Having the hardest time making a decision

[awilt]

Hi Dave,

I'm a huge fan of Powerscore and just want to thank you for everything you've put together here! I am hoping you are able to offer some guidance, as I've gone through my options with my family and friends, and none of them seem to really get it.

I've come down to a decision between Florida State and Ohio State - very different, I know. I am originally from Ohio, but currently work in higher education in a southern state (not Florida). People keep saying go to school where you want to practice, but I honestly don't care about the location that much, I'm happy to live in either state. I have some connections in Ohio, but nothing crazy that makes the decision easier. I have some family in Florida, but otherwise I know absolutely no one in Tallahassee and have no established connections within the field or any related areas. Additionally, I have a master's from GW and so I have some connections in DC, but again, nothing substantial.

At Florida State, my total cost of tuition would be approximately $9,000 over three years. At Ohio State, my total cost of tuition would be approximately $51,000 over three years. I've done tons of research, and it seems Ohio State has better employment outcomes than Florida State, but I am just not sure if it's worth spending an extra $42,000. (CoA is not an issue, that is already covered).

My short term goals are a clerkship, it doesn't necessarily have to be federal. Long term goals are a prestigious public interest position. However, as stated, I have a background in higher education and find labor and employment fascinating, so I would certainly not scoff at an offer in a biglaw firm working in either practice area.

To add another element to the decision-making process, I already have just north of $100,000 in student loan debt. Given that I'm currently in public service and plan to remain there after law school, I've been banking on PSLF to get rid of the debt. If that remains the case, the additional debt wouldn't matter. However, it's never a given that PSLF stays in tact, and I'm also not 100% set on public interest and not Biglaw.

I know there's a million different elements to consider here, so I hope you followed all of that. I feel like one day I'm leaning towards one school, and the next day I'm leaning towards the other school. I'm losing sleep making the decision because I feel like either way I'm going to regret not picking one school over the other. I trust your judgement and your input would be incredibly valuable to me.

Thank you so much!

[Daniel Stern]

Hi Awilt:

I am happily employed as a public defender in New York City. I never considered a career in BigLaw, and only briefly considered applying for clerkships, though I ultimately did not. Since I was always exclusively interested in public interest, I was very happy with my decision to go to Rutgers in New Jersey, which was the lowest cost option for me. I feel like I got a great education, and I was able to pay off my student debt in a reasonable amount of time. I never actually used loan forgiveness, which for the first few years of my career was not available to me.

In your post, you seem to list tons of pros and cons for each school, so I'd say go with the one that costs less, Florida State, especially considering that you said you already had lots of student debt. I certainly don't think you can count on PSLF always being around: that's the sort of program that might be on the chopping block if the political winds are blowing a certain way. So if you do decide to pursue a clerkship and then a career in public interest, you want to be sure you can claw your way out of debt in a reasonable time frame. And if you do ultimately go BigLaw, you'll have that much more money after paying off your lower cost Florida State loans.

I hope that is helpful. Good luck in your decision and in your legal career.

Best,
Dan Stern