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I have a scholarship for UVA for $30,000 a year for three years. Today, I finally received my financial aid offer from NYU, which is a Dean's Scholarship of $30,000 a year for the first two years, and then $15,000-$30,000 my third year, depending on my previous summer earnings. I totally didn't expect to get any aid from NYU given my numbers.

Scholarship offers:
UVA: $90,000
NYU: $75,000-$90,000
Obviously NYU has a higher cost of living.

Cost of Attendence for 2013-2014 year at UVA: $73,780 (from website)
Cost of Attendence for 2012-2013 year at NYU: $78,112 (taken from award letter)
So I imagine NYU's numbers for this year would be a little higher.

The deposit deadline for UVA scholarship recipients was April 5, so I already submitted a $500 deposit. NYU is giving me until May 3 to deposit.

If that doesn't make it hard enough, I was waitlisted at Harvard a couple weeks ago and then received a JS1. I was told in the interview not to expect to hear back until after May 1. So basically, I could end up depositing at NYU and then a week later potentially get a JS2, though maybe not. The thought of depositing again and possibly losing another $500 isn't too appealing.

Other information: I plan on going into the non-profit sector for immigration law. I know NYU is a good school for public interest support. UVA has an immigration clinic and concentration. However, if I am accepted at Harvard, I plan on attending there.

Given all this, should I just stick with UVA and see what happens with Harvard? Or should I deposit at NYU and then wait on Harvard?

(edited for cost of living numbers)

Sorry, I forgot to update this thread. Just in case anyone cares of if anyone in the future is interested:

In the end, I decided to deposit at NYU based on the public interest opportunities and subsequently withdrew from UVA immediately.

About two weeks later, to my extreme surprise, I was accepted to Harvard, where I will be attending this fall. I ended up getting a significant grant from Harvard - well, for my first year at least (grants/financial aid disbursements are reevaluated each year).

(edited again for final application cycle results/decision)

Can you calculate total COA for UVA and NYU? That will account for difference in scholarships and cost of living and will be a more accurate comparison. If you want PI and want to be in New York, I would go with NYU. If you would rather work in DC, go with UVA. Double depositing sucks, but if you get that JS2, you probably won't be thinking about the $500 you lost.

EDIT: Also, if you're pretty set on PI, which would make your NYU scholarship the same as UVA, and the only difference between the two would be COL, I would definitely go with NYU.

I wouldn't "count" on getting in to Harvard to the degree where you lose your 2nd best option if you actually want to attend. The JS1 -> JS2 chances are not in the same metric as the pre-WL %'s. Personally in your shoes I would take NYU over UVA. It will be better for what you want to do, and even with total COA calculated (wherein NYU will inevitably be more expensive, because it has the highest CoL in the country), I still think it would be worth the extra $50-60K in total. So sorry to say it, but I'd go ahead and deposit at NYU and withdraw from UVA at some point b/t May 1 and May 14 when they'll see your multiple deposits.

Good luck with Harvard nonetheless!

Equal UVA and NYU Scholarships + Immigration PI = NYU.

I had a similar decision and went with UVA, but I had in-state tuition to boot. At equal cost and with PI, I think NYU can win this.

NYU if you want immigration. PM Badfish.

Reasserting NYU, given the choices and your goals.

NYU.

Yeah, for your interests I think NYU wins this one pretty easily.

I think NYU is an easy choice here. Definitely worth the extra deposit; $500 is nothing (unfortunately) in the grand scheme. The immigrant rights clinic is excellent. SCOTUS just cited an amicus brief students in the clinic wrote. Not that that should sway you, but it's pretty cool.

NYU. Also, I wouldn't bank on Harvard. Its wait list is massive.

Thanks for all the advice. I am mildly surprised - I expected there to be more of a push for UVA considering the cost of living difference.

I had a similar choice to make at the $75k level (and no Harvard). I chose UVA - with COL, it's about $20k+ cheaper or more even if scholarships are equal, and I'm pretty sure I don't want NY biglaw, or live in NYC long-term.

Also, with the PI world being what it is, I figured it was important to minimize debt.

I'll tell you in three years if I made the right choice. For what it's worth, when I put up a poll, 66% of people told me that it probably wasn't the right one.

Sorry, I forgot to update this thread. Just in case anyone cares of if anyone in the future is interested:

In the end, I decided to deposit at NYU based on the public interest opportunities and subsequently withdrew from UVA immediately.

About two weeks later, to my extreme surprise, I was accepted to Harvard, where I will be attending this fall. I ended up getting a significant grant from Harvard - well, for my first year at least (grants/financial aid disbursements are reevaluated each year).

Congrats! As long as there's no significant change in you and your family's financial situation, your grants will remain more or less the same in future years, so don't worry about that.