Hello! I have received all of my acceptances and I’ve narrowed down my choices to these schools. After doing a lot of research, I’ve determined that I would be happy to attend any of them. With the financial aid packages I have received, it would be possible for me to attend any of these colleges. I’ve been considering everything, and I’m just stuck. I would appreciate any advice or insight that would help me in my decision. For context, I would like to study business/econ undergrad en route to law school and I live in Virginia. I have also been accepted to a local private university with a full scholarship. Below, I have left some facts about each school. Thanks!
you need to make your own decision. these are very different. do you want to be in a city or do you want more of a campus? prestige and academics are great at all 4. are you a sports fan? if yes then choose Duke.
do you love cities? then choose NYU or Chicago.
do you love rural locales? choose Cornell.
what is it you want? you are too smart to not have an opinion.
Another thing to consider here is that Duke and UChicago (especially the latter) have liberal arts undergraduate curriculums. Do you want a more broad education or a more focused one? That should also be weighed in your decision.
Thank you all for the advice. The local school with the full scholarship is the University of Richmond. This is a really good choice and definitely hard to pass up.
U Chicago has a quarter system. That’s very different from a traditional semester system. Do you learn better by having fewer classes over a shorter period of time? Or more classes over a longer period of time? Also, when I went on a tour I asked the tour guide about the economics department and he said it’s incredibly math intensive. I think it would be a very different experience academically from your other choices.
Re NYU, does it appeal to you that the university is really a part of the city? So the resources of the city is there, but it does not have a traditional campus feel and you have to put more effort into making friends at school.
Will your family still be able to help pay for grad/law school after putting out 100-140k for undergrad vs taking the full ride and using that money towards grad/law? You have a lot of great options for sure!
@MistySteel27 I would be on my own for law school either way but the money they’ve saved for undergrad would go toward paying for law school if I accept the full ride. So down the line, I would have to pay less for law school if I take the full ride.
If I understand correctly, your undergraduate degree will cost at least $100,000 at NYU or Chicago, and at least $144,000 at Duke or Cornell, or $zero at the Univ. of Richmond.
Since you want to go to law school, the best option is the Univ. of Richmond.
If you were seeking a career on Wall Street, then NYU-Stern would be the best option.
Can’t speak to the other schools on your list but will note that Duke offers amazing support for its pre-law cohort. Fantastic advising and a real faculty focus on getting students into top law schools.
Agree with publisher. Stern would be a no-brainer if you wanted a good business school, but I don’t think it’s the best option for pre-law. The free ride at Richmond makes the most sense here.