Top Law Schools

Posted this to the Admissions board before I was aware of this one, sorry.

Schools-Cost:

Penn - Sticker
Michigan - No financial info yet, probably sticker.
Cornell - Same as Michigan
Vanderbilt - Total cost ~ $132,312. ($30k yr/scholarship, +5k for 1L summer internship or 2L tuition)
Indiana Bloomington - Total cost ~$73,206. (Full Tuition waiver)

EDIT: Debt-At-Grad estimate: Vandy - 148,456
IU - 82,347 (much rougher estimate as I don't have loan info yet.)

GPA/LSAT: 3.45/170 (1 take)

Goals: Flexible. Unfortunately I don't really know what I want to do yet. Right now all I can say is I think I would like to work at a medium to large firm in Indianapolis.

Other: I live in Bloomington now and work as a paralegal at a small (<5 attorney) crim defense/family/BK firm. By the time I would move for school I'll have a little under 2 yrs experience. I have an informal offer to keep that job if I stay in Bloomington at least through law school.

I have provided Vandy with a copy of my scholarship offer to IUB and let them know the other options I'm considering, and politely asked for an increase. This was Wednesday (3/26) and I've not heard back yet. I was hoping to take any increase and leverage it with Bloomington and then Cornell/Mich/Penn, but I may have to start that process before I hear back.

Indiana's deadline is April 1st, although they don't require a deposit. I'm going to the admissions office tomorrow to ask about an extension or how hard/soft that deadline or commitment is. If it turns out to be a hard committal deadline I'm not sure what I should do. I'm leaning towards letting it lapse and holding out for Vandy or better.

I would really appreciate any advice. Stress is mounting up and I hope to decide soon.

Thanks in advance.

I would lean IU over the other options, tempting though I know they must be. You've got strong ties to Indy, and might be able to further reduce debt by working a relevant job part-time during 2L/3L - would also allow you to continue networking. If you enjoy the small firm environment, especially, I think that has huge advantages over taking on sticker debt at T-14. *This assumes COA is roughly equal to debt-at-grad.

Probably won't want to work much at all during 1L (may even be against the rules) but maybe you can cover some costs working at your firm during 2L and 3L if at IU. If you wanted Chicago or NYC I would vote M or C, but if you only want Indiana, I'd probably go to IU because its cheaper and the low probability of big law there from any school (its just such a small market). I'm not really sure how much Vandy would help you, you would probably still have to be the top of the class to get to Indiana regional big law (probably not much better odds than IU).

So I guess I vote IU for Indiana, but try to get CoL as low as you can. If you can graduate with sub 50k debt that would be better obviously.

If you enjoy the small firm environment, especially, I think that has huge advantages over taking on sticker debt at T-14. *This assumes COA is roughly equal to debt-at-grad.

Thanks for the reply!

* I'm okay with the small firm environment, but I don't think it's what I really want long term.

* I didn't factor in interest on the above COA. Debt-At-Grad: Best estimate for Vandy is 148,456

I have no loan info for IU yet, I qualified to borrow the remainder at Vandy, so I'll assume the same for IU. I don't know the ratio for each loan but using 6% (middling) estimate, Debt-at-Grad would be ~82,347

Probably won't want to work much at all during 1L (may even be against the rules) but maybe you can cover some costs working at your firm during 2L and 3L if at IU.

Definitely don't want to work during 1L, and I think it is against the rules. Dubious about 2L and 3L. I would definitely have a summer job (AFAIK) although I also think it might be better to get other experience if I want to move on from that firm (which I do after law school) and on to something bigger.

Thanks for your reply!

given a 170 on first take, does anyone think that a retake and a few more points could potentially yield substantial results (e.g. ED NU, get $150k discount) next year?

OP, as of now I'd say this comes down to whether you're determined to be in Indy or prioritize big-firm opportunities. the problem is that IU's risky for firms, Vandy's better but still risky but will cost a lot more and doesn't place in your market, and C/M are less risky but may put you far away, and C/M sticker will dictate your life decisions for years. given what seems to be your clear predilection for Indiana I'd say IU, but I don't know you...

I would think OP could get something from Cornell/Mich.

Winston1984 wrote:I would think OP could get something from Cornell/Mich.

I'm hoping so. I haven't heard anything from them yet. Ideally, Vandy would up their offer a little and I could leverage that with Cornell, then Michigan and maybe Penn.

But I don't know if M/C with only like a 50k discount is better than IU for 80 or vandy for 140. Considering I'm interested in Indy primarily.

Vandy

I would like to go to Indianapolis, but I'm not set on it.

IU makes the most sense based on info you provided.