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So, the subject line sums up my dilemma pretty concisely. I'm in off of a hold at Northwestern, and they want a deposit by 4/30 - no word on any financial aid yet, and I'm assuming it will be minimal, if anything. Davis has accepted me and offered 25k a year, which apparently renews at pretty similar amounts yearly. I don't have any other considerations at the moment, except for a waitlist at NYU / possible full tuition scholarship @ SCU.

I could see myself working a biglaw job, at least for a few years to pay my debt down. I also want to work in CA; I'm not averse to spending years elsewhere, but I want to return eventually.

Northwestern easy. Even though you're aiming to return to California, which might not be easy, it beats the pants off of Davis for backup options.

Probably Northwestern. UCD just isn't cheap enough to justify here.

For the class of 2010, 40% of all UC-Davis grads failed to report full time long term employment.

90% of Northwestern grads reported some form of long term employment.



Even if Davis was a full ride, I would pick Northwestern.

Sweet, thanks for the input, everyone. I was already pretty set on Northwestern because of their comparatively awesome employment statistics, but the allure of being so comfortably near to my target market and home made Davis seem compelling.

If, for some reason, I got swooped off of the waitlist at NYU, would that be the clear choice?

kerflux wrote:Sweet, thanks for the input, everyone. I was already pretty set on Northwestern because of their comparatively awesome employment statistics, but the allure of being so comfortably near to my target market and home made Davis seem compelling.

If, for some reason, I got swooped off of the waitlist at NYU, would that be the clear choice?

Yes.

Though I suppose you could try negotiating with NU for some cash. Might make it more appealing, but NYU is a little better than Northwestern.

So, Davis upped their offer by 15k (5 each year) - enough to sway any opinions?

kerflux wrote:So, Davis upped their offer by 15k (5 each year) - enough to sway any opinions?

It's closer, but I'd say still go NU if you want biglaw.

I wasn't willing to take 30K/yr at a T18 over T14.

Still Northwestern, IMO!

Northwestern, but you need to calculate total COA so you know what you'll be facing (you might be surprised when accrued interest is added). Otherwise ask UC-Davis for more money based on your 175 LSAT score & Northwestern acceptance.

Would you consider reapplying next year to increase your financial options since it's expected to be a down year ?

I attempted to contact Davis today for more $$$, but they basically said they have provided me with ~60% tuition and unfortunately they can't provide free tuition to everyone, lol.

I don't know if I can bear taking another year off. I do not enjoy the job I'm at, nor am I making enough to hole away anything for LS (in fact, quite the opposite is true w/cc debt). How much do you think it would even benefit me, financially, to wait a year?

You're already an extreme splitter. I don't see how waiting a year is going to help you in any way.

Did you not get scholly offers from other schools, preferably in the T18 or even T25 range?

I'd still do NU. They have good placement rates.

If applications are down significantly next year, you should receive substantial benefits from your 175 LSAT score despite being a splitter. How much is difficult to guess, but if you apply widely among tier one law schools you should be considering several full tuition & fees scholarships. However, it'll be tough to beat your Northwestern acceptance--unless NU can offer some scholarship money next cycle.

Try UCLA, Vanderbilt, USC, GWU, Minnesota, SMU, WashUStL, etc.

Without any scholarship aid, Northwestern could cost about $275,000 when accrued interest at 6.8% is added in. If you reapply to NU next cycle as an ED applicant, you could receive $150,000 scholarship over three years (Which should reduce the projected $275,000 debt by $171,000 when interest is added leaving debt of $104,000 total for all three years). However, there is no guarantee that you'll be admited again.

kerflux wrote:Sweet, thanks for the input, everyone. I was already pretty set on Northwestern because of their comparatively awesome employment statistics, but the allure of being so comfortably near to my target market and home made Davis seem compelling.

If, for some reason, I got swooped off of the waitlist at NYU, would that be the clear choice?

At the same cost as NU, NYU is probably the better choice (even when you factor in CoL), but at that point, I would pick the one you like best...