Here’s my situation: I love BC and it’s my favorite school out of all the ones I have been accepted to this year. However, I didn’t qualify for financial aid (not a surprise), and BC didn’t give me any merit scholarship because they only have one that they give out to 15 people each year. My other options are Northeastern and Brandeis, which both gave me $20,000 in scholarships per year. The problem is that I don’t want to go to either of those schools, but I don’t know if I should make the sacrifice. I also intend to go to law school later on in life, maybe a few years after I graduate. I understand that this is something to keep in mind while making a college decision. I also don’t exactly know which school is by far the best for pre-law among these three. Is paying full tuition for BC worth it?
What do your parents think? Can they afford BC without mega loans?
All three will enable you to prepare for law school (which has some issues in and of itself).
It sounds like you would likely be much happier at BC - if your parents / you can afford it without any loans or with very little loaned, go for it! You’re there for 4 years. It’s not worth it because its a much better school for pre-law, but for the experience as a whole, again, if affordable.
The job market for lawyers is currently rather weak. Racking up 3 more years of debt would be tough to recover from. Getting experience may help because simply having a JD isn’t a big leg up any longer. Having some expertise in a given area may help.
A relative of mine graduated from a third-tier law school in 2008 and had a state job lined up. By the time she passed the bar, the job was gone, the economy was gone and she was doing drive by closings for title companies and contract work for insurance companies. She worked nights tending bar and stuck with law because she loves the law. She eventually landed in a firm. After a few moves, she is now a litigator and a partner in a new family law firm with her name as one of the principals. She’s doing extremely well despite borrowing a lot of money for law school, and is a highly sought after attorney.
If the law is your love, forget the naysayers and go for it.
If your parents can pay the $20K, then I think you should go to BC. If you’re going to have to borrow $20K per year extra to go to BC, I think you should choose one of the other schools.
Doing Northeastern with coop could also help defray some of the costs.
Law school is (almost) all about GPA+LSAT. Any of the three can get you to Harvard Law, so the best school is where you can maximize GPA. (don’t major in prelaw.)
You like BC the most. Do you like it $80,000 worth? What do you like about it, what do you like less about the other schools? They are very different schools in terms of location, campus, atmosphere. It’s important to be in a place that makes you feel good- did you like all three when you applied and do you still, or have some become undesirable to you for reasons other than they are not BC?
Sticker at BC isn’t a good idea. Add to that law school debt and it’s not going to be easy (for you or your parents) to manage those monthly payments.
Also, it makes even less sense to pay sticker at BC since you received a 20k/yr scholarship from a peer school Brandeis.
Law school is expensive, and it is recommended that you save as much as possible for undergrad since it won’t really matter once you become a lawyer. But if you can afford to go to BC and law school and your parents are fine with it, then choose BC. Northeastern is still a great option
BC isn`t worth it. I realize that this is a late post. This year alone, the price was $71,000.
The answer depends upon your family financial situation, which you haven’t given us. However, it is not sufficient to just budget for undergrad, you need to plan your budget based on the total of what it will cost for undergrad plus law school, which I believe is 4+3 years. Paying off an extra $80,000 of loans is going to take a long time. You need to try to eliminate debt if you possibly can.
BC is only worth an extra $80,000 if your parents are willing to pay ALL of the TOTAL cost for 7 years, without any loans and without taking on any hardship at all on their part. Frankly, even Northeastern and Brandeis are only worth the extra cost versus UMass Amherst (assuming that you are a Massachusetts resident based on your choices of schools) if your parents can pay the full cost of four years there plus three years of law school.
I was talking to a highly specialized top ranked doctor recently at a very famous medical facility. More than 10 years after graduation he is still paying off his student loans, and he got a very good deal at a very top university (roughly half the cost of most schools of the caliber that he attended). Paying off students loans can be a very big deal even for very successful professionals.
Exactly. There are plenty of wealthy families where only a private college will do, and BC is a excellent educational experience. And much different than Brandeis.
BC is also need-blind, and has pretty good fin aid for the poorer folks. (Not great for any homeowner with equity, however.) But yes, BC does not do merit aid; they don’t have to.
But dad above is correct. A state flagship can get you to Harvard Law just as well as BC or Northeastern or Brandeis.
BC has strayed from their roots because they know that there are plenty of affluent families from CT, NY, NJ who want to send their little trust fund babies to BC for 4 years. It’s sad that middle class families are asked to empty their pockets at $70k+ per year when BC is sitting on a fat endowment.
Correction @bluebayou - there IS merit aid - it is the full ride Gabelli Presidential Scholars program - you can find more info on BC’s website.
And @MylesCK - I’m sorry you have a negative impression of BC. I disagree with your assessment that the endowment is “fat” - the current reported size is 2.4 billion - 37 million of aid was awarded just to the incoming class of 2021 - but an endowment is not to be used only for financial aid (btw, my source for figures is The Heights). In contrast, Notre Dame’s endowment is $10.4 billion & Georgetown is $1.5 billion. Wishing you the best in your application process!
Applicants are only considered for the Gabelli Scholarships IF and ONLY IF they apply Early Action. There are about 15 awarded per year… that’s the only merit offer. All other aid is need based.