3rd Tier vs. 4th Tier Scholarship

[Jenny Li]

Hi guys,

I am really confused and I don't know what to do. First of all, what's the difference between 3rd and 4th tier?
I mean, after graduate, is there really a difference between 3rd or 4th tier law school?

Recently I was informed that I am accepted to Pace U, which is a 3rd tier school located just outside of NYC. But I was planning to attend Florida Coastal School of Law and made deposit to save the seat. The thing is that FCSL is offering me a scholarship, therefore, I would be paying 20k/yr more to attend Pace U.

My questions is, is it really work 60k (20k x 3yr) to attend 3rd tier school than 4th tier?

How is Pace U? It's near NYC, so I'd think that it would be easier to get a job out there, but also living is expensive, right?

I tried to do some researches but as far as the money is concerned , I can't seem to make a fair judgement.
So I want to hear what other people think.
Because I am going to take a loan, I cannot assess what the 60k would worth. Means that if I had to earn 20k more per year, I don't know what that would mean.
Please let me know what you guys think, I'd really appreciated it!

Jenny

P.S. And I am also thinking about transferring.
 

[baileypicks24]

Questions:

1. Where are you from?

2.  Where do you want to work?

3. What do you want to do with your law degree?

4. What is your pre-law experience?

5. Social security number

6. How old are you?


Just kidding. Ha! But anyways, theor's questions will allow us to give you better and more accurate advice.

Also, you seemed unsure about exactly what it means to take out $xy in loans. You should check out FinAid's Loan Calculator and plug in some numbers...http://www.finaid.org/calculators/loanpayments.phtml

[Jenny Li]

Questions:

1. Where are you from?

2.  Where do you want to work?

3. What do you want to do with your law degree?

4. What is your pre-law experience?

to answer the questions,

1. I am a foreigner, from Korea
2. I don't know where I want to practice law but definitely international law
3. I want to promote energy trading between countries
4. Probably none, I used to work at a real estate development firm. We promote eco-friendly homes.

[jacy85]

If you "definitely" want to practice international law, neither of those schools is a good fit for you.  You're about to waste *a lot* of money...

[Jenny Li]

If you "definitely" want to practice international law, neither of those schools is a good fit for you.  You're about to waste *a lot* of money...

Sorry, I have no other options. I must choose between the two.

[jack24]

Hi.
You have to look at this from a year to year standpoint.
60k looks like a lot of money, but it's becoming very easy to extend your loans out to a 30 yr term.  I know it will suck to still be paying loans when you're 50, but if you're very sucessful you won't have to.

If you lock in 60,000 of loans at 7.5% (a conservative-high estimate) for 30 years then your monthly payments will be $419.53.
So that's 5034.36 per yaer in loan payments.
The real question has to be whether or not you will make $5034.36 (net) more per year if you go to pace over florida coastal.

I'm inclined to think you will.  Besides that, Florida Coastal dumps a lot of its students every year, and anyone who has a scholarship there has a high chance of losing it.

In your case, you also really need to think about what you'll do during summers and 2L,3L.   Finding internship and paid positions out of Fl Coastal will be really difficult. (Not saying that pace will make it really easy)

Anyway.. take that for what it's worth.



 

[bucky]

I was faced with a similar conflict last year and will relate my own experience.  I choose to take the money and it was a big mistake.  Now, some of that may have to do with my feelings about my current (soon to be past) school.  But the bottom line is that accepting a discount is a mistake if the school isn't the right fit.  It won't be worth it if you are unhappy with your choice.  I'm giving up a lot of money, but I am transferring from a T4 to a T25 this year because for me, no matter how much money my current school gave me, I would not stay.  There won't be much difference between a T3 and T4 school, so my personal opinion is to go where you think you want to be in terms of location (FL vs. NY is a big differnce). 

Also, I would highly advise against going to law school with the intent of transferring.  A lot of my friends did this without realize one thing...law school is difficult.  Everybody works hard and it is not easy to finish at the top of your class regardless of where you go to school.  I decided after my first semester that i was going to try and transfer and basically gave up anything resembling a social life during the spring semester.

[nealric]

Honestly though, you do have other options. Work in international relations really doesn't need a law degree. Most people who want to work in "international law" don't know what the jurisdiction of international law is, how it is practiced and who it is practiced by. If you're seriously considering Pace or Florida Coastal in order to do international law in the future, then it seems that you don't know very much about the field.

I realize that I sound like a complete jerk, but it's really just a reality. The few jobs that do exist in true international law are rare and very rarely open to those straight out of law school. I think a career in policy or in thinktanks might be better suited for what your goals are...a degree from either of these schools will close more doors than it will open.

Cosigned. You do have other options.

[derby]

I am at pace and transferring but Pace is clearly the better the choice. Pace is a t3 and finishing at the top of your class will mean a heck of a lot more.
also, even if you dont rock your 1l year the school places w/the ICC in various locations and those internships are not very competitive. I know for sure that those doing the internships this year are not all even in the 1/3.
and a t3 and a t4 are only one tier apart but keep in mind there is no t5 so at this point it doesnt get much worse than a t5.
 

[StevePirates]

Of the two, Pace.