Am I making the right decision? Forum

[Reid-Bailey]

Career goals: public interest 100% and I currently have excessive UG debt. I would be happy working in the South, west coast, or northwest. I have zero interest in biglaw. Would love a clerkship but nothing hinges on that.

School - Scholarship
WUSTL - Full-ride + 5k/year stipend
UVA - 35k/year
UT - 25k/year + in-state tuition
Vanderbilt - 35k/year
UCLA - 23k/year
NYU - Sticker (scholarship pending?)
Gerogetown - Sticker (scholarship pending?)

I picked WUSTL. Low cost of living, it would be super easy to move there from where I am now, and I would graduate close to debt-free.

I want to go in with no regrets and not look back thinking I made a bad decision. Thoughts?

[trebekismyhero]

Career goals: public interest 100% and I currently have excessive UG debt. I would be happy working in the South, west coast, or northwest. I have zero interest in biglaw. Would love a clerkship but nothing hinges on that.

School - Scholarship
WUSTL - Full-ride + 5k/year stipend
UVA - 35k/year
UT - 25k/year + in-state tuition
Vanderbilt - 35k/year
UCLA - 23k/year
NYU - Sticker (scholarship pending?)
Gerogetown - Sticker (scholarship pending?)

I picked WUSTL. Low cost of living, it would be super easy to move there from where I am now, and I would graduate close to debt-free.

I want to go in with no regrets and not look back thinking I made a bad decision. Thoughts?

I think you probably made the right choice. Unless you wanted more unicorn public interest jobs, then UVA might be better. But graduating almost debt free will allow you so much freedom. Never a bad call

[UVA2B]

Enjoy WUSTL. It partially depends on the PI you're talking, but if it's not DOJ Honors or ACLU impact lit or something of that level of selectivity, minimizing debt is absolutely the right call (and arguably is still the right call because those jobs are hard to get anywhere and no law student should go in with that as your sole goal).

[Shakawkaw]

What kind of public interest job are you interested in? Scooped!

[poptart123]

The only problem I see is WUSTL primarily places in the region that you did not name. However, the price will probably add a lot of flexibility to your career.

[mrtux45]

I think it depends on what your definition of excessive UG debt is.

Regardless, I personally think that WUSTL for free is a defensible choice for basically any career path. Like another poster mentioned, be mindful of potential hustling you might have to if you want a market that WUSTL doesn't place a lot of grads in.

[luckyirish13]

WUSTL - Full-ride + 5k/year stipend

Even if you completely fail at law, you have very little to lose considering you will have paid 0 in tuition and had $15,000 in COA covered for you. Throw in some money you make during summers, and you'll be virtually debt free by the time you graduate.

Even if you find law is not for you, a law degree from a good school basically for free is a great option, and the potential payoff if you do land good legal work is enormous. This is a great option imo and I'm happy for you .

[vcap180]

Turning down some of these options must have been really difficult. I think you made a smart and unusually mature decision.

[Shakawkaw]

I'd be interested to see what NYU offers. Their LRAP program is too good to not consider seriously. And the school itself is a better option for PI goals.

[Easterbork]

If you are going to be on some kind of IBR because of your UG debt anyway, then possibly the wrong decision. But PSLF isn't a guarantee right now, and less debt is always good.

[pizzagoblin]

I think you made the right call. Congrats!

I also took a full-ride plus $15K living stipend (but at Vanderbilt) instead of going into debt at T-13 schools. It's such a relief knowing that we won't have much (if any) debt hanging over our heads.

[gargleblaster]

Career goals: public interest 100% and I currently have excessive UG debt. I would be happy working in the South, west coast, or northwest. I have zero interest in biglaw. Would love a clerkship but nothing hinges on that.

School - Scholarship
WUSTL - Full-ride + 5k/year stipend
UVA - 35k/year
UT - 25k/year + in-state tuition
Vanderbilt - 35k/year
UCLA - 23k/year
NYU - Sticker (scholarship pending?)
Gerogetown - Sticker (scholarship pending?)

I picked WUSTL. Low cost of living, it would be super easy to move there from where I am now, and I would graduate close to debt-free.

I want to go in with no regrets and not look back thinking I made a bad decision. Thoughts?

U did good. Have fun and dont look back

[Johann]

Career goals: public interest 100% and I currently have excessive UG debt. I would be happy working in the South, west coast, or northwest. I have zero interest in biglaw. Would love a clerkship but nothing hinges on that.

School - Scholarship
WUSTL - Full-ride + 5k/year stipend
UVA - 35k/year
UT - 25k/year + in-state tuition
Vanderbilt - 35k/year
UCLA - 23k/year
NYU - Sticker (scholarship pending?)
Gerogetown - Sticker (scholarship pending?)

I picked WUSTL. Low cost of living, it would be super easy to move there from where I am now, and I would graduate close to debt-free.

I want to go in with no regrets and not look back thinking I made a bad decision. Thoughts?

if you are PI or bust and want to have no regrets, i don't see how you can turn down NYU and all of the PI doors they open up. PSLF will wipe your debt after 10 years (and im not familiar with NYU LRAP but there is probably some LRAP there too).

WUSTL is going to give you shit options for PI especially considering you dont want to work in the midwest.

[RedPurpleBlue]

if you are PI or bust and want to have no regrets, i don't see how you can turn down NYU and all of the PI doors they open up. PSLF will wipe your debt after 10 years (and im not familiar with NYU LRAP but there is probably some LRAP there too).

WUSTL is going to give you shit options for PI especially considering you dont want to work in the midwest.

Not everyone has the same level of faith that PSLF won't be eliminated or capped in the next 13 years (when OP would be qualifying for forgiveness). I think OP's choice is completely defensible, especially if OP has ties to any of the places mentioned.

[Johann]

if you are PI or bust and want to have no regrets, i don't see how you can turn down NYU and all of the PI doors they open up. PSLF will wipe your debt after 10 years (and im not familiar with NYU LRAP but there is probably some LRAP there too).

WUSTL is going to give you shit options for PI especially considering you dont want to work in the midwest.

Not everyone has the same level of faith that PSLF won't be eliminated or capped in the next 13 years (when OP would be qualifying for forgiveness). I think OP's choice is completely defensible, especially if OP has ties to any of the places mentioned.

its defensible, but its not the NO REGRETS choice. NYU PI is the place to be outside of HLS. WUSTL isnt going to do much for OP at helping them get to the south or west coast (/out of the midwest).

[Redfactor]

Career goals: public interest 100% and I currently have excessive UG debt. I would be happy working in the South, west coast, or northwest. I have zero interest in biglaw. Would love a clerkship but nothing hinges on that.

School - Scholarship
WUSTL - Full-ride + 5k/year stipend
UVA - 35k/year
UT - 25k/year + in-state tuition
Vanderbilt - 35k/year
UCLA - 23k/year
NYU - Sticker (scholarship pending?)
Gerogetown - Sticker (scholarship pending?)

I picked WUSTL. Low cost of living, it would be super easy to move there from where I am now, and I would graduate close to debt-free.

I want to go in with no regrets and not look back thinking I made a bad decision. Thoughts?

if you are PI or bust and want to have no regrets, i don't see how you can turn down NYU and all of the PI doors they open up. PSLF will wipe your debt after 10 years (and im not familiar with NYU LRAP but there is probably some LRAP there too).

WUSTL is going to give you shit options for PI especially considering you dont want to work in the midwest.

This is terrible advice, imo.

[Redfactor]

if you are PI or bust and want to have no regrets, i don't see how you can turn down NYU and all of the PI doors they open up. PSLF will wipe your debt after 10 years (and im not familiar with NYU LRAP but there is probably some LRAP there too).

WUSTL is going to give you shit options for PI especially considering you dont want to work in the midwest.

Not everyone has the same level of faith that PSLF won't be eliminated or capped in the next 13 years (when OP would be qualifying for forgiveness). I think OP's choice is completely defensible, especially if OP has ties to any of the places mentioned.

its defensible, but its not the NO REGRETS choice. NYU PI is the place to be outside of HLS. WUSTL isnt going to do much for OP at helping them get to the south or west coast (/out of the midwest).

Yup, saddled with nondischargeable debt... no way that could lead to regret....

[Johann]

if you are PI or bust and want to have no regrets, i don't see how you can turn down NYU and all of the PI doors they open up. PSLF will wipe your debt after 10 years (and im not familiar with NYU LRAP but there is probably some LRAP there too).

WUSTL is going to give you shit options for PI especially considering you dont want to work in the midwest.

Not everyone has the same level of faith that PSLF won't be eliminated or capped in the next 13 years (when OP would be qualifying for forgiveness). I think OP's choice is completely defensible, especially if OP has ties to any of the places mentioned.

its defensible, but its not the NO REGRETS choice. NYU PI is the place to be outside of HLS. WUSTL isnt going to do much for OP at helping them get to the south or west coast (/out of the midwest).

Yup, saddled with nondischargible debt... no way that could lead to regret....

by "nondischargable" do you mean legally forgiven after 10 years with no tax bomb. worst case scenario, even without that, NYU (probably) has a much better LRAP than WUSTL. the sticker price isnt the actual price, but none of you will do the 20 mins of homework to determine the true price for a PI NYU grad with no scholarship.

[cavalier1138]

The above debate is pretty pointless without knowing what the OP wants to do in PI.

If they want to gun for high-level, national PI orgs or fedgov spots, NYU (or UVA) absolutely gives them a better shot and has a better LRAP. Regardless, I probably wouldn't recommend sticker at NYU, but it's a consideration. There's no point pretending that all PI opportunities are equal across the board.

[Shakawkaw]

Sticker at NYU is still fine with the school's amazing LRAP program.

[dbalkaran]

Hard to argue against going to a great law school for free.

[Veil of Ignorance]

I'd choose UVA. Almost as good as NYU for not THAT much more money than WUSTL. I don't think you made a mistake, though.

[ernie]

If you're 100% committed to PI, then I don't think this is the right decision given NYU's LRAP.

[hinton2014]

With an excessive UG debt, going to a good law school for free plus a stipend with 0 interest in BL? Take the money and run OP