Miami vs. Cardozo vs. Kent, all for free, vs. nyu for not free

[cascagrossa]

nyu is in a class above the other schools.  youd be making a big mistake if you passed up the opportunity to get your jd from nyu.  you never know what the future holds and you only get your jd once.  the other schools are fine, but they cant compare to nyu in terms of opportunities that will be available to you throughout your entire career.  and even if you arent interested in biglaw, youd be surprised how much of a factor prestige is in public interest work.

[InVinoVeritas]

Not a flame. Does anyone find $150,000 debt to be frightening? I do. I find it scary and I feel like NYU guarantees me corporate law, but not much else. oh, and debt. I don't think it's idiotic to not take on that debt burden. That's a f**king mortgage. I wanted to go to NYU but it seems idiotic to pass on no debt.

nyu doesn't guarantee you anything (finish at the very bottom of a very large class, and i don't think biglaw is going to be knocking at your door), but, all things being equal, it does open the door to lots of things a lot wider than the other schools you're considering.

as for a $150K debt load, it's not as unmanageable as you think.  even if you go into PI, that doesn't mean you'll be making 40K forever.  even people in PI get raises, and after a few years of solid work, are able to pull in a decent salary.

[thelawfool]

looking at it again, go to nyu.

[SuicideNixon]

nyu doesn't guarantee you anything (finish at the very bottom of a very large class, and i don't think biglaw is going to be knocking at your door)

the very last person at nyu will still get a job in nyc biglaw if they want it.

[nycesq2005]

Did you apply to Brooklyn???

I think NYU is the better choice only because your contacts at the school will help your overal network. You dont HAVE to work at a big law firm, but say you want to go into consulting or start your own business? Your classmates at NYU probably have wealthier contacts and people higher up than say, your classmates at Miami or Cardozo who come from the same lower to upper middle class families. That's just the way it is.

Either way, your answer wont be on this message board. When it comes to Cardozo or Miami, I would go with Miami simply because of location (study at the beach!!! woohoo!!). But seriously, I'd go to NYU and not stress the debt.

[jdw112]

Go to NYU, to do otherwise is just plain silly. If you are concerned that the debt will crush you while working in PI or whatever, you could always get help from NYU's LRAP. The lower your annual salary, the more they pay. If you make below a certain amount, they pay ALL. You could go out and take the cheesiest low paying legal job in the world an not have to worry about the debt. You could save children from bad people for pennies on the dollar and have school paid for!!!! You point out only one end of NYU's LRAP, but it is on a sliding scale. If you make more, you contribute some, blah blah. You could make $50,000 and only be expected to pay $4,800 for the year. All ABA approved law schools will provide an adequate legal education, but some schools easily rise above the rest. NYU is one of those schools. Graduating from NYU means you will be able to find great work no matter what. The same cannot be said for Kent or Cardozo, sorry. It is one thing to be afraid of debt, but know you will find gainful employment, and another to have little debt but struggle as a little fish in an ocean.

[philibusters]

Despite all the debt I think NYU is the safe pick, because it will give you options whether you use them or not.  That said nobody wants to pay for options they don't plan on using, so it might not be the best pick, but its hard to guess what you will want to do in the future, so I suggest taking the safest pick realizing it probably isn't the best option.

[Lilli]

NYU.

I would choose to be 150K in debt at NYU over 60K in debt at any of those schools.