Opinions needed: Forum

[Teflon_Jeff]

Thanks to everyone who replied. If anyone else has something to add, I'd like to hear it.

I'm getting the opposite advice from family, so everyone's encouragement is very helpful.

Just run the numbers for your family. Retaking is worth tens of thousands of dollars in scholarships, plus interest!

[Attorney at Play]

0L here, so take with a grain of salt. I don´t think you should be so quick to eliminate Vandy. Vandy is a fine school in the south, and if that´s where you want to work, there´s a great option. I think Cornell and Vandy would land you roughly equal employment prospects in Atlanta just by name. Living in Nashville you´d probably meet with and network with more lawyers practicing in the region you wish to work (the south).

Things to think about:

1) If you want to work in biglaw- check NLJ250 hiring statistics: http://www.lawschooltransparency.com/20 ... tatistics/
Consider that Cornell may be higher just because they´re in NY and it´s got that biglaw market. Consider alumni base and where they´re all located.
2) If you don´t want biglaw, consider other legal employment prospect statistics at both schools and their placement statistics... public service, clerkships.
3) If you don´t know what you want, consider both biglaw and non biglaw private as well as public service. Think about all opportunities holistically.
4) Lastly, consider experiences. Where do you want to live for 3 years? Would a 3 year break from the South do you well? Do you love it so much you want to stay?

Best

[nbj08]

0L here, so take with a grain of salt. I don´t think you should be so quick to eliminate Vandy. Vandy is a fine school in the south, and if that´s where you want to work, there´s a great option. I think Cornell and Vandy would land you roughly equal employment prospects in Atlanta just by name. Living in Nashville you´d probably meet with and network with more lawyers practicing in the region you wish to work (the south).

Things to think about:

1) If you want to work in biglaw- check NLJ250 hiring statistics: http://www.lawschooltransparency.com/20 ... tatistics/
Consider that Cornell may be higher just because they´re in NY and it´s got that biglaw market. Consider alumni base and where they´re all located.
2) If you don´t want biglaw, consider other legal employment prospect statistics at both schools and their placement statistics... public service, clerkships.
3) If you don´t know what you want, consider both biglaw and non biglaw private as well as public service. Think about all opportunities holistically.
4) Lastly, consider experiences. Where do you want to live for 3 years? Would a 3 year break from the South do you well? Do you love it so much you want to stay?

Best

Thank you for your response.

As alluded earlier in the thread, my goal is biglaw. My preference is to live in the South, but without scholarships (which I have from neither Cornell nor Vanderbilt), biglaw is necessary to repay debt. I eliminated Vanderbilt at sticker because I am not confident they are the best option for repaying $260k+.

[jcdjgd]

Thanks to everyone who replied. If anyone else has something to add, I'd like to hear it.

I'm getting the opposite advice from family, so everyone's encouragement is very helpful.

Just run the numbers for your family. Retaking is worth tens of thousands of dollars in scholarships, plus interest!

+1

Also, the increased employment prospects and added benefit of getting scholly $$$ from a school like UVA or Duke (which is the prime feeding schools into the south) make the ONE year of sitting out and retaking 100% worth it.

Once again, explain to your family the elite GPA you have earned, and how a few more points on the LSAT can do wonders on debt/employment.

[ajaxconstructions]

Cornell at sticker is just stupid.