Top Law Schools

So I know there are a few of these out there, and I have gone through them all. That being said, I figured I would appreciate people's thoughts on this nonetheless.

I got into BU/BC (along with UVA, and Duke but no money). I am from the Boston area, and would be perfectly content to stay here and work here.

That being said, BU has offered me $96,000 and BC has offered me $105,000.

Post law school, I would optimally like to do biglaw for a few years (though I am aware it is by no means a guarantee from either of these schools), and then hopefully either go into either an NGO, in house counsel, or some other form of work beneficial to society. Eventually, a long ways down the road, I do hope to run for elected office in MA.

I personally think I prefer BC. The atmosphere feels better to me, and I believe they have very *slightly* better placement in Boston Biglaw. Beyond that, apart from Suffolk grads that are ubiquitous in MA politics, BC grads seem to be the most common. That being said, they seem to have basically identical stats.

What do y'all think? BC or BU?

They're basically equal for you, IMO. It sounds like you like BC more, so go there.

Why do you want to do big law? That seems incompatible with everything else in your post.

Also in before "If you want to do politics, do politics"

BigZuck wrote:Why do you want to do big law? That seems incompatible with everything else in your post.

Also in before "If you want to do politics, do politics"

For the first one, I want to do bigLaw because it opens up a lot of paths that are not otherwise open, especially as I have no interest in being a DA/prosecutor. BigLaw would allow me to gain experience working in the legal field, and from everything I've read, would also allow me to find work in something akin to an NGO much more easily than if I attempted to go straight for that field.

As for the second, I *do* want to be a lawyer. I also want to do politics, and it really doesn't seem that the two are in any way mutually exclusive. BigLaw would allow me to gain pretty good connections, which I would hope to be able to leverage for a future political career.

BC. easy. better school, cheaper school, you prefer it. Don't look back.

BC/BU are a wash in employment. With more money, take BC

What are your actual COAs?

Rigo wrote:What are your actual COAs?

TBH it's a bit tricky to tell. My parents live right near Boston, and though I won't be living at home for law school, they will probably help me out with rent/food at least a bit. It's hard to tell how much though.

That being said, Tuition would be ~15k/year (so 45k), and rent would be ~750/mo so probably about 27000 over 3 years. I'd guess CoA total will be somewhere around 65k-70k in debt.

I plan to try and get a job during law school to help at least service my debt. I am not sure where or how though. I have skills in entry level IT (have worked helpdesk for the past 4 years). I am hoping I could get a similar part time job wherever I end up, but who knows.

atikhomi wrote:

Rigo wrote:What are your actual COAs?

TBH it's a bit tricky to tell. My parents live right near Boston, and though I won't be living at home for law school, they will probably help me out with rent/food at least a bit. It's hard to tell how much though.

That being said, Tuition would be ~15k/year (so 45k), and rent would be ~750/mo so probably about 27000 over 3 years. I'd guess CoA total will be somewhere around 65k-70k in debt.

I plan to try and get a job during law school to help at least service my debt. I am not sure where or how though. I have skills in entry level IT (have worked helpdesk for the past 4 years). I am hoping I could get a similar part time job wherever I end up, but who knows.

I guess it depends on how many bits your parents are helping out with but I bet your debt will be over 100K when you factor everything in, including loan origination fees, interest, cost of living that isn't rent, etc.

Also I've only been in big law less than a year but I'm not sure either of the below statements are true, especially the second one:

atikhomi wrote:BigLaw would allow me to gain experience working in the legal field, and from everything I've read, would also allow me to find work in something akin to an NGO much more easily than if I attempted to go straight for that field...BigLaw would allow me to gain pretty good connections, which I would hope to be able to leverage for a future political career.

What kinds of connections are you thinking you'll make that will help you out in politics?

BigZuck wrote:

atikhomi wrote:

Rigo wrote:What are your actual COAs?

TBH it's a bit tricky to tell. My parents live right near Boston, and though I won't be living at home for law school, they will probably help me out with rent/food at least a bit. It's hard to tell how much though.

That being said, Tuition would be ~15k/year (so 45k), and rent would be ~750/mo so probably about 27000 over 3 years. I'd guess CoA total will be somewhere around 65k-70k in debt.

I plan to try and get a job during law school to help at least service my debt. I am not sure where or how though. I have skills in entry level IT (have worked helpdesk for the past 4 years). I am hoping I could get a similar part time job wherever I end up, but who knows.

I guess it depends on how many bits your parents are helping out with but I bet your debt will be over 100K when you factor everything in, including loan origination fees, interest, cost of living that isn't rent, etc.

Also I've only been in big law less than a year but I'm not sure either of the below statements are true, especially the second one:

atikhomi wrote:BigLaw would allow me to gain experience working in the legal field, and from everything I've read, would also allow me to find work in something akin to an NGO much more easily than if I attempted to go straight for that field...BigLaw would allow me to gain pretty good connections, which I would hope to be able to leverage for a future political career.

What kinds of connections are you thinking you'll make that will help you out in politics?

Parents have said they'll give me about $1000 a month. So that will probably cover rent and maybe start to cover food. As for the second question, I hope to meet people throughout after a few years, preferably people who would be able to help fund a campaign haha. That being said, politics is really not my focus for the short-mid term. The goal is to become a practicing lawyer, while politics is a dream for 10-15 years down the line.

atikhomi wrote:

BigZuck wrote:

atikhomi wrote:

Rigo wrote:What are your actual COAs?

TBH it's a bit tricky to tell. My parents live right near Boston, and though I won't be living at home for law school, they will probably help me out with rent/food at least a bit. It's hard to tell how much though.

That being said, Tuition would be ~15k/year (so 45k), and rent would be ~750/mo so probably about 27000 over 3 years. I'd guess CoA total will be somewhere around 65k-70k in debt.

I plan to try and get a job during law school to help at least service my debt. I am not sure where or how though. I have skills in entry level IT (have worked helpdesk for the past 4 years). I am hoping I could get a similar part time job wherever I end up, but who knows.

I guess it depends on how many bits your parents are helping out with but I bet your debt will be over 100K when you factor everything in, including loan origination fees, interest, cost of living that isn't rent, etc.

Also I've only been in big law less than a year but I'm not sure either of the below statements are true, especially the second one:

atikhomi wrote:BigLaw would allow me to gain experience working in the legal field, and from everything I've read, would also allow me to find work in something akin to an NGO much more easily than if I attempted to go straight for that field...BigLaw would allow me to gain pretty good connections, which I would hope to be able to leverage for a future political career.

What kinds of connections are you thinking you'll make that will help you out in politics?

Parents have said they'll give me about $1000 a month. So that will probably cover rent and maybe start to cover food. As for the second question, I hope to meet people throughout after a few years, preferably people who would be able to help fund a campaign haha. That being said, politics is really not my focus for the short-mid term. The goal is to become a practicing lawyer, while politics is a dream for 10-15 years down the line.

This seems perfectly reasonable..... If you intend on finding an apartment in like Framingham and subsisting on ramen.

vcap180 wrote:

atikhomi wrote:

BigZuck wrote:

atikhomi wrote:

Rigo wrote:What are your actual COAs?

TBH it's a bit tricky to tell. My parents live right near Boston, and though I won't be living at home for law school, they will probably help me out with rent/food at least a bit. It's hard to tell how much though.

That being said, Tuition would be ~15k/year (so 45k), and rent would be ~750/mo so probably about 27000 over 3 years. I'd guess CoA total will be somewhere around 65k-70k in debt.

I plan to try and get a job during law school to help at least service my debt. I am not sure where or how though. I have skills in entry level IT (have worked helpdesk for the past 4 years). I am hoping I could get a similar part time job wherever I end up, but who knows.

I guess it depends on how many bits your parents are helping out with but I bet your debt will be over 100K when you factor everything in, including loan origination fees, interest, cost of living that isn't rent, etc.

Also I've only been in big law less than a year but I'm not sure either of the below statements are true, especially the second one:

atikhomi wrote:BigLaw would allow me to gain experience working in the legal field, and from everything I've read, would also allow me to find work in something akin to an NGO much more easily than if I attempted to go straight for that field...BigLaw would allow me to gain pretty good connections, which I would hope to be able to leverage for a future political career.

What kinds of connections are you thinking you'll make that will help you out in politics?

Parents have said they'll give me about $1000 a month. So that will probably cover rent and maybe start to cover food. As for the second question, I hope to meet people throughout after a few years, preferably people who would be able to help fund a campaign haha. That being said, politics is really not my focus for the short-mid term. The goal is to become a practicing lawyer, while politics is a dream for 10-15 years down the line.

This seems perfectly reasonable..... If you intend on finding an apartment in like Framingham and subsisting on ramen.

To go deeper into this, I have 2 friends who will be graduating with STEM degrees along with me. One of them has already landed a six figure job, and the other will likely land a pretty solid job too. Their offer is that basically I will have to pay the difference between a 2br and a 3 br apartment, rather than split it 3 ways. Living in say Allston that's fairly doable from what I've seen.