Root Tilden vs. ...? Forum

[sed2109]

Hi All,

What are folks' thoughts on the Root Tilden Scholarship vs. HYS (especially Harvard, given that they're who I've heard from thus far) for someone who is DEFINITELY going to to public interest?

I don't know that much about the scholarship's prestige outside of NYC, and in terms of seeking public interest careers outside of law school.

[notaname]

If you get the RTK, you should go to NYU, no question. People on this board will argue that you should go to Harvard over the RTK because of a number of factors, including the possibility that you'll get better jobs coming out of HLS. They'll also say that Harvard's LIPP will make up for the massive debt that you will have to take on.

They are wrong.

You should have no illusions about the salary you will be making if you go into public interest law. It will be low. It might be less than $45,000. Even at a good public interest job in NYC. When you are making that little, your debt matters, irrespective of loan repayment plans. Harvard's LIPP is not actually all that when you start reading the fine print, and leaving NYU with $60K in debt, maximum, means that you will have loan payments that are lower than some people with teaching MAs. AND you will have NYU's LRAP to help make even that payment all the lower.

You lose flexibility if you do RTK. You can correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think you can decide to do Biglaw for a few years to get experience before going into PI. And, as an NYU grad, you're probably not going to be President of the United States. But you'll still get a killer PI job when you're done--PI people know RTK--and it might keep you focused on getting what you really want out of law school: a job that you care about.

[BlueCivic]

I'm in a similar situation with Root Tilden possibly vs Harvard. I'm pretty interested in Academia though. I dunno what I would do.

[stand my ground]

If you get the RTK, you should go to NYU, no question. People on this board will argue that you should go to Harvard over the RTK because of a number of factors, including the possibility that you'll get better jobs coming out of HLS. They'll also say that Harvard's LIPP will make up for the massive debt that you will have to take on.

They are wrong.

You should have no illusions about the salary you will be making if you go into public interest law. It will be low. It might be less than $45,000. Even at a good public interest job in NYC. When you are making that little, your debt matters, irrespective of loan repayment plans. Harvard's LIPP is not actually all that when you start reading the fine print, and leaving NYU with $60K in debt, maximum, means that you will have loan payments that are lower than some people with teaching MAs. AND you will have NYU's LRAP to help make even that payment all the lower.

You lose flexibility if you do RTK. You can correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think you can decide to do Biglaw for a few years to get experience before going into PI. And, as an NYU grad, you're probably not going to be President of the United States. But you'll still get a killer PI job when you're done--PI people know RTK--and it might keep you focused on getting what you really want out of law school: a job that you care about.

Why would an RTK scholar have $60k in debt if it's a full ride? Room and board?

Don't sell yourself short. Go to Harvard.

[ihatelaw]

If you get the RTK, you should go to NYU, no question. People on this board will argue that you should go to Harvard over the RTK because of a number of factors, including the possibility that you'll get better jobs coming out of HLS. They'll also say that Harvard's LIPP will make up for the massive debt that you will have to take on.

They are wrong.

You should have no illusions about the salary you will be making if you go into public interest law. It will be low. It might be less than $45,000. Even at a good public interest job in NYC. When you are making that little, your debt matters, irrespective of loan repayment plans. Harvard's LIPP is not actually all that when you start reading the fine print, and leaving NYU with $60K in debt, maximum, means that you will have loan payments that are lower than some people with teaching MAs. AND you will have NYU's LRAP to help make even that payment all the lower.

You lose flexibility if you do RTK. You can correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think you can decide to do Biglaw for a few years to get experience before going into PI. And, as an NYU grad, you're probably not going to be President of the United States. But you'll still get a killer PI job when you're done--PI people know RTK--and it might keep you focused on getting what you really want out of law school: a job that you care about.

Why would an RTK scholar have $60k in debt if it's a full ride? Room and board?

Don't sell yourself short. Go to Harvard.

If you want to do public interest there is no better option than a full or near full scholarship to a t14 school. Paying for Harvard if you want to do public interest is not worth it. Most people I know in law school (in general, not specifically at NYU) wanted to do PI until they realized how massive their debt would be and as a result most end up going corporate. If you truly have your heart set on doing public interest your best bet is whatever reduces your debt. Plus, public interest is one place where NYU has every school in the country beat.

OTH, if you're not sure and may want to make money/go into academia/etc, then go with Harvard. RTK is great but remember, you'll HAVE to do PI. Thats not an easy decision to make.