Pitt vs. Buffalo vs. Case Western vs. Penn State Forum

[ladyjane]

Still waiting for a couple more acceptances but all four of these schools are giving me money. I'm from Upstate NY and may want to be able to come back and practice around Buffalo. I own a house in Buffalo and my Fiance is a student at UB (and will be for two more years).

That being said it seems like going to UB may limit future opportunity to leave WNY and I want some degree of mobility. I'm not interested in big law and clearly none of these schools are shooting grads in 6 figures. And I know they are all regional. I visited Case and really like it - better than UB. Penn State and Pittsburgh are also contenders but as I have not visited them yet CRWU is in the lead.

With the scholarships, they all work out to be around the same price and living expenses are similar.(UB is still a bit cheaper). Anyone have constructive information to add about any of these schools compared to the others. What kind of atmosphere do they have? What would you do?

[pjo]

I'll do my best to help you out but admitedly idk too much about UB...but the other 3 I know a little. If you were to ask me just flat, without circumstances or background btwn those three I would say Pitt (all things being equal in cost). Now I do have bias towards Pittsburgh (which you'll se if you check my other posts which have a lot more about pittsburgh if you're interested). In short i would pick Pitt because out of those 4 it has a fairly decent size market with minimal competition (only other law school in pittsburgh is Duquesne which is T4). COL in pittsburgh is also very cheap ( I would say comparable if not less than buffalo--my cousin lived both places and he seems to prefer pittsburgh). Pitt probably has the best mobility although I wouldn't go there expecting to practice anywhere other than western PA and eastern OH (Cleveland).
2nd choice would be Case. Places well in Cleveland and minimally in Pittsburgh. I would say about the same mobility as Pittsburgh. I personally am not found of the location of Case but I know you said you liked it. Still, Case is a good school and frankly if you end up visiting Pittsburgh and decide you would rather be in Cleveland then by all means go to Case and don't lose any sleep over it! Basically these schools are peer institutions and the only difference is where you would potentially rather live.
--Now w/ PSU. I'm sure many ppl will disagree with me on here but I think it is not the best option, especially if you're in at Pitt and Case. Why????...b/c both PSU campuses are in the middle of no where. PSU does not have a market that it is strong in and they will tell you it's because they place well every where. From what I found this just isn't true. At this level of schools you're lookign for 1. cost 2. regional dominace. PSU is not dominant in Philly, Pittsburgh or anywhere else for that matter. Many of their grads end up working in state government in Harrisburg bc that's where they are close to. Also, don't believe the hype about PSU's USNEWS jump in ranking. IMHO most of this jump can be conttributed to the construction of a new building and an 'official' name change to Pennsylvania State U from Dickinson U which I'm sure help score points in peer assessment ratings.


I hope this helps. As a side note...are you really sure you want to leave UB? It seems like you have a lot going for you there and if thats where your fiance is that in the long run might be where you're the happiest. I mean, its not like you'd be turning down Harvard. I just think if you end up going to Case or Pitt or PSU and are not very happy there then your whole experience there (grades etc.) will suffer. Idk, you just have to do whats right for you in the end. good luck.

[anthonyc350]

Ryan Miller is the man...I would go to UB in your situation

[Lonagan]

Pitt, for reasons posted above. Solid law school, good city, dominates a decent market, low cost of living.

I likely won't be going to any of these, but Pitt is the most likely. If they give me a lot of money I might consider them.

[deadpanic]

Pitt probably has the best mobility although I wouldn't go there expecting to practice anywhere other than western PA and eastern OH (Cleveland).

You think Pitt has better mobility than Case Western? I highly doubt that.

[holydonkey]

That girl on The Deep End that got big law went to Case Western. You should go there and be like her.

[TTH]

I can't believe I'm saying this, but if mobility is your biggest concern, go to Case. They do pretty well all around Lake Erie.

[ladyjane]

Thank you for all the advice. I think I need someone to say it was ok to stay in Buffalo too.

Pitt seems like the overwhelming fav so I'm really looking forward to the open house now.

Thanks!

[LSATfromNC]

You already own a house near UB, your fiance lives near UB, and you want to come back to the area. Go to UB, no need to jump through hoops to go to a peer school in another state.

[yourdadcalled]

You already own a house near UB, your fiance lives near UB, and you want to come back to the area. Go to UB, no need to jump through hoops to go to a peer school in another state.

agreed. not to mention the in-state tuition at UB

[Kat.Ander]

The legal market in Cleveland is very strong (and I love the state of Ohio) but your situation makes UB seem like the clear choice.