Is Boston worth of extra costs? Forum

[suchana]

Hi All,
I've received the offer from uiuc with $23,000 per year, but I haven't heard from Boston College about scholarship yet. Suppose there is no scholarship from bc, do you think bc is worth of the extra costs since it's in Boston where there would be opportunities for part-time jobs? I think experiences matter in law school. I'm not sure whether the experiences gained in Boston during school are worth of the extra costs. I've looked at previous threads. BC seems to be fine in Boston and NYC markets.
This seems to be a tricky choice.
Thanks for sharing your opinions.

[kemosabe]

Congrats on your acceptances! I think both of these are considered strong regional schools. With that said, a lot is going to depend on personal circumstances regarding your goals, ties, financial means, and desired location. If I'm looking at the right U of Illinois, the employment outcomes seem pretty similar. If you're looking to practice in Chicago, this seems to be the clear choice.

Be prepared for a lot of retake responses though. A lot of graduates from both schools do not end up with law jobs. This is quite a risk even with a large scholarship, let alone at sticker price.

[bombaysippin]

Hi All,
I've received the offer from uiuc with $23,000 per year, but I haven't heard from Boston College about scholarship yet. Suppose there is no scholarship from bc, do you think bc is worth of the extra costs since it's in Boston where there would be opportunities for part-time jobs? I think experiences matter in law school. I'm not sure whether the experiences gained in Boston during school are worth of the extra costs. I've looked at previous threads. BC seems to be fine in Boston and NYC markets.
This seems to be a tricky choice.
Thanks for sharing your opinions.

Not at all if sticker is what you're looking at...

[birdlaw624]

I don't get it? Boston area is better because they have opportunities for part time jobs? Doesn't every area have opportunities for part time work? To answer your question, no BC is not better at sticker than UIUC w/ 23k because of part time opportunities in Boston.

[TheSpanishMain]

Where do you actually want to work? Like, as a lawyer? BC and IUIC are both regional schools in different regions. You shouldn't just pick schools out of a hat.

What do you mean by "part time work"? Like legal opportunities/networking, or like tending bar at night for extra cash?

[Nova]

BC @ sticker is a bad move

[Otunga]

BC with a substantial scholarship is good for a New Englander depending on their aspirations. Otherwise, don't be anxious to attend, especially not with sticker and Boston living expenses. I'm no expert, but I wouldn't count on NYC from BC either - excellent grades at the top of your class are probably required.

[timbs4339]

It really depends on your goals for right out of school. For PI/gov't, breadth of internship experiences is important. If you just want to work for a large law firm, then experiences do not matter since they hire after your first year anyway.

[Informative]

It depends on what you want to do. If you want BigLaw, you are going to have a very uphill battle from UIUC whereas BC places fairly well in BigLaw. If you don't care about BigLaw, you should just take the cheaper option. You'll be happy not to have the debt.

[cinephile]

It's kind of a commute to get in from BC to Boston for part-time work. I don't know how far UIUC is from Chicago, but assume it's about the same because the B line is terrible and will destroy your life. Even if it's not, you'll find clinics at any school.

[Nova]

It depends on what you want to do. If you want BigLaw, you are going to have a very uphill battle from UIUC whereas BC places fairly well in BigLaw.

Don't attend either if you want to work at a large firm. The odds would be to stacked against you.