Take the Money or BU/BC? Forum

[mrtux45]

stats (please don't quote)

Took the LSAT 3 times, starting in Oct. 2015, big jump between tests 1 and 2, same score 2 and 3.



In, but waiting on $ from BC and Vandy, guessing around 60-70k based on mylsn. Waiting on decisions from Fordham, WashU, and Northwestern.

I see myself in Boston long term. I want to do trial work and I have experience at firms doing wrongful deaths, serious Personal Injury, etc. Also have some experience/interest in real estate..I understand these are very different practice areas. I picture myself at a small firm but (if my grades were good enough) would go for big law short term to pay loans, save money, and get quality training. I understand that I can't predict my 1L potential.

I'd be 24 by the time I start school, and while I know that taking the LSAT a 4th time fall 2017 could lead to better $$$, I'm not sure it's worth it given my low 140s diagnostic and that I was averaging ~167 before takes 2 and 3. Frankly, I'm also ready to move on with my life.

If I went to a Boston school, I could commute from my parents' house and save money. I also expect some financial assistance from my parents but not much. How effective could my other offers be in leveraging BU/BC? I'm torn between taking the money from Northeastern, or 90kish loans from BC/BU.

Thanks in advance for input

[dietcoke1]

I'm a 0L so take this with a grain of salt

with your goals, I would say northeastern seems to be the best option. The difference between northeastern and BU for employment is only about 13% according to LST. It seems like your not pursuing a job that requires prestige and I think you could reach your career goals from northeastern and having no debt is a serious plus.

that said, I would play BC and BU off each other and see where that leads.

[trebekismyhero]

If you want to be in Boston, cross off ASU for sure, W&L, Wake, OSU and probably USC. Emory at that price is too expensive and probably won't get you back to Boston in great position. Same for GW. Vandy will likely be too expensive.

I think it comes down to how debt averse you are. If you want to graduate debt free and work at a small firm making $50-60k then take Northeastern. You would have almost 0 chance at big law, but you'd have no loans to pay.

BU/BC if you can keep COA down to $75-80k isn't bad. You'd have about 30-40% at big law, but if you end up at median you probably are going to get the same type of job you would from Northeastern. Try to get BC and BU to raise their scholarships, I would think the USC offer should make one of them move and then as mentioned play them off each other

[favabeansoup]

I would go to BC/BU, and which one would depend on the scholarship levels you are given. If you have roughly equal scholarships, go to BC. If you get a significant amount more money at BU, go to BU.

Northeastern full ride sounds tempting but if you are already in at BC/BU and getting some money from them too, I wouldn't take it. Their ABA numbers http://www.northeastern.edu/law/pdfs/ca ... s-2015.pdf aren't that promising, only 64% full time bar passage required rate (i.e. % of class working as lawyers), 11% biglaw/federal clerkship rate.

Why I think BC wins vs. BU:

http://www.bc.edu/content/dam/bc1/schoo ... _bclaw.pdf
https://www.bu.edu/law/files/2016/05/Em ... 5.9.16.pdf

BC has a better full time/bar passage required rate. 77.32% vs 75.48% (admittedly small difference)
BC has a better biglaw/fed clerk rate: 41.29% vs. 34.61%
BC placed more graduates in Massachusetts both in number and as a percentage of the class: 127 in MA/247 total, 51.4% vs. 105 in MA/208 total, 50.4%
BU had more law school funded positions (i.e. means school paid for their jobs, less is better): 5 at BC vs. 17 at BU

COA at both is roughly equal at $70,378 for BC and $70,112 at BU.

Being able to save on housing costs makes a BIG difference in COA here, and why I would push you to go to BC (or BU if lots of $$) on some scholarship vs Northeastern on a full ride. Rent alone for three years would probably be around ~30-40k on the lowish end, Boston is expensive to live in. That knocks a significant portion of the total COA pre-scholarship off already. Paying off <80-90k of loans from a school like BC seems a pretty reasonable outlook for a median student.

I wouldn't consider going to GW/USC/Emory/etc if you are serious about staying in Boston. BC will do better than all those schools for hiring in the Boston market, both in small and biglaw.