Wake Forest worth sticker? Forum

[westinghouse60]

~3.4 GPA, taking the LSAT in June. I know this is hypothetical, but I've been PTing in the high 160's, and hoping to do around there/improve to better by the test date. However, I think I would need at least a 165 to get into Wake Forest (above 25th percentile for GPA and above 75th for LSAT), and that Wake is the lowest ranked school I would pay sticker to go to. I know people paying sticker to go to TTT or TTTTs, so paying sticker to go to Wake seem[ed] like an easy decision. However, reading TLS has caused me to question this (obviously). I know its a common sentiment that nothing outside of "_____" is worth going to at sicker (insert HYS, T-6, T-14, etc), but the upside of Wake is that the only real in-state competition is UNC (as I've heard most of Duke's grads go on to work out of state), it's relatively inexpensive vs. other private schools (yearly tuition is $35,450), and COL in Winston Salem is low. Obviously I'm hoping to do better than 165 on the LSAT, but I had sort of decided Wake would be the lowest school I would pay sticker for assuming I only hit 165 (which is around the worst PT score I've gotten recently).

Opinions on this? Anyone I know in real life would call me crazy for not attending Wake at sticker, but it seems equally crazy on TLS to attend a T-40 at sticker. Do Wake's upsides mean anything in this case?

[LurkerNoMore]

Most people not involved in the law have no idea about the economics of the legal profession. Most people who decide where to attend law school make the decision of where to go with no/little knowledge of the legal profession. These are not people's opinions you want to bet over $100,000 on.

How do you plan on paying off six figures of debt from Wake? That is the question you have to ask yourself. If you don't have a very good answer to this question, then, no, it is not worth it. Only about 50% of the class of 2009 reported their income to Wake. That means that their salary data is pretty useless to you. (Take a guess as to which group of students Wake really goes after to make sure they report -- high incomes or low incomes.)

[TheFactor]

if you can manage a 165 you won't be paying sticker at wake

[YankeesFan]

I got a 161 and Im not paying sticker at Wake.

[ran12]

Yea Wake is not worth sticker. I've thought about this too but the numbers don't make sense. Even though it's on the lower side for private, the debt you would be in is pretty high considering the payoff. There's no question Wake and UNC are the top schools for NC but you can get a lot more money than Wake is willing to shell out at peer schools. Schools in the bordering states can get you to NC and if you have some connection to NC, like being from NC, it should help when looking for a job. The other poster is right in that the % reporting and numbers don't really add up to the reality of things. I've also spoken to people whose job is to advise people on academic decisons (private advisors, not school advisors) and they all say Wake isn't worth sticker.

[Sandro]

Probably not, unless you were pretty cool with having a lot of debt and probably not making a ton of money to pay it off. Retake and get a scholarship.

[dpk711]

Wake is never worth sticker in my opinion.

[Hippononymous]

if you can manage a 165 you won't be paying sticker at wake

This.

[Magnolia]

If you go to Wake, you won't just be competing against UNC grads. No one really thinks of NC as being over-saturated, but it's a small state with 7 law schools. Yes, most of them are lower ranked than Wake, but you'll still be competing against students from the top of their classes at Elon and Campbell. You'll also be competing against all the t13 and Vandy kids with ties to NC. Charlotte got hit hard by the recession and a lot of the legal jobs there have disappeared. The market in Raleigh/Durham isn't nearly big enough to absorb all of those graduates. Finding a job from Wake Forest will be an uphill battle. Finding a job from Wake Forest that can service the debt you'll incur by paying sticker will be really fucking hard. In all likelihood you will end up in a job that 50k and it will take you decades to pay off your loans.

If you really want to work in NC (and you better if you're considering going to WF), then move to NC and apply to UNC once you've established residency. You'll have the same job prospects but significantly less debt.

[westinghouse60]

If you go to Wake, you won't just be competing against UNC grads. No one really thinks of NC as being over-saturated, but it's a small state with 7 law schools. Yes, most of them are lower ranked than Wake, but you'll still be competing against students from the top of their classes at Elon and Campbell. You'll also be competing against all the t13 and Vandy kids with ties to NC. Charlotte got hit hard by the recession and a lot of the legal jobs there have disappeared. The market in Raleigh/Durham isn't nearly big enough to absorb all of those graduates. Finding a job from Wake Forest will be an uphill battle. Finding a job from Wake Forest that can service the debt you'll incur by paying sticker will be really fucking hard. In all likelihood you will end up in a job that 50k and it will take you decades to pay off your loans.

If you really want to work in NC (and you better if you're considering going to WF), then move to NC and apply to UNC once you've established residency. You'll have the same job prospects but significantly less debt.

I'm actually an NC resident now, so UNC would be my obvious preference to Wake. I guess the chances of getting into Wake without getting into UNC are low, but I know UNC admissions favors GPA, and mine isn't great.

[ran12]

If you go to Wake, you won't just be competing against UNC grads. No one really thinks of NC as being over-saturated, but it's a small state with 7 law schools. Yes, most of them are lower ranked than Wake, but you'll still be competing against students from the top of their classes at Elon and Campbell. You'll also be competing against all the t13 and Vandy kids with ties to NC. Charlotte got hit hard by the recession and a lot of the legal jobs there have disappeared. The market in Raleigh/Durham isn't nearly big enough to absorb all of those graduates. Finding a job from Wake Forest will be an uphill battle. Finding a job from Wake Forest that can service the debt you'll incur by paying sticker will be really fucking hard. In all likelihood you will end up in a job that 50k and it will take you decades to pay off your loans.

If you really want to work in NC (and you better if you're considering going to WF), then move to NC and apply to UNC once you've established residency. You'll have the same job prospects but significantly less debt.

I'm actually an NC resident now, so UNC would be my obvious preference to Wake. I guess the chances of getting into Wake without getting into UNC are low, but I know UNC admissions favors GPA, and mine isn't great.

It's easier getting into UNC than Wake if you're IS. IS gives a pretty big boost for UNC.