NYU/GULC Tax LLM v. $90k/year offer Forum

[Anonymous User]

Anon because I'd rather not risk outing myself.

I’ve read over all of the "should I do a tax LLM" threads and none are specifically on point.

The TL;DR version: 3L at a T2, top 1%, ~$100k total debt at graduation. Want to do tax LLM at NYU/GULC. Have offer on the table for $90k+$10k/year tuition with a 2-year commitment at a non-big 4 accounting firm in my non-preferred specialty group.

1) Assuming admission to NYU/GULC, would turning down the offer in favor of doing the full time LLM be totally insane?

2) If I take the offer, do I still do the LLM part time assuming I get into NYU?

3) Does anyone know anything about scholarships at NYU/GULC? Are PT students eligible/equally competitive?

The longer version:

I’m a 3L at a T2, top 1% of my class. I like tax, want to do tax work, have taken a bunch of tax classes (and gotten As in all of them), and will have taken all the tax classes my school offers by the time I graduate. My UG degree isn't underwater basketweaving, but it's not accounting/business/engineering/anything even remotely useful.

I summered at a large, but not Big 4, accounting firm in a specialty tax department in NYC. I'm staying part time during 3L because paychecks are better than PLUS loans and I genuinely like it there. I have an offer to stay post-grad. Pay’s ~$90k. The hours are good, I really like the people I work with, and find the work itself interesting, but I'm in a specialty group that isn’t necessarily my first choice and the offer is to stay in that group. When I graduate, I’ll have about $100k of debt between law school and undergrad, though I may make some payments during 3L to try to get it down a bit or, at the very least, keep interest from compounding.

Before getting the offer, I was pretty much dead-set on doing a tax LLM at either NYU or GULC next year, assuming either/both accept me. I would rather not do an LLM at all than move to Florida for a year, so I'm not applying to UF.

The firm knows that I'm interested in doing the LLM and everyone I’ve spoken with about it has actively encouraged it. They will pay $10k of tuition a year, which would cover about 4 credits per year at NYU part time. The LLM requires 24 total credits, so $10k/year would help, but it won't make a substantial dent. If I took the $10k, I’d have to commit to stay for 2 years or return the money. Basically, I’d be committing to stay for 3-5 years to save between $20k and $30k, depending on how long it took me to complete the LLM. I like the job, but the idea of committing to anything for 4 years terrifies me. (This may be why I don’t have a dog. Or a wife.)

NYU’s LLM application opens in September, GULC’s in October, and I need to choose between PT and FT before I apply. NYU, at least, allows admits to request to change from PT to FT and vice versa.

The first question, really, is do I accept the offer at all, when the alternative isn’t another job but, rather, an LLM and more debt? On the one hand, it’s a good place to work with good people, LLM hiring’s a black box, and a job >>>>>>>>>>>> no job. On the other hand, I fell into the specialty group by accident and would like the opportunity to get a somewhat broader range of experience before becoming incredibly specialized. Also, $90k is okay, but it’s not great.

The second is, if I do accept the offer, do I do an LLM starting next year at all? It’s encouraged and partially paid for, but it’s not required. I imagine that I’d lose much of the career benefits of doing the LLM if I didn’t participate in TIP, but if I'm taking advantage of the tuition reimbursement, participating in and finding a job through TIP would mean having to repay the $10k to the firm within 30 days of leaving. Also, I don’t even know whether PT students are eligible to participate in TIP or how they fare. (I should investigate this, I know, and I will.)

Finally, does anyone have any information about how competitive, if at all, I would be for scholarships and whether PT applicants are even remotely competitive or eligible for scholarships?

[Johann]

Basically a 50/50 decision. You know what the safe decision is. NYU gives you a decent chance of big law prolly about 50%. But the other 50% of jobs are at big 4. The hours are what you would expect at both. Most of the specialty group jobs are salt and intl.

What is your goal? Big law? Employee benefits? Everything is specialized so being in a specialty group is the most valuable.
It's also becoming increasingly common to move from accounting firm to big law. I would probably take the job and do part time for a year. Have them pay for some. If you get a better job and peace out then paying the 10k back won't be a big deal.

Edit: nyu gives some scholarships but usually to top 20 schools. Too 1% may get you 15k. You should apply no matter what.

[nealric]

I have a GULC tax LLM. To me, this is a no-brainer. Take the offer and use the tuition allowance to go NYU part time at 4 credits a year. If for some reason you don't get in (you will), apply the following year. You will have you LLM for free in ~5 years.

Worst case scenario is you hate the job, leave and owe them some money. If you don't take the job, you will guaranteed owe the money in student loans.