I was accepted RD to the College of Arts and Sciences as a Government major. At first I was ecstatic, but then the reality of tuition set in — attending Cornell would cost me $70-75k per year. After graduation, I’m planning on going to law school which would up my educational costs even more.
On the other hand, I got into a good (albeit lesser-known) liberal arts college with enough merit aid that it would cost less than half of Cornell’s tuition for me to attend.
So, is Cornell worth the investment? Will the Ivy League name and alumni network really be worth the massive sticker price? And more importantly (for me at least), would going to Cornell make it any easier for me to get into a top law school?
If you are looking to go to law school and the LAC is a decent, reputable school then the answer is absolutely not. Your law school chances will depend mostly on your GPA and LSAT score and somewhat on your letters of rec and your activities during college. If those are all excellent, you can get into a top law school. Don’t pay more then you have to. Avoid debt as much as possible.
Can your family afford it.
My kid did go to Cornell and is at a top 5 law school.
She got most of law related summer internships through Cornell (career center, alumni network, etc).
She also landed her post graduate internship (2 years) at an US attorney’s office through her contact from school. Through her internship, she received excellent LORs for law school. Her LSAT was on the low side for her law school, but she was admitted with money. She landed a great 1L internship before her first semester grades were out, and I would think it was due to her work experience and her law school.
For what it is worth, the US attorney’s office she interned at only hired from few schools, and most of the time it was through referrals.
Gallentjill is right that most of the time to get into a law school it is abut GPA and LSAT, but a school like Cornell with good alumni network can also help.
One other thing to consider is many people change their major/career aspiration over 4 years, so you should look at a school in a broader view.
Cornell can be “worth it” if you thrive there and take advantage of its resources.
But this not guaranteed, and it is partly up to you to make it so.
That’s really a tough one. If you’re going after a BigLaw job, it’s probably more important where you go to law school and/or what your ranking is in law school. You could probably get in to a top law school from a small LAC at or near the top of the class. Law school is so expensive. It all depends on what your parents are willing to pay. Certainly don’t go into debt for undergrad if you’re planning to go to law school.