private vs state Forum

[millertimegooney]

I have heard so many debates about this, but want to get some opinions on this forum.

[Mack.Hambleton]

.

[BillPackets]

Wut

[BankruptMe]

Private Law School vs Public Law School.

I am interested in hearing about this also.

Supposedly, private law schools have a larger endowment, more resources, etc. than public schools.

[Cocoblues]

Private Law School vs Public Law School.

I am interested in hearing about this also.

Supposedly, private law schools have a larger endowment, more resources, etc. than public schools.

+1

And does public vs. private matter from an employer's perspective?

I know a few parents that would recommend going to Cornell over Berkeley, at equal cost, and for CA BigLaw....because Berkeley is *gasp* a public school!

[TheSpanishMain]

I have heard so many debates about this, but want to get some opinions on this forum.

Maybe you'd get the information you were looking for if you actually asked a clear question. What, specifically, are you looking for here?

[A. Nony Mouse]

Private Law School vs Public Law School.

I am interested in hearing about this also.

Supposedly, private law schools have a larger endowment, more resources, etc. than public schools.

+1

And does public vs. private matter from an employer's perspective?

I know a few parents that would recommend going to Cornell over Berkeley, at equal cost, and for CA BigLaw....because Berkeley is *gasp* a public school!

Are they hiring attorneys? If not, ignore them. It's not a useful distinction.

[d cooper]

GGU > Berk?

[rwhyAn]

Private Law School vs Public Law School.

I am interested in hearing about this also.

Supposedly, private law schools have a larger endowment, more resources, etc. than public schools.

+1

And does public vs. private matter from an employer's perspective?

I know a few parents that would recommend going to Cornell over Berkeley, at equal cost, and for CA BigLaw....because Berkeley is *gasp* a public school!

Public or private doesn't matter, all things being equal. The top law schools tend mostly to be private because they're among the oldest universities in the country and have been around before the state got involved in the higher ed game. If someone from TX who wanted to practice in TX chose Cornell full freight over UT in-state because it's private and in the ivy league, they ought to have their head examined.

[Cal Trask]

this is dumb.

[Cocoblues]

I think this notion (private always >>>> public) mostly comes from the layman's prestige scale. Of course laymen do not hire attorneys.

[dwil770]

It seems that in recent years there has been more of a focus on trying to go to a school that gives you a good scholarship.

Are private schools in a better position to do this due to tightened state budgets? Of course state tuition tends to be lower but in some cases not by much, and rarely is it substantially lower for an out of state person.

I'm mainly thinking about state schools that draw a high number of national applicants like UVA and berk.

[Br3v]

Do not, under any circumstances, make even a marginal decision on this basis. If two schools are otherwise exactly equal, first attempt to flip a coin to decide. If it lands exactly on its edge upright or otherwise disappears into the cosmos, then I would still recommend against it.

[A. Nony Mouse]

Re dwil's post, I think this can be true (private schools have more money so can give out more money), but I see it play out more a little bit further down the rankings/prestige/employment scale. There are some notoriously stingy schools that are state schools, and some of their stinginess may come from that (U Washington comes to mind). But not all private schools are in much better shape - it just depends on endowment size and investments or so on. But that would be more of an issue at, say, Brooklyn Law School than the top schools.

Mostly I think that can be part of the explanation in specific cases, but isn't general enough to be a rule. But I'm mostly speculating.

(And I completely agree it's not a basis for choosing a school.)

[Br3v]

Re dwil's post, I think this can be true (private schools have more money so can give out more money), but I see it play out more a little bit further down the rankings/prestige/employment scale. There are some notoriously stingy schools that are state schools, and some of their stinginess may come from that (U Washington comes to mind). But not all private schools are in much better shape - it just depends on endowment size and investments or so on. But that would be more of an issue at, say, Brooklyn Law School than the top schools.

Mostly I think that can be part of the explanation in specific cases, but isn't general enough to be a rule. But I'm mostly speculating.

(And I completely agree it's not a basis for choosing a school.)

This all makes sense, but OP not randomly labeling schools "private" or "public" and then deciding which one of the 2 batches is more likely to give scholarship money, etc. OP is going to be making an individualized decision of each school. If at the end of the day his list happens to be more of one batch than the other then that is nothing more than a coincidence.

[A. Nony Mouse]

Re dwil's post, I think this can be true (private schools have more money so can give out more money), but I see it play out more a little bit further down the rankings/prestige/employment scale. There are some notoriously stingy schools that are state schools, and some of their stinginess may come from that (U Washington comes to mind). But not all private schools are in much better shape - it just depends on endowment size and investments or so on. But that would be more of an issue at, say, Brooklyn Law School than the top schools.

Mostly I think that can be part of the explanation in specific cases, but isn't general enough to be a rule. But I'm mostly speculating.

(And I completely agree it's not a basis for choosing a school.)

This all makes sense, but OP not randomly labeling schools "private" or "public" and then deciding which one of the 2 batches is more likely to give scholarship money, etc. OP is going to be making an individualized decision of each school. If at the end of the day his list happens to be more of one batch than the other then that is nothing more than a coincidence.

Absolutely. Didn't mean to suggest otherwise.

[timbs4339]

Definitely turn down Michigan for American.

[Cocoblues]

Definitely turn down Michigan for American.

I doubt the preftige gallery knows of schools like American.

Scene at a wedding:

Lady 1: *fans herself* That sweet girl...She could have done so much better...
Lady 2: *nods in agreement* Oh, yes. Have you seen the groom and his family? *shudders*
Lady 3: *leans in and whispers* I hear that he went to Stanford!
Ladies 1 and 2: * taking a sip of tea while nodding approvingly*

True story heard from a friend...

[downinDtown]

I have heard so many debates about this, but want to get some opinions on this forum.

Distinctions that matter:
1) Job numbers - there is no correlation status as a private school and jobs of graduates; while Ivy's and private schools crowd the T14, it doesn't mean you're getting a materially better or worse education at any particular institution, unless you're talking about T2, TTT, and for-profit law schools, in which we all know it's much worse.
2) Cost of attendance - if it's cheaper for similar results, go there (as long as you want to work in that school's job placement region after graduation. Example: USC vs. UCLA - if same cost, it's a judgment call based on other preferences or job prospects for your interests. If you can get in-state tuition in a state you want to work post-grad, that can be an incredible deal. In-state at UT for someone who wants to work in TX is a great deal, especially if you can get some scholly $$.
3) State schools generally have a Board of Regents that have to approve tuition increases and there are politics involved, so you may see more state schools that have lower annual tuition increases or will freeze tuition based on your admission year. Lots of private law schools ratchet up tuition every year with reckless abandon. Tuition inflation is insane these days.
4) Location of where you want to work - don't go to a regional school across the country (public or private) if you don't want to work in that region after law school. Most T14 schools have national brands but tend to have more ties to their geographic region. BYU, Notre Dame, and a couple other schools are lower ranked but have some (lesser degree of) name recognition across the country, but those are unique cases.
5) State schools tend to have more of a reputation as party schools - see, e.g., UF, UT, MSU - not that you'll have much time outside the law library. Preftigious private schools always have much nicer libraries so consider that too.

[rwhyAn]

I have heard so many debates about this, but want to get some opinions on this forum.

Distinctions that matter:
1) Job numbers - there is no correlation status as a private school and jobs of graduates; while Ivy's and private schools crowd the T14, it doesn't mean you're getting a materially better or worse education at any particular institution, unless you're talking about T2, TTT, and for-profit law schools, in which we all know it's much worse.
2) Cost of attendance - if it's cheaper for similar results, go there (as long as you want to work in that school's job placement region after graduation. Example: USC vs. UCLA - if same cost, it's a judgment call based on other preferences or job prospects for your interests. If you can get in-state tuition in a state you want to work post-grad, that can be an incredible deal. In-state at UT for someone who wants to work in TX is a great deal, especially if you can get some scholly $$.
3) State schools generally have a Board of Regents that have to approve tuition increases and there are politics involved, so you may see more state schools that have lower annual tuition increases or will freeze tuition based on your admission year. Lots of private law schools ratchet up tuition every year with reckless abandon. Tuition inflation is insane these days.
4) Location of where you want to work - don't go to a regional school across the country (public or private) if you don't want to work in that region after law school. Most T14 schools have national brands but tend to have more ties to their geographic region. BYU, Notre Dame, and a couple other schools are lower ranked but have some (lesser degree of) name recognition across the country, but those are unique cases.
5) State schools tend to have more of a reputation as party schools - see, e.g., UF, UT, MSU - not that you'll have much time outside the law library. Preftigious private schools always have much nicer libraries so consider that too.

http://www.cooley.edu/library/library_f ... lance.html

This is especially true at Cooley. You can actually smell the preftige emanating out of its library all the way from Ohio.

[Br3v]

Re dwil's post, I think this can be true (private schools have more money so can give out more money), but I see it play out more a little bit further down the rankings/prestige/employment scale. There are some notoriously stingy schools that are state schools, and some of their stinginess may come from that (U Washington comes to mind). But not all private schools are in much better shape - it just depends on endowment size and investments or so on. But that would be more of an issue at, say, Brooklyn Law School than the top schools.

Mostly I think that can be part of the explanation in specific cases, but isn't general enough to be a rule. But I'm mostly speculating.

(And I completely agree it's not a basis for choosing a school.)

This all makes sense, but OP not randomly labeling schools "private" or "public" and then deciding which one of the 2 batches is more likely to give scholarship money, etc. OP is going to be making an individualized decision of each school. If at the end of the day his list happens to be more of one batch than the other then that is nothing more than a coincidence.

Absolutely. Didn't mean to suggest otherwise.

I just came out of an exam so I was still in "over analyze" mode lol, sorry.

[lastsamurai]

Pretty sure Michigan/UVA's endowments are on par if not better than most of their peer schools. Not sure how that looks as you move down the rankings though

[downinDtown]

I have heard so many debates about this, but want to get some opinions on this forum.

Distinctions that matter:
1) Job numbers - there is no correlation status as a private school and jobs of graduates; while Ivy's and private schools crowd the T14, it doesn't mean you're getting a materially better or worse education at any particular institution, unless you're talking about T2, TTT, and for-profit law schools, in which we all know it's much worse.
2) Cost of attendance - if it's cheaper for similar results, go there (as long as you want to work in that school's job placement region after graduation. Example: USC vs. UCLA - if same cost, it's a judgment call based on other preferences or job prospects for your interests. If you can get in-state tuition in a state you want to work post-grad, that can be an incredible deal. In-state at UT for someone who wants to work in TX is a great deal, especially if you can get some scholly $$.
3) State schools generally have a Board of Regents that have to approve tuition increases and there are politics involved, so you may see more state schools that have lower annual tuition increases or will freeze tuition based on your admission year. Lots of private law schools ratchet up tuition every year with reckless abandon. Tuition inflation is insane these days.
4) Location of where you want to work - don't go to a regional school across the country (public or private) if you don't want to work in that region after law school. Most T14 schools have national brands but tend to have more ties to their geographic region. BYU, Notre Dame, and a couple other schools are lower ranked but have some (lesser degree of) name recognition across the country, but those are unique cases.
5) State schools tend to have more of a reputation as party schools - see, e.g., UF, UT, MSU - not that you'll have much time outside the law library. Preftigious private schools always have much nicer libraries so consider that too.

http://www.cooley.edu/library/library_f ... lance.html

This is especially true at Cooley. You can actually smell the preftige emanating out of its library all the way from Ohio.

Unfortunately the stench extends to Tampa too. Cooley's eventual goal is to install a private restroom (with an impressive library, of course) in every state.

[Wiggly]

...

[Balthy]

this is dumb.