Cornell LRAP: Graduates Perspectives Forum

[silverdoe91]

Hey, I'm considering going to Cornell and I was wondering what Cornell graduates' experience with their LRAP has been, since I mainly want to go into PI work. I read through the description of their program on their website and spoke to the Public Interest Dean on the phone to get more details, but I'd like to know what graduates of Cornell who used the program think of it. What has your experience been like? Is it difficult finding a job that makes you eligible for the program? Is it still difficult or burdensome to pay off your loans?

For context, I got half a scholarship offer from Cornell, but taking living expenses into consideration, I would still be facing around 120-140k of debt when I graduate, if you count the interest that will be accruing. I'm just wondering if its worth it to go to Cornell with that much debt if I'll most likely go into PI and how much Cornell's LRAP really helps its graduates.

[stretchedtoothin]

Isn't the program new as of this year?

[CFC1524]

Isn't the program new as of this year?

Correct - the new program started in August 2015.

Is it difficult finding a job that makes you eligible for the program? Is it still difficult or burdensome to pay off your loans?

For context, I got half a scholarship offer from Cornell, but taking living expenses into consideration, I would still be facing around 120-140k of debt when I graduate, if you count the interest that will be accruing. I'm just wondering if its worth it to go to Cornell with that much debt if I'll most likely go into PI and how much Cornell's LRAP really helps its graduates.

So long as you are employed in a PI / Gov gig (there's some type of deferral thing with clerkships), you'll receive an award equal to the amount of your total yearly IBR or PAYE payment (even if you didn't place your loans in either program, Cornell will calculate the award as if you had). There's a discretionary cap at 15,000, but its unlikely anyone in a PI job would have an IBR payment that high. So insofar as your second question goes, it shouldn't be too difficult because Cornell will essentially be paying them for you. That doesn't mean living in NYC on a legal aid salary is going to be easy, but at the minimum you won't be worrying about your loans

Your first question is a little trickier - Cornell's LRAP covers a wide range of jobs, but PI hiring isn't nearly as streamlined as big-law hiring. Cornell isn't bad for getting a PI job, but depending your goals, ties, background, etc, another school might make more sense. Are you dead-set on PI? Where are you from / where do you want to work? What are your offers besides Cornell? Any background in PI work?

Edit: I'm only a 1L, but I'm a PI person so I'm at least somewhat familiar with the mechanics of the program. There are some 2L's and 3L's around who can probably speak to this some of this stuff better than I can

[silverdoe91]

Isn't the program new as of this year?

Correct - the new program started in August 2015.

Is it difficult finding a job that makes you eligible for the program? Is it still difficult or burdensome to pay off your loans?

For context, I got half a scholarship offer from Cornell, but taking living expenses into consideration, I would still be facing around 120-140k of debt when I graduate, if you count the interest that will be accruing. I'm just wondering if its worth it to go to Cornell with that much debt if I'll most likely go into PI and how much Cornell's LRAP really helps its graduates.

So long as you are employed in a PI / Gov gig (there's some type of deferral thing with clerkships), you'll receive an award equal to the amount of your total yearly IBR or PAYE payment (even if you didn't place your loans in either program, Cornell will calculate the award as if you had). There's a discretionary cap at 15,000, but its unlikely anyone in a PI job would have an IBR payment that high. So insofar as your second question goes, it shouldn't be too difficult because Cornell will essentially be paying them for you. That doesn't mean living in NYC on a legal aid salary is going to be easy, but at the minimum you won't be worrying about your loans

Your first question is a little trickier - Cornell's LRAP covers a wide range of jobs, but PI hiring isn't nearly as streamlined as big-law hiring. Cornell isn't bad for getting a PI job, but depending your goals, ties, background, etc, another school might make more sense. Are you dead-set on PI? Where are you from / where do you want to work? What are your offers besides Cornell? Any background in PI work?

Edit: I'm only a 1L, but I'm a PI person so I'm at least somewhat familiar with the mechanics of the program. There are some 2L's and 3L's around who can probably speak to this some of this stuff better than I can

Wow, thank you for the information! I'm from New York City, I currently live with my parents so I don't have rent to pay and I wouldn't if I stayed in NYC for school. The other offers I got so far is 35k a year from Fordham Law (COA would be 60k upon graduation), full ride from St. John's, and I'm still waiting to hear back from Cardozo but probably a full ride from them too. I also got a full ride from Northeastern, but they're not that well ranked (I only applied bc their co-op program sounded like a good way to get professional experience) and also UCLA (I love their Public Interest focus but they gave me less money than Cornell, only 27k for all 3 years.) Plus Northeastern and UCLA are really far so I feel like it wouldn't be worth it since I wanna work in NYC eventually. So my main choices right now are Cornell, Fordham, St. John's and maybe Cardozo (the last three I could save a lot for COL.)

[Nebby]

Isn't the program new as of this year?

Correct - the new program started in August 2015.

Is it difficult finding a job that makes you eligible for the program? Is it still difficult or burdensome to pay off your loans?

For context, I got half a scholarship offer from Cornell, but taking living expenses into consideration, I would still be facing around 120-140k of debt when I graduate, if you count the interest that will be accruing. I'm just wondering if its worth it to go to Cornell with that much debt if I'll most likely go into PI and how much Cornell's LRAP really helps its graduates.

So long as you are employed in a PI / Gov gig (there's some type of deferral thing with clerkships), you'll receive an award equal to the amount of your total yearly IBR or PAYE payment (even if you didn't place your loans in either program, Cornell will calculate the award as if you had). There's a discretionary cap at 15,000, but its unlikely anyone in a PI job would have an IBR payment that high. So insofar as your second question goes, it shouldn't be too difficult because Cornell will essentially be paying them for you. That doesn't mean living in NYC on a legal aid salary is going to be easy, but at the minimum you won't be worrying about your loans

Your first question is a little trickier - Cornell's LRAP covers a wide range of jobs, but PI hiring isn't nearly as streamlined as big-law hiring. Cornell isn't bad for getting a PI job, but depending your goals, ties, background, etc, another school might make more sense. Are you dead-set on PI? Where are you from / where do you want to work? What are your offers besides Cornell? Any background in PI work?

Edit: I'm only a 1L, but I'm a PI person so I'm at least somewhat familiar with the mechanics of the program. There are some 2L's and 3L's around who can probably speak to this some of this stuff better than I can

Wow, thank you for the information! I'm from New York City, I currently live with my parents so I don't have rent to pay and I wouldn't if I stayed in NYC for school. The other offers I got so far is 35k a year from Fordham Law (COA would be 60k upon graduation), full ride from St. John's, and I'm still waiting to hear back from Cardozo but probably a full ride from them too. I also got a full ride from Northeastern, but they're not that well ranked (I only applied bc their co-op program sounded like a good way to get professional experience) and also UCLA (I love their Public Interest focus but they gave me less money than Cornell, only 27k for all 3 years.) Plus Northeastern and UCLA are really far so I feel like it wouldn't be worth it since I wanna work in NYC eventually. So my main choices right now are Cornell, Fordham, St. John's and maybe Cardozo (the last three I could save a lot for COL.)

Have you ruled out Fordham?

[silverdoe91]

Have you ruled out Fordham?

No, I have not. But I'm not sure how well they fare with employment, particularly PI. I've worked in corporate and non-profit law so far, and in both places I haven't seen any Fordham people, but many from Cardozo. I met someone at the non-profit who graduated from Fordham but she was still interning! Sure, Fordham was paying her a stipend, but that's not a real job and not where I wanna end up after graduation. On the other hand, Cardozo grads actually had full-time jobs there, and at the corporate firm I worked at. I hear that Fordham places more people into BigLaw than Cardozo, but Idk if that's just for the top 50% of the class and the rest remain jobless. I know their employment stats are not good. So Idk if its worth it to sink 60k in Fordham, when I can easily take a full ride somewhere else like Cardozo.

[A. Nony Mouse]

All due respect, but don't you think "lawyers I have worked with in NYC" is a pretty small sample to be basing your decision on? You might find something like the comparison at LST more helpful: http://www.lstscorereports.com/compare/cardozo/fordham/