Considering: Northwestern, Michigan, Cornell
Waitlists: Columbia, NYU, Penn, UVA, Duke
I've ruled out schools like Vandy, UCLA and Wash U because they were only about 10k less in COA with negotiated scholarships
I'll be financing entirely on loans - the COAs below were calculated using my negotiated scholarship offers and LS22's sweet calculator):
Northwestern 245k
Michigan 190k
Cornell 209k
I live and work in Chicago now, have always lived in the Midwest (I have some ties to Michigan specifically).
Have 3 years of finance experience, want to work in Chicago or NY, Biglaw (I'm so typical

I'm a 3.4 UG (better in grad school) 169, I've taken the LSAT three times and am probably maxed out.
My heart says Northwestern but my wallet says NO. Also, I can't figure out how to afford housing around NU on their budget, which is something I'll have to deal with if I end up there.
What's the wisdom? Embrace three years in Ann Arbor? Ride the waitlists hard? I kept waiting for that moment when the choice just becomes CLEAR and it never happened!
TYIA!
PS, please be nice, I'm new here