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Hello,

I'm a little conflicted and wanted other's opinions. The schools I'm considering are:

Cornell (15k/yr scholarship): COA 240k
Vanderbilt (25k/yr scholarship): COA 180k
WUSTL (Full tuition): COA 84k
I'm using the numbers each school has posted, so might be overestimating a little bit. Everything will be financed through loans.

I'm an international student, so no significant ties. Some ties to Atlanta. Since I would require sponsorship, I need biglaw, but do not want to be tied to the NYC biglaw lifestyle for very long. I took the LSAT thrice, kept scoring 4-6 points below my practice average. My numbers are 167/3.7x.

Thanks for taking the time to read this!

If you need big law, Cornell is your best bet out of your options. But that is a lot of money.

bumping- just for more opinions.

I think WASHU is a good deal for that price but doesn't mesh with your "need biglaw" goals. IMHO, none of these are good options so I don't really know what to tell you especially since you have maxed out your retakes. (0L disclaimer)

Cornell is your only solid shot at biglaw, but I wouldn't attend at that price. Try seeing if you can maybe get some more from them. If not, since you can't retake, I'd sit it out until you can.

Definitely wouldn't bank on Atlanta, even with some ties. ATL firms are very grade snobbish from what I hear.

TCR is to retake and get some more $$$. I'm a Vandy 1L and $180k is too much IMO.

If you need big law then retake or don't go, IMO. That's a crazy price to pay for Cornell, especially considering it should be relatively easy for someone with your GPA and potential on the LSAT to get a fairly large scholarship.

If you need sponsorship, but don't want to be tied to biglaw for a long time, don't choose any of the above options.

I'm not an expert on immigration law or visa status, and I'd highly suggest getting advice from someone who is, but from what I know, visa sponsorship is expensive for employers (hence, only biglaw firms might be willing to pay to sponsor you) and very strictly regulated by the DoL. You need an offer from a firm to be sponsored, and in order for them to sponsor you, they need to petition the DoL. They can't just petition the DoL to sponsor you just because they want you to work for them, either.

According to the DoL website:

For some visa categories, before the U.S. employer can submit an immigration petition to USCIS, the employer must obtain an approved labor certification from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). The DOL labor certification verifies the following:

There are insufficient available, qualified, and willing U.S. workers to fill the position being offered at the prevailing wage...

So yeah. Be careful about this decision and talk to someone who knows their shit.