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#94471
Below, PowerScore's Dave Killoran provides advice to an accepted law school student, Joy.

Joy: "I find myself in a situation where I am debating between some schools and could use some advice!

I have been accepted to some lower-ranked schools with full tuition offers but I have already taken those off the table. These are the schools that I am seriously considering:

#25 Arizona State: Full tuition offer, seat in the O’Conner Honor’s Program, have to accept by Apr 1st
#16 UT Austin: Non-Resident Tuition Exemption (brings the price to in-state $36k) + $15k/year
#10 Duke: I haven’t heard back yet, but I’m assuming either a waitlist or admit based on my stats, not sure the financial aid but I could use my Texas offer to negotiate
#6 UPenn: waitlisted

Context:
I am originally from AZ so most of my family lives there and I already have connections in the legal community. I also lived in Austin, TX for a few years and loved the area. ASU feels like the safe choice because of the prospect of very little debt, but I am not 100% sure I want to end up in AZ full time after graduating and it seems like that’s what most people end up doing. I have always wanted to live out East (possibly NYC/DC) so that is why Duke and Penn are appealing. I speak Spanish so right now I want to do work with that population or do policy/human rights work, but I am honestly really open to exploring other career paths. Obviously Duke and Penn aren’t solid options, but they could still be worth considering.

I would love your input on my situation. Thanks!!"

Dave Killoran: "Hi Joy,

Thanks for the message! Congrats on a great cycle so far :)

Part of the challenge here is that you have a number of different options and financial outcomes, and that decision difficulty is compounded because your career goals seem to be equally open-ended. LET’s see if we can narrow it down, or at least clarify what you are looking at:

First, isolate the full COA:

ASU= we’ll say $0 although it’s not really $0.
UT: $153K
Duke: $284.5K (using their numbers and assuming no aid)

Penn isn’t on the list for me since you aren’t accepted there (yet). Either way, you’d be likely looking at little to no scholarship.

With the numbers, we can look at your career options, in which you first said, “I speak Spanish so right now I want to do work with that population or do policy/human rights work.” If you go the public interest route, then it’s either ASU or to use LRAP at TX or Duke. That will require you to explore the terms of each program (they differ) and see how long you are locking in for and what gets paid off. Could it be worth it? Certainly, it just depends on what you can handle financially and career-wise. I will say that those options often do n0t require an expensive degree, and ASU would be very hard to beat given what they’ve offered you and how your career choice will impact you financially.

If you go the non-IP route, and head specifically towards biglaw, then your salary rises significantly, and you can make a better argument for the other schools. But I will say that full boat at schools like Penn and Duke is a massive burden, and you should look carefully at the monthly payment and what’s required to support that financially. It’s painful. Many students of ours have gone those routes and done well, but it’s a deal that you need to enter with eyes wide open.

In summary, you need to really think about career choices and what you really want to do here because it has a huge effect on your school decision. Please let us know what you decide!"

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