Top Law Schools

note, this scenario is purely hypothetical.

That said, between Vandy w/20k each yr or Duke at sticker, what do people here think? Thanks all.

Edit: goal is biglaw in nyc.

depends on a lot of things is TCR

Depends on your goals.
Personally, I would attend...
Duke if it was Vandy w/ 30K total vs. Duke
Vandy if it was Vandy w/ 60K total vs Duke

My personal inflection point lies somewhere in between.

$60k = Vandy.

rad law wrote:$60k = Vandy.

Where do people see the 'break-even' point where Vandy vs. Duke is essentially a toss up? (i.e. how much $ would I need from Duke to, IYO, make it comparable to 60k from Vandy?)

fingersxd wrote:

rad law wrote:$60k = Vandy.

Rad, what would you consider to be the 'break-even' point where Vandy vs. Duke is essentially a toss up? (i.e. how much $ would I need from Duke to, IYO, make it comparable to 60k from Vandy?)

That seems like a personal question and one probably not best directed to a vandy (or duke) student. You're the only one who knows what it is worth to you based of your goals. Compared the historical placement into NYC biglaw and decide what that difference is worth (assuming all other things are equal).

dabbadon8 wrote:

fingersxd wrote:

rad law wrote:$60k = Vandy.

Rad, what would you consider to be the 'break-even' point where Vandy vs. Duke is essentially a toss up? (i.e. how much $ would I need from Duke to, IYO, make it comparable to 60k from Vandy?)

That seems like a personal question and one probably not best directed to a vandy (or duke) student. You're the only one who knows what it is worth to you based of your goals. Compared the historical placement into NYC biglaw and decide what that difference is worth (assuming all other things are equal).

Agreed, the decision will be mine alone at the end of the day. That said, I'm curious to know the general consensus on how much $ from Duke would make this worth it. I probably should have left the question open to everyone, rather than just addressing Rad.

2007 grad data:

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Basically I would not feel very comfortable paying 210k for school outside of HYS. Even if you get big law, you'll only be able to pay off a fraction of the debt if you stay the typical 3-5 years. Then you'll still have a large chunk and a lower salary to pay it with. Use this as a good tool.

http://www.finaid.org/calculators/loanpayments.phtml

With 210k in debt you'd need to make 200k to pay off the debt in 10 years, and you still might experience financial hardship. That is pretty scary.

A good rule of thumb for student debt is don't take on more than your expected first year salary. If you assume you get big law in nyc (not exactly assured), you could pay off approximately 160k in debt (plug it into the calculator, it is pretty close).

I think 50k or w/e number allows you to pay off your debt in 10 years is the answer to your original q.

dabbadon8 wrote:Basically I would not feel very comfortable paying 210k for school outside of HYS. Even if you get big law, you'll only be able to pay off a fraction of the debt if you stay the typical 3-5 years. Then you'll still have a large chunk and a lower salary to pay it with. Use this as a good tool.

http://www.finaid.org/calculators/loanpayments.phtml

With 210k in debt you'd need to make 200k to pay off the debt in 10 years, and you still might experience financial hardship. That is pretty scary.

A good rule of thumb for student debt is don't take on more than your expected first year salary. If you assume you get big law in nyc (not exactly assured), you could pay off approximately 160k in debt (plug it into the calculator, it is pretty close).

I think 50k or w/e number allows you to pay off your debt in 10 years is the answer to your original q.

A fraction? A large fraction.

You don't actually "need" a 200k salary to pay off 210k debt even though that is what the calculator says. You can seriously pay down a lot of your debt, even if you are in NYC with the high taxes and CoL, with 3 years in biglaw. Granted it won't be all of it but it will be definitely manageable. The calculator does not account for aggressively paying down your debt.

The real reason why paying 210k for T14 law schools is risky is because of the very real chance you don't get biglaw.

For NYC I'd take Duke. For South I'd learn Vandy, but neither would be the wrong choice.

Had the exact same choice and went with Duke. PM me for more details.