Temple w/ full tuition scholly vs. Cornell at sticker? Forum

[westave]

Or GW/WUSTL with some $$$? What happens to the bottom half of Cornell's graduating classes?

[Ron Don Volante]

Would you be debt financing the entire COA at Cornell? If the answer is anywhere close to "Yes," no way in hell would I endorse that route. Also tough to endorse Temple with a full ride. WUSTL or GW on a fully would be fine depending on your goals.

Unfortunately, though, the best answer is probably retake, though you have not provided us with very much information about your situation.

[Ron Don Volante]

What happens to the bottom half of Cornell's graduating classes?

[hoos89]

I honestly can't imagine a scenario where Temple full ride is the best option for someone with numbers to get into Cornell. Retake might be TCR.

[amuseboosh]

Would you be debt financing the entire COA at Cornell? If the answer is anywhere close to "Yes," no way in hell would I endorse that route. Also tough to endorse Temple with a full ride. WUSTL or GW on a fully would be fine depending on your goals.

Unfortunately, though, the best answer is probably retake, though you have not provided us with very much information about your situation.

This. Don't take a risk like that, especially in miserable place like Ithaca

[03152016]

who is voting cornell at sticker? wow

[Clemenceau]

Temple full ride is defensible if, and only if, you are from the philly area and wish to stay there long-term.

Cornell at sticker is defensible pretty much never.

[Rigo]

What are your career goals, OP?
I felt weird voting for WUSTL without knowing your actual COA, but it seemed like a happy medium so I went with it given the lack of info you've given us.

[03152016]

people who voted sticker

explain yourself

[westave]

So many responses, thanks guys! I didn't post too much personal info because I wasn't sure what kind of response I'd get, but here it is:

I'd be taking out loans for everything at Cornell, minus a good chunk of the first year that I could use my own savings on. Was kind of hoping to keep those savings though. If I chose a different school with a scholly I wouldn't spend them on school at all.

I am from Philly and would be happy staying here for a few years out of law school, maybe even 5 or 6, but I'd want to move to either NY or somewhere warm and fun eventually (AUSTIN). I can also see myself wanting to live abroad at some point, and that's a reasonable thing to expect given my track record with traveling/being obsessed with traveling. So Temple isn't really an awful thing IF I can move after some time in Philly. That's an "if and only if" statement for everyone else who's also recently taken the LSAT

Not sure about career goals yet - something international, probably private but not necessarily biglaw (not a small firm though. medium would be okay). I've considered transactional law but honestly I know very little about different types of legal jobs. I do know that I don't want tax law or real estate law. Anticorruption also sounds nice. And after a decade or two of working I would like to move into public international law - I just want to actually make some money first so as not to completely screw myself over financially.

This is more minor but I speak Portuguese and would like to study abroad in Portugal or Brazil during law school so that I can reach professional proficiency or fluency. I think that would be a huge help if I chose international business law. So any school that allows me to do that gains a few points in my book.

[DrSpaceman]

I voted WUSTL, but I mean, LOLRAP?

[Rigo]

Temple is not a good pick if degree mobility is a big priority.

[westave]

Temple is not a good pick if degree mobility is a big priority.

I think it's time to book a flight to WUSTL. The day they send me scholly info is the day I'll book a ticket. All the other schools in question are easy to visit from Philly and WUSTL does seem to be coming out on top anyway

[mvp99]

people who voted sticker

explain yourself

you'll be surprise how many people in LS have rich parents

[westave]

Temple is not a good pick if degree mobility is a big priority.

I've had one person tell me it's possible to move after some time in Philly, but what you're saying seems to be the general consensus and it does concern me. Career mobility is a huge issue. Aside from traveling, I enjoy living in different places and would like to continue doing it.

[Rigo]

Temple is not a good pick if degree mobility is a big priority.

I've had one person tell me it's possible to move after some time in Philly, but what you're saying seems to be the general consensus and it does concern me. Career mobility is a huge issue. Aside from traveling, I enjoy living in different places and would like to continue doing it.

Anything is possible, but you have to consider things in terms of the probability of it happening.

[Ron Don Volante]

If you're actually serious about Austin being your long-term destination, and if you got into Mich, you should have gotten into UT with pretty good money. UT w/ like 100k in debt is superior option to Michigan or Cornell at sticker, IMO (though I am a UT 1L, also from the north). If you do well (like top 25%), NYC is a pretty realistic option, and about a quarter of the graduating class stays in Austin after graduation. If you keep costs down, hustle, and do well, staying in Austin long-term is realistic. Getting to Austin from a low-T14 is just not going to happen without ties, even if you're jesus's gift to lawyering.

If you didn't apply, I would sit out a year and retake, and save up more money. Shit, even move to Austin now. Feel free to PM if you want to chat about it more in-depth.

[BigZuck]

I wouldn't go to law school until you learn more about the lay of the legal hiring land and just basically what jobs are realistic, what they pay, and what being an attorney is like

Also, give up on the working as an attorney in Austin dream, that will almost certainly never happen (unless, maybe you end up going to UT. But even then, it's iffy)

[Rigo]

If you're actually serious about Austin being your long-term destination, and if you got into Mich, you should have gotten into UT with pretty good money. UT w/ like 100k in debt is superior option to Michigan or Cornell at sticker, IMO (though I am a

Woah. I missed that edit in.
OP, have you considered just moving to Austin for a year to check it out & establish residency? Texas residents get a big admissions boost there over OOSers, so UT could definitely be a great option for you if you apply next cycle instead.

[BigZuck]

If you're actually serious about Austin being your long-term destination, and if you got into Mich, you should have gotten into UT with pretty good money. UT w/ like 100k in debt is superior option to Michigan or Cornell at sticker, IMO (though I am a UT 1L, also from the north). If you do well (like top 25%), NYC is a pretty realistic option, and about a quarter of the graduating class stays in Austin after graduation. If you keep costs down, hustle, and do well, staying in Austin long-term is realistic. Getting to Austin from a low-T14 is just not going to happen without ties, even if you're jesus's gift to lawyering.

If you didn't apply, I would sit out a year and retake, and save up more money. Shit, even move to Austin now. Feel free to PM if you want to chat about it more in-depth.

Damn, you scooped me

I think top 25% is pretty optimistic for NY big law. I think it's probably closer to Law Review range grades to get NY big law.

Do we know if the 25% of the class staying in Austin are working as lawyers? I don't think I've ever seen that data, is that internal to the school or something online?

[Nomo]

Given your interests in international work and your desire to live in many different places, I do not think the legal field makes much sense for you.

[westave]

Woah woah woah I didn't mean to start this entire tangent - Austin would be nice, but it's not my biggest goal at all. I was just thinking of someplace warm and with some character. I probably should have just said that as much as I love the northeast (Philly and NY), I don't want to stay here forever. I can also see myself wanting to move to London, Cape Town, CA, or someplace more off the beaten track.

I did actually apply to UT Austin, but they only accepted my first LSAT (159) and didn't consider the retake (165), so I was rejected. They did say that they would reconsider my application but not until all the others had been processed.

[Ron Don Volante]

I think top 25% is pretty optimistic for NY big law. I think it's probably closer to Law Review range grades to get NY big law.

Do we know if the 25% of the class staying in Austin are working as lawyers? I don't think I've ever seen that data, is that internal to the school or something online?

I've heard nothing but glowing reviews about the NYC OCI. All anecdotal obvs, but from what I've heard from a few 2Ls, top quarter or so gives you a real good shot. I'll report back this August.

On Austin: Yes. On my visit I forced the CSO data to pull up the data and manipulate it in from of me. ~25% employed as attorneys in Austin, though I was cautioned that most of the jobs are not of the most prefstigious variety.

[westave]

Given your interests in international work and your desire to live in many different places, I do not think the legal field makes much sense for you.

The legal field is more intellectually challenging and interesting than most international relations jobs, and that's my biggest priority. I don't necessarily need to move every 3 years like in the foreign service, but I don't want to be in one place forever either

[westave]

Edit to the last comment: I majored in international relations as an undergrad and did enough different internships to have an idea of what it entails professionally, and I don't think it's for me. I loved studying it and am still a news junkie, but it's very different as a job. I also think that it's more of a soft profession and that to be successful in it you need to be an expert in some kind of a harder field like business or law. I could write essays on that last sentence so I guess PM if anyone's interested?