Fordham Full Price

[NYC1L]

Im wondering what people's opinions are about paying full price at Fordham. Is it worth it??

[Ninja1]

I think you'll certainly recoup it sooner or later, so I suppose yes, it's probably worth it. But if you can get into Fordham, you can probably get into some other pretty good schools with money.

[JDLLMCPA]

Just read materials that came with admissions package.

Median salary is $160k, which is hard to believe.

I'd say the investment is worth it.

[Cabra]

I really want to say yes--Fordham is a great school (my best prof is visiting from Fordham). I'm just so darn scared of debt, and everyone else should be too.
So, *it depends*.

[Refused Party Program]

I'm assuming you want to be in NYC after graduation. I was planning on going to NYC, and was between Full price at Fordham and half tuition at Emory. I chose Emory because of the money and because if I wanted to stay in the southeast, I felt like it was a better call. It was a still a tough decision because I really like NY.

Another poster is correct in that if you can get in at Fordham, you can probably get into a "peer" school with some money.

I don't think 160K median for Fordham is BS. It is likely that most Fordham grads stay in NY and that at least the top half get market jobs. However, if you can go to a school that places well in NY with some money (for example, Emory) then that might be a better choice.

I am a very big believer in keeping debt to an absolute minimum, even if you are planning on making the big fat $160K salary. I would rather not have to pay back a loan and spend money elsewhere if possible.

However, if you have to/need to stay in NYC, and can't get into NYU/Columbia, Fordham is the way to go. I've heard it is much harder to get a big firm job from Brooklyn/Cardozo et al than it is from Fordham. Maybe a Fordham or Brooklyn student can verify?

[Ninja1]

Just read materials that came with admissions package.

Median salary is $160k, which is hard to believe.

I'd say the investment is worth it.

Median salary numbers are gamed to hell and are based on self reporting. Always take them with a large grain of salt.

[heartbreaker]

However, if you have to/need to stay in NYC, and can't get into NYU/Columbia, Fordham is the way to go. I've heard it is much harder to get a big firm job from Brooklyn/Cardozo et al than it is from Fordham. Maybe a Fordham or Brooklyn student can verify?

This is correct. However, please understand that very few people need to be in New York. If you have family commitments or something superserious that compels you to be in NY, go for Fordham, esp. if you can't get into NYU or Columbia. If not, know that

a) you could get money from other schools

b) New York is not the end all and be all of cities. It is unreasonably expensive, so you would incur additional debt from 3 years of living expenses. To enjoy all the fun stuff in New York, you need money. Otherwise, you'll be living like a peasant just so you can say you live in NY.

c) either from networking or from being in the top half of your class, you probably could get a biglaw job out of Fordham if you tried hard enough. However, as has been said on these boards (check out Matthies' posts particularly), getting a biglaw job and keeping it are two different things. The average biglaw lawyer leaves his/her job after 4 years. Of course, many of them lateral, or go in-house, or switch to government work, but many also get fired or "let go." Something to keep in mind when planning to pay off debt.

In any case, if you've gotten into Fordham, congrats! Great achievement! My suggestion would be to wait and compare financial aid packages.

[johnnytremain1234]

What are your suggestions for peer schools with $$$?

[Refused Party Program]

a) you could get money from other schools

b) New York is not the end all and be all of cities. It is unreasonably expensive, so you would incur additional debt from 3 years of living expenses. To enjoy all the fun stuff in New York, you need money. Otherwise, you'll be living like a peasant just so you can say you live in NY.

This is exactly why I ended up choosing Emory with $$$ over Fordham. NYC was just too expensive for me to justify paying more to live there AND have to pay for school. Also, I don't think it hurt my chances in NYC for 2L summer. I had excellent options for my intended practice area. So, I would say Emory is a good choice. If you get into Fordham, you can probably get some money from them and our grads do well in NYC (NYC is our 2d biggest job market behind Atlanta).

As for other options, maybe BU or GW? I'm not sure what there money situation is, but I understand they place well in NY.

[vap]

What are your suggestions for peer schools with $$$?

Depends on your numbers.  But Emory, Iowa, and WUSTL are similarly ranked schools known for giving out good money.

If you want NYC, Cardozo also gives full scholarships to about 5% of students.

I wouldn't take less than a full scholarship at another NYC school.  Maybe less than a full scholarship at a non-NYC school if you're saving lots of money on COL as well.