Picking between T14s, looking for Boston Forum

[Lax101]

I want biglaw in Boston, and these are the offers so far. I am from Boston originally. Also need to tell GULC by 4/1/13. Help me!

Factors to consider:

1) I'm not horrendously debt averse, but I also don't want to screw myself over.
2) I also want to factor in how well these schools can place me to Boston law firms, as I've been told that they can either be brand-name conscious or extremely provincial.

I also haven't heard from several schools, but this is what I have so far. I also haven't negotiated with all of these schools yet:

Georgetown - 100k
Duke - 72k
Michigan - 67k
NYU - Sticker
Cornell - Sticker
UVA - Sticker

Thanks guys!

EDIT: with adjusted cost of attendance, off LST
Georgetown - 165,973
Duke - 180,727
Michigan - 187,253
NYU - 280,065
Cornell - 271,785
UVA - 264,085

[dixon02]

Instead of displaying how much money you've been offered at each, tell us what the total cost of attendance after scholarship money is at each. That's all that really matters, and I would assume it narrows the gap between Georgetown and both Michigan and Duke, potentially substantially. Best guess is that once those numbers are posted, Michigan will be the answer.

[MapsMapsMaps]

Instead of displaying how much money you've been offered at each, tell us what the total cost of attendance after scholarship money is at each.

[rad lulz]

Instead of displaying how much money you've been offered at each, tell us what the total cost of attendance after scholarship money is at each.

Be sure to include code of livin and interest.

Use the Georgetown law debt calculator

[Lax101]

First post updated with adjusted cost of attendance, with scholarships in play.

[WearyCartographer]

I'm biased but I vote Duke. Georgetown is just so freaking big and their biglaw placement stats are not up to par with the rest of the T14. Between Duke and Michigan - I think Duke is likely to do a little better in Boston but not a ton since it's still an East Coast school - with ties they both should get you back without much of a problem. Michigan also has not preformed as well as Duke in biglaw placement over the past few years.

PM me if you want more info on Duke specifically (I'm a 2L). I also know a good deal about the Boston market.

[Ti Malice]

Yeesh. Not particularly crazy about any of them at those prices, but Duke is the best of these.

Time to negotiate.

[hephaestus]

I'd pick Duke. I think the extra cost from GULC is worth it.

[Real Madrid]

I'd go ahead and eliminate UVA, NYU, Cornell and GULC.

[JusticeHarlan]

I want biglaw in Boston . . . I also want to factor in how well these schools can place me to Boston law firms

Have you checked the websites of large Boston firms to see how well these schools are represented (accounting class size, of course)? Take a few minutes and see how many alums there are at the Boston offices of Ropes & Gray, WilmerHale, Goodwin Procter, Bingham McCutchen, Choate Hall, foley hoag, Mintz Levin, etc.

[Ti Malice]

I'd go ahead and eliminate UVA, NYU, Cornell and GULC.

OP shouldn't eliminate anyone until he/she is finished with negotiations.

OP, take your Michigan offer and NYU acceptance to UVA. If UVA gives you money, go back to Michigan and ask for more. If Michigan gives you more, go back to UVA. Then take your best offer to Duke and see if they'll give you more. Then tell Cornell about your options. I don't have any experience with scholarship negotiation, so those who do can chime in here in regard to the exact strategy you should follow, but you shouldn't be eliminating any school until you've played the scholarship negotiation game to its conclusion.

[dixon02]

I'd go ahead and eliminate UVA, NYU, Cornell and GULC.

OP shouldn't eliminate anyone until he/she is finished with negotiations.

OP, take your Michigan offer and NYU acceptance to UVA. If UVA gives you money, go back to Michigan and ask for more. If Michigan gives you more, go back to UVA. Then take your best offer to Duke and see if they'll give you more. Then tell Cornell about your options. I don't have any experience with scholarship negotiation, so those who do can chime in here in regard to the exact strategy you should follow, but you shouldn't be eliminating any school until you've played the scholarship negotiation game to its conclusion.

Agreed. Can't eliminate anything until you've tried to negotiate. As it stands right now, it's gotta be Duke or Michigan. Like others, I'd lean Duke, but that's a tossup. I don't know what Cornell's placement is like in Boston, but I would assume the name carries some weight up there. I wouldn't write them off yet, as they are the most likely of the schools that haven't offered money to be persuaded by your other offers. If you can get them to match Georgetown's 100k, I think that's a very solid option.

[Lax101]

I'd go ahead and eliminate UVA, NYU, Cornell and GULC.

OP shouldn't eliminate anyone until he/she is finished with negotiations.

OP, take your Michigan offer and NYU acceptance to UVA. If UVA gives you money, go back to Michigan and ask for more. If Michigan gives you more, go back to UVA. Then take your best offer to Duke and see if they'll give you more. Then tell Cornell about your options. I don't have any experience with scholarship negotiation, so those who do can chime in here in regard to the exact strategy you should follow, but you shouldn't be eliminating any school until you've played the scholarship negotiation game to its conclusion.

Agreed. Can't eliminate anything until you've tried to negotiate. As it stands right now, it's gotta be Duke or Michigan. Like others, I'd lean Duke, but that's a tossup. I don't know what Cornell's placement is like in Boston, but I would assume the name carries some weight up there. I wouldn't write them off yet, as they are the most likely of the schools that haven't offered money to be persuaded by your other offers. If you can get them to match Georgetown's 100k, I think that's a very solid option.

Thanks for the advice, and thanks to everyone else as well. Can anyone shed a bit more light on why Duke is the overwhelming favorite here over Michigan? I knew GULC wasn't going to curry a lot of favor here, but I thought the t10 vs t14 distinction would give Michigan the edge, since money's more or less equal.

[Ti Malice]

There isn't really a T10 distinction. Duke places a significantly larger percentage of its class into BigLaw + federal clerkships than Michigan.