I was recently accepted to Emory as a transfer student. I was so excited to have been selected for admission, but I just realized that I will have to take out massive loans to attend. I am from an upper middle class family, and my parents are choosing not to contribute anywhere near their EFC.
Is Emory worth it? I am considering law school, but I am not sure.
My current school is a non-Flagship state university in the Midwest. Ranked 100-120 national universities.
Context:
-My major is Philosophy, Politics, and Law.
-I got into Duke out of high school, but I had the same issue. Family couldn’t pay the EFC, would’ve had to take out 150K+ in loans.
-I currently have a full tuition scholarship at my school. The only thing I have to take out loans for is cost of living (which will turn out to be around 30K total).
-I currently have a 4.0 here, and I haven’t had to put in a tremendous amount of effort. I imagine that it is harder to get the same GPA at Emory. Would excessive loans, a potentially lower GPA, but a nicer school be worth it?
I would be very, very hesitant to go into that kind of debt with law school in the pipeline.
You must have done something very right to get into both Duke and Emory. Whatever you’re doing it, keep doing it where you are on full scholarship, and you’ll be in good shape to get into schools of their caliber for law school.
$100K in debt is too much–at 6% that equals a payment of over $1,100 per month for 10 years. 10 years! And you will actually end up paying $133K because of the interest. Also, you can not take out that much in loans without your parents co-signing for them.
We sometimes get students in your situation at our non-flagship. They usually pick up a second major, or a couple of minors, apply for any and all sorts of internal honors and awards (and get them) and stuff like that. I have written letters of recommendation for such students. So make yourself a competitive candidate for law school by pushing yourself where you are . Another option: would your state flagship be a good, affordable choice to transfer to?
If you have a 4.0, and you score high on the LSAT, there’s no reason why you wouldn’t get into a top law school. Law school is expensive, so you’re far better off staying where you’re at.
Stay where you are and save for law school. As long as your grades are high and you do well on your LSAT you should be able to get into a good law school! That is too much debt undergrad!
Staying where you are is a good idea. That’s way too much debt for an undergrad degree. Especially with law school as a possibility. Embrace all the opportunities on your current campus and find ways to show leadership and drive.
Lots of family can’t actually afford their EFC. We can’t. We had an independent financial adviser recommend spending about 1/4 our EFC for college. It doesn’t take into account many things about a financial situation. Your parents are likely doing the best they can with the resources they have available.
I don’t know too much about Emory but I looked at Emory for the same major as you and noticed that it’s much more science oriented. Having an undergrad from Emory would sure look nice but where you go for law school (assuming that’s the path you’ll eventually take) is more important and with the excessive debt you’d accumulate, I’d say Emory may not be worth it.
@momprof9904 Thanks so much for your comment! It makes me feel a bit better knowing that I’ll be able to succeed here. If I did go to my state’s flagship, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, I would have to take out about $50K in loans total. I recently applied and was admitted, but I still haven’t been able to figure out what would be best for me.
I really can’t figure out why you want to transfer. You are doing well at your college, and it has an affordable cost to attend. These other schools will be more costly…and I’m having trouble seeing the benefit of taking on more debt with law school in your future.
So…why are you so keen on transferring to much more costly colleges?
@jackpot13211 Sorry to hear you’re in an unlucky state for flagship affordability (no jackpot there )So you must be in one of the [directional] Illinois universities, most likely. In the universe of non-flagships, they’re pretty okay (hence the 100-120 national ranking, which is not bad). Looks like staying put will be the best path forward.
Adding to my previous advice: find a professor who is doing research in an area of interest to you and see if you can sign up for independent study with them and help with their research. If it’s a 100-120 ranked national university, there should be quite a few humanities professors with some very good credentials that you can work with.
If there is a business school at your university, explore a business minor. And also take some intro comp sci courses. Lawyers need to have some tech background nowadays, I think. The more you know, the better off you will be.
At this juncture, you should start looking through what law schools look for besides GPA and LSAT. For the summer, see if you can find any sort of office assistant work at a law office. Your university should have a career office with postings. Employers love 4.0 GPAs.
Your parents aren’t covering much of your room and board right now, but they are cosigning loans, yes? You mentioned borrowing $30,000 at your current school, which exceeds the amount you can borrow alone.
That’s already quite a bit to borrow when you have a full tuition scholarship and come from an upper middle class family. Don’t make it worse by borrowing more for either Emory or UIUC. If your parents decide not to co-sign for Year 3 or 4, you’ll really be out of luck.
@thumper1 My school is very focused on STEM, and I am a political science major. There isn’t much community simply because of that. Also, my school (University of Illinois at Chicago) is a commuter school, so that contributes to the lack of community. I also feel like my courses here are an extension of high school. Finally, and this might sound bad, I am worried about the reputation of my school. I am surrounded by people who have gone on to Ivies and other top schools, and I am at a no-name school in my home state surrounded by people who don’t seem to take their education as seriously. I realize I sound a bit elitist with that last bit, but it’s definitely a factor in my wanting to leave.
Thanks @momprof9904! Yes, Illinois is terrible in terms of affordability. I am currently at the University of Illinois at Chicago (I don’t see a reason why I have to be anonymous about that), and I’m interning in Washington DC this summer. I’m definitely involved, but my problem is just my lack of affection for this type of environment.
I’ll definitely take your advice! Any more recommendations? What state are you in?
@MusakParent Thanks for the advice! I think that the calculations for EFC are heavily skewed against the middle class when it comes to schools that provide 100% need. They take the cost of your house into consideration, and they expect funding to be diverted from my parents retirement and mortgage to fund my education. I obviously don’t expect my parents to make such a drastic step to help me out, and I’m grateful for their assistance where I’m at now.
I understand you feelings about your school. However, you were able to get accepted at Emory as a transfer student. That seems to indcate that your current school does have a decent reputation. Like others stated, most posters feel it all comes done to GPA, LSAT and your research/job experience.
Who told you this? Schools using the Profile (like Emory) use the EQUITY in your primary residence but not all of it…not the cost of your house. They do NOT use monies in regular retirement accounts like TSA or IRA balances in the financial aid equation. NOW if your family has their retirement in regular savings…that is another issue. They do NOT expect you to use your mortgage money to pay for college…but if you have equity in your home, it’s possible for your parents to use that to secure a loan.
At UIUC, the FAFSA only is used. Your primary residence isn’t even mentioned on the FAFSA in any way. UIUC doesn’t use this value in any way to calculate your aid. Ditto your real retirement account balances (not regular savings that is planning to be used…that’s savings and IS counted).
And really…the big driver in determining need based aid is family INCOME. The assets, unless they are huge, are not the primary driver.
But back to your transfer thing. You have an internship in DC this summer which is fabulous. How about if you look at the strengths of the college you are in. Clearly, you stood out to be considered for a DC internship. Your grades are great. The cost is affordable.
You are in a city where they have to be some opportunities to see legal work in action or volunteer your time.
Get your degree. Study well for the LSAT…and do very well. Apply to law schools.
That’s all the more reason that I think a poli sci /history/ or philosophy professor may be excited if you inquire about independent study , I would think. Just googled the poli sci department at UI-C and clicked on some random professor links in the dept. The profs have PhD’s from impressive places, and most don’t seem like dinosaurs either. BTW, more and more poli sci involves understanding of data and statistics, so you should take some courses in those overlapping areas.
I’m in NJ, where no one likes their flagship but many end up there anyway.
)So you must be in one of the [directional] Illinois universities, most likely. In the universe of non-flagships, they’re pretty okay (hence the 100-120 national ranking, which is not bad). Looks like staying put will be the best path forward.