3.52; 176. Looking for advice on application strategy Forum

[4'sup]

Hey everyone,

Long story short my stats are 3.52 and 176. Mediocre softs and letters. Decent PS.

Everything not covered by a scholarship will have to be debt financed.

My heart has been set on Columbia for a long time but I'm slowly trying to wean myself off of that idea due to the cost and resulting debt. I believe I'd be very competitive for NU ED with the 150,000 scholly but I'm worried about two things:

1) What if NU won't get me a good job; and
2) I'm from California and want to work in Northern California at some point because I'd be closer to my family; a few years working in Chicago would be fine but I will need to get back there at some point and I'm worried NU doesn't provide the same mobility Columbia does for that purpose. I would also be amenable to working in Texas where I have family as well.

Duke also seems attractive to me for the vibe of the campus but I know that's not important and I would also love Berkeley but I do know that even if they accept me with my mediocre GPA, i won't get much money.

I don't want to be trapped in Big-Law although I do want to work in it for a few years to pay off my debt and save a little money. Having that scholly would help on this end. My end goal is to work as a prosecutor or small/medium size town attorney hanging my own shingle. My original dream was to work as a white-collar crime prosecutor but even if I could get that position somehow, It just wouldn't pay enough initially for my goals( my parents struggle and I plan to give them $2,000 a month once I get my first big law job).

For some reason I'm just having trouble getting excited about NU. Maybe because it seems so disconnected from the main campus and in Cali it doesn't have the lay prestige it has everywhere else so it just feels much different than saying "I went to Columbia".

Any insight or tips would be greatly appreciated.

[Dcc617]

Hey everyone,

Long story short my stats are 3.52 and 176. Mediocre softs and letters. Decent PS.

Everything not covered by a scholarship will have to be debt financed.

My heart has been set on Columbia for a long time but I'm slowly trying to wean myself off of that idea due to the cost and resulting debt. I believe I'd be very competitive for NU ED with the 150,000 scholly but I'm worried about two things:

1) What if NU won't get me a good job; and
2) I'm from California and want to work in Northern California at some point because I'd be closer to my family; a few years working in Chicago would be fine but I will need to get back there at some point and I'm worried NU doesn't provide the same mobility Columbia does for that purpose. I would also be amenable to working in Texas where I have family as well.

Duke also seems attractive to me for the vibe of the campus but I know that's not important and I would also love Berkeley but I do know that even if they accept me with my mediocre GPA, i won't get much money.

I don't want to be trapped in Big-Law although I do want to work in it for a few years to pay off my debt and save a little money. Having that scholly would help on this end. My end goal is to work as a prosecutor or small/medium size town attorney hanging my own shingle. My original dream was to work as a white-collar crime prosecutor but even if I could get that position somehow, It just wouldn't pay enough initially for my goals( my parents struggle and I plan to give them $2,000 a month once I get my first big law job).

For some reason I'm just having trouble getting excited about NU. Maybe because it seems so disconnected from the main campus and in Cali it doesn't have the lay prestige it has everywhere else so it just feels much different than saying "I went to Columbia".

Any insight or tips would be greatly appreciated.

Apply broadly. You'll get more scholarship money than you think.