- PowerScore Staff
- Posts: 9010
- Joined: Feb 02, 2011
- Fri Apr 24, 2020 10:39 am
#75033
An accepted law student, BJ, asked the below question to PowerScore CEO Dave Killoran. Below is Dave's response.
BJ: "I’m a later in life student, going in at 34 and have two true options I’m considering. $10k per year at Fordham or full-ride at NYLS. The debt is the only thing I fear since it is literally $200k vs $0k but unsure if rankings will kill me in job prospects. I’ve gotten both answers from my network (have lived and worked in NYC for a decade now). My heart says Fordham. My brain says NYLS. Do you have any advice?"
Dave Killoran: "Hi BJ,
Thanks for the message.
First, for anyone interested, here’s the LST comparison of the two schools: https://www.lstreports.com/compare/newyork/fordham/
Your sense of this is correct: Fordham has job outcomes that are demonstrably superior to those of NYLS, but you have to pay for the chance at those outcomes. So the real question here is: what kind of job are you seeking? If it’s biglaw, your chances at NYLS are basically about 1 in 10 of securing a biglaw job whereas at Fordham it is 1 in 2. On the other hand, if it’s public interest, there’s no reason to have debt for that and NYLS would be the clearly superior choice. So, it comes down to the options you want available and whether the preferred outcome is worth the $200K buy-in fee.
Fordham has always been solid in NYC placement among larger firms and NYLS struggles there, and in the better paying job range you’d need to come out of NYLS near the top of your class (which is difficult to predict ahead of time due to the unusual nature of law school grading). So, I’d use your job preferences as the guide here since the difference is big here.
Thanks and please let me know what you decide!"
BJ: "I’m a later in life student, going in at 34 and have two true options I’m considering. $10k per year at Fordham or full-ride at NYLS. The debt is the only thing I fear since it is literally $200k vs $0k but unsure if rankings will kill me in job prospects. I’ve gotten both answers from my network (have lived and worked in NYC for a decade now). My heart says Fordham. My brain says NYLS. Do you have any advice?"
Dave Killoran: "Hi BJ,
Thanks for the message.
First, for anyone interested, here’s the LST comparison of the two schools: https://www.lstreports.com/compare/newyork/fordham/
Your sense of this is correct: Fordham has job outcomes that are demonstrably superior to those of NYLS, but you have to pay for the chance at those outcomes. So the real question here is: what kind of job are you seeking? If it’s biglaw, your chances at NYLS are basically about 1 in 10 of securing a biglaw job whereas at Fordham it is 1 in 2. On the other hand, if it’s public interest, there’s no reason to have debt for that and NYLS would be the clearly superior choice. So, it comes down to the options you want available and whether the preferred outcome is worth the $200K buy-in fee.
Fordham has always been solid in NYC placement among larger firms and NYLS struggles there, and in the better paying job range you’d need to come out of NYLS near the top of your class (which is difficult to predict ahead of time due to the unusual nature of law school grading). So, I’d use your job preferences as the guide here since the difference is big here.
Thanks and please let me know what you decide!"