WUSTL vs UF/FSU ($) Forum

[nationalphenom]

I have a near negligible scholarship from WUSTL, however I'm originally from the midwest & all my ties are there.

On the other hand, I've gotten a decent scholarship to both Florida schools but I have no ties there. Literally none, not even a friend of a friend. But I'm a sucker for warm weather and ideally that's where I want to eventually live.

Thoughts? Any input is greatly appreciated.

[goldeneye]

the correct thing is probably to retake. if that's truly not an option, don't go. If that's not an option, try to negotiate with wustl for a bit more money.

florida is notoriously impossible to get to without ties, and just going to school there and liking warm weather won't be enough.

[andy261]

Wait how do you know your WUSTL offer already? No one in the WUSTL applicant thread has received their offers yet..

[rad lulz]

WUSTL with a small scholarship is not a good idea

Going to a FL school if you're not a Floridian is also not a good idea

Retake or don't go

[WanderingPondering]

Wait how do you know your WUSTL offer already? No one in the WUSTL applicant thread has received their offers yet..

[Aroldis105]

A little off topic, but if you throw COA out the window, and are solely concerned with practicing in Florida, at what point does an OOS school become a more reasonable decision? I know T14+ can give you a much better chance of landing a job, but if you have no interest in working in Boston, New York, DC, etc is it still a better decision?
Obviously, students in Cornell don't practice in Ithaca over the summer, same with UVA or Michigan, etc. So my question essentially boils down to, how much is the employment search complicated by attending a school in another state that you don't want to practice in (assuming you are willing to travel to work during the summer?) What kind of barriers does a rising 2L from say Vandy face when (s)he is looking to get on with a firm in Florida?
I understand this situation isn't ideal, I'm just trying to gain a better perspective on the ins and outs of summer employment not found through OCI's
Thanks.

[goldeneye]

Go to school near an area you want to work, or expect to fly back and forth often, using all of your breaks to network for jobs where it is you want to work. the benefit of the t14, and regional schools is that alumni are prevalent around the country or in that schools area, allowing you to hopefully network easier to get a job.

that being said, some places, like FLorida, are notorious for being difficult to get a job in.

[Aroldis105]

Go to school near an area you want to work, or expect to fly back and forth often, using all of your breaks to network for jobs where it is you want to work. the benefit of the t14, and regional schools is that alumni are prevalent around the country or in that schools area, allowing you to hopefully network easier to get a job.

that being said, some places, like FLorida, are notorious for being difficult to get a job in.

Thank you.
Given the difficulty of the Florida market, are any of the schools in Florida (Again let's assume very low COA) worth going to? Obviously the employment numbers from non T14s are not good, but if debt is low and the goal is to practice in Florida do UF/FSU/UM warrant a strong look or is the whole state's market toxic enough that they should be avoided?

[rad lulz]

Go to school near an area you want to work, or expect to fly back and forth often, using all of your breaks to network for jobs where it is you want to work. the benefit of the t14, and regional schools is that alumni are prevalent around the country or in that schools area, allowing you to hopefully network easier to get a job.

that being said, some places, like FLorida, are notorious for being difficult to get a job in.

Thank you.
Given the difficulty of the Florida market, are any of the schools in Florida (Again let's assume very low COA) worth going to? Obviously the employment numbers from non T14s are not good, but if debt is low and the goal is to practice in Florida do UF/FSU/UM warrant a strong look or is the whole state's market toxic enough that they should be avoided?

If you are not from FL, even if you go to UF or FSU, it will be pretty difficult to get a good job in FL.

[Aroldis105]

Not to split hairs, but what is the definition of "Good Job", what about Public interest opportunities?

[rad lulz]

Not to split hairs, but what is the definition of "Good Job", what about Public interest opportunities?

Those are good jobs. State budgets have been slashed.

[romothesavior]

WUSTL is good for midwesterners, but is not worth the debt.

Also, how do you know your scholarship? They aren't even out yet.

[cahwc12]

WUSTL is good for midwesterners, but is not worth the debt.

Also, how do you know your scholarship? They aren't even out yet.

165/3.18, so probably s/he is assuming little or no discount.

Things don't look good with either of these decisions decisions unfortunately. The best advice is probably to not go at all, but if you must, I recommend FSU because you have a better chance of getting a job. Still, I don't think any of these are very good options. (I assume if you go to UF/FSU, you will choose to work in Florida. If you have any desire at all to leave FL, don't do it.)

Another poster had a UF/FSU scholarship offered that actually was NOT just resident tuition. If you can confirm the stips on the scholarship and that it is not mutually exclusive with gaining residency for your 2L/3L, it might be much less of a bad deal.

Do you have specifics about the UF/FSU aid?



Also, here's a shot in the dark, but I can't recall every hearing about this: Is there any chance a school that offers you $10k/yr off would agree to $30k/yr off the first year? In other words, could you front-load that scholarship? Then, if after 1L your grades are below median you can withdraw with minimal debt and only 1 year wasted. It sounds like a pipe dream but I've never heard of anyone asking for it... so perhaps you could look into it?

[nationalphenom]

WUSTL is good for midwesterners, but is not worth the debt.

Also, how do you know your scholarship? They aren't even out yet.

165/3.18, so probably s/he is assuming little or no discount.

this. i figured it'd be easier to assume i'm getting no money than get told to wait it out. i apologize if i misled anyone/got their hopes up. thanks to everyone for their input!