NDLS vs Iowa

Ohnoeshalpme

I am curious about how you all feel about this situation. Even though it doesn't model real life - pretend that your only two options are going to Iowa and graduating with $10,000 in debt -OR- going to Notre Dame and graduating with $150,000 in debt.

Which would you choose?

_oshun1_

Please don’t go $150k in debt for ndls, it’ll take so long to pay that off. I’m sure it’ll ultimately be more with misc. expenses and of course loan interest on top of that.

LSAT_Wrecker

Iowa. Its not even close.

I am accepted at my dream school. If I won the lottery and could buy my way into any school in the nation, I would still go to this school. However, I would not pay $150,000 to go to it. Or any other school.

Leah M B

The only time it really ever makes sense to spend $150k on a school would be, IMO, a T6 and you are 1000% biglaw or bust, no other options. Meaning, you need extremely good chances of getting biglaw, and a dedication to doing so.

NDLS may have a bit more name recognition than Iowa, but not $150k worth of it.

Simple Man

$150k for a law degree vs $10k for the exact same law degree. The difference is the school you went to, and that's about it. When you are a lawyer your clients will not be asking where you went, they will be seeking your expertise in the law. Just imagine your life further down the line when you can be debt free and stacking cash vs trying to get out of a debt hole that gets bigger and bigger the longer it goes unpaid.

eRetaker

I am actually going to disagree with the comments here and say that the difference in employment outcomes can justify taking Notre Dame over Iowa. Iowa had 12% get big law while Notre Dame had 40 %. The admitted students are of pretty similar academic credentials to the point where I would say it's prob much easier to get top 40% at NDLS than top 12% at Iowa. Obvious exception is if you are intending to practice in Iowa in which I suppose the gap in big law % will be a lot smaller. Ultimately you will have to do your own cost benefit analysis and see if the additional boost in big law outcomes is worth it for you. Also make sure to try to negotiate scholarships at NDLS first before deciding.