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Any advice is welcome! Here's my situation:

Notre Dame has given me $40,000/year, Vandy has given me $20,000/year, and UCLA has given me $15,000/year. My only T14 acceptance is Cornell, but they didn't give me any scholarship money so I'll probably not go there. I won't have to take out any loans for COL, as my wife will be working to support us both. So total debt after 3 years for tuition and fees (not adjusted for tuition increase) would be $37,116 for ND, $99,360 for Vandy, and $97,346 for UCLA (assuming I'd get in-state for my 2L and 3L years).

I definitely don't want to do biglaw. I'd like to do a clerkship if I can snag it, or else do PI or gov agency. I'd like to work in Chicago or DC, although I'm open to California as well. Probably wouldn't want to work in the south.

Obviously I'd be in a lot less debt if I went to Notre Dame, but I'm wondering if the other schools are worth the extra cost.

EDIT: WashU gave me 35k a year.

Notre Dame is the choice here to get back to Chicago, so long as your only costs here are going to be for tuition. Also, make sure you wouldn't feel like your life is over if you end up in various spots in Indiana.

Also, if I understood you correctly, your ND COA is going to be more like $50k.

Notre Dame punches above its weight for clerkships and has a strong pi focus due to the religious affiliation. For clerkships, it does help a good bit if you're conservative, but it's not a requirement. There is also a great chicago externship program.

Thanks for the input so far!

Just heard back from WashU and they gave me 35k a year. Since their tuition is slightly less than ND's it makes the scholarships roughly the same.

What's the consensus on the differences between WashU and Notre Dame? Other than STL is probably more fun than South Bend. Obviously ND does better in the Chicago market, but does WashU reach better on the east coast (DC namely)?

fliptrip wrote:Notre Dame is the choice here to get back to Chicago, so long as your only costs here are going to be for tuition. Also, make sure you wouldn't feel like your life is over if you end up in various spots in Indiana.

Also, if I understood you correctly, your ND COA is going to be more like $50k.

The bolded part just isn't true. No one from ND stays in Indiana unless they want to. In fact, good luck getting a job in Indiana from ND if you're not a local. Every firm or job in Indiana will think non-Indiana ND students are a flight risk.

DougStamper wrote:Thanks for the input so far!

Just heard back from WashU and they gave me 35k a year. Since their tuition is slightly less than ND's it makes the scholarships roughly the same.

What's the consensus on the differences between WashU and Notre Dame? Other than STL is probably more fun than South Bend. Obviously ND does better in the Chicago market, but does WashU reach better on the east coast (DC namely)?

ND and Wash U are peer schools are have similar employment statistics. You should probably visit both and see which you like more. Also, consider letting ND know about your Wash U offer and your dilemma. They might give you more $$.