SLU (Full Ride) vs Wustl ($$) Forum

[TheCubsFan]

What do you guys think about SLU with a full ride (1843 Scholar) vs WashU with ~$100k scholly? Not sure about BigLaw, but want to keep STL large firms as an option at least. And I definitely want to stay in the STL area. My fiancé will have a full time job in Saint Louis, so living expenses will be paid by her, making SLU basically completely debt-free. I will need to take out around $70,000 in loans for WashU.

I've heard that the 1843 Scholarship opens a lot of doors that might negate the disparity between the schools rankings. Has anyone had experience with that?

If I do decide to go for STL "biglaw" over say, working as a prosecutor in the government, would WashU be a huge advantage?

Stats: 165 LSAT, 3.9 GPA

[Incrementalist]

Have you visited both schools to get a feel for which one you would like best? I think SLU would be an option if you're sure you want to remain within the St. Louis area. I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong. WashU would give you more mobility if you decided after the 3 yrs of law school that if St. Louis isn't where you want to practice you can leave. You should also sit down with your fiancé and see how they feel as well. Seeing as this would be a decision that effects both of you.

[acr]

Try to get more money from WUSTL up until the seat deposit deadline

[TheCubsFan]

Have you visited both schools to get a feel for which one you would like best? I think SLU would be an option if you're sure you want to remain within the St. Louis area. I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong. WashU would give you more mobility if you decided after the 3 yrs of law school that if St. Louis isn't where you want to practice you can leave. You should also sit down with your fiancé and see how they feel as well. Seeing as this would be a decision that effects both of you.

I have visited both and I actually really loved SLU! Their new building and higher-tech classrooms were really appealing. I liked WashU, but definitely not as impressed as I thought it was gonna be.
Also, I've lived in the Saint Louis area my entire life, so I'm sure I'll be happy to stay, if that helps at all.

[TheCubsFan]

Try to get more money from WUSTL up until the seat deposit deadline

I plan to do this, and I'm waiting on other scholarship offers (hoping to get a full scholly from UIUC and at least one higher-ranked acceptance).

[iskim88]

If you have not exhausted all your retakes, you should try out the Feb/June lsat and aim for 167/168 for a fullride at washu.

Otherwise, 70k debt at washu aiming to stay at st.louis doesent sound so bad to me.

[Incrementalist]

Have you visited both schools to get a feel for which one you would like best? I think SLU would be an option if you're sure you want to remain within the St. Louis area. I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong. WashU would give you more mobility if you decided after the 3 yrs of law school that if St. Louis isn't where you want to practice you can leave. You should also sit down with your fiancé and see how they feel as well. Seeing as this would be a decision that effects both of you.

I have visited both and I actually really loved SLU! Their new building and higher-tech classrooms were really appealing. I liked WashU, but definitely not as impressed as I thought it was gonna be.
Also, I've lived in the Saint Louis area my entire life, so I'm sure I'll be happy to stay, if that helps at all.

Oh okay that helps. I would say follow your heart. If you are unsuccessful at getting more money from WashU and are confident in your abilities to succeed at SLU why not take the free education as opposed to going in debt. I am not really familiar with the way SLU places in the area but I believe if your heart is set on one place go there despite what others say. Ultimately you want to be happy. I have seen in a past cycle from when I applied before I chose to get my Masters first that some people on here are T14 or bust. But I think some people fail to realize that your comfort and overall happiness comes into play as well. You want to be happy where you are at. You received a full ride and that is amazing and you genuinely like the school as well. I would though try because it doesn't hurt to see if WashU is willing to give more money. Sorry for the ramble was just trying to help the best way I could.

[cavalier1138]

Oh okay that helps. I would say follow your heart. If you are unsuccessful at getting more money from WashU and are confident in your abilities to succeed at SLU why not take the free education as opposed to going in debt. I am not really familiar with the way SLU places in the area but I believe if your heart is set on one place go there despite what others say. Ultimately you want to be happy. I have seen in a past cycle from when I applied before I chose to get my Masters first that some people on here are T14 or bust. But I think some people fail to realize that your comfort and overall happiness comes into play as well. You want to be happy where you are at. You received a full ride and that is amazing and you genuinely like the school as well. I would though try because it doesn't hurt to see if WashU is willing to give more money. Sorry for the ramble was just trying to help the best way I could.

While SLU may be the right choice for the OP, this is not the right reasoning.

The education at SLU will not be "free". OP will still be paying COL expenses, so there will be some level of loss. And the reason they may want to incur more debt at WashU is that WashU gives them a better chance at a good job. Your short-term comfort and happiness at a specific school is meaningless compared to your long-term happiness in a decent job and debt-free. More importantly, you cannot let a transitory feeling of "comfort" outweigh a school's employment numbers.

OP, as others have already indicated, the correct path is to see if you can get some more money out of WashU (a retake would be the best way to guarantee a full ride, because they hand those out like candy for a high LSAT). My understanding of the St. Louis market is that legal jobs are scarce enough already, so the WashU degree can make a difference. But at the current prices, SLU is your better choice.

[Incrementalist]

I wasn't saying it as if that is the end all be all. I was saying it could possibly be one of the factors. And despite what u maybe believe sometimes people do underperform because they aren't in the right environment or aren't happy. That's just life and humans aren't robots so situations can effect our abilities. But I didn't post to get into a debate I am just trying to help the op and see where they are coming from.

[Rigo]

Negotiate hard with WUSTL late into the cycle. Even retake in June for a last minute savings of $70k.

Even if no more money though, I'd do WUSTL.

[TheCubsFan]

I didn't wanna make another topic for this, so I'll just comment here. Does it change things if I throw UIUC with full scholarship into the mix? I just got their acceptance. Biglaw chances seem better than at SLU here, but still not as good as WUSTL.
I will obviously use this scholarship again to try to get WUSTL to raise theirs, but let's assume it doesn't go up.

[RareExports]

SLU will be at least as good, if not give you an advantage, at becoming a prosecutor in the STL area. I don't think the 1843 scholarship itself helps with that at all, rather recipients of the scholarship typically are well-qualified which tends to produce better outcomes. STL "big" firms have traditionally preferred SLU grads, but my perception is that they are increasingly attracted to WUSTL grads (especially ones from the area) with the changing class profiles of the past few years.

Neither option will give you a great shot at the larger STL firms and you'll need the grades at either school. WUSTL probably has some edge there, but SLU has the edge for local government work.