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Hi guys! So, this is going to be a long post with lots of options because I've done a crappy job narrowing down my thoughts...any and all advice is greatly appreciated, thank you for taking the time to read!

I'm in at NYU, Duke, Berkeley, Columbia, GULC, and UVA. I've been honing in on a few, most notably NYU, but haven't quite ruled any out 100% yet. WL at HLS and still pending at SLS and YLS. I'd like to defer one year, so I'm viewing the HLS waitlist as a ding. My gut has been solidifying around NYU in recent weeks...I visited there, Berkeley, and Duke, and really, really loved it. I'm from MD, but live in Los Angeles and have for over 2 years now. Am 100% set on PI, focusing on civil rights/death penalty work, but am also interested in government employment. Would like to eventually move into more policy-oriented work or get into politics, but I hope to practice doing direct representation for a solid number of years first. I also have a few years of WE behind me (grad in 2012), so I'm not worried about that changing. Would ideally like to wind up back in SoCal and/or the DC/MD area, though wouldn't mind doing civil rights work in the South for a while too (ATL, NOLA).

COA, at repayment (including interest) -
NYU: $220k ($75k scholly)
Duke: $145k ($114k scholly)
UVA: $100k ($150k scholly contingent upon a 1-year deferral...strange, I know)
Berkeley, Columbia, and GULC haven't offered me any money yet - hoping that will change, and think it will at Berkeley & GULC at least, but not banking on it.

LSAT 173 on two takes, GPA 3.76.

I'll be financing primarily through loans. But here's the kicker - due to savings, I won't be eligible for NYU's LRAP. My EFC is too high, and they consider that for their LRAP (only school I've noticed this to be the case).

My thoughts:
The UVA offer is enticing, and it's an even sweeter deal because the deferral is already there, WITH the money. I don't think it should be difficult to secure a deferral at NYU, but I do worry about scholly offers next year - though I've spoken to students at both NYU nad Duke who deferred and wound up getting HIGHER offers the next year, which helps alleviate some of that concern. But while the UVA offer is tempting, I haven't ever visited, will not be able to visit before my deadlines, and have no real clue how good UVA's PI is. Both UVA and Duke have an Innocence Project clinic where NYU doesn't, and the semester in DC programs at Berk, UVA, and Duke all seem superior/less competitive to get into than the one at NYU. But I just keep feeling this pull toward NYU and their PI programs...is the extra cost justified, in your opinions?

GULC is still in the running b/c of the accessibility to DC opportunities during the year...Berkeley b/c of the strong PI and LRAP, plus CA ties...Columbia b/c ranking (ick) and basically b/c I don't know much about them yet and wonder if I'd love it (lol).

There's a chance my parents will help a bit with the finances, though not certain; and I do have savings to put towards it, but I really don't want to have to use too much of them. My thought with NYU is I'll wind up repaying the loans via IBR, which is obviously not ideal but *is* at least manageable. At the other schools, LRAP will be an option.

Basically as I type this out, NYU is sounding like a less and less justifiable choice...but I do love it, and yeah...just wondering what everyone thinks.

THANK YOU!

[edited for stats]

I think the higher price tag + LRAP ineligibility at NYU automatically knocks it out of consideration. I'd do UVA.

if you really like nyu, why not give them a call and set up an in-person meeting to see if they can make an exception
the worst thing that can happen is they say "no"

Though NYU may be your "gut" choice, there's absolutely no way it's worth more than DOUBLE the cost of UVA. I'm pretty sure you could use the UVA LRAP and you'd have a significantly lower amount of debt to pay off.

I'm usually a big proponent of fit/gut when everything else is equal or at least close to equal. Here though, they're not even close to equal – UVA makes infinitely more sense.

UVA and it isn't close. Paying 220k for NYU just doesn't make sense.

UVA

Virginia & Duke should be the two frontrunners, in my opinion, because of cost combined with innocence project opportunities.

Virginia's offer is tailor-made for you. The deferral requirement is probably due to scholarship availability (Virginia ran out of scholarship funds this cycle).

UVA

UVA. That's just waaaaaaaaay too much money for NYU given your PI goals and LRAP ineligibility.

You'd be crazy to turn down UVA with that kind of money especially with your goals. I'm not even hearing anything from you about wanting to work in NYC so it's a no brainer.