Ranking vs. Location? Forum

[leahkc12]

I am currently trying to decide between these schools and am having great difficulty. I know I want to work in NYC and would prefer big law. All schools have strong programs for my particular interest in law. I have a personal reason to stay in NYC so an unbiased opinion would be greatly appreciated. Here are the options in alphabetical order.

1. Brooklyn Law: $75,536 with a $48,000/year scholarship (would not need to take out loans)
2. Boston University: $62,010 with a $10,000/year scholarship
3. Fordham Law: $75,922
4. George Washington Law: $74,400

I would finance all with loans, savings and hopefully scholarships.

Thanks for taking the time to help!

[Bronck]

I am currently trying to decide between these schools and am having great difficulty. I know I want to work in NYC and would prefer big law. All schools have strong programs for my particular interest in law. I have a personal reason to stay in NYC so an unbiased opinion would be greatly appreciated. Here are the options in alphabetical order.

1. Brooklyn Law: $75,536 with a $48,000/year scholarship (would not need to take out loans)
2. Boston University: $62,010 with a $10,000/year scholarship
3. Fordham Law: $75,922
4. George Washington Law: $74,400

I would finance all with loans, savings and hopefully scholarships.

Thanks for taking the time to help!

Then retake because these are terrible options for your goal.

[empyreanrrv]

Why wouldn't you need to take out loans for Brooklyn?

BU, Fordham and GW are not worth it at that price. Brooklyn may be, but I'm not sure where that extra $30k a year is coming from if you won't need to take out loans.

What are your stats? If you prefer big law, you'll need to retake.

[guano]

If you want to get NY biglaw, your ranking should be
1 - Fordham
2/3 - Boston or GW
4 - Brooklyn

To even be able to interview for biglaw from brooklyn, you need to be top 15%.
The other schools top 1/3, if not better. Fordham will have an edge over the other two in NY.

Do keep in mind that it's a lot of money for a relatively small chance at success. If you can go to Brooklyn without taking on debt, it's a good deal, but you'd have to be content to not get biglaw

[isuperserial]

I am currently trying to decide between these schools and am having great difficulty. I know I want to work in NYC and would prefer big law. All schools have strong programs for my particular interest in law. I have a personal reason to stay in NYC so an unbiased opinion would be greatly appreciated. Here are the options in alphabetical order.

1. Brooklyn Law: $75,536 with a $48,000/year scholarship (would not need to take out loans)
2. Boston University: $62,010 with a $10,000/year scholarship
3. Fordham Law: $75,922
4. George Washington Law: $74,400

I would finance all with loans, savings and hopefully scholarships.

Thanks for taking the time to help!

In addition to what people above had said... See if you can leverage for a scholarship at Fordham with your BU scholarship. If you're successful, Fordham could turn into a relatively decent option. As it stands, Fordham is the best for fulfilling your goals, but it's not necessarily financially prudent.

[romothesavior]

I'm a little confused by your numbers. Can you tell us 1) the total cost of attendance (tuition + fees+ interest + tuition increases + cost of living) for three years at each school, and 2) your expected level of indebtedness after three years, keeping accrued interest in mind? This would help a lot.

[leahkc12]

Thank you for the replies.

I have enough savings (80,000) to not need to take out loans if I go to Brooklyn Law.

My stats are 166 and 3.3 GPA Ivy League; retaking is not an option.

Total indebtedness:
1. Brooklyn Law: ($75,536 - $48,000) x 3 = $82,608 - $80,000 = $2,608
2. Boston University: ($62,010 - $10,000) x 3 = $156,030 - $80,000 = $76,030
3. Fordham Law: $75,922 x 3 = $227,766 - $80,000 = $147,766
4. George Washington Law: $74,400 x 3 = $223,200 - $80,000 = $143,200

I have bolded the total cost of attendance and the final number is the expected level of indebtedness. I didn't add accrued interest.

I would be open to something other than big law, but would also like the opportunity to pay off debts.

[romothesavior]

It looks like you're failing to account for tuition increases and interest accrual, which is probably at least another 10k-15k. You should absolutely retake. 200k+ in cost and 150k+ in debt is not worth it at all for Fordham and GW. I suppose Brooklyn with no debt is okay financially in the long term, but you should quickly disabuse yourself of the idea that you're getting big law. I can think of better ways to blow that 80k. I think BU is financially your best option of the four, but still not real smart if you ask me.

[hephaestus]

Why, specifically, is retaking not an option?
Edit: I ask because big law is a fools errand from these schools and there are few other ways to service large amounts of debt.

[WokeUpInACar]

Why, specifically, is retaking not an option?

Seriously. If nothing else you could use that 80k savings to live while you're studying for the LSAT. The decision to retake could literally be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars in the long run. If you really prepped your ass off you'd have a shot at Columbia or NYU ED or $$ at Fordham.

[leahkc12]

I took the LSAT in Feb 2011, got a 156, Oct 2012 (studied my ass off) and got 166. I really don't see my score going any higher.

[buddyt]

I took the LSAT in Feb 2011, got a 156, Oct 2012 (studied my ass off) and got 166. I really don't see my score going any higher.

If you want NYC biglaw, you're gonna want T14. If you want T14, you're gonna need to retake, especially since you haven't used up all 3 attempts.

[hephaestus]

I took the LSAT in Feb 2011, got a 156, Oct 2012 (studied my ass off) and got 166. I really don't see my score going any higher.

If you want NYC biglaw, you're gonna want T14. If you want T14, you're gonna need to retake, especially since you haven't used up all 3 attempts.

Yes, this. Congrats on the big improvement on the second take. There's almost always room for improvement. I am a three time taker, my second was a 166. I really thought about not retaking until I did more research on the outcomes at the schools I could get into. Then I decided to take a third time. Now I am at a T14 with $$$. Think about it very seriously.