How much can/should I negotiate with NWern given other offers? Forum

[GLZ19]

I'm a splitter (172/3.64) and predictably had an unpredictable cycle. I was accepted by CLS, Northwestern, and WashU. WashU gave me ($$$) and neither CLS nor NW has given me money yet.

What are the chances I get money this late in the cycle and, more importantly, how big a bargaining chip is CLS admittance when trying to negotiate with NW given that they have not offered me any money? Does this change if I were to get some money?

I'm also curious how much money people would require from NW to go there over CLS at full price. This obviously depends a lot on goals and the more ambitious the goal, the more money NW would have to offer. Say the goal was to go into BigLaw until my debts are paid and subsequently move to a solid, non life-consuming firm doing litigation in Seattle (preferably) or at least somewhere off the eastern seaboard.

Lastly I'm planning to defer for at least a year. Does this have any ramifications on scholarship or change negotiation with schools?

Thanks!

[cavalier1138]

Lastly I'm planning to defer for at least a year. Does this have any ramifications on scholarship or change negotiation with schools?

Usually, yes. Schools will often refuse to lock in a scholarship offer if you defer, so it makes negotiating kind of pointless at this stage (especially because if you negotiate and then defer, they'll be less likely to look kindly on your request to keep your scholarship offer the same).

That said, did you not get any other T13 offers? You're not that much of a splitter, and you aren't really a splitter at all for a good chunk of these schools.

[Sackboy]

With an offer from CLS, Northwestern might give you $10k/yr.or $15k/yr. or something like that, but they also might give you nothing at all. It's better than nothing, but it's not much. If it were Duke, you could at least say the COL is cheaper in Durham. But, with Columbia's NYC location, that argument is pretty much out.

As for how much $$$ Northwestern needs to give you to go there over CLS at full price, I'll give you a very simple answer and tell you that you should never attend CLS (or any other law school) at full price. $300k+ is a massive amount of debt that will cripple your income for at minimum five years and put an extraordinary amount of stress on you to remain at your job and to not lose your job.

If you're planning to defer, you should sit out this cycle, polish up your app, and reapply next cycle to the entire T13 (minus HYS) and negotiate from there. You'll have much better options than what is on the table right now. Just so I don't get accused of leaving out WashU, I'll say that WashU is not a real option if you want to go back and practice in Seattle. WashU is a regional school. Despite its recent biglaw placement success, it's a far cry from the T13 schools' national biglaw placement, and you see that the top 3 placements are Missouri, Illinois, and New York. The contingent making it back to big firm jobs in CA, SEA, and PDX is likely laughably small.

[trebekismyhero]

With an offer from CLS, Northwestern might give you $10k/yr.or $15k/yr. or something like that, but they also might give you nothing at all. It's better than nothing, but it's not much. If it were Duke, you could at least say the COL is cheaper in Durham. But, with Columbia's NYC location, that argument is pretty much out.

As for how much $$$ Northwestern needs to give you to go there over CLS at full price, I'll give you a very simple answer and tell you that you should never attend CLS (or any other law school) at full price. $300k+ is a massive amount of debt that will cripple your income for at minimum five years and put an extraordinary amount of stress on you to remain at your job and to not lose your job.

If you're planning to defer, you should sit out this cycle, polish up your app, and reapply next cycle to the entire T13 (minus HYS) and negotiate from there. You'll have much better options than what is on the table right now. Just so I don't get accused of leaving out WashU, I'll say that WashU is not a real option if you want to go back and practice in Seattle. WashU is a regional school. Despite its recent biglaw placement success, it's a far cry from the T13 schools' national biglaw placement, and you see that the top 3 placements are Missouri, Illinois, and New York. The contingent making it back to big firm jobs in CA, SEA, and PDX is likely laughably small.

+1 to all of this and as Cav said, if you defer, the scholarship negotiation is usually pointless

[GLZ19]

That said, did you not get any other T13 offers? You're not that much of a splitter, and you aren't really a splitter at all for a good chunk of these schools.

Unfortunately, no. I was either waitlisted by, or haven't heard back from, the rest of the T13.

[antelope]

Northwestern still needs to get back regarding scholarship with a lot of admits, so don't count yourself out yet. This is all I can add to the advice provided above.

[Sackboy]

Unfortunately, no. I was either waitlisted by, or haven't heard back from, the rest of the T13.

How late did you apply this cycle?

[GLZ19]

How late did you apply this cycle?

The day before Thanksgiving.

Does my decision change at all if I can expect to have 120-130k saved up by the time I matriculate in fall 2021?