Top Law Schools

I need help deciding between Fordham and Emory.

Fordham at sticker

and

Emory with 75k scholarship

The thing is, living expense for Fordham will be free because I can live with my family in NY.

Total cost would be like 130k debt Fordham vs 110k debt Emory after graduation.

My dream is biglaw, but I want to work for an American company overseas in Japan. They tend to hire from top schools and these 2 schools are not really top so Im sad. Anyway, I would have to get accepted from american biglaw to get transferred overseas in the 1st place

Im planning to work my ass off and transfer to HYS like everyone else, but not gonna go in with those expectations

What do u guys recommend??

Fordham at sticker, even without COL, is more like $160k with interest and tuition increases. http://www.lstscorereports.com/?school=fordham

Emory will be more like $130k after Scholly. http://www.lstscorereports.com/?school=emory

Both schools are far too expensive at those prices IMO.

Lets assume that I am able to transfer outta Emory after 1 year. Would I be able to use up all the scholly money to incur 0 debts for my first year??

No, scholly is spread out over three years.

ghostowl wrote:Lets assume that I am able to transfer outta Emory after 1 year. Would I be able to use up all the scholly money to incur 0 debts for my first year??

What? If only. lol.

You really shouldnt even entertain the idea of transfering. You probably wont have the grades to transfer anywhere worth sticker. (top 15% ATLEAST probably...)

Arrow wrote:To transfer into the T14 you need:
-top 10-15% at T1, top 5-10% for CCN
-top 5-10% at a T2, top 5% for CCN
-top 1-2% at a T3/T4
-Other notes: Depending on how far up you want to transfer, you may even succeed if you are ranked top 20-30%. For example, if you are transferring up like 10-15 spots, top 20-30% maybe enough (like a lateral transfer). Also, people in the T3/T4 generally only have a shot at transfer friendly schools in the T14.

http://top-law-schools.com/forums/viewt ... 27&t=82937

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If these are your only two options then I vote neither. Just don't go to law school. As Rick said you're grossly underestimating how much debt you will be in at graduation and neither school does a good job at placing its students in jobs that can service a high debt load.

Gun to my head, I guess I choose Fordham. But why wouldn't they offer you money when you have so much at a higher ranked school? Have you tried negotiating? If they match Emory's offer and you saved on all living expenses by living at home then I think you can entertain the notion of attending Fordham.

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I think someone my year went to Japan, and 2-3 went to HK with a few more in mainland China so its definitely possible...

Hey guys. I think I've decided to attend Emory.

First of all, the new USNEWS ranking Emory is 23, Fordham dropped to 38. I don't really care much about this, but it still matters.

And I realized that I have relatives that will let me stay near really close to Emory so I will also incur 0 living expenses while I go there WITH the 75k scholarship. So my debt after 3 years would be 50k~55k which is pretty good.

I'm going to try to apply for need-based aid because my family is pretty poor, so I don't know if I need to do that FAFSA now, or later.

I emailed Fordham about negotiating scholarship but knowing their reputation, I don't think they'll match anywhere close to it, if any. Unless they match a good amount, I'm pretty set on Emory.

My dream is still biglaw, which Fordham gives a better chance, but the low debt is way too appealing for me to pass up. And I'm set on studying my ass off for hopes of transferring or being top in my class so I can get into biglaw

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$55k is pretty reasonable for Emory. Make sure you take into account stuff like books and tuition increases as well. I would still be realistic about your chances for Biglaw, but it's not out of the question. Good luck