CUNY vs. St. John's Forum

[dar482]

I got into both schools and I'm trying to decide.

St. John's didn't give me any aid and it seems like $46K a year is huge deal compared to CUNY ($6K).

Are the prospects from St. John's that much better that it would make up for the $120K in debt that I would be sitting on?

[of Benito Cereno]

I have actually met more than a few st john's grads working successfully in nyc firms. I've never even met a cuny grad.

[ndirish2010]

Please, dear God, don't attend one of these schools.

[Lawst]

I got into both schools and I'm trying to decide.

St. John's didn't give me any aid and it seems like $46K a year is huge deal compared to CUNY ($6K).

Are the prospects from St. John's that much better that it would make up for the $120K in debt that I would be sitting on?

St. John's is really not worth sticker, IMHO. CUNY is at least affordable. But it comes down to this - are you interested in public interest? If not, then CUNY isn't going to work for you.

[scammedhard]

Please, dear God, don't attend one of these schools.

+1.

How can people be some naive and irresponsible? We are talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars of non-dischargeable debt. Does this "dar482" seriously believe he/she has a decent chance of repaying it back? If so, financing these adventures on Federal student loans should be stopped. These loans are built on the assumption that people can make rational choices, and as "dar482" just showed, this is quite simply not the case.

[dar482]

St. John's is really not worth sticker, IMHO. CUNY is at least affordable. But it comes down to this - are you interested in public interest? If not, then CUNY isn't going to work for you.

No, I'm not specifically interested in going into public interest.

Please, dear God, don't attend one of these schools.

The other option to me seems a bit rough. I already took a year off after graduating early from NYU with a 3.5. I studied for the LSAT and took it twice, while getting on the lower end of my practices (high 150s), I ended up with a 154.
I already had months and took it twice and I don't know if I'd go much higher. And considering I want to stay in New York, I don't know what my other options are, though I guess I should possibly consider other states.

[ndirish2010]

You have to retake. That LSAT is not going to get you in anywhere worth going. Take a whole year to study for it if you have to. If you don't do well, get a school to sponsor a fourth test or don't go to law school. Harsh, but better than 180K of nondischargable debt.

[dar482]

I think I've decided to go to CUNY and work by butt off to see if I could possibly transfer, or at worst, possibly see if I'm interested in public interest. I'm unsure about what I'll end up doing with my law degree, so for all I know, that could be the route I want.

I've definitely decided not to attend St. John's because of the ridiculous amount of debt I'll gain.

And as for a retake, I feel I can't gain that much. Even if I crack 160 (my friend got 160), I don't see my prospects being that much higher. He goes to St. John's now and they only offered him $14K off, and that's with him almost losing the scholarship because of the highly competitive GPA requirements.

[tarp]

You made the right decision. CUNY is a solid public interest-oriented school and either way you will graduate with a law degree and can sit for the bar exam. You can try going into public interest and if you find out it's not for you, you can always go into private practice in the small firm or solo setting. 18k for tuition can't really be beat... you won't have any pressure to get a biglaw job so you can pay back your loans. Don't listen to the naysayers, many people specifically choose CUNY even with higher LSAT/GPA than you due to the low tuition and the public interest orientation.