Is Vanderbilt Worth Sticker? Forum

[02082010]

Most top schools don't mention $$ until March-ish. A 172 3.2 URM got the full Dean's scholly at UVA. I'm thinking they can give my 2.7 around half-tuition, maybe?

But if you don't get any $ from a t-14 school are you going with were you got $?

Calling my bluff?

[jh60405]

In state at UGA, UNC, or Alabama could maybe win out. So could some scholarship money at Emory. I think we'll know a lot more when we get employment data from the class of 2009 and the class of 2010 summer employment data. I'm assuming Vanderbilt is still going to come out with that info . . . If its worse I wouldn't be surprised if they withheld it this year. It was one thing to be one of two schools showing all the info when that info was good. If its not so good then I wouldn't be surprised to see them go back into hiding like everyone else.

[nycparalegal]

Most top schools don't mention $$ until March-ish. A 172 3.2 URM got the full Dean's scholly at UVA. I'm thinking they can give my 2.7 around half-tuition, maybe?

But if you don't get any $ from a t-14 school are you going with were you got $?

Calling my bluff?

I'm just curious.

[Aberzombie1892]

I know an earlier poster had "2009 data," but I won't trust that until US News posts the breakdown for 2009 (which won't be for another year).

2007 Data:

2007 Graduates Employment Location for Vanderbilt
Graduates employed in-state 15%
Graduates employed in foreign countries 2%
Number of states where graduates are employed 29
New England (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT) 2.0%
Middle Atlantic (NY, NJ, PA) 12.0%
East North Central (IL, IN, MI, OH, WI) 13.0%
West North Central (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD) 1.0%
South Atlantic (DE, DC, FL, GA, MD, NC, SC, VA, WV) 32.0%
East South Central (AL, KY, MS, TN) 21.0%
West South Central (AR, LA, OK, TX) 7.0%
Pacific (AK, CA, HI, OR, WA) 7.0%
Mountain (AZ, CO, ID, MT, NV, NM, UT, WY) 3.0%
Employment location unknown 0.0%

Using the data (and common sense), the main places Vanderbilt grads appear to go to are:

Georgia > 20%
Tennessee 15%
New York < 15%
I'm not sure what would go next, either IL or FL.

If you want to work in the south, Vanderbilt does well (it sends the same amount to New York as any other portable T50 private school).

However, the question is if it's worth sticker.

This is a very personal question.

Would you be comfortable being in the hole ~$200,000 within minimal job prospects if you finish outside of the top X% (due to the economy, no one can say - however, I will throw 20% out there for the purpose of the example)?

I think the OP should negotiate with a lower ranked school for a guaranteed full ride (or close to it).

I will say that Vanderbilt, while top notch, is a very strong regional school (minimal placement outside of the south - but it dominates there (not counting TX, of course - TN, GA, MS, AL, SC, maybe FL but I don't know about that one).

If the OP has no interest in those states, the OP should consider elsewhere anyway.

[02082010]

Most top schools don't mention $$ until March-ish. A 172 3.2 URM got the full Dean's scholly at UVA. I'm thinking they can give my 2.7 around half-tuition, maybe?

But if you don't get any $ from a t-14 school are you going with were you got $?

Calling my bluff?

I'm just curious.

With no other options and no $ I'd go to UVA @ sticker even though their LRAP leaves much to be desired.

[kurama20]

With no other options and no $ I'd go to UVA @ sticker even though their LRAP leaves much to be desired.

There's always IBR. They announced that the LRAP is going to be updated soon as well. You really need to get rid of that tar soon man it's looking really lame....

[annabell]

Thank you so much for changing the name. My aunt and uncle went to Vanderbilt and they (as well as other Vandy grads I know) take the name misspelling very seriously and personally. Guess it rubbed off on me.

As for the is Vanderbilt worth sticker? I would say it is, especially if it is the best school you get into. I personally would pay sticker for WUSTL or anything higher ranked if it were my best option. But, it is a very personal choice and it depends on what other schools you get into. I wouldn't pay sticker at Vanderbilt instead of $ of WUSTL or Emory or UNC or UGA (if the later two were cheaper due to instate).

Hope this helps and this is a great topic for a thread!

[02082010]

With no other options and no $ I'd go to UVA @ sticker even though their LRAP leaves much to be desired.

There's always IBR. They announced that the LRAP is going to be updated soon as well. You really need to get rid of that tar soon man it's looking really lame....

I'll be getting rid of it on Sunday. That damned UC/Florida game.

[TheWire]

hopeful...i gotta second the tar call out...it's killing me when i look at any thread.

btw...u'd 4sure go to UVA sticker if it was your best choice, we all know that (but hopefully chicago comes around...)

[02082010]

hopeful...i gotta second the tar call out...it's killing me when i look at any thread.

btw...u'd 4sure go to UVA sticker if it was your best choice, we all know that (but hopefully chicago comes around...)

Fingers crossed.

[observationalist]

I have apparently been summoned from my winter break slumber, but now that classes start tomorrow I'm back. Here goes:

Schlunk (one of our profs... google 'Mamas dont let your babies grow up to be lawyers') says no law school is worth sticker. His paper has become one of the most-downloaded of the year, thanks to numerous media mentions and an increasing amount of public interest in how law schools are withholding important employment information and misleading prospectives into overvaluing their degrees. Fortunately, Vanderbilt happens to be one of the leading schools (along with Duke) in improving transparency and showing what job prospects actually look like, since they show where everyone goes rather than just the top X%. Plus, the place is a lot of fun. I've had an incredible experience here. The school has done a lot to help me specialize in my areas of interest (environmental and social justice), thanks to the significant individual attention I've received from faculty and career services. I'll also be ok financially even if I end up doing public interest environmental work under the federal LRAP, despite having paid sticker. The LRAP isn't nearly as strong as, say, NYU's, but I'm hoping Dean Guthrie will at least follow GULC and UCLA's initiative to fully support public interest/govt people who opt into the federal LRAP. Those look like really great programs: someone with 200K in loans could end up paying nothing for the first three years and then only perhaps 50K of the rest over the remaining 7 years if they go into public interest or government. The only problem with the LRAP is that committing for 10 years in public interest isn't manageable for some people, particularly those with children and/or spouses who don't work.

As far as current placement numbers go, my class (3Ls) had about 50% of the entire class with full-time offers at the end of our 2L summer. And reportedly 40% of the 2L class has 2L firm offers for next summer. For someone who needs one of those jobs to pay off their debt quickly, I would say those are not great odds. FWIW those numbers are probably better than Georgetown's, thanks to there being far fewer of us competing with each other for jobs in any one market. We may also be placing better than Cornell, which suffers from primarily placing graduates in one market and which reportedly saw a lower percentage of the 2Ls with firm offers this year than we did. Then again, their historical reputation may be helping the rest of the class find alternate entry-level jobs in ways Vanderbilt's name does not. We'll have to see which law schools are the best at adapting to the everchanging job market in figuring out which ones offer the best investment.

Of course, comparisons depend on schools actually releasing comprehensive information. It is going to be extremely difficult to get any law school to release current information on hiring numbers without some sort of mandate from the ABA. This doesn't mean it can't be done or that we're not trying, but it won't make much difference for those of you deciding where to attend this cycle. All I know is that I've got a very interesting course starting tomorrow on how to establish and manage nonprofits, followed by a great climate change justice course meeting on Wednesday, some filler courses on topics I will never see again after I take the bar exam, and then back-to-back Here Comes the Mummies shows at 12th and Porter this weekend to look forward to. In short, life is good. G'luck to those who are applying this cycle and make sure to use whatever acceptances you have for scholarships at other schools whenever possible. Information about negotiating scholarships is one of the great benefits TLS has to offer you.

[im_blue]

Thank you so much for changing the name. My aunt and uncle went to Vanderbilt and they (as well as other Vandy grads I know) take the name misspelling very seriously and personally. Guess it rubbed off on me.

As for the is Vanderbilt worth sticker? I would say it is, especially if it is the best school you get into. I personally would pay sticker for WUSTL or anything higher ranked if it were my best option. But, it is a very personal choice and it depends on what other schools you get into. I wouldn't pay sticker at Vanderbilt instead of $ of WUSTL or Emory or UNC or UGA (if the later two were cheaper due to instate).

Hope this helps and this is a great topic for a thread!

I can see how people misspell "Colombia," "Standford," and "Berkley," but how do you misspell Vanderbilt when it's spelled like it sounds? "Vanderbuilt"?

[JOThompson]

Thank you so much for changing the name. My aunt and uncle went to Vanderbilt and they (as well as other Vandy grads I know) take the name misspelling very seriously and personally. Guess it rubbed off on me.

As for the is Vanderbilt worth sticker? I would say it is, especially if it is the best school you get into. I personally would pay sticker for WUSTL or anything higher ranked if it were my best option. But, it is a very personal choice and it depends on what other schools you get into. I wouldn't pay sticker at Vanderbilt instead of $ of WUSTL or Emory or UNC or UGA (if the later two were cheaper due to instate).

Hope this helps and this is a great topic for a thread!

I can see how people misspell "Colombia," "Standford," and "Berkley," but how do you misspell Vanderbilt when it's spelled like it sounds? "Vanderbuilt"?

The U key sits right next to the I key. People make typing mistakes, Annabell should give the OP a break IMO.

[im_blue]

Thank you so much for changing the name. My aunt and uncle went to Vanderbilt and they (as well as other Vandy grads I know) take the name misspelling very seriously and personally. Guess it rubbed off on me.

As for the is Vanderbilt worth sticker? I would say it is, especially if it is the best school you get into. I personally would pay sticker for WUSTL or anything higher ranked if it were my best option. But, it is a very personal choice and it depends on what other schools you get into. I wouldn't pay sticker at Vanderbilt instead of $ of WUSTL or Emory or UNC or UGA (if the later two were cheaper due to instate).

Hope this helps and this is a great topic for a thread!

I can see how people misspell "Colombia," "Standford," and "Berkley," but how do you misspell Vanderbilt when it's spelled like it sounds? "Vanderbuilt"?

The U key sits right next to the I key. People make typing mistakes, Annabell should give the OP a break IMO.

Sure, I figured it was a typo, but I was curious how people genuinely misspell Vanderbilt, rather than hit the wrong key.

[acdisagod]

No.

I wouldn't pay sticker anywhere outside of HYSCC.

/thread.

Yet you would pay 100K for schools worse than vandy?

[You Gotta Have Faith]

Is Vanderbilt worth sticker?

Simple answer: It depends on who you are, what your numbers are, etc.

If you have the numbers and/or connections to get into schools that are more competitive than Vanderbilt, then it is probably not worth it to pay sticker. I know if I was looking at a Penn acceptance, for example, and a Vandy one, I would need money to pick Vandy.

However, if Vanderbilt is the best school you got into, or if you genuinely liked it over another similarly competitive school (say, UCLA for example), then it is definitely worth sticker if you think you want to get a JD. It is a very good school and one of the better options out there.

It's always easy to say you would "never pay sticker for X school" or you would "never go to X school" after you've gotten into more competitive places. And I think this gets lost sometimes. Even though I got into more competitive places in the end, even with fair scholly money, I still remember the days when I thought I was going to have to go to T2 schools... the days before things turned around. And if I had needed to, I would have gone to a T2 school because I genuinely wanted to go to law school.

[Doritos]

Did anyone else notice that in Grand Theft Auto 4 when Niko does the mission to assassinate the lawyer he fakes a resume to get a meeting with the guy and on the resume he puts Vanderbilt for the school and top 1% for his class rank? Good times.

[02082010]

No.

I wouldn't pay sticker anywhere outside of HYSCC.

/thread.

Yet you would pay 100K for schools worse than vandy?

Where did that come from?

Obviously not.