CWvsSU wrote:Julius wrote:OP, serious question. Let's start with SU. Let's assume ideal COL. This puts you at $215, 000 debt after three years:
http://www.lstscorereports.com/schools/ ... osts/2013/
What is the plan for paying this off? What job are you wanting to get from SU and what kind of salary are you hoping for? Is it a 25 year plan where you'll pay about $1400/month? Or a ten year plan where you pay $2400/month? Throw us a budget and tell us your other revenue sources and the like and your expected job/salary/career path. Then do the same with Cal Western. If I was sitting on a 2 million dollar portfolio kicking off dividends I'd probably choose SU in this scenario, but let's see the math and we can be more helpful.
Otherwise it is hard to assess what you are trying to do here.
My ideal job would be in criminal prosecution (I know it's not as prestigious of a goal as others may have - but it's what I enjoy). With LRAP for a public interest position, regardless of where I go, I think I'll probably be paying out the maximum payments capped by my salary (if others disagree, please let me know).
I do think SU might provide me the best opportunity to be a prosecutor, but I'm not going to lie, the ~30% legal employment rate is scary.
I don't have any other revenue streams available, no dependents.
If your ideal job is prosecution I think both of these schools close the door more than open them. And once the door is closed you probably won't get another shot. Twenty is right that, in the current hiring environment, you need to budget for a year or so of volunteer time if you want to be a competitive applicant from this range of school. And you need to worry about the uncertainty of being hired at all at a prosecutor's office (which will affect your IBR eligibility). If I had six figure debt hanging over my head I wouldn't be able to bear not taking a job, any job, and that'll mean not pursuing the arduous path to public service work. On top of that, Cal Western isn't a good enough school and SU is in an incredibly tough market.
The other thing you need to consider is whether IBR will be there for you when you need it. I think it is a certainty that the program will change some time in the near future. Even supporters of the program such as Obama are suggesting a cap of 60k. If/when it changes, there are scenarios where some or all of your debt won't be eligible for IBR. For instance, even if they don't apply the changes to debt holders at the time of the change they might still apply the change to your future, i.e., 2L or 3L, loans. It's a risk and no one really knows yet what IBR will look like going forward or what they will do with the retroactivity issue.
It sounds like you aren't eligible for another retake in the near future. But you still have other options, even law school options. Schools in the range you are considering are having a dramatic drop in applicants. I'd decline the two offers and send out a bunch of applications early this cycle to see how they shake out. You might get significantly more aid even with the same numbers (again, IBR isn't there if you aren't employed and it might not be there at all -- if you want prosecution you want to keep your debt low). Keep an eye on hiring for prosecutors and how the legal employment is faring. Hiring might start to improve soon. And grads are declining year over year so the more space you put between the glut and the new normal the better.
That's what I do, anyways. There is no rush and you gain some things by waiting even if you can't retake.
