How good is the LRAP at NYU?

[Aluhks]

Here's the situation:

I'm planning to do public interest work. I currently have a very generous scholarship ($35k/year) at Cornell.  I was just accepted to transfer to NYU but would have to give up the scholarship (plus NYC has a much higher cost of living than Ithaca). 

Does anybody here have experience w/ NYU's LRAP? As best as I can tell from my calculations, it is extremely generous and would possible leave me in a better position than graduating Cornell with fewer loans would.  I'm curious if anyone on here has gone into public interest from NYU w/o having had a scholarship and what their experiences have been like.

Thanks in advance.

[johnadams]

I'm not transferring to NYU, but all the attorney's I've talked to have said it is a fantastic plan. (I've reviewed it -- and it is a very good plan). I'm not up to speed with Cornell's plan, but 35k/yr is A LOT of money to turn down. How is Cornell's plan + the Fed Income plan?

While I think NYU's is good, I'm not sure it's as good as $105,000 in FREE money from a T14, not to mention the low cost of living in ithaca. i vote stick with cornell.

(fwiw, I'm giving up 30k/yr to transfer, but i'm coming from a 40s school with NO lrap, and going to H). In your situation, it's a bit different.


How do you like cornell?

[big - fat - box]

I'd stick with the scholarship you have. With the scholarship, you have the money and it's guaranteed. Trying to go through LRAP after racking up a ton of debt is going to be much more of a headache than simply having less debt and lower loan payments. Plus you are already at a great school.

I don't know the details of NYU's LRAP, but most LRAPs are more restrictive than you think.

You really have to look at the fine print and look at your personal situation very closely to see how much LRAP $ you'd qualify. Keep in mind also that schools are free to change LRAP policies anytime they want. My hunch is that a lot more students are going to be wanting to take advantage of LRAP b/c of the economy and the drop in biglaw recruiting. Although I hope the top schools (including mine) don't change their LRAP policies anytime soon, who knows what could happen.

Again, my vote is to stay where you are.