Top Law Schools

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Well off the top, Michigan is not worth sticker, so throw that out.

Vanderbilt is fine from a cost perspective, assuming you've properly sized the costs. I found your estimate for sticker at Michigan to be too low and I am wondering if you've done the same for Vanderbilt. I can't know for sure because I don't know exactly how much money you're getting from them.

In general, though, it seems odd to be down to these two schools. Did you apply to Duke, Cornell, and UVA?

Vandy for $90,000 total CoA isn't too shabby at all. Easy choice here. Congrats on a solid outcome.

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Vandy2bforrealz wrote:I can probably swing rent free living with a sibling or close family member for my first 9 months of law school if I attend Vandy. Michigan is absurdly expensive but I thought my numbers were in the ballpark. Not much of a difference between 225 and 240k debt if there is a "nominal" difference. I blanketed the top 20 schools that I liked and these are the only two offers that made sense since I was rejected by majority of top-14 but got a lot of money from top 25 schools.

Did you get a full scholly from WUSTL or any other T-25s? Do you have anything else to leverage off of Vandy's offer to see if they'll increase it more? Have you tried negotiating yet?

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Vandy2bforrealz wrote:Strangely enough Vandy was my dream school and best offer. I did not receive a single full tuition scholarship offer from a peer school because I only applied to schools that I believed I could reasonably get to all my desired market areas with "aka national schools". However, almost all of the offers were solid. WUSTL surprisingly low-balled me imo.

Then go Vandy. Not even a close call here IMO. Desire to work in Nashville, dream school, solid offer...I think that package together easily trumps Michigan at sticker.

Vanderbilt seems like a good choice here. I don't think there's a ton of BigLaw in Nashville, though, but your costs will be low enough to where you will not need it. I wouldn't feel too great about Vandy's placement power outside of the south though.

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How much did vandy give you?

And I'm surprised you put UMich at 220k for sticker and supposedly factored in 3 years of COA and interest..?

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Vandy2bforrealz wrote:That's great. I know a lot of people on these boards are top-14 and bust in order to maximize their Biglaw chances and it's always great to get additional perspectives on these matters. I'm pretty much sold on Vandy but outside assurances are pluses. Biglaw is my primary goal so if for example D.C. law is my only Biglaw option (and no Nashville options) then D.C. is where I'll be.

Well, this is the issue. If biglaw is your primary goal, you shouldn't be going to Vanderbilt at all. I'd give you a coin flip's chance at BigLaw out of Vandy. What will you do if you end up just a shade below median and are shut out of biglaw? Will you be able to live with yourself? All indications are Vandy's the type of place where getting biglaw at median even is a precarious proposition. Contrast this with a place like Cornell, where there's just a lot more margin for error grade wise.

Vandy2bforrealz wrote:That's great. I know a lot of people on these boards are top-14 and bust in order to maximize their Biglaw chances and it's always great to get additional perspectives on these matters. I'm pretty much sold on Vandy but outside assurances are pluses. Biglaw is my primary goal so if for example D.C. law is my only Biglaw option (and no Nashville options) then D.C. is where I'll be.

I would go Vandy between these two options but you need to be ready for second prize.

Edit: what fliptrip said.

Yep these are my only options at this point. If WUSTL bounced back and gave me the Webster that may sway me, but outside of that I only have two options that i can entertain. If I missed Biglaw I would be okay but obviously it wouldn't be my desired result.

Michigan at sticker is going to be about $287,100 in federal loans at repayment, six months after graduation. This is based on the GULC calculator, which assumes a 3.5% annual increase in COA. This total DOES NOT take into account 12 months worth of living expenses, since Michigan's estimated COA is based on an eight-month budget, so you've got four months per year that aren't covered.

I graduated from Michigan law in 1989 and paid a total of $15,000 in tuition, for all three years combined. Taking into account inflation, that's the equivalent of $30,000 today. That was sticker btw (in-state).

Paul Campos wrote:Michigan at sticker is going to be about $287,100 in federal loans at repayment, six months after graduation. This is based on the GULC calculator, which assumes a 3.5% annual increase in COA. This total DOES NOT take into account 12 months worth of living expenses, since Michigan's estimated COA is based on an eight-month budget, so you've got four months per year that aren't covered.

I graduated from Michigan law in 1989 and paid a total of $15,000 in tuition, for all three years combined. Taking into account inflation, that's the equivalent of $30,000 today. That was sticker btw (in-state).

It is criminal what schools have done to get wealthy off the student loans of their students. I wonder what the wealth transfer from the federal government to law school with the student as a middle man will be in the fall or for the entire school year.

Vandy2bforrealz wrote:Yep these are my only options at this point. If WUSTL bounced back and gave me the Webster that may sway me, but outside of that I only have two options that i can entertain. If I missed Biglaw I would be okay but obviously it wouldn't be my desired result.

What firms would you consider? How many students from Vandy will go to biglaw in DC which generally requires too grades? What are the options if you don't get biglaw?

As someone who hasn't started law school yet, I'm more focused on location unless I can only find market paying Biglaw firms in the big cities. I'm fiscally motivated and realize that Biglaw isn't designed to last for forever for everyone. I want to pay my debt off, create a nice savings cushion, and enjoy the fruits of my labor thenceforth. I honestly don't know the difference between V-100 prestige and V-5 prestige (as far as I know they pay the same). I just want a job that can give me the connections, salary, and skills to be valuable in the legal and business world.

Tls2016 wrote:

Paul Campos wrote:Michigan at sticker is going to be about $287,100 in federal loans at repayment, six months after graduation. This is based on the GULC calculator, which assumes a 3.5% annual increase in COA. This total DOES NOT take into account 12 months worth of living expenses, since Michigan's estimated COA is based on an eight-month budget, so you've got four months per year that aren't covered.

I graduated from Michigan law in 1989 and paid a total of $15,000 in tuition, for all three years combined. Taking into account inflation, that's the equivalent of $30,000 today. That was sticker btw (in-state).

It is criminal what schools have done to get wealthy off the student loans of their students. I wonder what the wealth transfer from the federal government to law school with the student as a middle man will be in the fall or for the entire school year.

Lol. Most university fees are going to administrative costs (something like 7 times the administration now in universities than in the 1970s) and also pensions for old people. It doesn't help that USNews has a 'spending per student' factor into its rankings.

The US is turning into such a shithole country due to greed and maximizing profits - outsourced jobs, skyrocketing and healthcare education costs, COL through the roof, longer average working hours than Japan now. The American dream is long dead for our generation. Time to emigrate...

Vandy 3L heading to DC here. 90k isn't bad if that's right. Both markets you want are tough to get. But Mich should be out of the equation.

Feel free to pm me if you have any questions.

Listen to Paul Campos. Any school at sticker (even T14) is absolutely crazy regardless of goals/family wealth.