The 6-month+ saga is drawing to a close and my son has about a month to pick a law school. Still hasn't heard from Yale, but according to past years if you applied before January and haven't gotten in by now, you're probably not getting in. So the choices (including scholarships/financial aid) are:
UChicago, $0 tuition + $20K annual stipend, 3-year net cost about $10,000
NYU, $0 tuition, no stipend, net cost about $75,000
Harvard, $37K tuition, net cost about $180,000
These costs don't take into account summer income or any $ my wife and I are willing to kick in (which is probably about $10k per year if we have to). So he'd be likely to come out of Chicago with $0 debt and NYU with, I don't know, $25-50K, based on summer earnings and parental guilt. And he's pretty much already ruled out Harvard based on price as well as fit.
I think he is leaning toward NYU a little right now. He's a huge public interest guy and has been a little turned off by what he's heard about Chicago's conservatism/libertarianism. But in thinking this through here are some questions that have come up that I'd love your thoughts on. Feel free to DM me if you prefer:
Cost - Is it stupid to pay $65k more for a slightly lower ranked school? $50k in student loan debt seems pretty manageable to me, but is it, and is it worth it?
Clerkships - All the law school kids today are obsessed with getting federal judicial clerkships. And Chicago is really, really good for that. But is a clerkship that big a deal for a someone who is 100% not going to pursue BigLaw? Are they a big deal at all, or are these kids just misguided status seekers?
Career - Would he be significantly advantaged/disadvantaged career wise by picking either of these schools? He has no specific idea what he wants to do, but broad strokes are non-profits with an international policy focus or maybe civil rights. He's fluent in Arabic and Chinese so I could see him doing international human rights, or immigration policy, maybe working as counsel on Capitol Hill. He's been named a finalist as an International Law and Justice Scholar at NYU, which would mean a free fourth year and International Law LLM if he got it. But the program seems really focused on preparing people to become law faculty and he's probably not up for that.
Culture - He's not shy, but is very self-contained and a bit reserved. Absolutely despises self-promotion or performative leadership (part of why he nixed Harvard). He's great at working one-on-one with faculty but I could see him struggling to form connections with faculty among a class of 425 at NYU vs 190 at Chicago. Also, Chicago pairs students in his scholarship program with faculty mentors, so he'd have that relationship pre-set. How important is having a close relationship with faculty to landing the kind of job he wants (or clerkship)?
Finally, if there's anything we're not thinking about that we should be, please let me know. Sorry this is so long and thanks for your help!