Negotiation/Offer Dilemma Forum

[rdreiley1]

Hello! This is my first time on the forums, so I appreciate your patience while I try to convey this appropriately. I don't know who to turn to about stuff like this, so I hope I am in the right place.

I got a 167LSAT/3.92GPA, no URM, and have started receiving offers from different schools. I live in Arizona now and was offered a full ride through University of Arizona, which is attractive, but there are other considerations to look at and I don't know how to negotiate. SO! Other acceptances/offers have included:

William and Mary, 20k/year with 3.0GPA stipulation
Vanderbilt, 30k/year with 5k cost of living offer
ASU, 20k/15k/5k for the 3 years
Twin Cities, 28k/year

I know UofA makes the most sense financially since tuition would be free, but does anyone have any thoughts to the other offers or negotiation ideas? My emphasis is on William and Mary(citizen lawyers and whatnot), but I know Vandy is ranked higher and I don't know how much weight to put on that. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks!

[fliptrip]

We have to start with your goals. What do you want to do and where do you want to live?

On its face, your school list doesn't make a ton of sense if your goal is to maximize your employment outcomes. All of the schools on your list, including Vanderbilt, are regional.

Also, make sure you understand your Vandy offer. I think I got the same one and it's basically $125k $5k of which you can take as a stipend in the summer or you can take as tuition remission in your second year. If you borrow the entirety of your remaining costs, your COA there is going to be $175,000 roughly.

[rdreiley1]

Thank you for the response.

Growing up native to AZ, I would prefer to be able to move. I would be happy with California or somewhere on the East Coast, so William and Mary has been very attractive from the get go(especially considering other factors about the school that I like).

I suppose I am misunderstanding regional vs national schools to a degree, as the vast majority of students at most law schools will be employed in that region regardless. UofA teaches the Uniform Bar Exam, so that broadens employment prospects but makes it tougher with plausible internships being further away.

You are correct: the Vandy offer is $90k with the $5k for summer or 2nd year tuition, bringing tuition total to $65k before cost of living, which I would not anticipate to be another $110k, unless I am missing something.

I got my undergrad in criminology, so my first focus is there, but I am open to other types of law as well when it comes to practice. I am series 7 licensed now and have professional experience outside of college, so I am pretty broad in interests at this point.

[Tiago Splitter]

Where else did you apply? You should be getting significant scholarships to schools that can provide a little more geographic flexibility. UBE or not you shouldn't to go UofA unless you plan to stay in Arizona forever.

[BasilHallward]

I don't understand the selection of schools above and the offers you got with respect to your numbers. You should be getting significant $$$ from lower t14s.

[Alive97]

Legal employment is a peculiar thing and passing the bar exam in a state is not enough to get a job there. You need to have ties to the area or have gone to a tippy top law school, because those are the only ones that place nationally. For each school on your list, you can only count on working in the region of the school, because their ranks are not high enough that they can place nationally.

[mornincounselor]

Cornell . . . Buy a scarf.

Seriously. I would also sit out and reapply. Your offers are objectively really really bad for your numbers.

[rdreiley1]

Thank you all. I am still awaiting a few offers, but my current offers are:

USC 75k
Vandy 90k + 5k
William and Mary 60k
UofA Full ride
ASU 40k
University Boulder 45k(if I recall)
University of Minnesota 84k

Still awaiting: Georgetown, University of Illinois, Texas at Austin, Boston University

I am not willing to wait another year to start school for reapplying purposes. 10k isn't worth losing another year and I don't want to turn 30 on my first day of class.