- PowerScore Staff
- Posts: 8917
- Joined: Feb 02, 2011
- Fri Apr 06, 2018 10:36 am
#44817
Below is a conversation between PowerScore CEO Dave Killoran and a student, Helen, regarding her admissions decision.
Helen: "Hi,
I'm hoping for some help in deciding between BU and Northeastern (I'm still waiting to hear from BC and if I get in that will probably be on the list as well). BU has offered $30,000 a year and Northeastern has offered full tuition, with a deposit deadline of April 2nd (so this is coming down to the wire). I'm not totally sure what kind of law I want to practice, but I do know I want to stay in Boston, at least for a while. I'll probably go the public interest way (which would put NUSL in front), but also don't want to paint myself into a corner. I do want my law job to involve science in some way (I have an M.S. already), which could mean environmental law or something with biotech and IP. I got a better, warmer feeling from NUSL than BU, but am worried about the differences in their employment stats (NUSL is about 80% and BU 90%). I don't currently have any debt and the thought of taking on a lot (~$120,000 for BU vs. ~$60,000 for NUSL) does scare me.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Helen"
Dave Killoran: "Hi Helen,
Thanks for the question! This is a tough one because you are basically asking if the differing job prospects are worth the $60K difference. And the answer is: I don't know for sure because much of this is down to what you want and how you perform. That said, $60K more for a school in the T25 vs a school around #75 doesn't sound like the worst deal to me.
We can see how they stack up against each other here: https://www.lstreports.com/compare/bu/northeastern/. But, those are broad outcomes, and your individual outcome will depend largely on how you perform at each school. Unfortunately we can't know that yet! If we knew you were going to graduate at the top of the class at NUSL but in the middle at BU, for example, we'd know NUSL was a better choice. So, one factor to consider is how you feel at each school, because that will have an impact (and you seem to have a feeling there already, which is useful).
Another factor is your job preferences. I'm not sure about the public interest jobs available for science-background attorneys (maybe they are in high demand, maybe not; I don't know for sure so you should research that). But if you don't go the public interest route, BU has a *clear* advantage as far as employment (and, very likely, fewer of their grads go into public interest because they don't have to; the BU placement in larger firms is far better than NUSLs). BU unquestionably gives you better name recognition and overall better prospects when competing for jobs, especially in Boston. That's a big plus here given that the cost differential isn't more than 6 figures.
I realize the above isn't much help, but you probably have to pin down your career direction first before being able to make a hard decision. If you aren't able to do that to your satisfaction, the higher BU ranking at a cost of "only" $60K is going to be hard to pass up.
Please let me know if that helps. Thanks and good luck!"
Helen: "Thanks for the reply, Dave.
At this point I am leaning (very slightly) towards Northeastern because I did also get a better feeling when I was there, but I'm definitely not discounting BU. I did go and talk with an admissions counselor at BU who basically said "it's a personal decision", so it does seem like there is no objective right choice here. I also haven't yet heard from BC which is very frustrating as their deposit deadline is April 10th.
Thanks again,
Helen"
Helen: "Hi,
I'm hoping for some help in deciding between BU and Northeastern (I'm still waiting to hear from BC and if I get in that will probably be on the list as well). BU has offered $30,000 a year and Northeastern has offered full tuition, with a deposit deadline of April 2nd (so this is coming down to the wire). I'm not totally sure what kind of law I want to practice, but I do know I want to stay in Boston, at least for a while. I'll probably go the public interest way (which would put NUSL in front), but also don't want to paint myself into a corner. I do want my law job to involve science in some way (I have an M.S. already), which could mean environmental law or something with biotech and IP. I got a better, warmer feeling from NUSL than BU, but am worried about the differences in their employment stats (NUSL is about 80% and BU 90%). I don't currently have any debt and the thought of taking on a lot (~$120,000 for BU vs. ~$60,000 for NUSL) does scare me.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Helen"
Dave Killoran: "Hi Helen,
Thanks for the question! This is a tough one because you are basically asking if the differing job prospects are worth the $60K difference. And the answer is: I don't know for sure because much of this is down to what you want and how you perform. That said, $60K more for a school in the T25 vs a school around #75 doesn't sound like the worst deal to me.
We can see how they stack up against each other here: https://www.lstreports.com/compare/bu/northeastern/. But, those are broad outcomes, and your individual outcome will depend largely on how you perform at each school. Unfortunately we can't know that yet! If we knew you were going to graduate at the top of the class at NUSL but in the middle at BU, for example, we'd know NUSL was a better choice. So, one factor to consider is how you feel at each school, because that will have an impact (and you seem to have a feeling there already, which is useful).
Another factor is your job preferences. I'm not sure about the public interest jobs available for science-background attorneys (maybe they are in high demand, maybe not; I don't know for sure so you should research that). But if you don't go the public interest route, BU has a *clear* advantage as far as employment (and, very likely, fewer of their grads go into public interest because they don't have to; the BU placement in larger firms is far better than NUSLs). BU unquestionably gives you better name recognition and overall better prospects when competing for jobs, especially in Boston. That's a big plus here given that the cost differential isn't more than 6 figures.
I realize the above isn't much help, but you probably have to pin down your career direction first before being able to make a hard decision. If you aren't able to do that to your satisfaction, the higher BU ranking at a cost of "only" $60K is going to be hard to pass up.
Please let me know if that helps. Thanks and good luck!"
Helen: "Thanks for the reply, Dave.
At this point I am leaning (very slightly) towards Northeastern because I did also get a better feeling when I was there, but I'm definitely not discounting BU. I did go and talk with an admissions counselor at BU who basically said "it's a personal decision", so it does seem like there is no objective right choice here. I also haven't yet heard from BC which is very frustrating as their deposit deadline is April 10th.
Thanks again,
Helen"