BU ($15,000/yr) vs UIUC ($33,390/yr) Forum

[ocajavati]

Attending UIUC will settle me with $60,000 in debt.

Attending BU will settle me with $140,000 in debt

Both estimate includes cost of living.

I have no geographical preference. Would probably prefer BigLaw, mainly as a way to pay off my student loans, but not something I would do forever. LRAP is a viable as well. I prefer Boston over Chicago, but it's honestly not enough to offset the higher CoL.

My numbers are 3.5/169. Given some extreme circumstances, reapplying is pretty much not an option.

Any advices would be very much appreciated.

[flem]

If you're cool with Chicago as a best case scenario and some backwoods town in Illinois as a worst case scenario, UIUC is a good deal here. That's pretty expensive for BU.

[Ludo!]

Ties to either place?

[ocajavati]

I should note this, and I am not sure if my worries are at all warranted.

What I have noticed with UIUC this year is that, following the admission scandal, it seems to be accepting much lower number than it previously did and is almost exceedingly generous with scholarship offers.

I am somewhat worried that its reputation will take time to recover, and its ranking would almost certainly continue its downward trend for the immediate years.

This probably would have been a no-brainer prior to the scandal, but I can't help being concerned with the immediate future of UIUC law.

No ties to either place. I'm from California, and before that, an island country in East Asia.

[flem]

The same firms will be at OCI. The same alumni network will exist. I wouldn't let that make your decision. That concern isn't worth 80K.

[ocajavati]

The same firms will be at OCI. The same alumni network will exist. I wouldn't let that make your decision. That concern isn't worth 80K.

Noted. Thanks for the insight.

Any additional inputs would still be appreciated though.

[Ludo!]

Illinois should still be an easy choice. Even if they go down in rankings, hiring is not going to be affected. BU is not worth paying twice as much.

[allamerican73]

I should note this, and I am not sure if my worries are at all warranted.

What I have noticed with UIUC this year is that, following the admission scandal, it seems to be accepting much lower number than it previously did and is almost exceedingly generous with scholarship offers.

I am somewhat worried that its reputation will take time to recover, and its ranking would almost certainly continue its downward trend for the immediate years.

This probably would have been a no-brainer prior to the scandal, but I can't help being concerned with the immediate future of UIUC law.

No ties to either place. I'm from California, and before that, an island country in East Asia.

I wouldn't worry about the rankings for these peer schools--Illinois is (and will be) more highly regarded in the Midwest and BU is more highly regarded in the Northeast. What you should do, however, is visit both schools because you may not like spending three years in a small Big Ten college town in the middle of cornfields.

[CanadianWolf]

OP: Do you prefer $60,000 of debt or $140,000 of debt ?

[DaftAndDirect]

I should note this, and I am not sure if my worries are at all warranted.

What I have noticed with UIUC this year is that, following the admission scandal, it seems to be accepting much lower number than it previously did and is almost exceedingly generous with scholarship offers.

I am somewhat worried that its reputation will take time to recover, and its ranking would almost certainly continue its downward trend for the immediate years.

This probably would have been a no-brainer prior to the scandal, but I can't help being concerned with the immediate future of UIUC law.

No ties to either place. I'm from California, and before that, an island country in East Asia.

I wouldn't worry about the rankings for these peer schools--Illinois is (and will be) more highly regarded in the Midwest and BU is more highly regarded in the Northeast. What you should do, however, is visit both schools because you may not like spending three years in a small Big Ten college town in the middle of cornfields.

If you're K - JD, Illinois isn't so bad in terms of the college-town feel. However, it gets tougher to go to a place like Illinois after 2 to 3 years of being a grown up.

I voted Illinois OP. They will recover from this rankings debacle.

[ocajavati]

Shameless self bump. I am actually interested in hearing from those that have voted for BU on this.

While appreciative of the current responses, an alternative perspective could be very useful.

Also, this is scaring me. http://top-law-schools.com/forums/viewt ... 3&t=161839

[i_heart_fmma]

Graduating BU 3L here. I had a similar decision years back between UIUC (less debt) and BU. I also had the general idea that I might want to work in a large law firm post grad, but was not 100% set on it. Anyway, I ended up choosing BU and I'm still glad I did. I really enjoyed my time here and met some great people. Also, Boston has been a great place to live for a few years.

What really made my decision was visiting BU. Once I was here, it felt like a great fit. Although I did not visit UIUC, I visited a few other schools and just didn't feel the same way. Hope this helps and good luck.

[Nelson]

Shameless self bump. I am actually interested in hearing from those that have voted for BU on this.

While appreciative of the current responses, an alternative perspective could be very useful.

Also, this is scaring me. http://top-law-schools.com/forums/viewt ... 3&t=161839

If that scares you, then I'm not sure why you aren't open to a retake.

[ocajavati]

If that scares you, then I'm not sure why you aren't open to a retake.

While almost entirely certain that I can break 172 with a retake, I am also equally certain my GPA will drop by .1~.15 by the end of this semester. This will most likely translate into sticker price at T14, if I don't end up ding'ing.

Furthermore, my familial commitment instills in me a terrible urgency to finish my academic pursuits. It's quite grim, really.

It's also made me quite debt adverse, and a T14 at my grade will most likely translate into sticker. The only scenario in which I could consider a retake is a lock-in at T14, and that's most likely not happening.

I do appreciate the advice though. It's something I have been heavily contemplating, but am struggling to avoid. I've turned in my application exceptionally late in this cycle, so I'm honestly just surprised that I'm even getting offers. While I am in part to be blamed for this, a certain tragedy in the family ended up derailing my entire application process. Took a toll on my GPA as well.

[concurrent fork]

While almost entirely certain that I can break 172 with a retake

The only scenario in which I could consider a retake is a lock-in at T14, and that's most likely not happening.

I am confused by these two statements. Retake is TCR here, especially since you say you are debt averse.

[ocajavati]

While almost entirely certain that I can break 172 with a retake

The only scenario in which I could consider a retake is a lock-in at T14, and that's most likely not happening.

I am confused by these two statements. Retake is TCR here, especially since you say you are debt averse.

That is to say that several people in 172/3.3~3.4 range have ended up not being accepted into any of the T14 schools, according to LSN. Being that I would, if at all possible, wish to avoid NY, NYU/Cornell/Columbia are less than ideal. Not that I would have much chance with Columbia/NYU either way.

I do realize the contradiction in the latter part, though; it's why retake is still in heavy consideration, despite the circumstances that might otherwise prevent this option. Without going too much into detail, I could sum it up by saying that waiting one year would be in direct conflict with my existing responsibilities.

Yet, barring the option, I would like to see inputs on the two existing alternatives.

[Nelson]

It just seems like you're not clear on if you want biglaw or not. If you are OK with a small firm job or local govt or whatever in Illinois, then take the money at UIUC. If you're very debt averse, then go to UIUC, you aren't going to get a much better deal than a law degree for 60k in loans. If you're worried about getting a biglaw job through OCI, then I wouldn't feel comfortable at either of these schools. At that price, BU shouldn't even be in the conversation. This is between UIUC and retaking.

As to retaking, the jump from 169 to a 172+ would have a much greater impact than a drop from a 3.5 (already not a great GPA) to a 3.4. If you're worried about biglaw, then retake. A 3.4 won't stop you from getting into a T14, maybe even with a small scholarship. Any T14 would give you a much better shot at biglaw.

[ocajavati]

It just seems like you're not clear on if you want biglaw or not. If you are OK with a small firm job or local govt or whatever in Illinois, then take the money at UIUC. If you're very debt averse, then go to UIUC, you aren't going to get a much better deal than a law degree for 60k in loans. If you're worried about getting a biglaw job through OCI, then I wouldn't feel comfortable at either of these schools. At that price, BU shouldn't even be in the conversation. This is between UIUC and retaking.

As to retaking, the jump from 169 to a 172+ would have a much greater impact than a drop from a 3.5 (already not a great GPA) to a 3.4. If you're worried about biglaw, then retake. A 3.4 won't stop you from getting into a T14, maybe even with a small scholarship. Any T14 would give you a much better shot at biglaw.

The problem being, I don't know if I want biglaw. In fact, I think it would be somewhat presumptuous for anyone without actual biglaw experience to say that is what they want in life.

If I do get into biglaw, there is the strong possibility that I might get flushed out in the first few years. That might, in turn, not justify taking on a 200k+ debt over, well, something far more manageable. While offering mobility (and the obvious benefits of being a biglaw washout), having a sizable debt over my shoulder, in addition to my familial responsibilities, would inevitably gravely limit my options. Even in T14, there is still a sizable portion of people without biglaw offer. Nobody attends T14 thinking they will be in the bottom of their respective classes, but somebody has to be there. That might very well be me.

Just talking out loud, really. The whole idea of leaving so much to chance makes me uncomfortable.

[CanadianWolf]

Comes down to two basic issues: Cost & location.

Obviously you want low cost & Boston, otherwise it wouldn't be causing you so much turmoil deciding between the two law schools. Unless BU raises your scholarship, you can't have both.

[ocajavati]

Comes down to two basic issues: Cost & location.

Obviously you want low cost & Boston, otherwise it wouldn't be causing you so much turmoil deciding between the two law schools. Unless BU raises your scholarship, you can't have both.

The preference is really based on the fact that Boston's law market seems to be doing better than Chicago's law market.

From what I've read/heard, the Midwest has been quite brutal of late.

[CanadianWolf]

You have another option. Sit out for a year & reapply in an effort to improve your options. Applications are expected to be down next cycle.

[blurbz]

Don't let the midwest OCI thread scare you too badly: OCI sucks and is stressful, but everyone I know who had the grades to get something and isn't completely socially unaware found a biglaw job that they're excited about. As Ludo said, the admissions thing sucks but it isn't affecting hiring in any way, so it should be a non-issue for you. I think it's gotta come down to location preference and debt preference.