Help! Forum

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Kaitlyn24

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Help!

Post by Kaitlyn24 » Fri May 01, 2020 7:35 pm

Hey all, this is kinda late but I got extensions/some new offers so I'm still trying to decide.

-Schools I'm considering:
Boston College: 150k scholarship. COA: ~140,000 at graduation (max, I overestimated for COL and personal expenses just to be safe)
Emory: 123k scholarship + ability to live with relative for free. COA: ~110,000

-Financing COA with loans, parents offered to help pay interest.

-From GA, strong ties in ATL, fine with working anywhere east coast (as long as it's a big city). It would be cool to live in Boston but its way more expensive than ATL, and I would like to be comfortable.

-I would like to start in the private sector, working in mid-large firm. Eventually would like to transition into public interest, preferably immigration law. Not sure if thats possible, feel free to tell me if it's not. I'm fine with not making a crazy amount of money as long as I can keep the debt/income ratio under control.

- LSAT: 16midish GPA: 3.7ish

-I've maxed out LSAT attempts :/

objctnyrhnr

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Re: Help!

Post by objctnyrhnr » Fri May 01, 2020 7:40 pm

I think the boston market is going to weather this storm better than the Atlanta market, and the boston biglaw market had been growing (on top of an already robust market) at a good clip for the years before this (see eg Orrick Hogan quinn kirkland mofo).

If boston and atl are relatively equal for your personal preferences, I don’t think the slightly reduced total COL for Emory moves the needle enough.

I’d go BC. You hit median and unless things are ice cold you should be able to get boston midlaw with potential to network your way up to biglaw in a couple years (again if the market isn’t ice cold).

ChosenOneNow

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Re: Help!

Post by ChosenOneNow » Fri May 01, 2020 7:57 pm

I would recommend going to Emory. The fact that you would have minimal living expenses by staying with family is a huge cost saving over three years. It would also make it easier for you to get a job in Atlanta. Further, in my opinion, Emory is a bit more well regarded than Boston College nationally. It is my understanding that Emory places better in New York than Boston College does. I can't see a scenario where it would make more sense for you to go to Boston College unless you want to end up in Boston. The Emory law degree is more well regarded nationally, less expensive, and will be more portable in the Southeast and East coast more generally.

crazywafflez

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Re: Help!

Post by crazywafflez » Fri May 01, 2020 8:22 pm

I'd pick Emory here as well; I think it is better regarded, places decently into NYC, and has good pull in Atlanta and the Southeast. If they were the same price I'd say whichever location you prefer but for a cheaper and more options I'd go Emory. I'm not sure anyone could truly tell you which market will survive COVID better (Atlanta and Boston are both powerhouses). If costs were equal I'd say pick BC if you wanted to be in Boston. If you're cool with the east coast and ATL, I think Emory is the right move here. 30k is not a slight difference- and with interest that becomes a more sizable amount. BC isn't worth 30k over Emory unless you really want to be in Boston.

Sackboy

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Re: Help!

Post by Sackboy » Sun May 03, 2020 11:39 pm

You maxing out your BC COA is really making this a much more confusing puzzle than it needs to be.

I think the real BC COA would be around 100k.
  • Tuition = 30k (roughly $10k/yr. assuming 3% annual tuition increase)
  • Room and Board = 42k (max BC allows)
  • Utilities = 4.5k (max BC allows)
  • Misc. (transit + personal) = 5.2k (max BC allows)
  • Fees =1.5k
  • Books = 3.9k
Total = 87.1k

Even if we throw in interest on your loans, you probably land at 100k. This assumes that you don't make any money 1L summer, 2L summer, or through other means while in law school (e.g. research assistant). It also assumes that you have zero savings to cover personal expenses and that you're paying the max amount for some items that you can probably avoid maxing in reality (e.g. books, transit).

In other words, it looks like these are two equal cost options.

In a vacuum, you want to start in a mid-big law firm, and BC puts 47% in BL+FC while Emory puts 39% in those same outcomes. BC and Emory, however, have very different geographic realities, and you have to decide which one you prefer.
  • BC Top 3: 50% Massachusetts, 15% New York, 4% California
  • Emory Top 3: 40% Georgia, 10% New York, 7% DC
It's also really worth considering whether you're going to be happier living at home or on your own. I had friends live at home in law school and go nuts. I also had friends live at home in law school who loved having their family around.

I think you should come out to an answer that makes the most sense for you if you think about all of these points. Given how similar the costs likely are for these schools and how they are peers in many ways, there is no real "right" answer that any of us can give you.

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nixy

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Re: Help!

Post by nixy » Mon May 04, 2020 12:15 am

I don't think there's a clear winner in "better regarded" between BC and Emory, and it will entirely depend where you want to end up.

LBJ's Hair

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Re: Help!

Post by LBJ's Hair » Mon May 04, 2020 1:27 am

I think this comes down to geography: Do you want to be in Boston/NY or the South?

decimalsanddollars

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Re: Help!

Post by decimalsanddollars » Mon May 04, 2020 9:56 am

LBJ's Hair wrote:I think this comes down to geography: Do you want to be in Boston/NY or the South?
+1. I'd also probably go with Emory overall unless you're pretty set on being in the Northeast specifically.

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