If you do not go to a "national" school... Forum

[zanzbar]

I haven't even gotten in SMU yet but everyday the thought how its 100-150k more expensive than U of H makes me more inclined to go Houston.

[de5igual]

Just double checking but for larger states like Texas its not a loss of ties if you locate to a different part of the state for law school. I did high school and UG in West Texas, and won't be looked as an outsider by firms if I go to SMU or U of H right? I don't think anyone could reasonably expect me to be a flight risk to get back to the dust bowl
. Even if its a loss of ties I guess I could talk about how I love Texas and the last 4 generations of my family have been born in the same hospital about an hour outside of Houston and other reassuring facts.

You'll be fine.

I don't know much about this, but in some states there is even a bit of parochialism with regards to other cities within states. Not sure how Houston/Dallas view each other, just something to consider.

At UT, Dallas people don't seem to have trouble getting Houston spots. I haven't really seen many instances of the reverse, although that could be due to Houston class sizes returning to near Pre-ITE levels (while Dallas's remain somewhat stagnant).

[JCFindley]

Bumping this thread.....

[romothesavior]

Bumping this thread.....

Uhh... why? For more lulz, or are there peeps who didn't get the message yet?

[JCFindley]

Bumping this thread.....

Uhh... why? For more lulz, or are there peeps who didn't get the message yet?

It was the latter.... I wanted to reference it for a couple threads and link it to my vets 101 thread.... Figured I would put it up where people starting the next cycle could find it....

Good info and probably one of the least inherently obvious aspects of selecting a school.

[lynch]

Right.

[ru2486]

Not sure if this is a useful testimonial or not, but hopefully my situation exemplifies the need to listen to TLS wisdom:

I'm from NJ and I want to practice in NJ.

I was offered $27,000/year scholarship at University of Minnesota (ranked #19) out of $46,000/year tuition.

I was offered $25,000/year scholarship at Boston College (ranked #29) out of $45,000/year tuition.

I was offered $15,000/year scholarship at Rutgers Newark (ranked #82) out of in-state tuition of $23,000/year tuition. (the latter option I can live at home to minimize cost of living).

I chose the last option and turned down the higher ranked schools that feed into other markets because A) I wanted to minimize my debt load, and B) wanted to go to a law school that would hopefully feed me back into a market that I want to practice in.

The key for me was to not go to a school that would leave me over $100,000 in debt in a region far from where I want to practice (and in areas where I have literally no ties). If I can't get a legal job out of my T2 school, at least I'm only graduating $25,000 in debt, small enough to hopefully service with a non-legal jerb.

Others are free to question the wisdom of my decision in light of those facts, but both times I was considering the higher ranked school I created threads to solicit others' opinions and it became clear to me to choose the lower ranked/less prestigious school in order to end up where I wanted and to minimize debt.

If I hadn't found TLS I can only imagine the terrible choices I would have made.

[JCFindley]

Not sure if this is a useful testimonial or not, but hopefully my situation exemplifies the need to listen to TLS wisdom:

I'm from NJ and I want to practice in NJ.

I was offered $27,000/year scholarship at University of Minnesota (ranked #19) out of $46,000/year tuition.

I was offered $25,000/year scholarship at Boston College (ranked #29) out of $45,000/year tuition.

I was offered $15,000/year scholarship at Rutgers Newark (ranked #82) out of in-state tuition of $23,000/year tuition. (the latter option I can live at home to minimize cost of living).

I chose the last option and turned down the higher ranked schools that feed into other markets because A) I wanted to minimize my debt load, and B) wanted to go to a law school that would hopefully feed me back into a market that I want to practice in.

The key for me was to not go to a school that would leave me over $100,000 in debt in a region far from where I want to practice (and in areas where I have literally no ties). If I can't get a legal job out of my T2 school, at least I'm only graduating $25,000 in debt, small enough to hopefully service with a non-legal jerb.

Others are free to question the wisdom of my decision in light of those facts, but both times I was considering the higher ranked school I created threads to solicit others' opinions and it became clear to me to choose the lower ranked/less prestigious school in order to end up where I wanted and to minimize debt.

If I hadn't found TLS I can only imagine the terrible choices I would have made.

Before I discovered TLS I had the standard list of schools ALL over the map that I had planned to send my apps. It saved me an awful lot of app fees AND showed me to target only the schools that fed the market I wanted after LS....

[$$$$$$]

I don't know, there are more than enough good reasons for wanting to go somewhere else for law school when you have no ties. If you want to do VC type corporate work, California is the best place to do it, ties or not, and I have a hard time believing that your sales pitch (if good and genuine) would be looked at skeptically if you had the grades at a school like Hastings or Davis, but you are from Florida.

Obviously, if you have absolutely no clue what you want to do or where you want to be, relocating could be a bad call, but if it is based on the work you want to be invovled with, I see no problems with it. Same can be said for going to school in Texas and wanting to do energy-related work. If you have great reasons for being where you are (and obviously the grades) you should be fine, especially if you network while you are in school to put yourself in a better position.

[abc12345675]

This thread overlooks a factor that was very relevant to me and probably to others as well:

1. I want nothing more than to NOT practice in the market I grew up in.
2. I did not like the city I went to undergrad in.

So that creates quite a predicament. Where I don't want to live any place that I have a tie to.

[romothesavior]

This thread overlooks a factor that was very relevant to me and probably to others as well:

1. I want nothing more than to NOT practice in the market I grew up in.
2. I did not like the city I went to undergrad in.

So that creates quite a predicament. Where I don't want to live any place that I have a tie to.

Fine, for that person, I'd say go to a top school (aka T14) in a market where you can effectively sell an interest, or maybe a highly ranked state school (still skeptical of this), and know full well that the game will be more difficult. Telling an employer "I want your market because my hometown sucks" is an objectively terrible strategy. So I think your best bet is going to be a top school in a mega market.

Everyones situation is a little different. This thread is primarily targeted at people who go to mediocre or TTT schools in secondary markets where they lack ties. That is simply asinine.

[Slevin Kelevra 2011]

There are national (t14), superregional (BC, BU, GW, Fordham, ND), and local (rest of the T1). If you want biglaw, go to 1) a T14, then a superregional, and if you don't get into those, a good local school. Otherwise, don't go.

[flem]

There are national (t14), superregional (BC, BU, GW, Fordham, ND), and local (rest of the T1). If you want biglaw, go to 1) a T14, then a superregional, and if you don't get into those, a good local school. Otherwise, don't go.

SO BRAVE

[Ludo!]

Lolwut. Superregional?

[Elston Gunn]

Lolwut. Superregional?

I went to the superregional between UT and Arizona last year. It was almost 100 in the shade, but it was worth it.

[romothesavior]

There are national (t14), superregional (BC, BU, GW, Fordham, ND), and local (rest of the T1). If you want biglaw, go to 1) a T14, then a superregional, and if you don't get into those, a good local school. Otherwise, don't go.

I sort of agree with this, but your categorization of super regional is way off. Fordham is super regional? Wut? And Vandy and Texas aren't on the list? Also, the lower T14 are all fairly regional.

[JusticeHarlan]

There are national (t14), superregional (BC, BU, GW, Fordham, ND), and local (rest of the T1). If you want biglaw, go to 1) a T14, then a superregional, and if you don't get into those, a good local school. Otherwise, don't go.

I sort of agree with this, but your categorization of super regional is way off. Fordham is super regional? Wut? And Vandy and Texas aren't on the list? Also, the lower T14 are all fairly regional.

He's a useless, not-very-subtle BC troll. Ignore him.