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Hey everyone. I'm currently in the law school app process, and my choice will likely come down to one or two of CCN at sticker vs. a lower T14 with money. It's pretty easy to be blinded by prestige at this stage, and I'd like some perspective from people who have already been through the process. Now that you're in law school, do you regret paying sticker at your current school? Do you wish you had paid sticker at a higher ranking school? What would you do differently?

Thanks!

I took money at Penn over NYU sticker and don't regret it. I also took money at Penn over less money at Chicago and don't regret it. I was WL at CLS and never tried to convince them to take me because I wouldn't have gone there (even if they matched Penn). I'm not even sure I would have paid sticker at HLS had I applied. The only places I would pay sticker are SLS/YLS, but that's just me. I also don't regret not taking a full ride somewhere lower ranked (Vandy, UCLA, USC etc.). It's all personal preference and depends on what your goals are. I don't want to clerk right out of LS and have no interest in academia. I wanted to go to a big firm and that's what I'll be doing; Penn was a good choice for that.

What was your scholarship amount yearly, if you don't mind my asking? PM if you'd like.

Haven't received scholarship info from most schools yet so this is largely hypothetical, but I fall in the range to get about $67,000 from Michigan and $48,000 from Duke, according to LSN. Not saying I will get this, but I'm still curious to hear about everyone else's experiences just so I have time to mull it over.

Edit: that would be for all 3 years combined, not yearly

No. I'm full freight at NU and don't regret it. Once you have sizable undergrad debt it just sort of becomes like monopoly money anyway...

I regret many things in my life, but not paying sticker here. If Northeastern had given me a full ride PI scholarship, I might seriously have taken that, but given the options I had, I'm content with this one.

Better to ask this question when people are actually paying back the loans.

helfer snooterbagon wrote:Better to ask this question when people are actually paying back the loans.

or are unable to pay back the loans.

An attorney I work with once told me "I had a six month grace period before my first law school loan payment. When I got my first bill, I immediately thought why did I pay full sticker. This was a stupid idea."

So, yea. Wait until they have to start making payments back.

nycparalegal wrote:An attorney I work with once told me "I had a six month grace period before my first law school loan payment. When I got my first bill, I immediately thought why did I pay full sticker. This was a stupid idea."

So, yea. Wait until they have to start making payments back.

hah funny anecdote. it is too bad more practicing attorneys don't post here; i wonder what their perspective would be.

I think it's a choice between higher probability of getting a good job by paying sticker vs lower probability of getting the same job by going to a lower-ranked school and having less debt.

englawyer wrote:

nycparalegal wrote:An attorney I work with once told me "I had a six month grace period before my first law school loan payment. When I got my first bill, I immediately thought why did I pay full sticker. This was a stupid idea."

So, yea. Wait until they have to start making payments back.

hah funny anecdote. it is too bad more practicing attorneys don't post here; i wonder what their perspective would be.

I think it's usually something along the lines of "Don't go to law school".

Nightrunner wrote:It is also contingent upon what job you want after graduation. IMHO, anyone who doesn't want BigLaw should avoid paying sticker damn near anywhere.

IMO anyone who wants biglaw shouldnt pay sticker anywhere. Why do you want biglaw?: to make money. I think most would/will regret it when they get that first $1700 bill and give up (ideally) ~1/4 of their income every month after taxes for 10-15 years. Outside of the "girl in a bar" factor of the Harvard name - who gives a fuck about prestige? No one. The average person doesnt know the difference between michigan and michigan state. Obviously if your only option for the T14-20 is to pay sticker than you either ahve to make that decision or re-evaluate your life goals but I cant see myself doing it - even for Harvard (not that I have that opportunity anyway).

/rant

Nightrunner wrote:It is also contingent upon what job you want after graduation. IMHO, anyone who doesn't want BigLaw should avoid paying sticker damn near anywhere.

With the new IBR, do you think it's feasible to pay sticker at a T14 if you're looking for prestigious PI?

pleasetryagain wrote:IMO anyone who wants biglaw shouldnt pay sticker anywhere. Why do you want biglaw?: to make money. I think most would/will regret it when they get that first $1700 bill and give up (ideally) ~1/4 of their income every month after taxes for 10-15 years. Outside of the "girl in a bar" factor of the Harvard name - who gives a fuck about prestige? No one. The average person doesnt know the difference between michigan and michigan state. Obviously if your only option for the T14-20 is to pay sticker than you either ahve to make that decision or re-evaluate your life goals but I cant see myself doing it - even for Harvard (not that I have that opportunity anyway).

/rant

Your average hiring partner does, that's who. And also future clients.

Kiersten1985 wrote:

pleasetryagain wrote:IMO anyone who wants biglaw shouldnt pay sticker anywhere. Why do you want biglaw?: to make money. I think most would/will regret it when they get that first $1700 bill and give up (ideally) ~1/4 of their income every month after taxes for 10-15 years. Outside of the "girl in a bar" factor of the Harvard name - who gives a fuck about prestige? No one. The average person doesnt know the difference between michigan and michigan state. Obviously if your only option for the T14-20 is to pay sticker than you either ahve to make that decision or re-evaluate your life goals but I cant see myself doing it - even for Harvard (not that I have that opportunity anyway).

/rant

Your average hiring partner does, that's who. And also future clients.

+1

Those of us who were dinged by Harvard wish this wasn't so, but the undeniable fact is that the weighty Harvard name opens up many doors. Hard as a I try, I can't convince myself that my schools are in any way superior for job placement

What about sticker at HYSC versus a full ride at a T10 but not HYSC (eg B, MVP...). Maybe a stupid question to some, but I want to know if HYSC prestige (esp for biglaw) significantly trumps biglaw job opportunities at say BMVP to the extent that it's worth paying sticker for it?

iminlstrick wrote:What about sticker at HYSC versus a full ride at a T10 but not HYSC (eg B, MVP...). Maybe a stupid question to some, but I want to know if HYSC prestige (esp for biglaw) significantly trumps biglaw job opportunities at say BMVP to the extent that it's worth paying sticker for it?

I think it depends how bad you want a certain career (e.g. academia, SCOTUS clerkship, etc.). I have to say, given your hypo, the only school I would still pay sticker for is HLS but that's also because I love Boston so there'd really be nothing to lose...save for my wallet.

Side note: I love pretending that these are decisions I actually have to make.

hmlee wrote:No. I'm full freight at NU and don't regret it. Once you have sizable undergrad debt it just sort of becomes like monopoly money anyway...

...until you have to pay it back.

Nightrunner wrote:It is also contingent upon what job you want after graduation. IMHO, anyone who doesn't want BigLaw should avoid paying sticker damn near anywhere.

What about IBR? Public Service Loan Forgiveness?

If a person only makes $40K per year in an IP job, they're only going to pay like $300-$350 (not exact, but close) per month. If they have $120K in debt, they're going to end up paying much less in the long run if they stay in PI for ten years before the government swoops in and erases their debt. Then in the end, they didn't pay that much in loans, saved a bunch of money, and have a T14 degree.

Makes sense to me.

(Disclaimer: Will not entertain "ZOMGZ wut if teh government screws us and takes away teh programzzz" comments. Possible, but not likely)

Re: the government swooping in and erasing all of our debts after 10 years

I'll believe it when I see it.

Kiersten1985 wrote:Re: the government swooping in and erasing all of our debts after 10 years

I'll believe it when I see it.

The government gets bigger, not smaller. They add programs, they don't take them away.

Unless we get a dude brave enough to erase government programs, I'm going to ride the wave based on the U.S. govt's history of throwing money around.