Where would you go?

[salve5]

I'd like to know where you think I should go?  Listing your top 3 choices in order would also be awesome.  I'm from the Boston area and have lived here all my life.

- UC Hastings
- Cardozo & Yeshiva
- Cincinnati
- Colorado
- Ohio State
- University of the Pacific (Plus $25,000 per year)
- Pepperdine (Plus $15,000 per year)
- Temple
- Washington & Lee
- William & Mary

If you have a minute to explain your rationale as well I would appreciate that.

Thanks!

[NonTradInSATX]

Couple questions:

You want to stay in Boston after graduation then I presume?

And financially, if you dont get a scholarship, will it all be going into student loans?

[Chouchou]

Assuming you would like to work somewhere on the East Coast after you graduate I would attend an East Coast law school.

It all comes down to why you applied to these schools in the first place. Do you want to settle in the area of the school in the long-run?

If you want a shot at DC employment go with W&M or W&L. For NY go with Cardozo, though Cardozo's bar passage rate has fallen significantly this year, which IMO is not a good sign.

[salve5]

Sorry to confuse everyone with mentioning where I'm from.  I'm impartial to wherever I end up.  I would love to work in California, but would also be happy in D.C, Boston, NY, Philly, Ohio, etc.  Location isn't the issue.  If I were forced to chose based entirely on location though, I would choose California.

[NonTradInSATX]

Thats fine, it just factors into the decision for regional schools.  What about the financial issue?  There is discussion to be had on how far you go down in the rankings to avoid massive law school debt.  After all, the major problem with a JD these days isnt unemployment, it's not getting employed with enough salary to cover your debts.

Sorry to confuse everyone with mentioning where I'm from.  I'm impartial to wherever I end up.  I would love to work in California, but would also be happy in D.C, Boston, NY, Philly, Ohio, etc.  Location isn't the issue.  If I were forced to chose based entirely on location though, I would choose California.

[salve5]

Financials are not that huge of a concern either.  For example, I'm not strongly considering going to University of the Pacific to save the money.

[NonTradInSATX]

Financials are not that huge of a concern either.  For example, I'm not strongly considering going to University of the Pacific to save the money.

Okay, if you actually don’t care about location, then all I did was a quick comparison of bar, employment and cost numbers and these stood out:

1-Colorado (#38) - Exceptional numbers for Bar passage, passage vs state average, employment and cost.  Offers lots of aid.
2-Washington and Lee (#34) - Better bar passage and passage vs state avg than W&M.  Offers more aid.
3-William and Mary (#28) - Lower cost and higher US News rank than W&L.

Close Runner up - Ohio (#34) - Great bar passage and employment numbers, higher on the cost end.  Offers highest percentage of aid on list.

I know you only got scholarship offers from those 2 you mentioned, but some people have had success negotiating for money.  It might not hurt to ask politely and mention the steep discounts other schools gave you (no need to mention the rankings).

Hopefully this jogs some thoughts for you, good luck!

[salve5]

Thanks NonTradInSATX!

Would anyone else go a different route?