Top Law Schools

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beesknees wrote: 1) I'm not an unreasonably huge prestige whore
2) From the south (FL) and would like the option of practicing in the south after graduation
7) Its 40 degrees where I am now (albeit, without a heater), and the thought of Michigan winters has me peeing in my pants.

Although this was by no means fun...I'd take the $$$/free school and go to UF

Here's my 2 cents...

Go to Michigan. Now not that I'm biased or anything, but you will get a phenomenal education at UM and the winters really are not that bad. From what I've heard students have loved their experiences here. Moreover, Ann Arbor is a great place to be for 3 years.

I can tell you right now that Bob Loblaw is NOT a Michigan grad.

OGR3 wrote:I can tell you right now that Bob Loblaw is NOT a Michigan grad.

HA!

beesknees wrote:Here's my fun hypothetical (acceptances are in, but $ is TBD).
Let's say $$ = about half tuition; and $$$ = free law school.

Anyone want to hit me with some TLS wisedom, considering the following:

1) I'm not an unreasonably huge prestige whore
2) From the south (FL) and would like the option of practicing in the south after graduation
3) Have some UG debt, so I know how crappy it is to pay student loans every month (debt aversion)
4) I love Mich. It has a vibe I love and all my interactions with their admissions office have been stellar
5) I am a big advocate of consumer power. My only conversation with a Vandy admission office person was not pleasant. I know I am one of 1000s of LS applicants, but at the end of the day, they are still selling a product (an insanely expensive one, too), so I don't like the attitude.
6) UF = nexis of evil (undergrad rivalries die hard)
7) Its 40 degrees where I am now (albeit, without a heater), and the thought of Michigan winters has me peeing in my pants.

I might end up with this same choice (well, minus the UF part) of mich sticker vs. vandy half-monies, so I'm interested in seeing how this turns out. Not to hijack your thread ... Just hitching on for the ride!

beesknees wrote:Here's my fun hypothetical (acceptances are in, but $ is TBD).
Let's say $$ = about half tuition; and $$$ = free law school.

Anyone want to hit me with some TLS wisedom, considering the following:

1) I'm not an unreasonably huge prestige whore
2) From the south (FL) and would like the option of practicing in the south after graduation
3) Have some UG debt, so I know how crappy it is to pay student loans every month (debt aversion)
4) I love Mich. It has a vibe I love and all my interactions with their admissions office have been stellar
5) I am a big advocate of consumer power. My only conversation with a Vandy admission office person was not pleasant. I know I am one of 1000s of LS applicants, but at the end of the day, they are still selling a product (an insanely expensive one, too), so I don't like the attitude.
6) UF = nexis of evil (undergrad rivalries die hard)
7) Its 40 degrees where I am now (albeit, without a heater), and the thought of Michigan winters has me peeing in my pants.

Off of all of the useful information you provided, I would say Vanderbilt.

I reason this because:
1) You aren't a huge prestige person (which leads to more rational decisions)
2) You want to practice in the south (and thus, the weather)
3) You have pre-existing debt (so I assume you want to work at a larger law firm due to the pre-existing college debt)
4) You won't have to deal with an admissions office on a daily basis (or ever again after you start school)

However to play devils advocate - UF because:
1) You have pre-existing debt
2) You aren't adding to that debt (I assume it's relatively low, considering FSU doesn't charge too much - I assume that's the school you refer to)
3) You would like the weather there more than in TN
4) You would go for free

So... Vanderbilt seems like a decent choice - but your pre-existing debt plus the additional ~$150,000 to go to Vanderbilt over three years after scholarship [half tuition only cuts COA by about $20,000] - their COA is almost $70,000.

The only issue here (I'm spotting issues -1L joke), is whether Vanderbilt is worth that much more to you than UF.

I.e. Vanderbilt costing $150,000 and UF costing $60,000 (assuming $20,000 a year living expenses).

So.....is it worth the additional $90,000?

Since you want to practice in the South, I'd say to take Vanderbilt if it ends up being substantially cheaper than Michigan.

If you were sure you wanted to practice in FL, then I'd say UF for sure, but since you don't, Vanderbilt.

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If you have the numbers to get in, you should go T14, IMO.

beesknees wrote:

Aberzombie1892 wrote:

beesknees wrote:Here's my fun hypothetical (acceptances are in, but $ is TBD).
Let's say $$ = about half tuition; and $$$ = free law school.

Anyone want to hit me with some TLS wisedom, considering the following:

1) I'm not an unreasonably huge prestige whore
2) From the south (FL) and would like the option of practicing in the south after graduation
3) Have some UG debt, so I know how crappy it is to pay student loans every month (debt aversion)
4) I love Mich. It has a vibe I love and all my interactions with their admissions office have been stellar
5) I am a big advocate of consumer power. My only conversation with a Vandy admission office person was not pleasant. I know I am one of 1000s of LS applicants, but at the end of the day, they are still selling a product (an insanely expensive one, too), so I don't like the attitude.
6) UF = nexis of evil (undergrad rivalries die hard)
7) Its 40 degrees where I am now (albeit, without a heater), and the thought of Michigan winters has me peeing in my pants.

Off of all of the useful information you provided, I would say Vanderbilt.

I reason this because:
1) You aren't a huge prestige person (which leads to more rational decisions)
2) You want to practice in the south (and thus, the weather)
3) You have pre-existing debt (so I assume you want to work at a larger law firm due to the pre-existing college debt)
4) You won't have to deal with an admissions office on a daily basis (or ever again after you start school)

However to play devils advocate - UF because:
1) You have pre-existing debt
2) You aren't adding to that debt (I assume it's relatively low, considering FSU doesn't charge too much - I assume that's the school you refer to)
3) You would like the weather there more than in TN
4) You would go for free

So... Vanderbilt seems like a decent choice - but your pre-existing debt plus the additional ~$150,000 to go to Vanderbilt over three years after scholarship [half tuition only cuts COA by about $20,000] - their COA is almost $70,000.

The only issue here (I'm spotting issues -1L joke), is whether Vanderbilt is worth that much more to you than UF.

I.e. Vanderbilt costing $150,000 and UF costing $60,000 (assuming $20,000 a year living expenses).

So.....is it worth the additional $90,000?

Oh god, I most definitely did not go to FSU. I'm almost insulted

haha. A thousand apologies.

I'm not familiar with rivalries in FL - so when you said UF was a rival....(I just assumed).

Halibut6 wrote:If you have the numbers to get in, you should go T14, IMO.

It's this kind of typical 0L closed-mind thinking that has many recent T14 grads wishing they had chosen differently.

interestedbyestander wrote:

Halibut6 wrote:If you have the numbers to get in, you should go T14, IMO.

It's this kind of typical 0L closed-mind thinking that has many recent T14 grads wishing they had chosen differently.

To each his own.

If "the South" = southern US and not solely Florida, Vandy is a pretty clear cut winner here. Reactions to your school of choice will run along the lines of "WTF is a Michigan?" in the south, and marketability for Vanderbilt's great from Kentucky down. SEC fans think of Vandy as "that school that sucks at football because they only take smart kids." While that's not necessarily going to be your employer's exact outlook, I'd wager it'll be close. I've lived in Florida and Tennessee for my 22 years and never knew Michigan was anything more than a large state school until I started doing extensive college research (Begin "u r a stuped suthrner" trolling here). If you want to be in Florida specificially, I'd personally go with UF after trying to leverage Vandy for more money.

edit: should have said UF and not Florida due to ambiguity. kthxbai

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I said Vandy because you want to live in the south. If you stay in the south, Vandy will give you prestige. (I'm from GA and someone I was talking to about applying to law school with someone I know and they gave me a look like I was the dumbest guy alive when I told them I was going to UChicago over Vandy) I still think Vandy is a really good place to be if you want to stay in the south. I would also like to know if you applied to Duke and Virginia. Because if you think you will get substantial money at Vandy you may get some at Duke and Virginia maybe like Michigan for you (ranking/legal prestige) but it would be closer to the south with weather you would prefer and again it would set you up well to work in the south.

Edit: I didn't know you meant Florida when you said south, that would change some of what I said, I still vote Vandy though.

vanderbilt. you'll be miserable at UF.

ITE, Mich w/o at least 2/3 scholly at Vandy.

UF shouldn't even be in the equation.

jerjon2 wrote:if you think you will get substantial money at Vandy you may get some at Duke and Virginia maybe like Michigan for you (ranking/legal prestige) but it would be closer to the south with weather you would prefer and again it would set you up well to work in the south

TITCR. Duke is largely synonymous with law in the south. Virginia should have a similar reputation among employers (as they will theoretically be more well-informed) but [strike]has[/strike] may have the same problem as Michigan, albeit to a lesser extent. Duke will be more likely to turn heads and possibly get you a job. If it's T10 you're wanting and not Michigan specifically, this may be the best bet. I still don't know that sticker at Duke >>> 1/2 $ at Vandy in the long run, however.

Edited to reflect 0L speculation.

Michigan. You seem to really love the school and I'm afraid you would regret the decision not to go. You said that you would like the option of practicing the South, and Michigan would give you that option, along with any other location ranging from California to New York City. Vandy seemed like the better choice at first, but after thinking about it for a while, I would go to Mich if I were you. At least go to Preview Weekend and if your decision isn't concrete by then, then consider somewhere else.

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IIRC, UF doesn't really give out full $$$ (or if they do, it is very limited). So this may not be as much of an issue.

galahad85 wrote:Since you want to practice in the South, I'd say to take Vanderbilt if it ends up being substantially cheaper than Michigan.

+1

toolshed wrote:IIRC, UF doesn't really give out full $$$ (or if they do, it is very limited). So this may not be as much of an issue.

TITCR.

Although his numbers might merit one.