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3.76/167 mexican URM, applications sent out feb 1st

just received my financial aid package from cornell and was really surprised i didn't even qualify for need based grants (my parents combined income is ~75k/yr) after being accepted april 30th .

I have 20k in undergraduate loans

biglaw

no strong preference for north or south, though i feel that with 250k++ debt i'd be safer in NYC

nashville is way more my scene than ithaca, but law school is only 3 years long and i dont want this to weigh in on my decision

im also waitlisted at columbia, chicago, nyu, northwestern. it'd be sweet to get into any of these, but i only have til the 14th to put a deposit down on cornell.

sorry for the double post, but i wanted to add the financial aid info and a poll. Anybody have any experience negotiating cornell for $$? I've read most of the cornell vs ??/vanderbilt vs ?? posts on the board and the general consensus seems to be that you had better graduate top 1/3rd of your class at vandy or 2/3rd at cornell. is the extra security worth ~80k in debt?

I'm surprised that you got waitlisted at all of the schools that you did. Most URMs with your numbers have multiple T14 acceptances to choose from in the lower half. I think it's very much because you applied so late in the cycle. I would strongly consider retake and reapply if you don't get into one of the schools that you're waitlisted at with some scholarship. If you did this, I would make sure to get your applications in during Sept. or Oct.

Of your options, Cornell is much more secure for NYC biglaw. I would place that premium at around 50-60k at least compared to Vandy, so I think it's the "better" option. This being said, Cornell at sticker is a shitty option.