Top Law Schools

Hello, all!

I'm interested in hearing any new information to see if I am missing/forgetting anything.

I'm currently debating between the following three schools. Though I have been accepted and received generous offers elsewhere, these make the most sense for my goals (below).

School___Scholarship____COA - 1L____Est. Total COA (conservative)
BC________20k/yr________41k-47k_______131k-149k
BU________20k/yr________40k-42k_______129k-133k
UConn_____Full Tuition____18k-20k_______54k-62k

There are ranges due to a difference between the schools' figures and my own, but that gives an approximation.

STIPS: BU and BC only require staying in good standing and enrolled. UConn's stip is a 3.0, which 70% of students exceed. Further, they will sit with anyone who does not meet the stip to discuss further scholarship (though I doubt keeping it is likely). If I do not meet the stip after 1L, my total COA for UConn would be 183k-192k (NE resident) or probably around 90k (CT resident after 1L), but I have to check those numbers again later.

GOALS: I want to work in Boston (great ties - grew up in MA, undergrad just outside Boston, ties within legal community in 95 corridor, less so in Boston itself). I know that I want corporate law, would love something with transnational corporations, tax, securities, regulations, etc. I'd be happy in BigLaw or MidLaw to start.

Please don't suggest a poll, as I'm interested in reasons more than numbers backing me, just to see if I'm missing anything.

I have heard that BU and BC will continue to negotiate if you deposit at both, but they don't seem to be following norms for scholarships in other ways this year, so... not sure.

UConn full ride is the best option (assuming you drop out if you don't hit the stip) but getting back to Boston might be a struggle and biglaw isn't a likely outcome. The Boston schools just aren't worth those prices in my opinion.

If you're serious about biglaw, you should retake and use your ties to get back to Boston from a T14.

I don't know about UConn, can't see it being easy to make it to Boston from there...

Nelson wrote:The Boston schools just aren't worth those prices in my opinion.

When would you say they are worth it?

checkster wrote:I don't know about UConn, can't see it being easy to make it to Boston from there...

That's my worry with UConn, especially given what I've heard from attorneys around here.

landla wrote:

Nelson wrote:The Boston schools just aren't worth those prices in my opinion.

When would you say they are worth it?

Probably a full ride. They're worth it with those schollies if you're in Boston and live with parents/SO and have no cost of living. Neither school has good LRAP, so you're biglaw or bust at these prices and biglaw is a 1/5 shot at best. Boston's not a very large legal market and only the very top of the class has the luxury of testing the waters in NYC.

FWIW, I turned down those exact schollies from BU and BC last cycle and I don't regret it.

landla wrote:Hello, all!

I'm interested in hearing any new information to see if I am missing/forgetting anything.

I'm currently debating between the following three schools. Though I have been accepted and received generous offers elsewhere, these make the most sense for my goals (below).

School___Scholarship____COA - 1L____Est. Total COA (conservative)
BC________20k/yr________41k-47k_______131k-149k
BU________20k/yr________40k-42k_______129k-133k
UConn_____Full Tuition____18k-20k_______54k-62k

There are ranges due to a difference between the schools' figures and my own, but that gives an approximation.

STIPS: BU and BC only require staying in good standing and enrolled. UConn's stip is a 3.0, which 70% of students exceed. Further, they will sit with anyone who does not meet the stip to discuss further scholarship (though I doubt keeping it is likely). If I do not meet the stip after 1L, my total COA for UConn would be 183k-192k (NE resident) or probably around 90k (CT resident after 1L), but I have to check those numbers again later.

GOALS: I want to work in Boston (great ties - grew up in MA, undergrad just outside Boston, ties within legal community in 95 corridor, less so in Boston itself). I know that I want corporate law, would love something with transnational corporations, tax, securities, regulations, etc. I'd be happy in BigLaw or MidLaw to start.

Please don't suggest a poll, as I'm interested in reasons more than numbers backing me, just to see if I'm missing anything.

I have heard that BU and BC will continue to negotiate if you deposit at both, but they don't seem to be following norms for scholarships in other ways this year, so... not sure.

I know you said you've narrowed it down to these, but do your other options include any T14 schools? I think that, say, Duke at sticker might actually be a better bet than BU at $20k. Just a thought.

BU/BC - UConn will not get you back to Boston.

Nelson wrote:

landla wrote:

Nelson wrote:The Boston schools just aren't worth those prices in my opinion.

When would you say they are worth it?

Probably a full ride. They're worth it with those schollies if you're in Boston and live with parents/SO and have no cost of living. Neither school has good LRAP, so you're biglaw or bust at these prices and biglaw is a 1/5 shot at best. Boston's not a very large legal market and only the very top of the class has the luxury of testing the waters in NYC.

FWIW, I turned down those exact schollies from BU and BC last cycle and I don't regret it.

1/5 shot at best? which is why BU/BC are placing ~35% into biglaw right?

not saying you didn't make the right choice, but it seems like you're really trying to justify your decision last year. plus, without having gone through 2L OCI, i don't think you can assess objectively whether you made the right call.

UConn should not even be in the discussion. BU/BC are pretty much equal in Boston so take your pick.

I go to UConn. If I were you, I would probably go to BC/BU with your package. They pretty much own the Boston market.

That being said, I don't like debt and personally would take the free money at UConn. That's what I did. I'll find out if it worked for me or not, but I have a couple of 3L friends that have jobs with Boston firms (they were from the Boston area originally).

I'm also from MA and went to undergrad in MA. However, I don't personally care where I end up.

P.S. If you do try to retake or go for another cycle, Cornell and UVA have some very strong ties in Boston firms.

f0bolous wrote: 1/5 shot at best? which is why BU/BC are placing ~35% into biglaw right?

1/5 might be conservative, but even if it's 1/3 that doesn't change the fact that a large portion of BU/BC grads end up in jobs that won't allow them to service that much debt.

f0bolous wrote:not saying you didn't make the right choice, but it seems like you're really trying to justify your decision last year. plus, without having gone through 2L OCI, i don't think you can assess objectively whether you made the right call.

This is just silly.

Blindmelon wrote:BU/BC - UConn will not get you back to Boston.

This. It's certainly possible (a friend at UConn just got Boston biglaw), and UConn has a good rep in NE. However, this is a highly competitive market and I think the extra cost for BU/BC is justified in your situation.

Go to UConn and work in Hartford/Stamford. It's not that far from Mass, the debt load will be much better on you and will give you the most options as to what you do post graduation.

If you're dead set on Boston, you should probably go to either of BU/BC (UConn has too small of a chance to get you back there. It's more of an "it could happen but you have to be happy with it not happening as well" situation). Also, if you have any offers from T14 schools you should probably analyze those further because they will offer you the best chances to go back to Boston since you have the ties.

I passed up the same offer as you only I had more $ at BU to go to Michigan, we'll see if it pays off but I wouldn't go to UConn if I knew I wouldn't be ok practicing in CT.

landla wrote:
That's my worry with UConn, especially given what I've heard from attorneys around here.

What, specifically, have you heard?