whatismylife wrote:CanadianWolf wrote:Although others write that Minnesota is non-negotiable regarding scholarship awards, I wouldn't be surprised if you receive an increased scholarship offer after you withdraw to attend Virginia. (Minnesota is having difficulty getting applicants to commit this year according to a law professor who monitors law school admissions & placement.)
IT WORKED! UMN increased my scholly substantially! Have to withdraw from UVA by tomorrow at 4pm to receive it though. aghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh *head explodes*
I'm a born and raised Minnesotan as well, and I ran into a very similar dilemma. UMN offered me nearly a full ride, but I got in at sticker to a bunch of lesser T14s. Like you, I wanted to work in MN and also wanted to work in Biglaw.
Here's what you have to decide. If you go to UMN, you have to go knowing that you're kissing biglaw goodbye. That's not necessarily a bad thing, you'll still probably get a good job in MN and hey, no debt.
If you got UVA at sticker, you will have a good shot at getting biglaw, and you can probably even take it back to Minnesota. But you'll probably have to do NYC / DC biglaw for a few years first to pay off your loans.
There's no wrong answer here. Just try and think about which would make you happier 10 years down the line. Would you feel like you settled at MN? Or would you be happy you didn't take on the risk of UVA debt?