Cornell v. GW v. Fordham $ v. Villanova $$ v. St. John's $$ Forum

[germanjax]

So now that it's coming down to decision making time I need some opinions. I think I'd like to go to school for public interest law.

I've narrowed it down to Cornell (no money), GW (no money), Fordham ($10,000/year), Villanova (full tuition with a 3.25 GPA) and St. John's (full tuition as long as I'm in the top half of the class).

What should I do?????? Thanks!

[LeahNic]

cornell.

[lucydog]

Cornell and don't look back.

[Cara]

No brainer: Cornell

[06132010]

Cornell.

[danr2040]

If not flame, then Cornell. PILLIP is your friend.

http://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/admiss ... pilipp.cfm

[germanjax]

I think I've always been leaning towards Cornell but I'm trying to keep an open mind until I visit all of them.

No one thinks I should go with the money or GW??

[2009 Prospective]

Can't see why you'd do GW over Cornell unless you REALLY like DC.

[MeTalkPrettyOneDay]

I think I've always been leaning towards Cornell but I'm trying to keep an open mind until I visit all of them.

No one thinks I should go with the money or GW??

Keeping an open mind until you visit is a good idea. That being said, I think Cornell is the clear choice, with Fordham a somewhat reasonable alternative. Check out the details on PILLIP (follow danr's link) to see if Cornell's loan repayment program would work for you, given the type of public interest you want to go into and your own personal background.

Cornell: strong reputation, good placement, good bar pass-rate, high-quality education. The sticker price is expensive, particularly given your desire to go into public interest law. See if PILLIP would work for you.

Fordham: if you want to work in NY and you really like Fordham when you visit, taking the $30K wouldn't be entirely crazy. However, Cornell does open more doors, so think long and hard before walking away from Cornell. Also, investigate Fordham's loan repayment assistance program to see how it applies to the sort of public interest work you want to do.

GW: unless there's something you love about GW over Cornell, I couldn't justify taking GW sticker over Cornell sticker. If GW offered you some $, that might be a different story.

Nova/St. John's - both are a notable step-down from Cornell and Fordham. The full scholarships are appealing, and may be worth considering if Cornell's PILLIP wouldn't work for you. But make sure you think long and hard before choosing either Nova or St. John's over your other, much better options...

[Bankhead]

I think I've always been leaning towards Cornell but I'm trying to keep an open mind until I visit all of them.

No one thinks I should go with the money or GW??

Keeping an open mind until you visit is a good idea. That being said, I think Cornell is the clear choice, with Fordham a somewhat reasonable alternative. Check out the details on PILLIP (follow danr's link) to see if Cornell's loan repayment program would work for you, given the type of public interest you want to go into and your own personal background.

Cornell: strong reputation, good placement, good bar pass-rate, high-quality education. The sticker price is expensive, particularly given your desire to go into public interest law. See if PILLIP would work for you.

Fordham: if you want to work in NY and you really like Fordham when you visit, taking the $30K wouldn't be entirely crazy. However, Cornell does open more doors, so think long and hard before walking away from Cornell. Also, investigate Fordham's loan repayment assistance program to see how it applies to the sort of public interest work you want to do.

GW: unless there's something you love about GW over Cornell, I couldn't justify taking GW sticker over Cornell sticker. If GW offered you some $, that might be a different story.

Nova/St. John's - both are a notable step-down from Cornell and Fordham. The full scholarships are appealing, and may be worth considering if Cornell's PILLIP wouldn't work for you. But make sure you think long and hard before choosing either Nova or St. John's over your other, much better options...

Fordham would be a terrible choice in this sitation. OP would come out with more debt than Cornell, even with the Fordham $, due to NYC COL.

Cornell if you want to go for broke (pun sort of intended). VIllanova if you want the full ride.

[showNprove]

.

[MeTalkPrettyOneDay]

Fordham would be a terrible choice in this situation. OP would come out with more debt than Cornell, even with the Fordham $, due to NYC COL.

No. Normally I'd agree that COL makes a rural school less expensive than a NYC school, but Cornell is a unique example due to its high tuition. By taking the scholarship at Fordham, OP could very likely save over $23,000 (which, if you apply compounding interest, turns into a bigger savings). Would I personally take the trade-off, and take the money at Fordham over Cornell at sticker? No. But I see room for a somewhat legitimate argument for taking Fordham, depending on OP's individual circumstances and preferences.

Want the math to back up my statement? Sure - tab the two links below to follow along.
http://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/admiss ... penses.cfm
http://law.fordham.edu/rd/html/admissio ... ialAid.htm
Sure, these are only estimated budgets. Sure, Fordham has an incentive to underestimate - but so does Cornell. Accordingly, for simplicity, I think it's reasonable to use both estimates. However, we face one minor glitch: the Cornell estimate is for 2009-2010 and the Fordham estimate is for 2008-2009. To adjust Fordham's numbers for 2009-2010, let's apply a hypothetical tuition increase of 10% (this is very likely a big overestimate!), bringing Fordham's tuition to $45,650. Factoring in that hypothetical tuition increase at Fordham, we now have 2009-2010 tuition + COL estimates for both schools:

Fordham: $69,475 - $10,000 = $59,475 (unofficial estimate, as explained above; likely an overestimate)
Cornell: $67,250

Difference: $67,250 - $59,475 = $7,775
For simplicity, multiply by 3 to include all 3 years
$7,775 * 3 = $23,325

So my very quick calculations found Fordham would be roughly $23,000 cheaper over three years. This figure includes some loose assumptions - assumptions that likely overestimate the cost of attending Fordham, and therefore likely underestimate the potential savings. Furthermore, these estimates do not include the cost of interest (an added cost at Cornell if OP would have to finance the 23+K difference with loans).


That being said, I agree Cornell is the clear choice. I'm just pointing out that OP wouldn't be crazy to consider Fordham.

[paraducks]

cornell

[let/them/eat/cake]

you should probably go to Fordham, seeing as how I'm on reserve at Cornell.

[seb819]

To quote Andy Bernard: A little place called Cornell. Ever heard of it?

[fsohn]

Cornell's PILIPP is pretty good, and we have a strong public interest community here. That said, if you don't want to go into public interest right away, or if you want to do BigLaw at any point in your career (if only for money, with which there is nothing wrong), Cornell is clearly the best choice. IMHO, it ought take either a full ride or something close to it at Fordham or GW to make you consider otherwise.

[1337Law]

k0Rn3Ll FTW H0LM3Z

[Bankhead]

.

[Bankhead]

Fordham would be a terrible choice in this situation. OP would come out with more debt than Cornell, even with the Fordham $, due to NYC COL.

No. Normally I'd agree that COL makes a rural school less expensive than a NYC school, but Cornell is a unique example due to its high tuition. By taking the scholarship at Fordham, OP could very likely save over $23,000 (which, if you apply compounding interest, turns into a bigger savings). Would I personally take the trade-off, and take the money at Fordham over Cornell at sticker? No. But I see room for a somewhat legitimate argument for taking Fordham, depending on OP's individual circumstances and preferences.

Want the math to back up my statement? Sure - tab the two links below to follow along.
http://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/admiss ... penses.cfm
http://law.fordham.edu/rd/html/admissio ... ialAid.htm
Sure, these are only estimated budgets. Sure, Fordham has an incentive to underestimate - but so does Cornell. Accordingly, for simplicity, I think it's reasonable to use both estimates. However, we face one minor glitch: the Cornell estimate is for 2009-2010 and the Fordham estimate is for 2008-2009. To adjust Fordham's numbers for 2009-2010, let's apply a hypothetical tuition increase of 10% (this is very likely a big overestimate!), bringing Fordham's tuition to $45,650. Factoring in that hypothetical tuition increase at Fordham, we now have 2009-2010 tuition + COL estimates for both schools:


Fordham: $69,475 - $10,000 = $59,475 (unofficial estimate, as explained above; likely an overestimate)
Cornell: $67,250

Difference: $67,250 - $59,475 = $7,775
For simplicity, multiply by 3 to include all 3 years
$7,775 * 3 = $23,325

So my very quick calculations found Fordham would be roughly $23,000 cheaper over three years. This figure includes some loose assumptions - assumptions that likely overestimate the cost of attending Fordham, and therefore likely underestimate the potential savings. Furthermore, these estimates do not include the cost of interest (an added cost at Cornell if OP would have to finance the 23+K difference with loans).


That being said, I agree Cornell is the clear choice. I'm just pointing out that OP wouldn't be crazy to consider Fordham.

Hey, I'm a Fordham fan! You had me at "No".

[woeisme]

Cornell, obvi

[dante500]

Cornell if you want to go for broke (pun sort of intended). VIllanova if you want the full ride.

+1

[superflush]

No one thinks I should go with the money or GW??

If for whatever crazy reason, you think GW would be better for you than Cornell, then explore that.

But as far as the money goes, the money you have at Fordham is too little too make a difference, it will pay itself back quickly going to Cornell or GW.

And, you have to be kidding about dropping all the way town to Tier 2 from Top14 just for a full-ride. That would be insane.

So, to summarize: CORNELL

[MBP916]

cornell