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UChi ($) vs NU ($$$) vs Cornell ($$$$)
Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2014 3:49 pm
by Leo
Schools I'm Considering (and COA)
- Chicago (85k)
- Northwestern (27k)
- Cornell (0)
Financing
Combination of loans and spouse's income
Location
Currently in Chicago and will probably return to Chicago after law school
Career Goals
Patent law because I have a few years of experience in engineering
Re: Which T14?
Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2014 3:53 pm
by TheSpanishMain
This is literally unanswerable, in my opinion, without info on COA.
Re: Which T14?
Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2014 4:13 pm
by cotiger
TheSpanishMain wrote:This is literally unanswerable, in my opinion, without info on COA.
Re: Which T14?
Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2014 4:22 pm
by Leo
TheSpanishMain wrote:This is literally unanswerable, in my opinion, without info on COA.
Granted. Will update OP when I have that info.
Re: Which T14?
Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2014 5:12 pm
by Synch
Leo wrote:TheSpanishMain wrote:This is literally unanswerable, in my opinion, without info on COA.
Granted. Will update OP when I have that info.
I'll be interested in hearing your thoughts once you get money info - we have literally the same cycle so far. Expect a PM in the next few weeks.
Re: Which T14?
Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2014 8:57 pm
by Tiago Splitter
IIRC you've got a legit IP background so taking the money makes even more sense for you than it does for most people. Obviously we've got a ways to go and you should have a strong negotiating position, but when you make your final decision keep that in mind.
Re: Which T14?
Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2014 10:14 pm
by 2014
This is too preliminary. I think Chicago obviously matches your goals so I'll re-frame this - here are the scholarship numbers I think it would take for me to go somewhere over Chicago at sticker given your preferences. Note that for Columbia/NYU all being even Chicago is going to save you in COA so those numbers are a bit higher than they would be for someone with diff goals.
Harvard - Sticker-15k
Chicago - Sticker
Columbia - 45k
NYU - 45k-60k
Penn - 60-75k
Duke 75k-90k
Michigan - 90k-105k
Northwestern - 60k-75k
Cornell - 105k
GULC - Literally no scholarship high enough
Re: Which T14?
Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2014 10:26 pm
by paglababa
2014 wrote:This is too preliminary. I think Chicago obviously matches your goals so I'll re-frame this - here are the scholarship numbers I think it would take for me to go somewhere over Chicago at sticker given your preferences. Note that for Columbia/NYU all being even Chicago is going to save you in COA so those numbers are a bit higher than they would be for someone with diff goals.
Harvard - Sticker-15k
Chicago - Sticker
Columbia - 45k
NYU - 45k-60k
Penn - 60-75k
Duke 75k-90k
Michigan - 90k-105k
Northwestern - 60k-75k
Cornell - 105k
GULC - Literally no scholarship high enough
I disagree. I would not pick Chicago over Columbia or NYU if they are offering up to 60k. CCN all place similarly. You have Chicago ties. Just bid NYC and Chicago at OCI from those schools.
Anyway, this thread is pointless until you have all of your $ offers.
Re: Which T14?
Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2014 11:20 pm
by SplitMyPants
Tiago Splitter wrote:IIRC you've got a legit IP background so taking the money makes even more sense for you than it does for most people. Obviously we've got a ways to go and you should have a strong negotiating position, but when you make your final decision keep that in mind.
Tiago, can you elaborate on this a bit more? I assume it's because a strong IP background would lead to a
slightly higher chance at Big Law from a given school, meaning the employment-numbers vs money cost-benefit calculation is skewed a bit more toward that $$? CMIIW
Re: Which T14?
Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2014 11:29 pm
by Nelson
2014 wrote:This is too preliminary. I think Chicago obviously matches your goals so I'll re-frame this - here are the scholarship numbers I think it would take for me to go somewhere over Chicago at sticker given your preferences. Note that for Columbia/NYU all being even Chicago is going to save you in COA so those numbers are a bit higher than they would be for someone with diff goals.
Harvard - Sticker-15k
Chicago - Sticker
Columbia - 45k
NYU - 45k-60k
Penn - 60-75k
Duke 75k-90k
Michigan - 90k-105k
Northwestern - 60k-75k
Cornell - 105k
GULC - Literally no scholarship high enough
Christ you're a homer.
Re: Which T14?
Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2014 11:34 pm
by 2014
Someone coming to me telling me they already live in Chicago and want to go back to Chicago was too much of a softball. Allowed me to be less objective than my normal low threshold.
I think those numbers are defensible though.
Re: Which T14?
Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2014 11:50 pm
by Tiago Splitter
SplitMyPants wrote:Tiago Splitter wrote:IIRC you've got a legit IP background so taking the money makes even more sense for you than it does for most people. Obviously we've got a ways to go and you should have a strong negotiating position, but when you make your final decision keep that in mind.
Tiago, can you elaborate on this a bit more? I assume it's because a strong IP background would lead to a
slightly higher chance at Big Law from a given school, meaning the employment-numbers vs money cost-benefit calculation is skewed a bit more toward that $$? CMIIW
I don't think it's all that slight. Legit IP credentials, meaning you didn't just major in biology but have advanced degrees/work experience, make landing biglaw incredibly easy. I wouldn't go outside the T-14, but within it just take the money because it's extraordinarily unlikely you'll miss the biglaw boat from one school when you would have gotten it from another.
paglababa wrote: You have Chicago ties. Just bid NYC and Chicago at OCI from those schools.
This is a common response but I really think people who want Chicago should be careful about CLS/NYU. Neither Kirkland Chicago nor Sidley Chicago come to our OCI and those are two of the biggest players in the relatively small Chicago market. Nothing wrong with the New York schools if you'd be happy with NYC as a second choice but otherwise neither CLS nor NYU is likely to offer enough money for either one to make sense.
Re: Which T14?
Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2014 12:07 am
by DrStudMuffin
2014 wrote:This is too preliminary. I think Chicago obviously matches your goals so I'll re-frame this - here are the scholarship numbers I think it would take for me to go somewhere over Chicago at sticker given your preferences. Note that for Columbia/NYU all being even Chicago is going to save you in COA so those numbers are a bit higher than they would be for someone with diff goals.
Harvard - Sticker-15k
Chicago - Sticker
Columbia - 45k
NYU - 45k-60k
Penn - 60-75k
Duke 75k-90k
Michigan - 90k-105k
Northwestern - 60k-75k
Cornell - 105k
GULC - Literally no scholarship high enough
I'm struggling a little bit with the Harvard thing here. I may be reading this incorrectly, but I believe you're saying that in OP's position you would potentially go to Chicago even if Harvard was
cheaper? I know you're a Chicago homer to the core, but this seems silly to me, especially given that OP mentioned Boston was in consideration too.
Also the Michigan-Duke difference doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. With OP's IP cred I don't think the marginal difference in biglaw placement matters as much, and Michigan is definitely better for Chicago than Duke.
The CLS/NYU thing does make sense though.
Re: Which T14?
Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2014 12:35 am
by SplitMyPants
Tiago Splitter wrote:I don't think it's all that slight. Legit IP credentials, meaning you didn't just major in biology but have advanced degrees/work experience, make landing biglaw incredibly easy. I wouldn't go outside the T-14, but within it just take the money because it's extraordinarily unlikely you'll miss the biglaw boat from one school when you would have gotten it from another.
This bodes well for me then. Hopefully I'll have a post in the "choosing" sub-forum late next month when things pan out.
Re: Which T14?
Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2014 9:21 am
by Leo
Thanks for all your great input so far everyone, especially 2014 for trying to quantify the problem. Again, sorry for posting this without COA figures; I am just very anxious about this decision because the deposit deadline for Northwestern's accelerated program, which I am very seriously considering, is in less than a month.
Tiago, you recalled correctly; I do have a solid technical background. Masters and several years of work experience in engineering.
Thanks again for your help and good luck to everyone still waiting for acceptances.
Re: Which T14?
Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2014 10:23 am
by wiz
Nelson wrote:2014 wrote:This is too preliminary. I think Chicago obviously matches your goals so I'll re-frame this - here are the scholarship numbers I think it would take for me to go somewhere over Chicago at sticker given your preferences. Note that for Columbia/NYU all being even Chicago is going to save you in COA so those numbers are a bit higher than they would be for someone with diff goals.
Harvard - Sticker-15k
Chicago - Sticker
Columbia - 45k
NYU - 45k-60k
Penn - 60-75k
Duke 75k-90k
Michigan - 90k-105k
Northwestern - 60k-75k
Cornell - 105k
GULC - Literally no scholarship high enough
Christ you're a homer.
Lol at Chicago being worth Harvard + 15k.
Re: Which T14?
Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2014 11:40 am
by Crowing
wiz wrote:Nelson wrote:2014 wrote:This is too preliminary. I think Chicago obviously matches your goals so I'll re-frame this - here are the scholarship numbers I think it would take for me to go somewhere over Chicago at sticker given your preferences. Note that for Columbia/NYU all being even Chicago is going to save you in COA so those numbers are a bit higher than they would be for someone with diff goals.
Harvard - Sticker-15k
Chicago - Sticker
Columbia - 45k
NYU - 45k-60k
Penn - 60-75k
Duke 75k-90k
Michigan - 90k-105k
Northwestern - 60k-75k
Cornell - 105k
GULC - Literally no scholarship high enough
Christ you're a homer.
Lol at Chicago being worth Harvard + 15k.
Pretty sure 2014 just fails at distinguishing minus signs from hyphens (and is using Chicago as the +/- baseline).
Meaning he thinks Harvard is worth Chicago + 15k in that post
Nothing to see here folks
Re: Which T14?
Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2014 12:24 pm
by Law Sauce
With that background, I would take the highest scholarship in the t10 or NW. Biglaw should be easily obtainable.
Re: Which T14?
Posted: Fri Feb 21, 2014 1:46 pm
by paglababa
Law Sauce wrote:With that background, I would take the highest scholarship in the t10 or NW. Biglaw should be easily obtainable.
Whats the difference between t10 and t14? Especially if you then qualify it with "or NU"
Re: Which T14?
Posted: Fri Feb 28, 2014 11:56 am
by Law Sauce
paglababa wrote:Law Sauce wrote:With that background, I would take the highest scholarship in the t10 or NW. Biglaw should be easily obtainable.
Whats the difference between t10 and t14? Especially if you then qualify it with "or NU"
T10 because they would all be a fine choice. Added NU because he wants Chicago and it would also be a good choice. I wouldn't do Cornell or Gtown with the other options that are likely to come because Cornell is NY focused and Gtown just has lower employment numbers. Duke could be defensible. Either way, wait for more scholarships. Someone has to come close or beat 90k at Michigan for this to even be an issue imo.
Re: UChi ($) vs Michigan ($$) vs NU ($$$) vs Cornell ($$$$)
Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 9:18 pm
by Leo
Bump
Re: UChi ($) vs Michigan ($$) vs NU ($$$) vs Cornell ($$$$)
Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 9:30 pm
by sah
Use Cornell to bump NU higher - then go to NU. It's best for Chicago, and plus your spouse won't have to move.
Re: Which T14?
Posted: Mon Mar 24, 2014 10:59 pm
by jk148706
TheSpanishMain wrote:This is literally unanswerable, in my opinion, without info on COA.
Literally.
Re: UChi ($) vs Michigan ($$) vs NU ($$$) vs Cornell ($$$$)
Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2014 6:01 am
by kcdc1
You're going to get IP biglaw (if you want it) at any of the schools you're considering. In your position, I'd take NU or Cornell. Your employment result is going to be essentially equivalent with any of the listed options, so you might as well go to school for free (or close). To the extent that you prefer Chicago to NY and you wouldn't have to uproot your life, NU seems like the best choice.
There is a reasonable argument for UChi if you want to keep your options open for academia. Other than academia, tho, I don't think your employment options will be any different at NU than they would be at UChi.
I don't think Michigan is in the running. If you're willing to go to the middle of nowhere, take the ridiculous Cornell offer.
Re: UChi ($) vs Michigan ($$) vs NU ($$$) vs Cornell ($$$$)
Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2014 7:40 am
by Ohiobumpkin
NU.