Texas vs Minnesota$ vs Indiana$$$

[bernard97]

Indiana - 120k
Minnesota - 60k
Texas - 0k

I'm out of state for all of them

Engineering undergrad - want to practice patent law

No preference to where I live

You know the drill. GO

[fakemoney]

Any regional preference as to where you want to practice law?

[bernard97]

I'm wide open. I'll live anywhere.

But i should note that I'm engineering undergrad and am interested in patent law.

[MrPapagiorgio]

Tejas.

[bernard97]

any more thoughts?

I'm kinda surprised. Is Texas really worth all of that extra debt?

[MrPapagiorgio]

If you really have no preference, yes, Texas will give you the best opportunities for your goals.
More details would make this decision more focused and may give a leg up to the other two regions (e.g. you have connections to Minnesota or you're from Indiana).
You left it wide open, and Texas will give you the best opportunities in its target market (i.e. Texas).

[Sandro]

IMO the risk of not getting biglaw and having 150k+ debt from Texas is scary. Texas isnt a golden ticket to biglaw.

[bernard97]

Sandro, are you saying that while taking engineering undergrad into account?

That should make me more secure, but i dont know exactly how much it helps

[ATR]

I dunno about this one. Indiana's more than likely not getting you biglaw, although your EE background doesn't hurt. Also, like others have said, Texas at sticker's pretty risky. Is retaking an option? Do you think you could do better on the LSAT? Be honest with yourself: if you think you could, reapply next cycle.

[CanadianWolf]

Texas if you can tolerate the debt-- otherwise enjoy tuition free Indiana.

[Sandro]

Sandro, are you saying that while taking engineering undergrad into account?

That should make me more secure, but i dont know exactly how much it helps

I guess, im not really all up on how much value that holds. 150k+ debt and not having a super solid shot is something to think of.

Would ending up at median put you in a good position to get jobs with your background to help survive 150k+ ?

[bernard97]

I've already retaken once, and after months of studying ended up getting the exact same score. So I don't really consider retaking an option

[hokie]

enjoy

[waitlisteddd]

look at the opportunities in patent at each school. minnesota has a lot to offer in terms of patent so idk about texas but UMN >>> IUB

[MochaLatte05]

What I'm reading is completely ridiculous... Retake the LSAT?

Are you seriously considering giving up $120K for a ranking??? If we were talking about drastically different rankings in a highly specialized field, I might say something different.

But considering that IU is a T25 and is essentially guaranteeing no debt, it's a no brainer. Even if you don't have the best networking opportunities, you aren't backed into a financial corner. There's no guarantee that you'll get a job going to a slightly better school (Texas), and that $1500/month student loan payment is still going to be due.