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Debating between Penn and Georgetown, where I got 60k.

With my GI bill, savings, scholarships, total debt I'd take on (including living expenses) over 3 years (not adjusted for inflation or any tuition increases):

Penn: $110,000
Georgetown: $37,000

Still haven't gotten a financial aid package, though I doubt I will get any money. Thoughts? Help me choose! Interested in public service, probably eventually moving to New England.

I think either would be a great choice, but I vote Georgetown because your goal seems to be PI so minimizing debt by 70K would be great. Either seems like a great choice though.

Is banking on LRAP payments a bad idea?

Go to Penn.

I'd probably say Georgetown in this case. I know that Penn is working on their PI resources, but I don't know that they're worth 73k over Gtown. Then again...it could be very hard to get connected with those resources at Georgetown, and I think you would see the opposite at Penn due to their smaller class size.

rayiner wrote:Go to Penn.

I agree. Gtown just too risky right now.

$110k is a great price IMO

110K in Penn is fantastic.

Are you sure you want PI? If so I'd go to GULC.

If you want to do public service, I vote in favor of minimizing debt and taking Georgetown.

gobosox wrote:Is banking on LRAP payments a bad idea?

It's a risky idea because there is no guarantee you will get a PI job. They tend to be very competitive.

ph14 wrote:If you want to do public service, I vote in favor of minimizing debt and taking Georgetown.

+1. If you wanted a well-paying private sector job, no question Penn is the way to go. But for PI, $37k debt is amazing.

gobosox wrote:Debating between Penn and Georgetown, where I got 60k.

With my GI bill, savings, scholarships, total debt I'd take on (including living expenses) over 3 years (not adjusted for inflation or any tuition increases):

Penn: $110,000
Georgetown: $37,000

Still haven't gotten a financial aid package, though I doubt I will get any money. Thoughts? Help me choose! Interested in public service, probably eventually moving to New England.

Do you have three years of post 9/11 Gi Bill benefits? If so you should have eded UVA. Would have been 100% free.

Edit: saw your other posts. Have you been to Cville? You would take on tens of thousands of dollars of debt to live in DC or Philly for three years? Also, scholly at UVA would have been given to you as cash. You could have come out ahead on law school.

It's too late for me to apply to UVA now, so I think I'm gonna focus on these two.

Maybe this is a dumb question, but if Penn matches Georgetown's scholarship, should I go to Penn or Gtown for PI?

gobosox wrote:It's too late for me to apply to UVA now, so I think I'm gonna focus on these two.

Maybe this is a dumb question, but if Penn matches Georgetown's scholarship, should I go to Penn or Gtown for PI?

Then it would definitely be Penn. The only reason it's a close choice right now is because of the difference in scholly money. Penn has a far better LRAP and generally better employment outcomes. You should leave your options open and pick Penn, even at $110k. That's a phenomenal value to be honest.

Are you actually committed to a PI career? I don't know you, of course, but "interested in public service" makes it sound like you're not fully committed, and my impression is that people who are interested but not committed are the ones who end up falling off the PI track and doing BigLaw.

gobosox wrote:It's too late for me to apply to UVA now, so I think I'm gonna focus on these two.

Maybe this is a dumb question, but if Penn matches Georgetown's scholarship, should I go to Penn or Gtown for PI?

Penn for sure. The only reason some people (myself included) are saying Georgetown is because of the price difference. At equal price, there is no argument from anyone it should be penn. Hell if you can get the difference down to ~50K I think it becomes an easy choice.

jbagelboy wrote:

rayiner wrote:Go to Penn.

I agree. Gtown just too risky right now.

$110k is a great price IMO

Do you mean it's risky to depend on LRAP? If he only has 37k in debt to begin with, he's fine even without LRAP.

Georgetown right now. Like others have said, you don't even need LRAP with that debt. Also, I would probably reapply if you applied late to go to UVA/Mich/Berk for free.

Why no YRP?

TheSpanishMain wrote:

jbagelboy wrote:

rayiner wrote:Go to Penn.

I agree. Gtown just too risky right now.

$110k is a great price IMO

Do you mean it's risky to depend on LRAP? If he only has 37k in debt to begin with, he's fine even without LRAP.

Yea. He is also considering penn at 110K debt. I was speaking of that when I said it was risky to depend on LRAP.

Theopliske8711 wrote:110K in Penn is fantastic.

Yeah, I would kill for my estimate COA to be $110k.

I'd definitely do Penn, OP.

GULC at that price is phenomenal. Take the money.

Military experience is going to make you very competitive for firms or govt work so you're not the avg GULC student.

AfghanTourist wrote:Why no YRP?

Penn for $110k likely includes YRP. Penn's contribution is only $10k, so YRP participation would effectively be a $40k/yr scholarship (~$20k max tuition/fees per year + $10k Penn YRP + $10k VA matching). That brings total COA down to $130k by Penn's estimates.

I'm sure GULC is similar, but I'm too lazy to look it up.

ETA: obviously OP can chime in and tell me I'm wrong if this isn't the case

Ricky-Bobby wrote:

AfghanTourist wrote:Why no YRP?

Penn for $110k likely includes YRP. Penn's contribution is only $10k, so YRP participation would effectively be a $40k/yr scholarship (~$20k max tuition/fees per year + $10k Penn YRP + $10k VA matching). That brings total COA down to $130k by Penn's estimates.

I'm sure GULC is similar, but I'm too lazy to look it up.

ETA: obviously OP can chime in and tell me I'm wrong if this isn't the case

That still doesn't account for the BAH, unless 27 months of BAH only takes off $20k at Penn.

edit: but yes, I'm all for OP settling this. Or looking into the Yellow Ribbon Program if they weren't aware it existed.

AfghanTourist wrote:

Ricky-Bobby wrote:

AfghanTourist wrote:Why no YRP?

Penn for $110k likely includes YRP. Penn's contribution is only $10k, so YRP participation would effectively be a $40k/yr scholarship (~$20k max tuition/fees per year + $10k Penn YRP + $10k VA matching). That brings total COA down to $130k by Penn's estimates.

I'm sure GULC is similar, but I'm too lazy to look it up.

ETA: obviously OP can chime in and tell me I'm wrong if this isn't the case

That still doesn't account for the BAH, unless 27 months of BAH only takes off $20k at Penn.

Good point. I forgot to include BAH and book stipend.

OP, wat do?