Top Law Schools

Hey everyone, would really love some advice! I'm really having a hard time deciding between rankings vs. cost, and although Ohio State is not nearly as highly ranked as Georgetown or Cornell, it does seem to have a very good track record in Ohio. Thanks for the help!

-The schools you are considering:
Georgetown Law Center (14)
Cornell Law (13)
Ohio State Law (34)

-The total Cost of Attendance:

Cornell (Sticker)
GULC (Sticker)
Ohio State (Full Scholarship - Additional loans totalling about $35,000 over 3 yrs)

-How you will be financing your COA, i.e. loans, family, or savings
Loans, and hopefully working part-time.

Another consideration, although I know it's not guaranteed, is that I plan to work in public interest law, so Cornell and Georgetown both have generous LRAP programs and federal loan forgiveness is something I'm taking into consideration.

-Where you are from and where you want to work, and other places where you have significant ties (if any)
From Ohio, went to school in Boston, and have some connections/work experience in Chicago. Ideally I would work in Chicago, NYC, DC or back in Ohio.

-Your general career goals
I am really passionate about organized labor and worker rights and would like to work in union-side labor, particularly as in-house union counsel. I would also be happy working for a nonprofit or a governmental agency. Basically, I want to work in some capacity on labor issues and worker rights.

-Your LSAT/GPA numbers: 164/3.7

-How many times you have taken the LSAT: Twice.

RETAKE.

With a 170, ED NU, and get a 150k.

With a 170-172, you'd be in a Columbia and probably even get a full ride to Cornell. Basically 8 points on the LSAT can make you 200k

Come on man.... You knew what people were gonna say. Are you open to the idea of increased career mobility and saving hundreds of thousands of dollars? Or are you set on attending on of these schools in the fall?

Retake > osu > enlist in the army > bet life savings on black in roulette > lend $ to Nigerian prince > buy a timeshare vacation property > Cornell > gulc

If you are sincere about working in Ohio, then OSU is a fine option here.

You're insane to go to either GTTTown or Cornell at sticker. Really insane with those goals (especially considering public serivce loan forgiveness could very likely be gone or capped by the time it would apply to you).

Either retake and get a good scholarship at Northwestern or Michigan, or call it good with OSU (again, so long as you're happy being in Ohio long term).

add a fourth option to your poll: retake.

Get money from Cornell next year (Big Red has a large labor relations program). Prosper.

that1guyoverthere wrote:Another consideration, although I know it's not guaranteed, is that I plan to work in public interest law, so Cornell and Georgetown both have generous LRAP programs and federal loan forgiveness is something I'm taking into consideration.

Not for (a lot of) organized labor work. If you're employed by a labor union (which seems very likely given your interests), any years you spend in that capacity will NOT be eligible for PSLF. Ohio is overwhelmingly TCR if you're down with living and working in Ohio for the foreseeable future. I mean, retake is TCR, but your job opportunities aren't actually going to be that much better from Cornell or GULC compared to OSU.

Osu is an good deal here.

I think OSU is a good option here. I think you could (and I would recommend) burning that last retake in the hopes of getting into NU or UMich with money, but I probably would still take a full-ride from OSU > anything under a half-ride from NU/UM if I didn't care about biglaw and didn't mind working in Ohio.

However, you can't have your cake and eat it too. If you go to OSU, you should probably foreclose any dreams of working outside the state of Ohio. Some people do end up finding work out of Ohio, but it's not a large enough number (and the competition is too fierce) to make that a realistic option.

OSU if you want to be among the 75% that head to Ohio. At least for a little while post-JD.

If you won't be content with that, retake.

Ohio State with a full tuition scholarship is a solid option for one wishing to practice in Ohio.

Retake the LSAT for a shot at Cornell with a scholarship offer as Cornell offers numerous labor law & labor relations courses and initial post-law school employment options would be greatly expanded compared to Ohio State University School of Law.

(Cornell at sticker price is not a reasonable option--especially so in light of your home state flagship university's offer of a full tuition scholarship.)

Did you apply to WUSTL?