Top Law Schools

-The schools you are considering
Also accepted at UMD 30k/year & BC with 20k/year, but I'm not interested in living in either of those places. Still waiting to hear from Fordham, Columbia. Also in at georgetown @ sticker.

-The total Cost of Attendance (COA) of each.
BK/'Dozo would be free as my parents would cover the cost of living. NYU cost of living would be covered, but i would be stuck with tuition debt with maybe an additional 20k thrown at my tuition debt.

-How you will be financing your COA
see above

-Where you are from and where you want to work, and other places where you have significant ties (if any)
Lived in NYC for 5 years and have tons and friends and family here, but no one i know is a lawyer so i don't have connections to lean on for a job. Grew up in Maryland (hence UMD, Georgetown app)

-Your general career goals
no desire to do biglaw, interested in PI work, but unsure of exactly what I would practice. slightly worried about hating being a lawyer...

-Your LSAT/GPA numbers
163/3.26

-How many times you have taken the LSAT
Twice

Does anyone think I could negotiate to get more money? Im a URM.

curious2018 wrote:-The schools you are considering
Also accepted at UMD 30k/year & BC with 20k/year, but I'm not interested in living in either of those places. Still waiting to hear from Fordham, Columbia. Also in at georgetown @ sticker.

-The total Cost of Attendance (COA) of each.
BK/'Dozo would be free as my parents would cover the cost of living. NYU cost of living would be covered, but i would be stuck with tuition debt with maybe an additional 20k thrown at my tuition debt.

-How you will be financing your COA
see above

-Where you are from and where you want to work, and other places where you have significant ties (if any)
Lived in NYC for 5 years and have tons and friends and family here, but no one i know is a lawyer so i don't have connections to lean on for a job. Grew up in Maryland (hence UMD, Georgetown app)

-Your general career goals
no desire to do biglaw, interested in PI work, but unsure of exactly what I would practice. slightly worried about hating being a lawyer...

-Your LSAT/GPA numbers
163/3.26

-How many times you have taken the LSAT
Twice

Does anyone think I could negotiate to get more money? Im a URM.

Always worthwhile to try and negotiate for more money. What kind of PI are you interested in and how committed to PI are you? For most PI work, minimal to no debt trumps brand name of school. It is next to impossible to do PI with hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans. Most people I know in that situation ended up going to firms, and only a handful were able to eventually transition back to PI.

If you’re interested in PI work, run up the bill on the loans and get pslf and/or lrap. NYU is such a better school. And it has many more PI or (biglaw) connections. Keep your options open.

Hi there, Cardozo current student here.

I was in a similar position as you when I was deciding where to go, and I ended up choosing Cardozo for the full scholarship. I think, for PI, that would be a smart decision for you. Not having debt means that you can select a job based on interest rather than the need to pay off your loans. As far as PI jobs go, I have many friends who are going into that industry and already have jobs. We also have a strong alumni network in the PI world. Just in case you haven't decided yet, I think Cardozo could offer you what you're looking for with a lower price tag than NYU.

Two thoughts:

1- If you're concerned about hating being lawyer, you might want to look into other options, maybe a masters degree and government work. Feeling iffy about something should be cause for concern. In this case however, and if you REALLY want to go to law school this fall, not having any debt would be a good thing but you'd have wasted three years if you end up hating it.

2- On the other hand, NYU would open many more doors than the two other schools, and if your COL is covered, paying for NYU might be worth it in terms of opportunities but you should be open to the idea of working in biglaw for a few years. But that does not seem like something you're interested in.

My general advice would be not to go this year, get some work experience (I'm assuming you're in your early to mid 20s), and see if the law is career that would not hate. Sometimes taking a year or more off allows people to make better informed decisions.

curious2018 wrote:-The schools you are considering
Also accepted at UMD 30k/year & BC with 20k/year, but I'm not interested in living in either of those places. Still waiting to hear from Fordham, Columbia. Also in at georgetown @ sticker.

-The total Cost of Attendance (COA) of each.
BK/'Dozo would be free as my parents would cover the cost of living. NYU cost of living would be covered, but i would be stuck with tuition debt with maybe an additional 20k thrown at my tuition debt.

-How you will be financing your COA
see above

-Where you are from and where you want to work, and other places where you have significant ties (if any)
Lived in NYC for 5 years and have tons and friends and family here, but no one i know is a lawyer so i don't have connections to lean on for a job. Grew up in Maryland (hence UMD, Georgetown app)

-Your general career goals
no desire to do biglaw, interested in PI work, but unsure of exactly what I would practice. slightly worried about hating being a lawyer...

-Your LSAT/GPA numbers
163/3.26

-How many times you have taken the LSAT
Twice

Does anyone think I could negotiate to get more money? Im a URM.

CardozoLawStudent wrote:Hi there, Cardozo current student here.

I was in a similar position as you when I was deciding where to go, and I ended up choosing Cardozo for the full scholarship. I think, for PI, that would be a smart decision for you. Not having debt means that you can select a job based on interest rather than the need to pay off your loans. As far as PI jobs go, I have many friends who are going into that industry and already have jobs. We also have a strong alumni network in the PI world. Just in case you haven't decided yet, I think Cardozo could offer you what you're looking for with a lower price tag than NYU.

Not to hijack the thread but I think I'm ending up at Cardozo since I'll be going for pretty much free. What does your schedule look like? Are you swamped with work or is it a little more laid back? I'm assuming since I was able to get into way higher ranked schools I'd be more of a big fish in the pond but I could be completely off. Mind providing some insight on that?

jibrahim23 wrote:

CardozoLawStudent wrote:Hi there, Cardozo current student here.

I was in a similar position as you when I was deciding where to go, and I ended up choosing Cardozo for the full scholarship. I think, for PI, that would be a smart decision for you. Not having debt means that you can select a job based on interest rather than the need to pay off your loans. As far as PI jobs go, I have many friends who are going into that industry and already have jobs. We also have a strong alumni network in the PI world. Just in case you haven't decided yet, I think Cardozo could offer you what you're looking for with a lower price tag than NYU.

Not to hijack the thread but I think I'm ending up at Cardozo since I'll be going for pretty much free. What does your schedule look like? Are you swamped with work or is it a little more laid back? I'm assuming since I was able to get into way higher ranked schools I'd be more of a big fish in the pond but I could be completely off. Mind providing some insight on that?

Seeing this a little late, but figured I'd chime in. I just graduated from Cardozo. I can tell you there are a number of students in a similar position (got into better schools but chose to attend Cardozo because of $$). Your first year will be a grind, no doubt about it. The vast majority of the class will be competing for top spots. As with most schools, things get a little easier after your first year. Not necessarily because the courses are easier, but those who have jobs at big law firms (maybe 15-20% of your class) will tone it down a bit.

I'll say this: if you do choose Cardozo, do not go in with that mindset. I have personally seen a few students fall into the trap of thinking they're better positioned to succeed only to end up disappointed with their 1L grades.

And finally, depending on what PI work you're interested in doing, Cardozo's Innocence Project clinic is an incredible opportunity.

I will be the contrarian here and say you should consider paying NYU sticker. A URM at a top school is a very hot commodity for employers. The debt won't be fun, but the opportunity gulf may be vast unless you knock it out of the park at Cardozo.