Top Law Schools

I have a nice scholarship from USC and I have enrolled, but I received a WL offer from NYU and I have to decide today. NYU did not offer me any money, and I don't know where I want to practice yet. I am kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place because ~80K a year for NYU seems scary for me.

initial gut reaction: take USC.

it's better to be debt-averse in this economy

USC kid. Nothing beats being a trojan, especially with a good scholly.

How much of a scholarship? What are your employment goals? Biglaw? CA or NY or elsewhere?

$35K/yr...

I am thinking about doing big law a while, then go into the public sector. I don't care where I end up as long as it is in a big city.

sdphill wrote:$35K/yr...

I am thinking about doing big law a while, then go into the public sector. I don't care where I end up as long as it is in a big city.

Hmm...that is pretty substantial. That would put you at just under $100k in debt, right? That's low enough that you could pay it off if you miss out on biglaw or an LRAP job.

Given that you aren't biglaw or bust, I would stay put at USC. Do know, however, that your geographic options are more limited at USC. You're basically looking at CA or NY. Biglaw will be far from a guarantee, but attainable. At NYU, biglaw isn't guaranteed, but it's fairly close. So, balance your risk aversion with your desire for biglaw.

sdphill wrote:$35K/yr...

I am thinking about doing big law a while, then go into the public sector. I don't care where I end up as long as it is in a big city.

I would like to say USC but the bolded should make you think twice about NYU

What's the total cost of attendance for each school with scholarships factored in?

Ozymandias wrote:What's the total cost of attendance for each school with scholarships factored in?

~79K/yr at NYU (not counting increases)
~40K/yr at USC

I also have debt from undergrad

sdphill wrote:

Ozymandias wrote:What's the total cost of attendance for each school with scholarships factored in?

~79K/yr at NYU (not counting increases)
~40K/yr at USC

Do you qualify for NYU's LRAP program? I would call Financial Aid to ask.

If so, you can go biglaw for a few years, then enter LRAP if/when you transition to public sector.

USC is going to be a tough sell if you want to work outside of LA. If you go USC you're almost de facto committing yourself to living in SoCal after school. 83% of their 2010 graduates are working in California.

Also, full time employment numbers are really different:
NYU = 90% (with 12% school funded)
USC = 64% (with 5% school funded)

I'm actually thinking NYU might be good here if you're not committed to LA market.

You already tried to use the USC scholly for negotiating purposes?

USC is worth about 120k Max IMO which is just about what you're looking at, but the fact that you have UG debt complicates things. Unless you're 100% sold on SoCal, do NYU and get ready for biglaw should you strike out at PI.

(Was lower T14 with $$ not an option?)

Go with USC because its under 100k and you have undergrad debt.

Sticker at NYU is about 272k, according to law school transparency. That's nuts

What did you decide?

Whoever said biglaw is "close to guaranteed" at NYU is dead wrong. Biglaw isn't "close to guaranteed" at ANY non HYS school.