NYC next year: Bklyn or Cardozo?

[Sk123]

So now its time to make that decision...

I have an offer from Bklyn Law (25,000 a year + housing subsidy) and 17,500 a year from Cardozo- While Cardozo is developing a better reputation, Bklyn is more established and has more alums in the New York City & Tri-State area-
What to do?

Also, havent heard from Fordham yet. I  received a very promising letter of deferral in  December and told that would receive the final word before March. Its almost April and I haven't heard anything yet. Is anyone in a similar situation? Also, if I do eventually get into Fordham, its highly unlikely that I will receive any scholarship money, so...then what?

I have one week left to decide and I feel like I'm going to end up sending out several deposits! Does anyone have any advice regarding the matter? What is more important- the money or the prestige? and how do Brooklyn and Cardozo compare?

[teachingdropout]

Am in a slightly similar position. 18,000 from Brooklyn, still haven't heard from Cardozo (!), and got same "promising" letter from Fordham in January. Called Cardozo last week and they said I should hear within a week. I feel strongly that I'm going to Brooklyn, but am holding out on sending my deposit ... for what? If I get into Fordham with no money or into Cardozo with less money, will I go? Personally, Brooklyn may be the best place for me. As a high LSAT/low GPA (first two years of college ruined me) splitter, I also think that the lower median LSAT at Brooklyn sets me up for placing higher in the class (despite contrary opinion that LSAT isn't an indicator of intelligence or future LS success).
Those are my thoughts. I'm also looking for advice and find that most people I talk to don't have a clear idea of the NY area law school situation and give crappy, ill-informed advice.

[In Infernos Dicet]

Tag

Also see thread here: http://www.lawschooldiscussion.org/prelaw/index.php/topic,85268.0.html

[Miss P]

So now its time to make that decision...

I have an offer from Bklyn Law (25,000 a year + housing subsidy) and 17,500 a year from Cardozo- While Cardozo is developing a better reputation, Bklyn is more established and has more alums in the New York City & Tri-State area-
What to do?

Also, havent heard from Fordham yet. I  received a very promising letter of deferral in  December and told that would receive the final word before March. Its almost April and I haven't heard anything yet. Is anyone in a similar situation? Also, if I do eventually get into Fordham, its highly unlikely that I will receive any scholarship money, so...then what?

I have one week left to decide and I feel like I'm going to end up sending out several deposits!

I was in a similar situation last year, and I encourage you to do three things:

1. Ask for extensions if you are really unsure;
2. Tell Cardozo about your offer from Brooklyn.  They will likely match it, and then you can go back to Brooklyn with the new offer, etc., ad infinitum; and
3. Visit the two schools if you can.  This is the best way to develop an idea of which will be a better fit for you.

This thread (in which I have shared more about my experiences at Brooklyn) may also be helpful, and you should feel free to PM me with any qeustions.

I can't speak to the Fordham situation, but I encourage you to call Fordham if you haven't heard at the end of the week.  Next week there are a bunch of religious holidays, and the school will likely be closed for several days.

Also, if you plan to go into public interest or government work, you should strongly consider your upfront financial offers.  While all of these schools have limited LRAPs, none will put you in a very good financial position after you leave school.  Reducing your debt with scholarships will give you much more freedom to choose a job that is meaningful to you.

[Sk123]

Since I last posted, I sent my deposit to Cardozo and received my official waitlist from Fordham. I was somewhat confident with my decision, though slightly dissapointed that Fordham hadnt accepted me (yet?). Today the tables have turned- Bklyn Law offered me another 6K a year, I now have a merit scholarship totalling 31, 000 dollars. Thats a lot of money compared to the 17,500 that I was getting from Cardozo- What to do?

[«ě»]

Brooklyn and Cardozo are close to tied. I would go wherever you get the best financial package. Not only is Brooklyn offering you more money, but it's also a cheaper are to live in, which I'd consider double win.

[undecided07]

Since I last posted, I sent my deposit to Cardozo and received my official waitlist from Fordham. I was somewhat confident with my decision, though slightly dissapointed that Fordham hadnt accepted me (yet?). Today the tables have turned- Bklyn Law offered me another 6K a year, I now have a merit scholarship totalling 31, 000 dollars. Thats a lot of money compared to the 17,500 that I was getting from Cardozo- What to do?

Congratulations on your scholarships!  What a great problem to have.  If it were me, I'd head over to Brooklyn.  Saving the money when you are in NYC helps soooo much.  Trust me.  I've lived here for 5 years and when I was in college, I was working up to 4 jobs while going to school full time.  Less stress = more time to focus on studies and the good parts of life.  Plus, I've had a few friends and acquaintances go to Brooklyn and heard good things-- even from the one who dropped out after 1L when he decided he didn't want to be a lawyer but instead jump into the booming housing market.  Good luck wherever you go!

[Miss P]

Since I last posted, I sent my deposit to Cardozo and received my official waitlist from Fordham. I was somewhat confident with my decision, though slightly dissapointed that Fordham hadnt accepted me (yet?). Today the tables have turned- Bklyn Law offered me another 6K a year, I now have a merit scholarship totalling 31, 000 dollars. Thats a lot of money compared to the 17,500 that I was getting from Cardozo- What to do?

As I said above, I was in a similar boat last year, and I ended up at Brooklyn where I am very happy.  If you prefer Cardozo to BLS for some reason, however, I do encourage you to call Dean Schwartz and let him know about Brooklyn's offer and how it may affect your decision.  He will very likely work out a bigger scholarship package for you at Cardozo. 

I chose Brooklyn because of money, but after a bit of a bidding war, the two schools ended up nearly equal in that regard (Brooklyn still had a slight edge).  It was probably visiting the two schools that cemented my decision.  I found that I fit in better at BLS, but that was something I could only figure out by checking each school out in person.  Have you visited?

[Jolie Was Here]

One thing to keep in mind is that you could have Miss P as a colleague if you choose Brooklyn.  That alone may be worth a few grand in scholarships. 

I echo what she said about visiting both, tho.  When I was trying to decide last year I felt much more comfortable at Cardozo, but it was all intangible, gut-level stuff.  I would urge you to figure out which one feels like a better fit and then let them duke it out, money-wise.  Cardozo has proven that they have money to throw around to entice people away from other schools. 

[Sk123]

I visited both, and liked them both to be honest. For some reason, Cardozo felt like a better fit at the time, perhaps because Im originally from New York and love that neighborhood, also because it was a smaller school and had a more condensed community, while Brooklyn seemed huge and somewhat hard to get around. After receiving my original package from Bklyn I contacted Cardozo about more money, and they gave me some but still didnt match the original Bklyn package- would it be wise to contact Cardozo once more about the scholarship, telling them about the additional money that Brooklyn has offered, or at this point will they no longer be interested in giving me more money? I guess it couldn't hurt, right?