Help.. Again.. Please.. Cornell with $120k or Texas free

[Angrygeopolitically]

I didn't necessarily mean ignore the possibility of Austin biglaw. I just think it should play a minor role in affecting her overall decision. Example: Say if someone's dream job is academia. That could be a factor when choosing between Columbia and GULC, but it really shouldn't be the main factor.

Fair enough, though I disagree with you. I think that Austin biglaw should be a nonfactor here. I also think academia should be a nonfactor between CLS/GULC.

I'm also done answering OP's question when their location preferences seem to change every 5 seconds.

Thanks for all the help bk1!!
And the rest of you too.

I guess UT it is unless I hear from H,S, or C after months of silence.

[Richie Tenenbaum]

You cannot possibly be indifferent between NYC and Texas. It's not possible. Figure out where you want to live.

And if you can't, pick Cornell since you can still get Texas from Cornell (particularly with ties), but will likely be stuck in Texas with UT (especially given a lack of other ties)

I have plenty of friends at UT with jobs in NYC with 0 ties there as well as other friends with jobs in other major markets w/o ties (CA, Chicago, etc) (this latter group had pretty good grades though). Will OP have a better shot at getting biglaw in places outside of Texas coming from Cornell? Sure. Would OP have a 51% chance or higher of not being able to get biglaw outside of Texas if she went to UT? Doubtful that her odds would be that shitty.

[ckelly85]

Keep in mind there are like 2 BigLaw firms here in Austin and a ton of people at UT Law want a spot. It will be legitimately really difficult for you to score one as an out of stater.

[Richie Tenenbaum]

Keep in mind there are like 2 BigLaw firms here in Austin and a ton of people at UT Law want a spot. It will be legitimately really difficult for you to score one as an out of stater.

Bold is absolutely wrong. To repeat, biglaw in Austin is difficult to get but not impossible.

Market-paying (160K) biglaw firms in Austin:
V&E
Baker Botts
Fulbright
Jackson Walker
Bracewell
Andrews Kurth
Locke Lord
Haynes & Boone (they may have dipped to 145 ITE, but I would be surprised if they stayed there (assuming they haven't gone back up already))
McKool Smith (mostly IP litigation)
King & Spalding (I think this is a new office, but they'll need to start bringing more people in soon I presume)
Fish & Richardson (mostly IP litigation, I think)

There are probably more that I'm missing. And there are more firms that pay ~145K.

[woeisme]

You cannot possibly be indifferent between NYC and Texas. It's not possible. Figure out where you want to live.

And if you can't, pick Cornell since you can still get Texas from Cornell (particularly with ties), but will likely be stuck in Texas with UT (especially given a lack of other ties)

I have plenty of friends at UT with jobs in NYC with 0 ties there as well as other friends with jobs in other major markets w/o ties (CA, Chicago, etc) (this latter group had pretty good grades though). Will OP have a better shot at getting biglaw in places outside of Texas coming from Cornell? Sure. Would OP have a 51% chance or higher of not being able to get biglaw outside of Texas if she went to UT? Doubtful that her odds would be that shitty.

Interesting, I had heard and would've expected it to be more difficult from UT. But you prolly have better first hand knowledge. I stand corrected.

[Richie Tenenbaum]

You cannot possibly be indifferent between NYC and Texas. It's not possible. Figure out where you want to live.

And if you can't, pick Cornell since you can still get Texas from Cornell (particularly with ties), but will likely be stuck in Texas with UT (especially given a lack of other ties)

I have plenty of friends at UT with jobs in NYC with 0 ties there as well as other friends with jobs in other major markets w/o ties (CA, Chicago, etc) (this latter group had pretty good grades though). Will OP have a better shot at getting biglaw in places outside of Texas coming from Cornell? Sure. Would OP have a 51% chance or higher of not being able to get biglaw outside of Texas if she went to UT? Doubtful that her odds would be that shitty.

Interesting, I had heard and would've expected it to be more difficult from UT. But you prolly have better first hand knowledge. I stand corrected.

Maybe I'm being optimistic and maybe I have a biased view based on the group of people I hang out with the most. But that said, while I don't consider UT a national school (but I really don't consider most law schools truly "national"), I don't think it "traps" most people in Texas who came to UT wanting to go elsewhere. The reality is that most people who go to UT really do want to stay in Texas. The ones I know who don't want to stay were all able to go elsewhere. D.C. and Chicago were hard for people w/o good grades to get, but I think that holds true for most places (especially D.C.). I'm sure there are some people who do get "stuck" in Texas, but I don't think it's an insurmountable problem for most.

[Angrygeopolitically]

Is growing up an hour outside of Austin considered- 'from Austin' in regards to employment.

[Richie Tenenbaum]

Is growing up an hour outside of Austin considered- 'from Austin' in regards to employment.

Depends. How much time have you spent in Austin? Does you family live an hour away or in Austin? What are your current ties to Austin? Why is Austin the place where you want to be, as say, compared to Portland or SF, or any other city that might be nice to live in?

It's all about coming up with a compelling story for why Austin is where you need to be after graduation. Convince your interviewers of that and it won't matter if you grew up on 6th street or an hour away.

[sparty99]

Go to Texas. End of story.