Top Law Schools

It's interesting to see TLS stories from those who chose a higher-ranked T14 at/near sticker versus taking a full ride a lower ranked T14, and vice versa. A thread on this topic similar to "Student loan payments: Actual numbers" (http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 3&t=220025) would be helpful to those currently deciding where to attend school.

Current students and grads, did you pay sticker or take the full ride?

Share which school (or the range of schools) you attended, how much debt you took on (or didn't take on), why you made the decision, and what day-to-day life is like having that debt (or not having it).

I was a splitter, so I took UVA at sticker. I'll be about 300k in debt when I graduate. It's terrifying.

I turned down three T14 schools (with $60-70k) for a full ride + books + stipend scholarship in the region where I was already living.

@north, Why is it terrifying?

@hutz, Do you regret it, or are you happy with it? Plans after graduation?

No regrets at all I have major market big law and did well (law review etc.).

FloridaCoastalorbust wrote:@north, Why is it terrifying?

I have 300k in non-dischargeable debt to my name. Why do you think? I've even got a biglaw job lined up, but lots can go wrong before I pay (or even start to pay) all that back.

I took the middle road -- half scholarship at a lower T14. I still have a lot of debt (under $150k though). But no regrets really. I have a fed clerkship and biglaw lined up.

ETA: When I chose my school, we did not have nearly the kind of detailed data that is available to prospective students now. That might have changed my opinion on where to go and how much to pay.

I took the full ride at a school ranked around 60 over some lower T14s. I graduated 2nd in my class and have a good job. Mainly I am happy, but I feel like some doors are forever closed for me. The stain of a lower ranked school follows you around. There are certain jobs I can't compete for simply based on where I went to law school.

Giddy-Up wrote:I took the full ride at a school ranked around 60 over some lower T14s. I graduated 2nd in my class and have a good job. Mainly I am happy, but I feel like some doors are forever closed for me. The stain of a lower ranked school follows you around. There are certain jobs I can't compete for simply based on where I went to law school.

I agree with Giddy-Up that from a non-T14 there are certain possibilities that are off the table. If you want V10 in NYC, COA clerkship, SCOTUS clerkship (and there are a couple other highly competitive positions) they are either very very difficult (V10 NYC) or impossible without going to a T14. Even federal clerkship in a top top market (Ex. SDNY) is very difficult to impossible without a T14 degree. But of these options, the only one that you can (kinda) count on from a T14 is V10 in NYC, assuming your grades are decent. So I don't think it makes a lot of sense to choose a T14 because it leaves open some unicorn outcomes. For me, if I had to do it again, I would make the exact same choice.

Great, thanks all for sharing.

GULC Sticker and I regret it. Will have under 100K debt (for various reasons) and am currently comfortably on the track to BigLaw, but if I could do it all again I would've been more confident in my applicatoon and negotiated for money.

T-20 full ride over splitter-friendly T-14s at or near sticker. I wasn't biglaw or bust and was terrified of striking out with 300k. OTOH, I think the stress of grades carries longer at the lower school. If I was at a T-14 and my grades dropped to median I don't think my firm would care. At my T-20 I'm nervous about dropping at all, because everyone at my firm from a peer school has Latin honors on their bio.

Took near-sticker at a lower T14 (~$215k at the end of law school) over a near-full ride at T20. Still paying off loans three years later but haven't regretted it in the slightest. Landed a first job that likely wouldn't have been possible for me coming from a T20, and from that job made connections such that a few years later I was in a position to land what is pretty much my dream job.

Long story short, I think my career is a lot more awesome than it would've been coming from a different school, and that's been more than worth the debt for me.

Full ride at the T-20. Ended up at a V5 firm. Got lucky.

Took a full ride at a T20 over decent money at a few lower T14's because I didn't want to be handcuffed to biglaw or large markets in general. Haven't regretted it so far.