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I'm trying to decide what to do: I got a call today informing me that I received a full tuition + a bit of a stipend scholarship at my state school. My other offer I am seriously considering is Vandy with $25,000/year.

This state school has good employment prospects in-state (both with clerkships and the bigger firms), but not much outside of the state. My question, though, is if paying 3x as much to go to Vandy is worth it when I have no ties or connections anywhere else. I know Vandy "casts a wider net" so to speak; but is this mostly because their alums have connections to these places?

People on here are going to ask for the total COL. Also, what state school do you go to now? Where do you want to work?

I think we are looking at somewhere around 45-50K of debt vs. 150+k debt.

I am not necessarily against working in state, my concern is just that it will limit my employment prospects indefinitely.

sparkle5 wrote:I think we are looking at somewhere around 45-50K of debt vs. 150+k debt.

I am not necessarily against working in state, my concern is just that it will limit my employment prospects indefinitely.

What is your state school?

francesfarmer wrote:

sparkle5 wrote:I think we are looking at somewhere around 45-50K of debt vs. 150+k debt.

I am not necessarily against working in state, my concern is just that it will limit my employment prospects indefinitely.

What is your state school?

oops - sorry. Kentucky

I don't really see how kentucky with a fully scholarship and stipend would cost you 45-50k! But here are the relevant employment stats for each school you're considering:

http://www.lstscorereports.com/?school=kentucky

http://www.lstscorereports.com/?school=vanderbilt

What kind of law do you want to practice? Could you possibly live at home while going to school?

francesfarmer wrote:I don't really see how kentucky with a fully scholarship and stipend would cost you 45-50k! But here are the relevant employment stats for each school you're considering:

http://www.lstscorereports.com/?school=kentucky

http://www.lstscorereports.com/?school=vanderbilt

What kind of law do you want to practice? Could you possibly live at home while going to school?

If COL is around 15-20k, and she got a bit of a stipend, then it makes sense that it would cost her 45-50k total. That's probably a conservative estimate, could be lower if she's frugal.

IMO, UK is the clear winner and its not even close. UK is a pretty solid state school, and your debtload could be managed on just about any type of lawyer salary. If you do well, you'll have a shot at Louisville and Lexington "biglaw," and maybe even Cincinnati. You're right that you would be more "limited" in terms of geographic placement, since UK is a very regional school, but the low cost and your ties to the state make it a great choice. Vandy is a great school and Nashville is awesome, but it's just not worth 150k+, especially with an offer like UK's on the table.

romothesavior wrote:IMO, UK is the clear winner and its not even close. UK is a pretty solid state school, and your debtload could be managed on just about any type of lawyer salary. If you do well, you'll have a shot at Louisville and Lexington "biglaw," and maybe even Cincinnati. You're right that you would be more "limited" in terms of geographic placement, since UK is a very regional school, but the low cost and your ties to the state make it a great choice. Vandy is a great school and Nashville is awesome, but it's just not worth 150k+, especially with an offer like UK's on the table.

+1

Thanks everyone for your help! I did end up choosing the lower debt load for a variety of reasons, many of which you all mentioned.

sparkle5 wrote:Thanks everyone for your help! I did end up choosing the lower debt load for a variety of reasons, many of which you all mentioned.

Great choice OP. Best of luck in law school and beyond.

romothesavior wrote:

sparkle5 wrote:Thanks everyone for your help! I did end up choosing the lower debt load for a variety of reasons, many of which you all mentioned.

Great choice OP. Best of luck in law school and beyond.

+1