Top Law Schools

Berkeley: Total 3 year COA ~ 220k
NYU: Total 3 year COA ~ 193k
UCLA: Total 3 year COA ~ 78k

I am very fortunate to be able to consider some amazing schools. The three that I am mostly looking at right now are Berkeley, NYU, and UCLA. Berkeley has always been my dream school (I went there for undergrad and have lived in the East Bay my whole life), but I really wasn't expecting to be admitted. I was very happy to be amongst the Valentines Day admits from Faculty Review, and I was also accepted to UCLA a few days prior to that.

I was accepted to NYU in December, and I thought, with Berkeley being a long shot for admission, this was likely where I would want to end up. Since December I have been learning more about the law school, and have been very impressed with the opportunities it presents and the general vibe of the school.

My goals are pretty flexible right now. I would be very interested in doing public interest work in environmental law, but I am also very much open to seeing what interests I develop during law school. I want to keep BigLaw and federal clerkships an option. I also have a very very strong desire to return to the Bay Area for employment. If not the Bay, I want to work in LA. I do not have any interest in working in NYC.

Berkeley is my dream, but that is a very large amount of debt. NYU is amazing as well, but I worry about being able to make it back to CA. Also, with only a $50k total scholarship and a higher cost of living and moving expenses, it is only marginally cheaper than Berk in the grand scheme of the total debt load. However, it is also higher-ranked and it looks like it has better employment outcomes. I could potentially try to negotiate the NYU scholarship higher once I get financial aid from more schools, but this offer was already much more than I was expecting.

I submitted a Matching Scholarship form to Berkeley asking for them to match the NYU scholarship, but I will most likely not end up with any money from them. With my stats, 3.4 gpa and 177 lsat non-urm, I think I was lucky enough just to be admitted and that luck won't extend to financial aid.

In addition, I have a SO who has a well-paying job in the Bay Area. However, she is willing to look for work in a new city (she is bored with her current job). She is able to offset some of my COA. This will be easier from Berkeley since she already has a steady income here.

I threw UCLA on the list because of my desire to work in CA, and the substantial $120k scholarship they offered.

I have also been accepted to Michigan with $54k, Vanderbilt with $80k, and Columbia, Georgetown, Virginia, and Duke without financial aid offers yet. I am also currently still pending at Harvard since early October without a JS1.

All advice is welcome. Thanks!

TL;DR - Would I be making a mistake by paying more money to go to Berkeley over NYU if I want to work in CA? Is a significant scholarship from UCLA worth its lower employment prospects?

I'm thinking whatever advantage NYU would have in employment outcomes is entirely negated by your lack of desire to work in NY.

I would try to work the negotiation angle hard with Berkeley. They accepted you; they must like you. If you could get a match that wouldd seem ideal.

Edit:

Working California from CLS/NYU is interesting. From what I can see NorCal is tougher from the East Coast than SoCal. I have to imagine Berkeley/Stanford is a substantial step up if you want to get an SA in the Bay. The big firms all come to OCI so you can get screeners, but it's not easy getting lots of callbacks.

Just so you know, NYU with a 50k scholly fully debt financed comes to ~$245,000 in debt at repayment. Berkeley should match that, so just wait.

UCLA resident with 120k scholly is ~$105,000 at repayment.

Wait for an offer from Berkeley and take Berkeley. I think they'll match enough so that your COA is roughly equal to NYU. NYU is estimated to be around $7k more expensive per year for Cali residents. Given that NYU is giving you $50,000, NYU is likely to be around $25-$29k cheaper over 3 years after tuition rises. That's a pretty small fee for a law school to pay to get you to commit. I think you'll probably get a small offer from Berkeley, and most likely advantages NYU has in job placement probably won't matter to you because you don't want NYC.

Congrats on the wonderful cycle thus far! If I were in ur shoes I would take NYU without even giving it a thought, but since ur goal seems to lie in the CA area, I think Berkeley would be more justifiable.

Also, the weather in Manhattan will be brutal for a Californian. I can almost guarantee you that. :0

aboutmydaylight wrote:Wait for an offer from Berkeley and take Berkeley. I think they'll match enough so that your COA is roughly equal to NYU. NYU is estimated to be around $7k more expensive per year for Cali residents. Given that NYU is giving you $50,000, NYU is likely to be around $25-$29k cheaper over 3 years after tuition rises. That's a pretty small fee for a law school to pay to get you to commit. I think you'll probably get a small offer from Berkeley, and most likely advantages NYU has in job placement probably won't matter to you because you don't want NYC.

Man.... I have been in love with IU ever since Marshmallow.

You may have to fill out a scholly matching form for berk. You should do that.

Your Bay Area ties + Berkeley undergrad seems strong, would probably be more than enough to get back to Bay Area.

I'd pick any T14 + USC/UCLA, whichever is the cheapest COA. At the moment, UCLA sounds like the best option.

iskim88 wrote: Also, the weather in Manhattan will be brutal for a Californian. I can almost guarantee you that. :0

This was a major concern for me. I've only been to NYC once, at the end of last March, and it was the coldest I've ever been in my life (with the exception of trips to Tahoe, but that is a fun kind of cold). The friend that I was visiting said that it was actually warmer the weekend I was there than it had been. I would absolutely prefer Berkeley over NYU for this reason alone.

IMO a difference of $27k as it is right now already isn't big enough to turn down your dream school and move to New York, especially if you don't want to work in NYC.

If I were you I'd go to Berkeley.

For those of you picking NYU, is it because of the scholarship? If Berkeley were to match it, would that change things? Or is NYU just that much better of a school that, at equal cost, I should go there?

btw; instate residency for tuition purposes in California is really easy to obtain for Years 2&3....

Wait until you have an offer from Berkeley.

That said I wouldn't take UCLA without something much closer to a full-ride. I don't actually know what UCLA's LRAP is like, if they have any, but you're still looking at BigLaw levels of debt there. LRAP at NYU/Boalt will keep PI an option for you.

JWalker wrote:IMO a difference of $27k as it is right now already isn't big enough to turn down your dream school and move to New York, especially if you don't want to work in NYC.

If I were you I'd go to Berkeley.

Yeah, this is what I'm thinking. It really isn't that much of a difference compared to the total amount of debt. I think I can also get my COL down much lower than projected values at Berkeley. I currently live less than a 15-minute drive from Boalt. I have the luxury of being able to take my time searching for a decent, reasonably priced apartment closer to campus, or even stay at my current decent, reasonably priced apartment. I wouldn't be able to do this for New York. And, like I said, my SO has a well-paying job here, and she would be able to help offset some of my living expenses. This isn't a guarantee for New York. Also, my family all live in the Bay Area, so visiting home is a $7 Bart ticket instead of a $400 plane ticket.

Matching scholarship at Cal is TCR, except you said you got into CLS - wait on their grant package too. If NYU is offering $50K, its likely CLS will too. Then that would be my vote unless Cal comes through on matching (and even then its a close call).

Don't go anywhere at sticker if you can avoid it.

To the poster who suggested UCLA: having to be top 1/3 after two semesters vs. only having to hold median is a huge deal.

I didn't give specifics earlier, but Berkeley sticker is ~$275,000 at repayment. With a $50k matching scholly, it's down to ~$215,000.

So at this point, it's:
NYU $245,000
Berkeley $275,000/$215,000
UCLA $105,000

Lotta money, but I'd go with Berk with the matching. No matching, I'd probably say NYU.

NYC winters aren't exactly a treat, but they're not that cold. It isn't like Chicago or anything.

ETA: If you were able to subtract $6k/year off of Berkeley's given COL, then its COA would be $250k/$190k. I'd still probably say matching go to Berk, no matching NYU. Though no matching would be a closer call.

>^.^<
meow

Berkeley is the best option since you want to remain in California & your SO has a good job in the bay area. Otherwise, try to negotiate a higher scholarship offer from UCLA without any stipulations (beyond remaining in good standing).

SlothManProphecy wrote:For those of you picking NYU, is it because of the scholarship? If Berkeley were to match it, would that change things? Or is NYU just that much better of a school that, at equal cost, I should go there?

I suspect that many voters don't actually read the OP in detail when voting in these polls. They just vote based on a combination of school rank and scholarship money.

I agree with others that Boalt is probably worth an extra $27K if you want to live and work in the Bay Area. People around here often forget (or don't realize) that law school is three full years of your adult life. It's a fun time. Although finals suck, you have a lot of free time to enjoy your surroundings--you have way more time than you'll have as a working lawyer. Go to law school in a place where you would enjoy living.