Top Law Schools

I'm down to just these two schools at this point. Stats are 168 LSAT, 3.3 GPA. Cannot retake the LSAT (have already taken thrice in the last 2 years and can't retake until next February).

Got a pretty good amount of money in savings that I'm planning to use, so the costs of attendance at each would be the following:
Boston College -- $85,291
Vanderbilt -- $157,943

I want biglaw/midlaw. Not necessarily hung up on being in an NLJ 250 firm, but would like to make at least $100,000 starting salary as a corporate associate.

I'm from the South and have strong ties to Atlanta and decent ties to Dallas as well. However, would rather leave Atlanta/the South and practice elsewhere. Love Boston/New England/The Northeast and am intrigued by BC's surprisingly decent big-firm placement there. Seems like their alumni network is very strong and it would probably be impossible for me to get into the Boston legal market from any other school since I have zero ties.

Didn't really expect to get into Vanderbilt as such a splitter, but it happened. They obviously have a much stronger national name brand/prestige and good degree portability, and I feel that I can do worse there than at BC and still get a high-paying job. I know their reputation is definitely strongest in the South (where I would prefer not to be), but I feel there's definitely the possibility that if I did well enough, they could get me on the East Coast or even Texas (where, again, I have some ties), even if it's a somewhat remote possibility. And if I don't do as well and have to get a job in the South, I think Vanderbilt sets me up to have a good backup plan given my ties.

In terms of feel/quality of life, I like both schools a lot. Great environments, students, etc. so those aren't really factors in my decision.

Ultimately, I'm trying to decide whether Vanderbilt is worth all the extra debt. Although location is somewhat a consideration, I would say I'm more concerned with getting the good job period than worrying about where I'll be located. But BC places quite decently into a city/area that I love and Vanderbilt is a good $75,000 more.

TheLearnedHand wrote: I want biglaw/midlaw. Not necessarily hung up on being in an NLJ 250 firm, but would like to make at least $100,000 starting salary as a corporate associate.

Before we continue, I'd like you to take a moment to recognize the incongruity of what you're asking.

If you want a good shot at corporate (by which I mean corporate transactional) work I'd probably sit this one out and retake, though BC is comparatively low risk as a whole. You probably won't accomplish your goal by going there though. BC sent only 30% to firms of 100+ and federal clerkships, as per LST.

This may sound really dumb, but could you please explain what is incongruous?

Maybe I'm using vague or unclear terminology that I don't understand...

Because the NLJ250 encompasses the lion's share of corporate transactional focused firms

Ah I see, thank you for that.

Yeah, I didn't mean to specify that I wanted just corporate transactional work.

TheLearnedHand wrote:Ah I see, thank you for that.

Yeah, I didn't mean to specify that I wanted just corporate transactional work.

So what do you want?

I would like a job under the umbrella of business law/commercial law/litigation. Realize that's incredibly broad, but without having been exposed to any legal coursework in these areas, I cannot be much more specific about what type of firm/work I want.

TheLearnedHand wrote:I would like a job under the umbrella of business law/commercial law/litigation. Realize that's incredibly broad, but without having been exposed to any legal coursework in these areas, I cannot be much more specific about what type of firm/work I want.

So you just want to work with businesses? Yeah that doesn't really mean anything, as scads of lawyers work with businesses. I suggest you do some research to figure out what you want to do with you law degree.

where are these 100k 40/hour week jobs? i have a feeling big law wouldn't be so popular then and you'd see TT's with the big law numbers.

For your goals, I'd take BC. Both schools seem to have equivalent placement into biglaw, so going to the cheaper one makes more sense.

Where would you like to practice?

stuckinthemiddle wrote:Both schools seem to have equivalent placement into biglaw

Without speaking to anything else you said, this is not really true