Fordham(Full Tuition) vs. St. John's (free) vs.Brooklyn(1/3) Forum

[bubbletea]

So guys, I have put down deposits for Cardozo (Paulsen scholar=guaranteed full tuition 3 years regardless of rank) and Fordham (10K/ year scholarship, the rest out of pocket) and cannot decide!!!!

I'm not a "big law or bust" type gal, but I also don't like the idea of public interest. HELP!!!

[blsingindisguise]

So guys, I have put down deposits for Cardozo (Paulsen scholar=guaranteed full tuition 3 years regardless of rank) and Fordham (10K/ year scholarship, the rest out of pocket) and cannot decide!!!!

I'm not a "big law or bust" type gal, but I also don't like the idea of public interest. HELP!!!

I took a full ride at a similarly ranked school (with a stip), wound up doing very well and got a job that pays only a little more than half of biglaw but has reasonable hours. So obviously I'm mostly happy with my own decision, since I was always ambivalent about biglaw and since this job will let me live the way I want to. At the same time, I happened to do very well, and obviously some people with full rides don't (I've known people who started with full rides and landed around median). And if you don't have really good grades, the jobs that pay 1/2 biglaw may not be so easy to get either.

If you don't want biglaw and you don't want public interest, what sort of work are you hoping to do?

[blsingindisguise]

I guess what I'm getting at is that at some point there just may not be a right answer. For example, there are days when I regret not trying to transfer to Columbia or NYU when I had the grades, e.g., because I missed out on having a "prestigious" door-opening degree for the rest of my career. At the same time, I'm leaving school with no debt and a good job, and that feels awesome. I can't say I regret not going to Fordham, for what that's worth, but this is all pretty subjective.

[bubbletea]

Hm, what I mean is that I'll be happy enough if I get a decent job that isn't big law, though I'd be glad to take big law if I make it. On the other hand, I'd rather work for a firm than do public interest.

Congrats on your job, it sounds pretty ideal! If you don't mind my asking, where did you end up going? Right now it's a toss up between Cardozo & William & Mary (which will cost me 6K/year but ultimately be cheaper bc it's in Williamsburg, VA)! I'd rather go to Cardozo or Fordham, but at this point W&M just seems like the more "practical" choice, assuming rural VA doesn't kill me before I finish my JD...

[rocon7383]

Why would anyone vote St. John's over Brooklyn in this scenario? Am I missing something?

i upgraded my bls scholarship substantially over the course of this cycle. So I assume these votes were pre-upgrade.

[rocon7383]

Taking the full ride and travel stipend from BLS!

[wdunn60958]

Congrats brother, I would have done the same thing.

[Bronx Bum]

edit. Saw this was June. Was going to recommend Forhdam.

[aarias11]

OP should of realized that everyone has an opinion even on things we don't know much about. Maybe OP should have found somebody currently at Fordham who was paying sticker price, or a graduate from Fordham and asked them the aforementioned question.

[holden147]

I voted for Brooklyn because hey, free law degree. Work hard, and you can work your way into a good job. It may not be $160k/yr but it'll be a job, you'll have a law degree, and no debt.

JMO.

[Gail]

I voted for Brooklyn because hey, free law degree. Work hard, and you can work your way into a good job. It may not be $160k/yr but it'll be a job, you'll have a law degree, and no debt.

JMO.

Hope this guy gets a job. Really do. Because, actually, for all the law school hate. No debt and a job that has the possibility of earning him $45k adjusted to NYC (even if it is shitlaw) is absolutely fine.

[PDaddy]

I can certainly understand your curiosity about the WL comment, but I feel uncomfortable releasing that on the internet. I truly do not want to retake. I took it in October and studied FOREVER. To take it in June would leave me too little time to prepare and I honestly have a tough time imagining I score significantly higher...

What do you mean by THIS? For someone who supposedly studied hard the first time, four months is a lifetime to prepare for a retake. It's the virtual equivalent of a year for a first-timer. You would be surprised at the breakthroughs that occur second time around. People have seen 10+ point jumps (and/or 170+ scores) on retakes with just two months of retake prep.

For you, that could mean the difference between Brooklyn Law, Fordham sticker - if you get off the WL - and Columbia with $$. But you do have a nice safety net in Brooklaw. At least you know you won't graduate with huge law school debt. Think about a retake and defer. Don't know about Brooklaw, but some schools won't even have you sign a guarantee of attendance, meaning you may be able to defer at Brooklaw, retake and apply to better schools without any risk. Look into it.

I voted for Brooklyn because hey, free law degree. Work hard, and you can work your way into a good job. It may not be $160k/yr but it'll be a job, you'll have a law degree, and no debt.

JMO.

Some students at Brooklaw actually do get biglaw-$160K-plus bonus; how sweet would that be?

[reasonable_man]

This thread is over a year old. The op made his decision already. Let this fucker die.