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Emory v Alabama v Florida
Posted: Mon Apr 08, 2013 4:27 pm
by muhami
Emory University, #23 - 46k/yr
Tuition per year with scholarship: 27k
Cost of living - Atlanta: 19k
Three year total cost: 138k
University of Alabama, #21 - 27k/yr
Tuition per year with scholarship: 13k
Cost of living - Tuscaloosa: 14k
Three year total cost: 81k
University of Florida, #46 - 24k/yr
Tuition per year with scholarship: 9k
Cost of living - Gainesville: 15k
Three year total cost: 72k
I am from Florida and enjoy the southeast US.
I am not sure what legal path I want to take.
I will not retake the LSAT.
Re: Emory v Alabama v Florida
Posted: Mon Apr 08, 2013 5:17 pm
by patrickd139
Finally, someone who's picking amongst regional schools in a region they have ties to, at a reasonable price and where they're comfortable working post law-school. It's the trifecta.
I don't know enough about the legal markets in the southeast to give you useful advice, but my gut reaction (based purely on LST) is that Emory is a little overpriced, Alabama is a little not in the state where you seem to have the most ties, and Florida is in the state you're from. Gun to my head? I'd go Florida. Not sure Emory is worth twice the cost of UF.
What's your LSAT currently? Might as well go ahead and tell us why you're such a special snowflake that retaking the LSAT is categorically prohibited.
Re: Emory v Alabama v Florida
Posted: Mon Apr 08, 2013 5:59 pm
by untar614
muhami wrote:Emory University, #23 - 46k/yr
Tuition per year with scholarship: 27k
Cost of living - Atlanta: 19k
Three year total cost: 138k
University of Alabama, #21 - 27k/yr
Tuition per year with scholarship: 13k
Cost of living - Tuscaloosa: 14k
Three year total cost: 81k
University of Florida, #46 - 24k/yr
Tuition per year with scholarship: 9k
Cost of living - Gainesville: 15k
Three year total cost: 72k
I am from Florida and enjoy the southeast US.
I am not sure what legal path I want to take.
I will not retake the LSAT.
you have a 3.9/163 and you won't retake? I should slap you for that. A retake could easily get you into T14 territory.
You should be going to UF for close to nothing, or if you want to return to Florida, the only non-t14 outside FL I would recommend would be Vandy, as that seems to have cache around here if you're from the state (maybe Texas too? idk..)
wouldn't go to emory at that coa. Bama only if you wanna stay in alabama.
But seriously, you should really retake and apply early next cycle (ED UVA anyone?). It could get you T14 with just a little improvement. Given how close you are to that threshold, not retaking could seriously be one of the worst decisions you make for a while. Just a small improvement and early app could give you sooooooo much better options.
Re: Emory v Alabama v Florida
Posted: Mon Apr 08, 2013 6:04 pm
by dissonance1848
Yeah OP, you should really retake. Do not flush that 3.9 GPA down the toilet.
Since you want to be in the SE and have ties to Florida, retaking and going to a strong regional like the ones you mentioned above, but for no tuition and only living expenses, would be ideal.
If forced to put a gun to my head, however, I would go with UF here.
Re: Emory v Alabama v Florida
Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2013 11:39 am
by timbs4339
muhami wrote:Emory University, #23 - 46k/yr
Tuition per year with scholarship: 27k
Cost of living - Atlanta: 19k
Three year total cost: 138k
University of Alabama, #21 - 27k/yr
Tuition per year with scholarship: 13k
Cost of living - Tuscaloosa: 14k
Three year total cost: 81k
University of Florida, #46 - 24k/yr
Tuition per year with scholarship: 9k
Cost of living - Gainesville: 15k
Three year total cost: 72k
I am from Florida and enjoy the southeast US.
I am not sure what legal path I want to take.
I will not retake the LSAT.
Florida is probably OK at that price, but I don't know why you would want to close off a lot of savings (think if someone paid you 70K or 100K for a year of work) and a lot of job opportunities by not retaking. It's one year of your life for a 40 year career.
Re: Emory v Alabama v Florida
Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2013 11:42 am
by Ruxin1
2 or 3 points would mean going to Emory for half that price.
Re: Emory v Alabama v Florida
Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2013 11:43 am
by muhami
Thanks for your advice everyone. I really appreciate it!
I am ready to go to law school this Fall and do not want to wait another year. I am also content with the debts I will take on at each of these schools.
UF is a good choice but I feel like I could go to Alabama for jus a little but more and have better regional opportunities and better opportunities in the state of Alabama than I would in Florida with UF.
Re: Emory v Alabama v Florida
Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2013 11:47 am
by fluffythepenguin
muhami wrote:Thanks for your advice everyone. I really appreciate it!
I am ready to go to law school this Fall and do not want to wait another year. I am also content with the debts I will take on at each of these schools.
UF is a good choice but I feel like I could go to Alabama for jus a little but more and have better regional opportunities and better opportunities in the state of Alabama than I would in Florida with UF.
Retake in June and you can still go this fall. Don't make the next 10 years of your life harder because you don't feel like spending 3 months studying to improve your LSAT score.
Re: Emory v Alabama v Florida
Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2013 11:48 am
by timbs4339
fluffythepenguin wrote:muhami wrote:Thanks for your advice everyone. I really appreciate it!
I am ready to go to law school this Fall and do not want to wait another year. I am also content with the debts I will take on at each of these schools.
UF is a good choice but I feel like I could go to Alabama for jus a little but more and have better regional opportunities and better opportunities in the state of Alabama than I would in Florida with UF.
Retake in June and you can still go this fall. Don't make the next 10 years of your life harder because you don't feel like spending 3 months studying to improve your LSAT score.
Re: Emory v Alabama v Florida
Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2013 11:50 am
by badaboom61
I would say UF out of the 3 (although retake is the best option).
UF and Bama are basically peer schools, and are the strongest schools within their markets. Alabama is a stronger legal market than Florida, but unless you have ties specifically to Alabama you will be going in at a disadvantage compared to students with comparable grades who are from Alabama. If you are from the Florida panhandle, you could probably get away with it, but central / south Florida would be pushing it.
Re: Emory v Alabama v Florida
Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2013 11:51 am
by Ruxin1
If you want Alabama why not go work in that state for a year? Saves money, retakes LSAT, and starts to develop some ties.
Re: Emory v Alabama v Florida
Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2013 11:52 am
by WokeUpInACar
fluffythepenguin wrote:muhami wrote:Thanks for your advice everyone. I really appreciate it!
I am ready to go to law school this Fall and do not want to wait another year. I am also content with the debts I will take on at each of these schools.
UF is a good choice but I feel like I could go to Alabama for jus a little but more and have better regional opportunities and better opportunities in the state of Alabama than I would in Florida with UF.
Retake in June and you can still go this fall. Don't make the next 10 years of your life harder because you don't feel like spending 3 months studying to improve your LSAT score.
Seriously THISTHISTHIS. It never fails to amaze me how stubborn people are about retaking when it can save them tens of thousands and affect the rest of their life. These are the same people who tell you how their hard work in law school will get them a job, but won't put in a few months of hard work that would DRASTICALLY affect their future debt load and employment prospects.
Re: Emory v Alabama v Florida
Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2013 12:00 pm
by DoveBodyWash
WokeUpInACar wrote:fluffythepenguin wrote:muhami wrote:Thanks for your advice everyone. I really appreciate it!
I am ready to go to law school this Fall and do not want to wait another year. I am also content with the debts I will take on at each of these schools.
UF is a good choice but I feel like I could go to Alabama for jus a little but more and have better regional opportunities and better opportunities in the state of Alabama than I would in Florida with UF.
Retake in June and you can still go this fall. Don't make the next 10 years of your life harder because you don't feel like spending 3 months studying to improve your LSAT score.
Seriously THISTHISTHIS. It never fails to amaze me how stubborn people are about retaking when it can save them tens of thousands and affect the rest of their life. These are the same people who tell you how their hard work in law school will get them a job, but won't put in a few months of hard work that would DRASTICALLY affect their future debt load and employment prospects.
+100
Re: Emory v Alabama v Florida
Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2013 12:03 pm
by BigZuck
cusenation wrote:WokeUpInACar wrote:fluffythepenguin wrote:muhami wrote:Thanks for your advice everyone. I really appreciate it!
I am ready to go to law school this Fall and do not want to wait another year. I am also content with the debts I will take on at each of these schools.
UF is a good choice but I feel like I could go to Alabama for jus a little but more and have better regional opportunities and better opportunities in the state of Alabama than I would in Florida with UF.
Retake in June and you can still go this fall. Don't make the next 10 years of your life harder because you don't feel like spending 3 months studying to improve your LSAT score.
Seriously THISTHISTHIS. It never fails to amaze me how stubborn people are about retaking when it can save them tens of thousands and affect the rest of their life. These are the same people who tell you how their hard work in law school will get them a job, but won't put in a few months of hard work that would DRASTICALLY affect their future debt load and employment prospects.
+100
+200
Re: Emory v Alabama v Florida
Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2013 12:07 pm
by philosoraptor
muhami wrote:Thanks for your advice everyone. I really appreciate it!
I am ready to go to law school this Fall and do not want to wait another year. I am also content with the debts I will take on at each of these schools.
You do know that $72K for UF really means more than $90K with interest, right? And that's if you can afford to pay $1K a month for about nine years. I get the sense you don't understand how much money that is, especially for a school where your chances of getting a legal job may be less than 60%, and chances of getting biglaw or federal clerkship are around 14%. As of 2011, the median starting salary for a UF grad was $57K, and that's with only 45% reporting. See
http://www.lstscorereports.com/?school=florida.
It will take you just a few minutes to do the same estimates for Alabama and Emory. Now compare those numbers to the cost of sucking it up and taking the LSAT one more time in order to avoid sacrificing your financial future by taking out over $100K in nondischargeable debt for a risky J.D. Let us know what conclusion(s) you come to.
Re: Emory v Alabama v Florida
Posted: Wed Apr 10, 2013 12:34 am
by envisciguy
muhami wrote:Thanks for your advice everyone. I really appreciate it!
I am ready to go to law school this Fall and do not want to wait another year. I am also content with the debts I will take on at each of these schools.
UF is a good choice but I feel like I could go to Alabama for jus a little but more and have better regional opportunities and better opportunities in the state of Alabama than I would in Florida with UF.
If you were willing to retake and could raise your score just a couple points (literally 2 points to a 165), you could go to UF or Alabama for close to free. If you get 168+ you're likely in at Vandy with some $, which might be a better choice than both. Also, I'd be hesitant to go to Alabama if you have no ties there - it's fairly insular.
If you're really set on one of these three though, UF is probably your best bet.