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scaredofdebt · March 10, 2012, 2:29pm

Cornell, Texas, UCLA

Cornell full tutition
Texas 8k scholarship, out of state
UCLA 60k Scholarship, will be able to get instate after 1st year

0 voters

fdd

t14fanboy · March 10, 2012, 2:32pm

scaredofdebt:

Hi, So baring long shot acceptances from upenn, NYU, or michigan my options are as follows: paying full tutiion at cornell, paying close to full at texas (8k scholarship), and paying significantly reduced tution at UCLA (60k scholarship with ability to get in state after 1st year).

Also worth noting that cost of living and tutition at the 3 schools is not equal. cost of living UCLA > Texas > Cornell. Tutition wise Corenll and UCLA (even with 2 years of instate) are among the highest in the nation while texas is average for an outof stater like myself.

I will most likley be pursuing big law for my first sevel years out of school.

I grew up in NYC and although I am open to relocating, ultimatly i think i will want to live in nyc. but am i really willing to sit in ithica for 3 years in order to get there? The prospect of living in austin for 3 years really excites me but getting a job in houston or dallas deffinetly does not, althoguh i have seen that cost of living/earning median comparision sheet that suggests it would be all that bad. LA sits somewhere in the middle. I would be content going to school in sunny LA but not as stoaked as i would be to be in the far more culturally interesting austin. similarlly, living and working in LA after school would be tolerable but not ideal.

I also feel that California’s economy is a real factor. The state’s debt level is completly ludacris. This is especially true when comparing it to Texa’s comparitivly booming one. It seems to me that Texas as a state and a school can only be on the rise while ucla and cal must be in the opposite positoin.

ultimatly this comes down to the question of is cornell’s 14 status really worth the extra 40k or so relative to texas, and 70k or so relative to ucla.

Cornell. No question.

system · March 10, 2012, 4:37pm

Texas, if willing to live & work in Texas.
UCLA for placement in the West & Southwest.
Cornell for NYC biglaw.

P.S. How will NYC biglaw attorneys react to one who interviews wearing cowboy boots & a Stetson hat ?

P.P.S. Also, not sure that law school is an appropriate time for a prolonged vacation. Placement tends to be overwhelmingly regional.

scaredofdebt · March 10, 2012, 5:54pm

The strenght of the majority suprises me a bit. I have read several threads in which Texas and Vanderbilt are discused quite conviningly as equal if not slihtly supierior toCornell.

I have calculated my estimated total cost of attenendance at the 3 schools as:
Cornell 225,000
Texas: 153,000
UCLA: 144,000

I would love to hear some convincing cornell discent

Mce252 · March 10, 2012, 5:57pm

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moneybagsphd · March 10, 2012, 6:05pm

NONONO. If you want to work in nyc biglaw, Cornell is your best bet.

Bronck · March 10, 2012, 6:13pm

You want NYC, so take Cornell.

Also, if you want to calculate COA, the equation should be principal + interest upon graduation. I’m guessing the Cornell amount would be closer to 250k+

scaredofdebt · March 10, 2012, 6:17pm

Yes i want nyc but at a certain poit the cost exceeds the benifit. where is that point? for example, surly a full ride at texas would be preferabel to cornell sticker

system · March 10, 2012, 6:23pm

OP: Some posters are being misled by the wording of your poll. OP does not have a “full ride” to Cornell; OP is paying full tuition at Cornell.

Bronck · March 10, 2012, 6:23pm

You want biglaw. UCLA and Texas are not great schools for biglaw.
You want to work in NYC. UCLA and Texas will most likely not get you to NYC.
You don’t want to work in Texas. Texas pretty much only places there.
You don’t really want to work in LA. UCLA pretty much only places in LA.

If you had a full tuition scholarship to Texas, I don’t think you would be looking at sticker at Cornell. Furthermore, you’d have better options all around.

Due to your stated preferences, UCLA would be a better choice than Texas. But:

Retake or bite the bullet with Cornell sticker.

system · March 10, 2012, 6:24pm

Since Cornell is only $72,000 more than Texas, Cornell is the easy answer for one seeking NYC biglaw.

Chucky21 · March 10, 2012, 6:39pm

Cornell hands down. Its reputation for NYC biglaw, which is what you want, beats UCLA and Texas. Essentially, if you want LA go to UCLA, Texas, got to Texas, NYC and a chance at anywhere elsle go to Cornell. It places extremely well in NYC and its reputation is renowned nationwide and internationally.

rad_lulz · March 10, 2012, 6:59pm

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Chucky21 · March 10, 2012, 7:12pm

Well it also all depends on knowing what you’re getting into. You want biglaw, this means that you should probably go to Cornell even at full sticker and come out with ~$250,000 including accrued interest if you don’t put any money towards it. That said, it is still doable even if you pay the minimum loan payments monthly which is about $1500, correct me if I’m wrong.

Of course, we cannot predict the future and maybe you won’t land the job you want. But… the reality is that if you do well in your classes, develop or have a professional feel and portray that at OCI then you have a good shot at landing a market paying biglaw job. More hard work will get you up the ladder where you can either transfer in house somewhere, go to another law firm that head hunts you, or even make partner at your original firm. This is not easy, but there are no easy outs or get rich quick schemes out of law school.

So yes, there is some risk with the debt, but there is also a greater reward financially if you keep at it.

scaredofdebt · March 11, 2012, 2:55pm

I feel like my original post implied that i am more set on both nyc and biglaw more than i truly am. If i had said that i am not sure wht sort of law i want to practice or where i want to practice it, would ppls responces have been diferent? or would they still feel that cornells edge still justifies that extra 70ish k in expenses even for someone usure of nyc biglaw

t14fanboy · March 11, 2012, 3:02pm

As the previous posters have said, go to Cornell if you want NYC, Texas if you want Texas, and UCLA if you want southern California. Of the three, however, Cornell is probably the most portable.

system · March 11, 2012, 3:08pm

The minute that you said you don’t want to live in Dallas or Houston and you do want to live in NYC you basically forced everyone to say Cornell. Because with those preferences it’s really your only choice. There’s no comparison for ability to place into NYC between the schools you listed. Honestly unless you had said Penn, NYU, Columbia,Chicago or HYS I still would have said Cornell.

seancris · March 13, 2012, 3:57pm

Seems like you could probably cut down on CoA at Cornell. 165 tuition + 30 r&b + 9 misc = 204.

Not sure if the above number is feasible in Ithaca, but with frugal living you could make it happen in a lot of places.

You can also work through 2&3L to reduce the debt somewhat. A friend of mine at Rutgers was working at Lexis 10hrs/wk for 400/mo and it seemed to be an easy job to get.

Another one of my acquaintances who will be attending my UG’s law school is allocating 12k/yr for r&b + transportation, when I literally pay apx. 5k/yr due to shopping around for a great apartment, eating ramen and microwave burritos, & using free public transportation.

Cut down on your CoL expenses, generate some revenue, and if you’re set on NYC it seems like your best option is Cornell. Its the option that best suits your stated goal of NYC biglaw. However, I personally wouldn’t be comfortable with 200k at lower T14.

HookemHooker · March 13, 2012, 4:04pm

Don’t forget to submit a convincing financial scholarship matching package to UT. You should be able to get some more $. Just in case debt is a real big issue for you.