So there is just one week left before May 1st, the deadline to commit, and my parents are adamantly refusing to even consider sending me to NYU, with their reasoning being that I am likely to slack off. My GPA was a 3.4 weighted, so I understand why they would believe so, but I have been trying to convince them that, if given the opportunity to attend a school like NYU, I would make the most of my opportunity and work as hard as I could for a high GPA.
Given that my GPA was absolutely atrocious, the only other options I have are UC Riverside and UC Santa Cruz. I’m planning on attending law school after college, so I’m trying to make my parents understand that it would be much harder for me to be admitted to good law schools from a school like UCR or UCSC, since I would scarcely be able to find impressive internship opportunities for experience as a pre-law student, and because their reputations are not as good as NYU’s.
At this point, I’m completely hopeless and I don’t know what I should do; I’m afraid that going to UCR/UCSC will f*** up my intended future as a lawyer, and I can’t stand the thought of knowing I could be at NYU while attending UCR/UCSC.
Price is also an issue, albeit a smaller one than my parents’ belief that I will slack off. (UCR/UCSC would be roughly 30K/year, and NYU would be 70K.)
Any advice on convincing my parents? Thanks in advance.
Any reason that you would slack off less at UC riverside or UC Santa Cruz? Maybe 40K a year is a bigger difference for your parents than you think, as it should be. Also, I disagree with the law school aspect. While going to a good school will definitely help, especially one located in NYC with numerous internship opportunities, people can still get into good law schools from state schools. If you go to UC riverside or SC and get a good GPA, good LSATs, and recs, you will have a solid shot at a good law school.
Also, where you went for undergrad will have very little impact after law school. NYU might be a little different because of the opportunities outside of school, but the the NYU degree won’t be as prestigious as you think, and probably not worth 40k more a year.
Thanks for your response @kingslayer7
Their reason for UCSC/UCR is that these schools are still instate, so they’ll be able to reach me more easily than they would be able to at NYU, and make sure I’m being responsible at school.
A nearby support network+cost savings seems a winner, really—and don’t buy into the hype that you won’t be able to get into law school if you attend a state school, because that’s a ridiculous notion, especially when you’re talking about the UCs.
And, oh yeah, you almost forgot to mention the pesky cost difference. You left that issue at the very end of your post like it’s a minor footnote. I love it that 160k is characterized as a “smaller issue”. Feel free to reach into your personal pocket and pull out an additional 160k.
Paying for law school is going to be a lot tougher if you are already depleting your accounts by 160k.
@GMTplus7 Cost isn’t as big of an issue as my parents’ fear of me slacking off at NYU. They would be willing to pay for NYU if they knew I would work hard there.
Are you sure that your slacking off is the biggest problem they have? If you aren’t getting any scholarships and get yourself buried in debt as an undergrad, how are you going to pay your way through grad school? Can your family afford this? If you don’t slack off, it doesn’t matter if you go to NYU or a UC school.
Seriously? You want to go to law school and you feel you have to go to a school that’s 70K a year? What???!! This just sounds crazy to me. Also, it does not matter where you go to undergrad. Law school is all about GPA and LSAT score, so you’d even be better off going to the “easier” school to boost your chance of getting the highest gpa possible.
Cost may not be the predominant issue, but your track record of “slacking off,” which you admit to, makes the cost differential an iffy bet. It’s a HUGE cost difference for somebody with a poor track record. Go to one of the UCs. And do not block your parents attempts to monitor you. You should welcome their interference as motivation to stay on track if law school is your goal.
Have you factored in travel expenses to your equation? Have you spent anytime in NYC? Winters are cold in NYC. That means a new wardrobe. You can certainly become a successful lawyer going to school in California. Are you contributing to your degree? If not you probably have your answer.
If your parents’ main concern is you slacking off, then why don’t you strike a deal with them that if your GPA should drop below X then they would stop paying for it. I had such an agreement with my kid when she was offered a full ride at a LAC vs a top 20 school as a full pay. She wanted to go to a higher ranking U. When she wanted to join a sorority I also had an agreement with her if her GPA dropped below 3.5 then she had to move out of the house. It all worked out.
I think in your case it is more about money than fear of you slacking off.
Please stop a minute to listen to yourself : I slacked off in high school, but if I’m in New York City I will find no fun, cool interesting things to do. I’ll buckle down, and I’ll get good grades surrounded by kids with much better preparation and work ethics as me. It’s totally worth emptying my parents’ bank account and making law school a distant possibility both financially and academically.
Seriously, go to ucsc, do well, read a lot as preparation for the LSAT, go to office hours starting your first week, and see if the money 'saved’can go toward law school if you manage to get in.
@MiniCHAMP You make going to a UC sound as if you are off to University of Phoenix! You can always transfer for your junior year too. Going into a ton of debt to go to NYU isn’t worth it. Read the reviews. It has been consistently rated as among the worse value for money. If you do well at UCSC, you will have your pick of law schools.
