Top Law Schools

Hi everyone, and thank you for taking a look.

I posted about these options earlier, and received some great feedback, but circumstances have changed -- as have scholarship offers.


--Schools and scholarship money offered at each, followed by remaining tuition cost (discounting 15k in savings):

Michigan (45k). 90,000 left to be paid

Vanderbilt (110k). 21,000 left to be paid

Cornell (75k). 90,000 left to be paid

Georgetown JD/Master of Science in Foreign Service (67.5k). A dual-degree program completed in four years. 116,000 left to be paid.


--How I'll pay:

COL covered, and the rest through loans.


--K-JD with international background. Hispanic. Only significant ties in Florida.


--I want to have flexibility in a broad sense. Vanderbilt can give me the flexibility of being debt-free; Georgetown's dual-degree with the number 1 IR program in the world can give me career flexibility (including carrying a name that carries weight internationally, which matters to me). I don't want to be stuck if I'm unhappy. I want to be able to change careers and change countries.


--168 International "Superior"

Took the LSAT once.


Thanks for taking a look! Finally need to start making decisions this week.

post cost of attendance

Note: Scholarships are post-negotiation

californiauser wrote:post cost of attendance

Edited

Since you could want international work, I'd think lay prestige would matter, and I'd guess Cornell generally has the most lay prestige of these selections. But maybe it's GULC...I'm not sure. If your goal were general biglaw, I think it's clearly Cornell. If the GULC dual program you're referencing carries a lot of weight, then GULC is justifiable too. More knowledgeable people about GULC and/or international firms can give better suggestions.

Voted Cornell. Without CoL, your debt will be minimal. Probably won't get you back to florida, but you can start a great career in nyc

I say visit Cornell and Mich and pick whichever one you like better

Well.. What do you want to, like, do? If it's something public sector or PI related, I'd do Vandy, though GTown's LRAP is enticing, I guess. Biglaw + want to work in Northeast = Cornell. Biglaw + want to work in Midwest = Michigan. You'd have to have a very specific career path for the GTown option to make sense to me if you want to go private sector.

Assuming you want to do FS/IR stuff, Cornell and Georgetown should be your only two choices. If you have a decent resume in foreign affairs work before going to LS, Georgetown is arguably the best option. If you want to be a lawyer though and not a diplomat, I would say Cornell or Vandy.

I'm not sure any of these carry weight internationally (only schools generally known abroad are HYS) but I guess Georgetown has the most lay prestige, at least in the US. Not that that should or does matter. If you dont want to be a US lawyer or work for a big firm abroad you probably shouldn't go to law school.

i don't see how 30k difference in scholarship leaves mich and cornell at the same amount to be paid (90k). ann arbor is not 30k$ cheaper than ithaca.

OfThriceandTen wrote:i don't see how 30k difference in scholarship leaves mich and cornell at the same amount to be paid (90k). ann arbor is not 30k$ cheaper than ithaca.

Cornell's budget is set at $79,429 while Michigan's will probably be in the low $70ks ($69,800 last year).

By the way, how does Cornell get away with charging $59,360 for tuition alone? That's ludicrous.

aboutmydaylight wrote:

OfThriceandTen wrote:i don't see how 30k difference in scholarship leaves mich and cornell at the same amount to be paid (90k). ann arbor is not 30k$ cheaper than ithaca.

Cornell's budget is set at $79,429 while Michigan's will probably be in the low $70ks ($69,800 last year).

By the way, how does Cornell get away with charging $59,360 for tuition alone? That's ludicrous.

LOL. go to michigan on principal OP.

aboutmydaylight wrote:

OfThriceandTen wrote:i don't see how 30k difference in scholarship leaves mich and cornell at the same amount to be paid (90k). ann arbor is not 30k$ cheaper than ithaca.

Cornell's budget is set at $79,429 while Michigan's will probably be in the low $70ks ($69,800 last year).

By the way, how does Cornell get away with charging $59,360 for tuition alone? That's ludicrous.

gotta pay those professors a little extra to live in Ithaca

How does 110K at Vandy leave 21000 left to be paid when tuition is 150,000K over three years, plus COA?