<p>I'm a high school senior with alright stats.. 2180 3.97... and I have been accepted into a few schools, while I am awaiting a few more letters..</p>
<p>I've been accepted to:
UT-Austin no scholarships, in state tuition, no school financial aid, just pell etc. 10k tuition per year + cost of living
NYU Poly 20k scholarship, about 5-10k estimated school aid, pell etc., work study.... 35,000 tuition + cost of living
Santa Clara 20k scholarship, about 5k estimated school aid, pell etc., work study... 40,000 tuition + cost of living
Alabama full tuition scholarship + 2500 bonus scholarship, pell etc., work study... cost of living</p>
<p>MY estimated cost after mom's help:</p>
<p>Ut Austin - cost of living in Austin
NYU Poly - cost of living in New York
Santa Clara - 10k + cost of living in Santa Clara
Alabama - free</p>
<p>I like UT alright, and I am in love with NYC (I would love to go to NYU or NYU Poly). I don't think Santa Clara is even in the equation. I absolutely do not want to live in Alabama, and I would prefer to get out of the South. </p>
<p>Granted I am still waiting to hear from a bunch of schools (12-15 or so), but those are reaches. I want to have a gameplan. Do any of these just seem completely unreasonable?
Note: I am really considering law school..</p>
<p>If you qualify for Pell, that means that your parents don’t have a lot of money. You can’t afford anywhere that would mean they have to take on any debt themselves, or co-sign for any debt for you. Find out what they can help you with each year out-of-pocket.</p>
<p>Law school is hideously expensive, there are almost no scholarships available for it, and you will almost certainly end up paying for it with loans. That means that you need to keep your undergrad loan debt as low as possible. I know that you don’t want Alabama right now, but the price is right. That is the figure that you need to meet in order to be able to go anywhere else.</p>
<p>To help you get and keep your head on straight about college finances, spend some time in the Financial Aid Forum. kelsmom is a former financial aid officer and really knows her stuff. There also are other parents who are well informed on this topic - some even have kids on scholarship in Alabama and will be able to tell you more about how that program works.</p>
<p>Law School is very expensive and while they do give scholarships, its only for those who score out of this world on the LSAT, so most law students pile on the debt. Thus, I do NOT recommend you take on huge debt for undergrad.</p>
<p>Why not hold your nose on Alabama and go there? Its a good school. Its free to you. And when you are done, then go to Vanderbilt Law or Duke Law or UNC or Wake Forest Law?</p>
<p>NYU is exciting to those who aren’t there. Its a very big school. 35,000 students. New York is very competitive and its brutal at times. Its also extremely expensive.</p>
<p>NYC sucks. Take the advice of a lifelong New Yorker.</p>
<p>If your family’s financial situation is such that you qualify for the Pell Grant, NYC is just not accessible to you right now.</p>
<p>You can take out 150k in loans to attend NYU Law, then take a BigLaw job in Manhattan thereafter to pay them off, but, for now, make the sensible decision–go to UT Austin.</p>
<p>I definitely wouldn’t say NYC sucks. I (obviously) go to NYU and wouldn’t have gone anywhere else given the choice. I’ve loved my experience at NYU thus far and much prefer it to what other colleges have to offer. Remember though, NYU isn’t for everyone.</p>
<p>Also, remember that NYU Poly is NOT in Manhattan; it’s in Brooklyn, which is about a 20 minute subway ride from NYU Greenwhich Village. That said, you most likely will not interact with many NYU students. But rather, would spend most of your time at the Poly campus. Personally, I don’t like the area too much (it is in Brooklyn); I spent a lot of time over there since I worked for the District Attorney (his office is on the Poly campus).</p>
<p>*You can take out 150k in loans to attend NYU Law, then take a BigLaw job in Manhattan thereafter to pay them off, but, for now, make the sensible decision–go to UT Austin. *</p>
<p>Oh good heavens…there’s no guarantee that he’d get a “big law” job anywhere.</p>
<p>And it would cost more than $150k to go to law school.</p>
<p>Well I think that I can work and make about 7-8k per year…
Is 20-30k debt total too much for undergrad if I want to go to law school?</p>
<p>It’s very hard for a student to earn THAT much to put towards college…and it may end up hurting your Pell Grant eligibility. Students often spend $1-3k just on personal expenses…and more for transportation costs.</p>
<p>I absolutely do not want to live in Alabama,</p>
<p>Have you ever been to Tuscaloosa? It’s certainly NOT a city that one has to “hold their nose” for…at all. T-town is a very nice city…and certainly not anything that anyone is “put out” by living in.</p>
<p>Also, remember that NYU Poly is NOT in Manhattan; it’s in Brooklyn</p>
<p>Oh yeah, like that would be better than T-town :rolleyes:</p>
<p>Since you live in Texas, you can get in-state tuition at many public universities in neighboring states with your scores and GPA. The son of my dad’s boss gets in-state tuition at LSU. I get in-state tuition at U of Arkansas, plus they give me $5K in scholarship. This brings the total bill to something crazy like $10K a year. I chose this school primarily due to the reasonable cost, because (like you and law school) I intend to go to grad school. My parents offered to pay for that if I chose a cheaper undergrad school. You would surely get in-state tuition at U of A, LSU, and OU and OSU. Just something else to consider…or not. Good luck wherever you land!!</p>