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I'm having the classic dilemma in choosing rank vs. money, in addition to location vs. specialty programs.

Here is my situation: I currently live in New York and have been here for about four years. My preference is to stay here, though I am not necessarily opposed to moving. I have been accepted at Cardozo and Temple with full scholarships, as well as Fordham with 35k/year and Emory with 36k/year (will try to get a little more out of both but that's what it is so far). I have absolutely NO interest in Biglaw. I am committed to working in public interest, either in criminal defense or civil rights, so I know that one of the biggest factors in my decision will have to be $$.

So, the first question is whether it would be worth it to pay between 15k and 18k per year for tuition to go to either Emory or Fordham over Cardozo or Temple (btw I have a VERY cheap living situation in New York, so cost of living will generally be the same no matter where I go). The second question is how much geography matters for public interest. As I said, my preference is to stay in New York, and I do plan, as of right now, to work here after graduating. However, in terms of my interests, I definitely prefer Emory to Fordham and Temple to Cardozo. Do their relative higher rankings outweigh the fact that Fordham and Cardozo are both located in New York?

Obviously, you should definitely be going to a school that gives a full scholarship. That being said, I would NOT go to Temple unless I was planning on working in Philly. I don't know enough about how 'dozo works in NYC to give you an opinion there. Also, Emory should be struck out of your list with the biggest sharpie you can find, like this one:

Thanks! When you say that Emory should be struck from my list, is that because of location / the possibility of working in New York after or is that for another reason?

It's two reasons:

1. It's too expensive for the outcomes it delivers.
2. It's a regional school, though many are fooled annually into going there trying to work some place other than Atlanta/Georgia/the deep south.

Cardozo I guess but I would make sure I knew exactly what criminal defense and civil rights law is, what the most likely outcomes are in those fields, and that I had an unquenchable desire to do that type of work. The vast, vast, vast majority of 0Ls who say they are committed to this type of work haven't done all these things from my experience.

All other schools are out based on price/geography IMO.

If you're not a true blue public interest diehard then I would retake/reapply.

I definitely know that's what I want to do. I have been out of undergrad for four years working in positions related to both areas (first investigating complaints of police misconduct and now working at a civil rights law firm that does police misconduct/prisoner abuse cases). As many of these cases involve allegations of false arrest, I've necessarily been exposed to criminal defense work.

...

No extra money from Emory or Fordham :/

dozo if you are as die hard PI as you think. Don't waste the debt on Fordham if you are that sure.

No matter what your preference is there is no reality in which Fordham is worth 105k extra than Cardozo.

Temple's higher rank than Dozo will most likely have zero effects on PI hiring in NYC. Same for Emory as well. Dozo--> Fordham (just bc of location)---> Temple--------------------->Emory ( if retake isn't option)

jrass wrote:No matter what your preference is there is no reality in which Fordham is worth 105k extra than Cardozo.

Not $105k extra, about $57k extra...

jeezy521 wrote:

jrass wrote:No matter what your preference is there is no reality in which Fordham is worth 105k extra than Cardozo.

Not $105k extra, about $57k extra...

Maybe it was unclear in the initial post, but Fordham gave me $35k/year and Emory gave me $36k/year

jeezy521 wrote:

jeezy521 wrote:

jrass wrote:No matter what your preference is there is no reality in which Fordham is worth 105k extra than Cardozo.

Not $105k extra, about $57k extra...

Maybe it was unclear in the initial post, but Fordham gave me $35k/year and Emory gave me $36k/year

I don't think that makes a big difference. $57k is a lot of money to pay back if you're doing PI.

In the legal work you've done, have you noticed where the attorneys went to school?

ronanOgara wrote:

jeezy521 wrote:

jeezy521 wrote:

jrass wrote:No matter what your preference is there is no reality in which Fordham is worth 105k extra than Cardozo.

Not $105k extra, about $57k extra...

Maybe it was unclear in the initial post, but Fordham gave me $35k/year and Emory gave me $36k/year

I don't think that makes a big difference. $57k is a lot of money to pay back if you're doing PI.

In the legal work you've done, have you noticed where the attorneys went to school?

Such a mix. BU, Rutgers, Cardozo, NYU, Columbia...

Would do Dozo here and make sure to intern or work a lot during law school.

Okay, I think Cardozo it is! One more question: I'm currently on the Waitlist at Columbia. I know getting off is a long shot, but if it somehow happens, is there any way that it would be worth going there at full price?

jeezy521 wrote:Okay, I think Cardozo it is! One more question: I'm currently on the Waitlist at Columbia. I know getting off is a long shot, but if it somehow happens, is there any way that it would be worth going there at full price?

It's probably hard to pay off sticker at Columbia without big law. BUT Columbia (as do other T-14 schools) has a loan repayment program for public interest law. These programs are at the same time extremely generous but also extremely complex. If you get into Columbia and are sure public interest is your route, look at the loan repayment program to see if it will work for you.