Georgetown (sticker) v. UNC Chapel Hill (full ride) Forum

[sahara1128]

Hi all, I am in serious need of some advice. I have been accepted to Georgetown, sticker price. I have also been offered a full ride at UNC Chapel Hill. To go to Georgetown, I would need to take out the entire cost of my education in loans -- probably upwards of $200k in debt.

I am not entirely sure what I want to do with my law degree. I may want to go into Big Law, in which case going to Georgetown is the better option. However, I may want to do public interest law or government work instead, things that I may not be able to do with $200k in student loans.

Here are the other schools I have heard from:
Accepted at Fordham with $45,000 annual scholarship
Accepted at GW with $30,000 annual scholarship
Waitlisted at Duke
Waitlisted at Columbia

I would appreciate any perspective or advice offered. I am having a tremendous amount of difficulty in making my decision.

[Rigo]

Definitely not Georgetown at sticker. Frankly, I wouldn't go to any of these schools intent on biglaw.

Are you from NC? Do you want to practice in NC?
What kind of public interest/govt work?

That Fordham scholly doesn't seem half bad. Are you considering Fordham or not?

[areyn22]

Hi all, I am in serious need of some advice. I have been accepted to Georgetown, sticker price. I have also been offered a full ride at UNC Chapel Hill. To go to Georgetown, I would need to take out the entire cost of my education in loans -- probably upwards of $200k in debt.

I am not entirely sure what I want to do with my law degree. I may want to go into Big Law, in which case going to Georgetown is the better option. However, I may want to do public interest law or government work instead, things that I may not be able to do with $200k in student loans.

Here are the other schools I have heard from:
Accepted at Fordham with $45,000 annual scholarship
Accepted at GW with $30,000 annual scholarship
Waitlisted at Duke
Waitlisted at Columbia

I would appreciate any perspective or advice offered. I am having a tremendous amount of difficulty in making my decision.

Are you okay with staying in NC and potentially not getting Biglaw? If so, I'd go UNC all the way. It's a good regional school and you'll be able to find employment - likely not Biglaw, but you won't be 200k in debt. Besides, that much money would take time and effort to pay off even with a Biglaw salary. If you're dead set on Biglaw/Georgetown, the advice you'll get here is to retake. If not, my vote is UNC.

[floatie]

What are your stats? I'll also say that given that you have no idea what you want to do, it's difficult to give you the kind of advice you're looking for. In all honesty, would take off a year and get a sense of what you'd like to do before you think about taking on $200k+ in nondischargable debt. A lot of people go to law school thinking they'll have a whole 3 years to "figure it all out" but in reality you have a lot less time than that. A lot of hiring takes place after your 1L summer, so you need to go to law school ready to go after whatever it is that you want.

Given that you have to take out the entire cost of your education in loans, Georgetown is a horrible idea - and given the atrocious COL in DC you'd be taking closer to $300k in loans there. Even with $30k a year at GW, I would still be hesitant about it because that's still leaving with you with almost $200k in debt, GW doesn't have great biglaw placement, and DC is a tough market to crack into especially with competition from Georgetown.

Fordham at $45k a year would leave you with about $110k in debt (ballparking it here - assuming $15k total for tuition and $30k/year in living costs). Obviously, COL in NYC is no joke but that scholarship would cover the bulk of tuition so while it's still a risky offer, I would consider it a defensible choice if you're comfortable with that kind of debt. Biglaw placement from Fordham is somewhere between mediocre and not so great.

Regarding UNC, the question you need to ask yourself is - do you want to stay doing PI work or working for a small-medium firm in NC? Because that's your most likely outcome.

[thewhalefish]

I am not entirely sure what I want to do with my law degree. I may want to go into Big Law, in which case going to Georgetown is the better option. However, I may want to do public interest law or government work instead, things that I may not be able to do with $200k in student loans.

Here are the other schools I have heard from:
Accepted at Fordham with $45,000 annual scholarship
Accepted at GW with $30,000 annual scholarship
Waitlisted at Duke
Waitlisted at Columbia

I would appreciate any perspective or advice offered. I am having a tremendous amount of difficulty in making my decision.

This tells me that perhaps you should not be going to law school Edit: of course that is not what you asked, just my thoughts.

[sahara1128]

Definitely not Georgetown at sticker. Frankly, I wouldn't go to any of these schools intent on biglaw.

Are you from NC? Do you want to practice in NC?
What kind of public interest/govt work?

That Fordham scholly doesn't seem half bad. Are you considering Fordham or not?

I am considering Fordham, going to their accepted students day next month. I am originally from New York (currently living in NC), but I am not confident that I want to practice law in NY. I've thought that if I don't wind up living in NY, Fordham wouldn't be the best choice -- and I don't want to bind myself to NY by choosing Fordham. Also the living expenses in NY while in law school would be brutal.

[sahara1128]

What are your stats? I'll also say that given that you have no idea what you want to do, it's difficult to give you the kind of advice you're looking for. In all honesty, would take off a year and get a sense of what you'd like to do before you think about taking on $200k+ in nondischargable debt. A lot of people go to law school thinking they'll have a whole 3 years to "figure it all out" but in reality you have a lot less time than that. A lot of hiring takes place after your 1L summer, so you need to go to law school ready to go after whatever it is that you want.

Given that you have to take out the entire cost of your education in loans, Georgetown is a horrible idea - and given the atrocious COL in DC you'd be taking closer to $300k in loans there. Even with $30k a year at GW, I would still be hesitant about it because that's still leaving with you with almost $200k in debt, GW doesn't have great biglaw placement, and DC is a tough market to crack into especially with competition from Georgetown.

Fordham at $45k a year would leave you with about $110k in debt (ballparking it here - assuming $15k total for tuition and $30k/year in living costs). Obviously, COL in NYC is no joke but that scholarship would cover the bulk of tuition so while it's still a risky offer, I would consider it a defensible choice if you're comfortable with that kind of debt. Biglaw placement from Fordham is somewhere between mediocre and not so great.

Regarding UNC, the question you need to ask yourself is - do you want to stay doing PI work or working for a small-medium firm in NC? Because that's your most likely outcome.

Thanks for your thoughts! My stats are 168, 3.71 GPA.
You've pretty much summarized where all of my internal debates have led me. If I go to UNC, I would be comfortable doing PI work or working in a less prestigious small or medium sized firm long-term, especially since I would not have the pressure of repaying student loans. However, I'd hate to lose the opportunity to do more simply because I chose UNC over a T14 school.
On the topic of Fordham, I feel pretty sure that I don't want to settle in NY long-term -- not 100% but the living expenses really turn me off. Accruing 100k in debt to go to Fordham may not be worth it if I don't want to work in the NY market.

[Rigo]

Why didn't you apply way more broadly in T14&T20?
Damn, I was expecting lower stats.

[Rigo]

Georgetown is really sticker? F them.

[sahara1128]

Why didn't you apply way more broadly in T14&T20?
Damn, I was expecting lower stats.

For personal reasons, I could apply only to schools in North Carolina, DC, and New York. Obviously this has really limited me in my applications, but such is life.

Edit: I am still waiting to hear from NYU, just so you have all the info!

[Easterbork]

Have you asked gulc for a scholarship?

[Rigo]

Why didn't you apply way more broadly in T14&T20?
Damn, I was expecting lower stats.

For personal reasons, I could apply only to schools in North Carolina, DC, and New York. Obviously this has really limited me in my applications, but such is life.

Edit: I am still waiting to hear from NYU, just so you have all the info!

I mean it would have been prudent to apply more broadly even if just for negotiation.
Ah well.

You need to get $$ from Georgetown.
Negotiate more from GWU using Fordham and UNC.
Turn around and get Georgetown money from GWU and Fordham.

[sahara1128]

Why didn't you apply way more broadly in T14&T20?
Damn, I was expecting lower stats.

For personal reasons, I could apply only to schools in North Carolina, DC, and New York. Obviously this has really limited me in my applications, but such is life.

Edit: I am still waiting to hear from NYU, just so you have all the info!

I mean it would have been prudent to apply more broadly even if just for negotiation.
Ah well.

You need to get $$ from Georgetown.
Negotiate more from GWU using Fordham and UNC.
Turn around and get Georgetown money from GWU and Fordham.

I see your point. The thought of trying to negotiate more money from schools freaks me out, but I'll give it a go if you think it could work. Thanks!!

[sahara1128]

Have you asked gulc for a scholarship?

I haven't.

[20170322]

Tbh this is about what you want to do.

Biglaw? Gtown (tho it's still a bad choice)
NC non-biglaw? UNC
NC PI? UNC
National PI? Gtown.

[Rigo]

The thought of trying to negotiate more money from schools freaks me out, but I'll give it a go if you think it could work. Thanks!!

It shouldn't; get over that. You have good stats and schools should pay to have you matriculate.
Negotiating is normal and schools expect it.
You're above all LSAT medians and above most 75ths, and you have a solid GPA too.

[floatie]

The thought of trying to negotiate more money from schools freaks me out, but I'll give it a go if you think it could work. Thanks!!

It shouldn't; get over that. You have good stats and schools should pay to have you matriculate.
Negotiating is normal and schools expect it.
You're above all LSAT medians and above most 75ths, and you have a solid GPA too.

Just to add - with negotiation the worst they can do is say no. It won't look bad at all, unless you're super rude or entitled in your communications

[Easterbork]

Have you asked gulc for a scholarship?

I haven't.

I believe gulc will generally stay silent for most candidates, especially ones around their medians. If you ask I believe there is a good chance you will get something. I'm sure if you consult the gtown applicant thread you can find who to email and what to generally say (keep it short and sweet).

[sahara1128]

Have you asked gulc for a scholarship?

I haven't.

I believe gulc will generally stay silent for most candidates, especially ones around their medians. If you ask I believe there is a good chance you will get something. I'm sure if you consult the gtown applicant thread you can find who to email and what to generally say (keep it short and sweet).

Thanks for the advice! I'm going to see if GW will increase their scholarship offer (also it gives me a practice run writing these types of letters) and then I'll reach out to Georgetown.

[Rubbishdump]

Sit out the cycle and apply a bit more widely, then negotiate with Georgetown with your other offers. Your stats are too good to pay sticker at Georgetown, imo.