on living environment and overall debt load and in my eyes both schools are evenly stacked in both pros and cons. I'm almost to the point of just flipping a coin. And btw, not going to either or retaking and reapplying in the 2012 cycle are not options for me.