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Nvm

You might want to reconsider if your current job puts you in position to have savings and you can live comfortably.

Anyway, clearly your desired strategy is debt minimization. You can't take WUSTL for 100k, so that's out.

Do yourself a favor and live at home if you go to Oklahoma. If your from the area and want an ADA job, it sounds doable if you gun for it. Really I'd try to get as close to that 18k number as I can in the event I have to barista. It's a low price for a 2/3 shot at becoming a lawyer if you're okay with a small firm in Oklahoma.

The important factor here is figuring out what you want before you make this decision.

We need Romo to comment as to whether your options out of WUSTL would be impacted by your lack of ties to STL/MO.

If your calculations are correct and your lack of ties poses no major problems (fairly big assumptions), then I think WUSTL would be the easy call. WUSTL at <$100K of debt is not a bad option. Since you're not firm as to your career goals, I'm not putting much stock into them for purposes of this recommendation. WUSTL is not going to give you the same menu of options as a T14, but it will give you far better chances at a much wider array of employment options than OU. Only go to Oklahoma if you are completely committed to pursuing one of the very limited career paths it can open up for you.

First, though, make sure your calculations are correct (i.e. that they account for tuition increases and interest accumulation before repayment). Find next year's COA figures from these schools' webpages and input them here, along with your own contribution from savings, and get back to us with the results: http://www.law.georgetown.edu/admission ... geid=61621.

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Dolphine wrote:I used the gtown calculator. I felt both were a little high to be honest, especially WUSTL's.

Yeah, if you have a good idea as to COL and the figure is at variance with the figure used to compute the maximum loan amount, then you should deduct (or add, depending on the case) the difference from the total COA figure you input. Maybe Romo can help you have a better idea of what you'd be looking at for COL at WUSTL, given some knowledge of your fixed expenses along with how you're willing to economize.

The strength of the debt calculator is its inclusion of tuition increases and the interest that piles up from disbursement to repayment, which most people either underestimate or neglect to take into account altogether.

Im down with WUSTL for $95K total. Thats a fair price IMO if you want to practice in the region. It takes my vote.

I'm dense and cannot interpret all this. How much are you paying out of pocket? And then how much will you be in debt? I want to see only three numbers here.

1. What you're paying out of pocket from your savings. I'm assuming this number will be the same for both schools, yes?
2. How much debt you will be in after OU.
3. How much debt you will be in after WUSTL.

I don't care about scholarships or anything like that. Just the bottom line. What are you paying in cash and what are you debt financing?

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Dolphine wrote:

BigZuck wrote:I'm dense and cannot interpret all this. How much are you paying out of pocket? And then how much will you be in debt? I want to see only three numbers here.

1. What you're paying out of pocket from your savings. I'm assuming this number will be the same for both schools, yes?
2. How much debt you will be in after OU.
3. How much debt you will be in after WUSTL.

I don't care about scholarships or anything like that. Just the bottom line. What are you paying in cash and what are you debt financing?

Did you not seek the poll?

OU - 50K debt
WUSTL - 95k debt

I saw a wall of text with a bunch of numbers and my density (call it stupidity if you must) caused me to be confused and I wasn't sure where to look.

Ok, that's good. We are almost there, you're just missing one more crucial number.

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Dolphine wrote:

BigZuck wrote:I'm dense and cannot interpret all this. How much are you paying out of pocket? And then how much will you be in debt? I want to see only three numbers here.

1. What you're paying out of pocket from your savings. I'm assuming this number will be the same for both schools, yes?
2. How much debt you will be in after OU.
3. How much debt you will be in after WUSTL.

I don't care about scholarships or anything like that. Just the bottom line. What are you paying in cash and what are you debt financing?

Did you not see the poll?

OU - 50K debt
WUSTL - 95k debt

ETA: Approx 5-8k in savings. not a sizable amount to make a dent. I don't see how that's relevant/a factor if its the same for both schools.

It's relevant because if you were paying like 40K out of pocket and then going in debt 50 or 95k on top of that then you shouldn't really go to either.

As it stands I think you're just about pushing the bounds of what WUSTL is worth but 100K or so is defensible IMO.

go pokes?

FloridaCoastalorbust wrote:go pokes?

jbagelboy wrote:Im down with WUSTL for $95K total. Thats a fair price IMO if you want to practice in the region. It takes my vote.

This is where I fall as well.

I think both estimates are very high and conservative, which is good. I think you could do less than 50k from OU (based on what you've told me), and I definitely think you could get out with less than 95k in debt from WUSTL. Most schools, including WUSTL, tend to overestimate for living expenses and rent. And like I tell a lot of people, you should strongly consider working your 2L and 3L year to help defray living costs. I was able to do it and was still very involved in extracurriculars and did fine in school while working 15-20 hours a week.

But even as it stands with your current figures, I'd take WUSTL personally. When it was OU at 40-50k vs. WUSTL at 150k+, OU all the way. But with the increased scholarship, I think the debt is very manageable. How set are you on going back to Oklahoma? I just sent my OU-native buddy a message, so we'll see if he chimes in with his thoughts.

Hey this is romo's friend from oklahoma. I just graduated with romo from wash u. I faced a similar decision: wash u w/ scholly vs. ou w/ a bigger scholly, and I knew I either wanted to work in oklahoma/midwest or DC. You really can't go wrong here. OU dominates Oklahoma, but Wash U has a GREAT name there in the legal community. I decided on Wash U, and I couldn't be happier with my decision. I worked at a firm during my 2L summer with three 2L SA's and two 1Ls. I was the only non-OU student there. OU really does control the market. However, there are a TON of wash u grads in Tulsa, and there are plenty of Wash U grads in OKC that were successful and willing to meet.

I think the biggest difference is that you still have to be higher in your class at OU to get the same type of interviews you'll get just by virtue of going to Wash U. I was able to get interviews and callbacks at each of the biggest/best firms in Oklahoma, and I was in the middle of my class at Wash U. Meanwhile, I knew people in the top 10% at OU that weren't getting those same types of opportunities. Still, the OU community is extremely strong in OKC and there were plenty of opportunities that my friends at OU had that I never even knew about.

Once again: you can't go wrong here. Good luck!!

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Go to WUSTL, especially since you don't really seem to like Oklahoma.

what did u decide and PM me if you want to out yourself (go pokes 2012 brah)

Wussle for sure. Didn't even know Oklahoma had a law school.