BU versus Illinois Forum

[TheSteelKid]

I currently have 35k/year scholly at UIUC and 10k/year at BU. Ive been told that my BU scholly may get increased and Im seriously hoping it does. What do u guys think of this situation? I like Chicago and champaign is alright but its a small college town. Ive never been to Boston but people say its a nice city, plus it would give me a shot at NYC, where id love to work. Also, I would rather spend 3 years in a city like boston as opposed to champaign. Thanks!

[Kilpatrick]

Personally I'd take the extra 25K to live in a cornfield. It's not that bad in Champaign. I don't think either one are going to give you a great shot at NY though. I'd go by whether you'd rather practice in Boston or Chicago.

[bk1]

I'd take Illinois since it is far cheaper than BU. Illinois is going to cost you $75,000. BU is going to cost you $150,000+.

[TheSteelKid]

Yes I pretty much have my decision made for me...if BU doubles their scholly offer I will strongly consider, but only if they atleast double it.

[Blindmelon]

I'd take Illinois since it is far cheaper than BU. Illinois is going to cost you $75,000. BU is going to cost you $150,000+.

This - coming from a BU student.

Yes I pretty much have my decision made for me...if BU doubles their scholly offer I will strongly consider, but only if they atleast double it.

Best of luck to you. If they double the scholarship, its a tougher choice.

[tigerbunny]

hi TheSteelKid,

I was going through the same thing: BU with $20,000 per year vs. UIUC with $25,000 per year.
Illinois was the first school I was accepted to, and it took a long before i heard from BU, so I thought I had no choice but to go to UIUC.. then came along a scholly offer from BU!
It was a really hard decision for me bc I went to undergrad in a pretty urban setting and thought I would have trouble adjusting to the Midwest, but my friend who lived in Chicago said she loved it there, and another friend of mine is 2L at UIUC and said she loves studying there, but had some trouble adjusting socially/culturally.
I couldn't make a decision until about a week ago, (I even paid the $1,000 nonrefundable deposits at UIUC!) but I talked to some more people and was leaning towards BU. Because:

- Most of my friends are in Columbia/NYU/Harvard so they were heavily biased towards Boston, and all of them were raving about what a great city Boston is.
- My parents told me to reapply next year when they heard I got into UIUC, even with $75,000 scholly.
- When I told my parents I got into BU, they were ecstatic and told me to book my flight tickets right away.
- I know I would suffocate in a college town. I need my movie theaters, shopping malls, and museums.
- I'm interested in international & public interest law. Both schools seem quite committed to both areas, but I was really persuaded by the BU student blogs: many of them were PI oriented and were doing great stuff (clinics, internships, pro bono, etc.).

But now my agony is over, because I just got accepted to Cornell!
I am extremely worried about living in Ithaca.. but hey, it's a T14 and an Ivy.
and as embarassing as this sounds, my parents are going to help me pay tuition, so I'll still go to Cornell even if I don't get get $$$ there.

hope this helps. Good luck!

[buckilaw]

I'd go BU. Illinois's #1 market, Chicago, was devestated by the great recession. BU and BC own Boston.

[tigerbunny]

Personally I'd take the extra 25K to live in a cornfield. It's not that bad in Champaign. I don't think either one are going to give you a great shot at NY though. I'd go by whether you'd rather practice in Boston or Chicago.

True that. I agree that where you'd want to practice should be the main concern.

[Corwin]

Without a scholarship increase at BU you'll need biglaw to pay back your debt. When weighing your options, if you want to go to BU make sure you are ok with working biglaw in Boston and are willing to work hard enough to get it. On the other hand, any reasonable job will allow you to pay back your debt from UIUC.

[Blindmelon]

I'd go BU. Illinois's #1 market, Chicago, was devestated by the great recession. BU and BC own Boston.

There is this. When the numbers shake out for bigfirm hiring this year, I think BU will come out pretty high (I would guess around 30%). For the graduating class, its well, abysmal.

[TheSteelKid]

Hopefully my scholarship at BU will be substantially increased, or else I'll more than likely be at UIUC. If I get off of the waitlist at Mich/NW thats another story but I'll have to wait and see. To be honest I don't have a huge problem with spending three years at UIUC, it won't be the best but it won't be the worst situation either. I believe I will get a good job in Chicago if I attend UIUC, and that definitely sounds good to me. However, BU has higher NLJ numbers and I've never been to Boston but would like to live there just because it's a big Northeastern city and I've heard good things from most people who comment on it. Basically, I'm hoping to get 20k/year from BU. Cmonn

[fingersxd]

Hopefully my scholarship at BU will be substantially increased, or else I'll more than likely be at UIUC. If I get off of the waitlist at Mich/NW thats another story but I'll have to wait and see. To be honest I don't have a huge problem with spending three years at UIUC, it won't be the best but it won't be the worst situation either. I believe I will get a good job in Chicago if I attend UIUC, and that definitely sounds good to me. However, BU has higher NLJ numbers and I've never been to Boston but would like to live there just because it's a big Northeastern city and I've heard good things from most people who comment on it. Basically, I'm hoping to get 20k/year from BU. Cmonn

Don't forget CoL. Easily an extra 5k+/yr more in Boston, a VERY expensive city compared to Champaign.

As of now, I think Illinois is the choice (and I would say 25k would me the breakeven point for me). Best school for the Chicago market outside of t14 and 35k/yr means graduating with manageable levels of debt even if you don't get BigLaw. As it stands, your debt from BU means biglaw or bust. Also, I would say to visit Boston before assuming you will like it. I'm from the Northeast and do, but I don't think I could move somewhere for 3 yrs w/out ever having seen the place.

[cinephile]

Don't forget CoL. Easily an extra 5k+/yr more in Boston, a VERY expensive city compared to Champaign.

As of now, I think Illinois is the choice.

Also, how attached are you to your car? Don't know if anyone mentioned this already, but it'd be a lot harder/more expensive to bring your car to Boston than to Champaign.

[TheSteelKid]

In regards to both of these statements, i do recognize the need to visit boston, and will prob take a bus up there relatively soon. Im from pittsburgh and I like the northeast so im highly confident i would enjoy boston.

Also, i dont have a car but would buy one if i go to uiuc and not if i go to bu.

As ive said numerous time before, if i can get 20k+ per year, theres a good chance ill be atwork bu. If not, uiuc it is. Thanks for your help!

[fingersxd]

In regards to both of these statements, i do recognize the need to visit boston, and will prob take a bus up there relatively soon. Im from pittsburgh and I like the northeast so im highly confident i would enjoy boston.

Also, i dont have a car but would buy one if i go to uiuc and not if i go to bu.

As ive said numerous time before, if i can get 20k+ per year, theres a good chance ill be atwork bu. If not, uiuc it is. Thanks for your help!

OP, good luck with your decision and let us know which you choose.

[TheSteelKid]

Its time to revisit this thread! I've just gotten an extra 5k/year increase at BU, making my scholarship 15k/year at BU and 35k/yr at Illinois. This makes tuition 25k per year at BU plus annual increases and 10k/year at illinois with no increases. Im still leaning towards Illinois but what do you think? At 20k/yr at BU i'll have a tough decision and at 25k ill probably go, but I dont think I'm likely to get another increase. Thoughts???

[drays917]

You seem pretty set on UIUC - I don't think anyone is going to be able to make a strongly persuasive case one way or the other. If you want to work in Chicago, you like the school, and you like paying less, UIUC is the better choice. If you really want to work in BigLaw, or in Boston/NYC, then BU is the better choice. Judging from your earlier posts, though, it looks like you're in the UIUC camp, which is fine.

[ndirish2010]

I would still go with UIUC. Your overall Biglaw chances are higher from BU though.

[blurbz]

Agreed: UIUC is still the better choice.

[TheSteelKid]

You seem pretty set on UIUC - I don't think anyone is going to be able to make a strongly persuasive case one way or the other. If you want to work in Chicago, you like the school, and you like paying less, UIUC is the better choice. If you really want to work in BigLaw, or in Boston/NYC, then BU is the better choice. Judging from your earlier posts, though, it looks like you're in the UIUC camp, which is fine.

Being that classes start in barely a month and that I just got back from apartment hunting at the University of Illinois last night, I am not heavily in favor of switching school choices, especially considering I've never been to Boston. I think that I would really like Boston but my guess is that I would like Chicago a bit more. Either way it really comes down to Cost of Attendance versus chances at Biglaw, and currently I'm looking at $30,000 in tuition and around 45k or 50k in additional expenses for a grand total of $80k. At BU I'm facing $80,000 in tuition with perhaps another 70k or so in living expenses which adds up to around $150 k. I'm still favoring UIUC but if BU makes me an offer I can't refuse then I'll be in a pickle.

[fingersxd]

Illinois is still the way to go here. Unlikely that BU will give you more than 20k/yr (assuming they increase at all) and it sounds like 25k is probably your break-even point anyway.

Just flat out tell them you can go without more $ and you'll know pretty quickly whether that is an option or not.

[sold123]

Difficult to tell from your original post, but there is something to be said for attending a school that you are happy with, and enthused to be attending. In my experience, this human element is often responsible for success.

[TheSteelKid]

Difficult to tell from your original post, but there is something to be said for attending a school that you are happy with, and enthused to be attending. In my experience, this human element is often responsible for success.

I agree with this statement. I feel that as long as I am content with my job placement opportunities and I enjoy the area I'm in and people I'm around, I will have all the reason in the world to want to do well.

[TheSteelKid]

Lets say that BU agrees to increase their scholarship funding to 25k/year. At that point im looking at about 53k in tuition and prob ~120 k in cost of attendance at BU versus ~80k in cost of attendance at Illinois. This may happen at which point I'll be in quite a dilemma. If this happens Im taking the first bus to Boston and deciding whether to pull the trigger!

[scrowell]

BU is just an awesome time. I don't think you'd regret it.