After a wonderful trip to Iowa, reality sets in.

Iowa's annual tuition is $30,000 for an out-of-state student. While there are fellowships for the two-thirds of the student body that can attach themselves as research assistants to professors, there is no way of knowing that I'll be one of them at this stage. Let's assume $90,000 in tuition, over the course of three years.

Further, while I expect to be able to live just fine on $8000 a year for room and board, that's another $24,000. I probably won't find the internships of my dreams in Iowa City, and will have to maintain a lease on an apartment there while getting another short-term lease in another city. The cost of that is unknown, but I think it would be safe to assume $5000 at least over two summers.

Leaving my TSP (government 401(k)) alone, I would have a total student debt of approximately $119,000. The amortization calculator I referenced online shows me a monthly repayment of $908.37, with $99,000 in interest paid if I schedule my payments over the course of twenty years. It's like a mortgage on a house that doesn't exist.

Pitt, on the other hand, is offering me $12,000 a year, so long as I maintain a B average. Online, I see the grade distribution indicates that two-thirds of the class is able to do this, and if I'm not in the top 66% at the end of my first year, I'll find something else to do with my life. This means that tuition will probably cost something like $54,000, over three years, unless I can get another fellowship or win in-state tuition. Assuming similar costs of living, with the benefit of more firms in Pittsburgh to work for over the summer, that's $78,000. $595.40 a month, $64,000 in interest paid.

One of the benefits of having an LSAT higher than the median or the 75th percentile at a given school is that you have the chance of raising the median LSAT, if the school recruits enough people in your range. Since a rise in the median LSAT correlates very strongly with a school's place in the famous and arbitrary U.S. News and World Report rankings, schools have incentive to reduce your tuition. At Iowa, I'm four points above their median for 2006. At Pitt, I'm five points above it. At St. Louis, I'm seven points above it, and they just offered me a total award of $57,000 over the course of six full-time semesters if I go there.

Next week, I'll email Iowa and ask them to make a financial commitment to my attending their school. If I can't get it, I'll attend Pitt and be happy.