- PowerScore Staff
- Posts: 8916
- Joined: Feb 02, 2011
- Fri Apr 22, 2022 1:52 pm
#94911
A student, Grace, asks PowerScore CEO Dave Killoran for some law school admissions advice, to which Dave responds to below.
Grace: "Hi Dave! I’m coming up on deposit deadlines and am having a tough time making a decision between Loyola Chicago, Boston College, and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. I’m from Chicago and live in the city now, and most likely want to practice in Chicago after school, although I would like to leave open the possibility of working on the east coast. I’m most interested in “soft” IP (copyright, trademark, etc.) and have a background in art and art history that I hope to utilize. I’m also interested in cultural heritage/art restitution (very specific, I know). I’m not set on working at a big firm, although I may become interested in doing so in the course of law school.
For University of Illinois, I’ve been offered full tuition, so I’m very attracted to the scholarship offer; the ranking, job placement, and bar passage rates; and the connections to Chicago. However, I’m not sure that I would be happy living in Urbana-Champaign for three years, and I worry that UIUC has a very narrow alumni network that is limited to the Midwest. (But don’t know that those are good enough reasons to pass the offer up!)
I like Loyola Chicago a lot and think it has a very connected alumni network and recognition in Chicago. I would be happy living in Chicago, but I worry about the lower ranking and slightly lower employment/bar passage stats. I also think Boston College would be a great fit for me and I like the higher rank, supportive alumni network and professors, and connections on the east coast. BC is ultimately the most expensive option, and I’m not sure it’s worth the cost for me. I got my Illinois offer very recently, so I have not yet tried to negotiate with Loyola or BC (although they both say they don’t like to negotiate).
I’m waitlisted at a few higher-ranked schools, but of course can’t count on those right now. Very much appreciate your thoughts!
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (#35)
Scholarship: Full tuition
Total COA for me: 0 (would pay living expenses with savings + parental help)
Loyola University Chicago (#73)
Scholarship: $90K ($30K/year)
Total COA for me: 54K (factoring in scholarship + savings/help)
Boston College (#37)
Scholarship: $75K total ($25K/year)
Total COA for me: 93K (factoring in scholarship + savings/help)"
Dave Killoran: "Hi,
I don’t see much of a competition here, to be honest! Illinois is FREE, and while the network might not be huge, it’s a name brand school that everyone has heard of. I can’t see a reason to pay 50K+ in fees for Loyola, which is lower ranked and has worse employment outcomes: https://www.lawschooltransparency.com/s ... o/illinois. To me, dealing with Urbana-Champaign is worth avoiding the debt and lowered job prospects. So, then it’s down to Illinois vs BC. You can at least see what you are paying for there with the biglaw advantage (but a fed clerkship disadvantage, but is that so good as to be worth 75K? I’m not sure it would be to me.
Debt-free at a T35 school when the next best option is a comparably ranked school but that costs $75K? I think the writing is on the wall unless you absolutely would be miserable at Illinois."
Grace: "Hi Dave! I’m coming up on deposit deadlines and am having a tough time making a decision between Loyola Chicago, Boston College, and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. I’m from Chicago and live in the city now, and most likely want to practice in Chicago after school, although I would like to leave open the possibility of working on the east coast. I’m most interested in “soft” IP (copyright, trademark, etc.) and have a background in art and art history that I hope to utilize. I’m also interested in cultural heritage/art restitution (very specific, I know). I’m not set on working at a big firm, although I may become interested in doing so in the course of law school.
For University of Illinois, I’ve been offered full tuition, so I’m very attracted to the scholarship offer; the ranking, job placement, and bar passage rates; and the connections to Chicago. However, I’m not sure that I would be happy living in Urbana-Champaign for three years, and I worry that UIUC has a very narrow alumni network that is limited to the Midwest. (But don’t know that those are good enough reasons to pass the offer up!)
I like Loyola Chicago a lot and think it has a very connected alumni network and recognition in Chicago. I would be happy living in Chicago, but I worry about the lower ranking and slightly lower employment/bar passage stats. I also think Boston College would be a great fit for me and I like the higher rank, supportive alumni network and professors, and connections on the east coast. BC is ultimately the most expensive option, and I’m not sure it’s worth the cost for me. I got my Illinois offer very recently, so I have not yet tried to negotiate with Loyola or BC (although they both say they don’t like to negotiate).
I’m waitlisted at a few higher-ranked schools, but of course can’t count on those right now. Very much appreciate your thoughts!
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (#35)
Scholarship: Full tuition
Total COA for me: 0 (would pay living expenses with savings + parental help)
Loyola University Chicago (#73)
Scholarship: $90K ($30K/year)
Total COA for me: 54K (factoring in scholarship + savings/help)
Boston College (#37)
Scholarship: $75K total ($25K/year)
Total COA for me: 93K (factoring in scholarship + savings/help)"
Dave Killoran: "Hi,
I don’t see much of a competition here, to be honest! Illinois is FREE, and while the network might not be huge, it’s a name brand school that everyone has heard of. I can’t see a reason to pay 50K+ in fees for Loyola, which is lower ranked and has worse employment outcomes: https://www.lawschooltransparency.com/s ... o/illinois. To me, dealing with Urbana-Champaign is worth avoiding the debt and lowered job prospects. So, then it’s down to Illinois vs BC. You can at least see what you are paying for there with the biglaw advantage (but a fed clerkship disadvantage, but is that so good as to be worth 75K? I’m not sure it would be to me.
Debt-free at a T35 school when the next best option is a comparably ranked school but that costs $75K? I think the writing is on the wall unless you absolutely would be miserable at Illinois."