Top Law Schools

If you weren't planning to stay in NC then I would prob say take Vandy with the risk of high total cost, but given you do want to end up in NC I think going with UNC at 100k cheaper is TCR. If it was a less solid school than UNC (solid T1) I would also probably say otherwise.

tfleming09 wrote:

JD Janitor wrote:Its sad...the economy is so fucked up now that smart people are suggesting not to attend a respectable law school. Wish I went through this whole process 8 years ago.

WELCOME TO OBAMA'S AMERICA
just kidding. How solid is that firm connection you were talking about? Like, you know some doods? Or you have an offer and you just have to pass the bar?

How was everything that went wrong Bush's fault (and still is his fault) but nothing is ever Obama's fault? How is it that when Bush was president, he screwed the economy up but now that Obama is president, president's don't have any real control of the economy? This is what you will hear when you listen to the media. A bunch of lies about everything. Nothing is real. Anyway, back on topic...

I work with these guys at this firm. I don't have any verbal commitment but its been mentioned that I could come back. In fact, people in my position have gone to UNC and have joined the firm as soon as they graduated (as recently as 2011). These individuals were also not promised a guaranteed spot but managed to come on board following graduation.

If you are certain you want NC there is no good reason to pay $100k more at Vandy. All top NC firms are full of UNC alums. Would they consider a top Vandy grad? Certainly. Are your odds at NC big law just as good out of Carolina? Unequivocally, yes.

skw wrote:If you are certain you want NC there is no good reason to pay $100k more at Vandy. All top NC firms are full of UNC alums. Would they consider a top Vandy grad? Certainly. Are your odds at NC big law just as good out of Carolina? Unequivocally, yes.

This. It'd be one thing if it were Wake Forest v. Vandy, or Duke v. UNC...but this is an easy call. Enjoy Chapel Hill.

It's true... UNC kind of owns North Carolina. TLS conventional wisdom about "the South" does not apply, because NC is its own universe and US News rankings between 4* and 38 are more or less meaningless here.** Save your money and invest in a ridiculous amount of Pantone 278 clothing.

*I'm being conservative... the real number might be closer to 1.
**Unless it's 11 with ties. There aren't a lot of those to go around.

DaleCooper wrote:It's true... UNC kind of owns North Carolina. TLS conventional wisdom about "the South" does not apply, because NC is its own universe and US News rankings between 4* and 38 are more or less meaningless here.** Save your money and invest in a ridiculous amount of Pantone 278 clothing.

*I'm being conservative... the real number might be closer to 1.
**Unless it's 11 with ties. There aren't a lot of those to go around.

You will still probably need strong grades and be able to convincing tell employers that you want to stay in NC rather than go to NYC, etc. No one should bank on NC BigLaw right out of law school.

lawyerwannabe wrote:

DaleCooper wrote:It's true... UNC kind of owns North Carolina. TLS conventional wisdom about "the South" does not apply, because NC is its own universe and US News rankings between 4* and 38 are more or less meaningless here.** Save your money and invest in a ridiculous amount of Pantone 278 clothing.

*I'm being conservative... the real number might be closer to 1.
**Unless it's 11 with ties. There aren't a lot of those to go around.

You will still probably need strong grades and be able to convincing tell employers that you want to stay in NC rather than go to NYC, etc. No one should bank on NC BigLaw right out of law school.

I've lived in NC my entire life, I went to college in NC, and all of my post undergrad jobs have been in NC including the one I currently have at this firm. You think I'll have to convince employers I want to be in NC?

JD Janitor wrote:How was everything that went wrong Bush's fault (and still is his fault) but nothing is ever Obama's fault? How is it that when Bush was president, he screwed the economy up but now that Obama is president, president's don't have any real control of the economy? This is what you will hear when you listen to the media. A bunch of lies about everything. Nothing is real. Anyway, back on topic...

I was just trolling dood

JD Janitor wrote:I work with these guys at this firm. I don't have any verbal commitment but its been mentioned that I could come back. In fact, people in my position have gone to UNC and have joined the firm as soon as they graduated (as recently as 2011). These individuals were also not promised a guaranteed spot but managed to come on board following graduation.

You're still going to need strong grades from UNC then. You would have more cushion at Vandy. Whether that cushion is worth an additional 100K is up to you.

JD Janitor wrote:

lawyerwannabe wrote:

DaleCooper wrote:It's true... UNC kind of owns North Carolina. TLS conventional wisdom about "the South" does not apply, because NC is its own universe and US News rankings between 4* and 38 are more or less meaningless here.** Save your money and invest in a ridiculous amount of Pantone 278 clothing.

*I'm being conservative... the real number might be closer to 1.
**Unless it's 11 with ties. There aren't a lot of those to go around.

You will still probably need strong grades and be able to convincing tell employers that you want to stay in NC rather than go to NYC, etc. No one should bank on NC BigLaw right out of law school.

I've lived in NC my entire life, I went to college in NC, and all of my post undergrad jobs have been in NC including the one I currently have at this firm. You think I'll have to convince employers I want to be in NC?

No, but you'll still need the grades.

lawyerwannabe wrote:No one has yet to post a convincing reason why Vandy at sticker is a good idea . . .

It's not, but neither is paying over $100k for UNC.

I want vandy

I just want to say that people are heavily overestimating the cushion that Vandy will provide in NC. Honestly, if you're below median at Vandy you're going to struggle to get NC biglaw. And by struggle, I mean that you probably won't get it. The cushion is, realistically, more like needing top 10 percent at UNC vs. needing top 1/3 to top 20 percent for Vandy. That's really not a 100K cushion.

I'm no law school expert, but if you want to stay in NC, have NC residency, and have NC connections, it makes little sense to uproot and move to Nashville. Where did the attorneys at your firm get their JDs? I'm guessing mostly UNC.

Also, have you moved long distances lately? That shit is expensive and majorly inconvenient, especially without a scholarship. I think your option to stay local is a wise one.

ilovelawtays wrote: Also, have you moved long distances lately? That shit is expensive and majorly inconvenient

As someone who will have moved from MN to PA to NY to MN to NC in the last two years, I can confirm this.

.

rickgrimes69 wrote:

ilovelawtays wrote: Also, have you moved long distances lately? That shit is expensive and majorly inconvenient

As someone who will have moved from MN to PA to NY to MN to NC in the last two years, I can confirm this.

Why did you move to NC? Duke?

JD Janitor wrote:

rickgrimes69 wrote:

ilovelawtays wrote: Also, have you moved long distances lately? That shit is expensive and majorly inconvenient

As someone who will have moved from MN to PA to NY to MN to NC in the last two years, I can confirm this.

Why did you move to NC? Duke?

Yessir.

rickgrimes69 wrote:

JD Janitor wrote:

rickgrimes69 wrote:

ilovelawtays wrote: Also, have you moved long distances lately? That shit is expensive and majorly inconvenient

As someone who will have moved from MN to PA to NY to MN to NC in the last two years, I can confirm this.

Why did you move to NC? Duke?

Yessir.

Congrats, have a good friend that will be there with you. Parents graduated from Duke undergrad...always been a fan. I'd be there with you if I was smarter.

JD Janitor wrote:
Why did you move to NC? Duke?

rickgrimes69 wrote:Yessir.

Congrats, have a good friend that will be there with you. Parents graduated from Duke undergrad...always been a fan. I'd be there with you if I was smarter.

Thanks, I'm looking forward to it. I've also never lived in the South, so I'm excited to live in a new region and try something different.

rickgrimes69 wrote:

JD Janitor wrote:
Why did you move to NC? Duke?

rickgrimes69 wrote:Yessir.

Congrats, have a good friend that will be there with you. Parents graduated from Duke undergrad...always been a fan. I'd be there with you if I was smarter.

Thanks, I'm looking forward to it. I've also never lived in the South, so I'm excited to live in a new region and try something different.

Well...please do not judge NC or the south in general based on Durham. Thats the down side of Duke.

JD Janitor wrote:
Well...please do not judge NC or the south in general based on Durham. Thats the down side of Duke.

Ain't that the truth.

Bedsole wrote:

JD Janitor wrote:
Well...please do not judge NC or the south in general based on Durham. Thats the down side of Duke.

Ain't that the truth.

Truth.

JD Janitor wrote: Well...please do not judge NC or the south in general based on Durham. Thats the down side of DukeNC.

Changed my mind about earlier truth. FTFY

I love Durham but can understand that it is not for everyone.

lawyerwannabe wrote:I love Durham but can understand that it is not for everyone.

shit, Durham's pretty awesome nowadays.