Fordham (almost sticker) vs. Cardozo (full ride) Forum

[srfngdd6]

I think this is a decision a lot of people make however I am interested to hear your opinions...not dead set on big law but am interested in it...if you chose cardozo and if i could get more money from fordham what is the amount that would make it worth it

[bogart]

I would be concerned with any stip a school puts on...bottom line, you just have no idea how grades/rank will turn out.

If you are only paying 5k a year for ford with no stips then I thinks its a no-brainer.

[PLDubs]

I'm under the impression that OP has a 5k per year scholly, not total tuition.

[srfngdd6]

yeah 5k scholly so it would be around 42k a year

[tennisking88]

Unless you're living with your parents and/or (preferably and) getting substantial assistance from them, I'm fairly positive Fordham isn't worth ~130k more in debt.

[srfngdd6]

Unless you're living with your parents and/or (preferably and) getting substantial assistance from them, I'm fairly positive Fordham isn't worth ~130k more in debt.

from philadelphia so would not be living with them but they have said they would help me out with COL

[tennisking88]

fairly positive Fordham isn't worth ~130k more in debt.

[iceicebaby]

Unless you're living with your parents and/or (preferably and) getting substantial assistance from them, I'm fairly positive Fordham isn't worth ~130k more in debt.

from philadelphia so would not be living with them but they have said they would help me out with COL

It's gonna cost you an arm and a leg to live in the area, so I think you can expect about an additional $12k-$15k a year just for rent alone, figure in utilities, spending and food money and you're probably pushing $22k-$25k+ for COL in the NYC area. Personally, ~$200k of debt is not something you want to mess with for only a 15 spot differential in the rankings. The Top 25% of Cardozo grads tend to do just as fine in the NYC legal market as Fordham's Top 25%, and having the 2.95 stip, while risky, can force you to work harder to keep the scholly. By the way, my COL projection comes from my experience with living in Manhattan on my own and giving nearly all of my salary just to live in NYC and my experience with Fordham grads vs. Cardozo grads comes from working at a NLJ250 firm in Manhattan. Trust me, there isn't much of a tangible difference between those two schools in terms of employment data and post-graduate opportunities.

[Grizz]

Trust me, there isn't much of a difference between those two schools.

Big firm hiring data does not bear this out. See 2010 NLJ250

[Grizz]

Go to Cardozo, drop out if you lose your scholarship.

Or retake LSAT.

[iceicebaby]

Trust me, there isn't much of a difference between those two schools.

Big firm hiring data does not bear this out. See 2010 NLJ250

Cardozo is #34 and Fordham is #21. They certainly have somewhat of a difference where the NLJ is concerned in terms of the percentage of the graduating class that gets hired at the NLJ250 firms, but OP mentioned that they weren't sold on BigLaw and also my point remains that 13 to 15 slots in whatever rankings is not worth the extra ~$130k in tuition. When you look outside of the NLJ250 for employment, Fordham and Cardozo are comparable. Just check out lawschooltransparency.com for employment data.

[dixiecupdrinking]

You almost certainly won't get Biglaw from Cardozo, but you probably won't from Fordham either. Biglaw placement is significantly different between these two schools but pretty bad in this economy at both. After that, I think it's pretty much eat what you kill at either school; I think the extra 20% or so getting big firm jobs at Fordham is the big difference.

This:

Go to Cardozo, drop out if you lose your scholarship.

Or retake LSAT.

...is the right answer, end of story.

[srfngdd6]

If i could negotiate more money from fordham how much money would make fordham worthwhile?

[Grizz]

Trust me, there isn't much of a difference between those two schools.

Big firm hiring data does not bear this out. See 2010 NLJ250

Cardozo is #34 and Fordham is #21. They certainly have somewhat of a difference where the NLJ is concerned in terms of the percentage of the graduating class that gets hired at the NLJ250 firms, but OP mentioned that they weren't sold on BigLaw and also my point remains that 13 to 15 slots in whatever rankings is not worth the extra ~$130k in tuition. When you look outside of the NLJ250 for employment, Fordham and Cardozo are comparable. Just check out lawschooltransparency.com for employment data.

I don't think OP should go to Fordham. I just think your statement I quoted is wrong.

[tennisking88]

If i could negotiate more money from fordham how much money would make fordham worthwhile?

I'd personally say no less than 15, which would still leave you ~$160k in debt, still a big gamble IMO.

[Grizz]

If i could negotiate more money from fordham how much money would make fordham worthwhile?

I'd personally say no less than 15, which would still leave you ~$160k in debt, still a big gamble IMO.

Yeah you still are probably gonna need biglaw or PI IBR to pay that back. So I still wouldn't do it.