Vanderbilt (80K) vs. GULC (112K) Forum

[chicago_01]

EDIT: Sorry for the confusion. My subject line is meant to indicate that I have an 80K scholarship from Vandy, and $112K scholarship from GULC.

Having a really tough time with this decision. I initially expected GULC to give me next to nothing, so I ruled them out, but they really shocked me with a need/merit combo.

When cost of living and other factors are taken into consideration, I will save about $10K over the three years by attending Georgetown.

I know the common "but GULC's class size is so big" argument, but that doesn't bother me so much. I want to ultimately end up in NYC BigLaw, but public service is also very important to me, so for that reason GULC's clinics and public service opportunities are really intriguing.

Nashville, on the other hand, will allow me to save money in areas that D.C. won't, and as someone said in other post, "Vandy is no slouch either." I also love Nashville and know I would be very happy there.

Another factor here is that my aid at Vandy is set for three years, but GULC will require me to maintain my need eligibility. As in, if I am lucky enough to get a 1L Summer Associate position, I will no longer have as much "need" and they will pull some of that scholarship from me. EDIT: Just spoke with GULC Admissions, and because of the type of scholarship I received, it actually won't change even if I make a ton of money during the summers. So never mind about this.

Any insight/advice would be greatly appreciated.

[eriedoctrine]

GULC. It's close though.

[FSK]

Preliminary results suggest GULC did quite well at OCI this year. Go there

[BrazilBandit]

at the same (or very similar) cost I would take GULC - what about Cornell? pretty solid choice for NYC Biglaw if they match GULC. Congrats, those are two pretty strong options.

[Fiero85]

at the same (or very similar) cost I would take GULC - what about Cornell? pretty solid choice for NYC Biglaw if they match GULC. Congrats, those are two pretty strong options.

all this.

[chicago_01]

at the same (or very similar) cost I would take GULC - what about Cornell? pretty solid choice for NYC Biglaw if they match GULC. Congrats, those are two pretty strong options.

In at Cornell, but they gave me $0. Was kind of surprised about that. I thought about attempting to negotiate, but I think I'd really prefer to be in D.C. rather than Ithaca, so I didn't have much motivation to negotiate.

Thank you for all this input - I really appreciate it.

[BrazilBandit]

at the same (or very similar) cost I would take GULC - what about Cornell? pretty solid choice for NYC Biglaw if they match GULC. Congrats, those are two pretty strong options.

In at Cornell, but they gave me $0. Was kind of surprised about that. I thought about attempting to negotiate, but I think I'd really prefer to be in D.C. rather than Ithaca, so I didn't have much motivation to negotiate.

Thank you for all this input - I really appreciate it.

I see your point there! just wanna play devil's advocate and say that a 16% bump in Biglaw numbers (mostly in the region you want to practice) might be worth 3 years in Ithaca. Please consider sending a negotiation email - "you miss 100% of the shots you never take".

http://www.lstscorereports.com/compare/gulc/cornell/

[chicago_01]

at the same (or very similar) cost I would take GULC - what about Cornell? pretty solid choice for NYC Biglaw if they match GULC. Congrats, those are two pretty strong options.

In at Cornell, but they gave me $0. Was kind of surprised about that. I thought about attempting to negotiate, but I think I'd really prefer to be in D.C. rather than Ithaca, so I didn't have much motivation to negotiate.

Thank you for all this input - I really appreciate it.

I see your point there! just wanna play devil's advocate and say that a 16% bump in Biglaw numbers (mostly in the region you want to practice) might be worth 3 years in Ithaca. Please consider sending a negotiation email - "you miss 100% of the shots you never take".

http://www.lstscorereports.com/compare/gulc/cornell/

Do you really think they'd jump to $112 (or close) after offering $0? I'll definitely give it a try - I think you make a good point. I would just be absolutely shocked if they would even consider that.

[CanadianWolf]

Georgetown is the obvious choice based on your interests.

[BrazilBandit]

at the same (or very similar) cost I would take GULC - what about Cornell? pretty solid choice for NYC Biglaw if they match GULC. Congrats, those are two pretty strong options.

In at Cornell, but they gave me $0. Was kind of surprised about that. I thought about attempting to negotiate, but I think I'd really prefer to be in D.C. rather than Ithaca, so I didn't have much motivation to negotiate.

Thank you for all this input - I really appreciate it.

I see your point there! just wanna play devil's advocate and say that a 16% bump in Biglaw numbers (mostly in the region you want to practice) might be worth 3 years in Ithaca. Please consider sending a negotiation email - "you miss 100% of the shots you never take".

http://www.lstscorereports.com/compare/gulc/cornell/

Do you really think they'd jump to $112 (or close) after offering $0? I'll definitely give it a try - I think you make a good point. I would just be absolutely shocked if they would even consider that.

I think they could get close - there's a 167/3.7 with 105K and a 167/3.77 with 120K on LSN. If they don't get close, enjoy GULC! you had a great cycle already, I just want to make sure you have the best you could have

[chicago_01]

Is there ANY case to be made that NYC BigLaw would be easier from Vandy given that there is less competition (due to class size) and less students vying for NYC? Or is that completely off-base and I would hands down have more success from GULC?

[BrazilBandit]

Is there ANY case to be made that NYC BigLaw would be easier from Vandy given that there is less competition (due to class size) and less students vying for NYC? Or is that completely off-base and I would hands down have more success from GULC?

GULC sent 22% of 2013 graduates to NYC, Vandy sent 11% (per ABA reports)... during the Vandy ASD one of the students on the panel did mention the "less competition advantage", but I don't see it. I think employers will dig deeper into the class at GULC.

[jbagelboy]

The schools are basically peers, normally I'd say go to the cheaper one but if you want to live in DC/you like Georgetown and that's important to you, $32k is not a huge price to pay for three years of your life so its pretty justifiable. Tossup IMO

[chicago_01]

The schools are basically peers, normally I'd say go to the cheaper one but if you want to live in DC/you like Georgetown and that's important to you, $32k is not a huge price to pay for three years of your life so its pretty justifiable. Tossup IMO

Georgetown offered me $32k MORE than Vandy -- did I do my subject line wrong? Thanks for the input!

[Nomo]

GULC. Don't worry about losing the need aid due to a 1L summer associate position. You're not getting one.

I think Vandy at 80k is better in the abstract, but not with a goal of NYC biglaw.

[jbagelboy]

The schools are basically peers, normally I'd say go to the cheaper one but if you want to live in DC/you like Georgetown and that's important to you, $32k is not a huge price to pay for three years of your life so its pretty justifiable. Tossup IMO

Georgetown offered me $32k MORE than Vandy -- did I do my subject line wrong? Thanks for the input!

Ah shit, I thought those were COA totals not scholarships.

In that case, I think Georgetown wins this one. But of course, negotiate with Cornell first.

[Nomo]

I also thought those were COA totals.

What are the COA totals?

[Fiero85]

The schools are basically peers, normally I'd say go to the cheaper one but if you want to live in DC/you like Georgetown and that's important to you, $32k is not a huge price to pay for three years of your life so its pretty justifiable. Tossup IMO

Georgetown offered me $32k MORE than Vandy -- did I do my subject line wrong? Thanks for the input!

Yes it seems there is some confusion

I think most people were thinking your COA for GULC would be 112k vs. 80k at Vandy

If GULC gave you 32k more than Vandy, this shouldn't even be an issue, eliminate Vandy and try again in negotiations w/ Cornell (bc material NYC bump).

[arklaw13]

Vandy 2L here.

It's a close call, but I would lean GULC if you want NYC. There are fewer people here who go after NYC because of self-selection, but there are also a ton fewer firms that come to OCI here. Plus, median grades don't give you a great shot at a NYC firm, especially since the ones that come to our OCI tend to be the more grade-selective ones. We tend to get a good number of V20 NYC offices, but we don't get a lot of the firms that will readily pull from the median. This is due to the self-selection and small class size - firms are hesitant to spend the time/money at our OCI when they're only going to get one or two acceptances.

If you wanted to end up in the southeast, I'd be telling you something different. But GULC's NYC placement is the key here.

edit: now I see that GULC gave you more $$ - definitely take GULC

[chicago_01]

The schools are basically peers, normally I'd say go to the cheaper one but if you want to live in DC/you like Georgetown and that's important to you, $32k is not a huge price to pay for three years of your life so its pretty justifiable. Tossup IMO

Georgetown offered me $32k MORE than Vandy -- did I do my subject line wrong? Thanks for the input!

Yes it seems there is some confusion

I think most people were thinking your COA for GULC would be 112k vs. 80k at Vandy

If GULC gave you 32k more than Vandy, this shouldn't even be an issue, eliminate Vandy and try again in negotiations w/ Cornell (bc material NYC bump).

Sorry about that - hopefully my edit clears that up. Thank you for the input!!

[OneLisfun]

Preliminary results suggest GULC did quite well at OCI this year. Go there

What is this based on?