CHI/PENN/UVA/UT Forum

[Badges!?!]

What do you think TLS?

[sinfiery]

Goals?


Probably Penn though.

[Badges!?!]

Goals?


Probably Penn though.

Sorry about that, I knew I forgot something.

Goals are federal clerkship, then big law. Pretty standard TLS stuff, I guess.

As for location: DC, Houston, Dallas (though, to be honest, most anywhere with a large salary and work that I enjoy would do). Chicago would be great, Philadelphia would be great. I really am pretty open when it comes to the geography of employment.

[Doorkeeper]

All of these options suck. $210-280k is a ridiculous sum of money to be paying for these schools.

So long as NYC biglaw is a satisfactory outcome for you, go Penn. Clerkship rate between the schools is pretty negligible (10% vs. 14%). If you really, really prefer Chicago, then go UChicago.

Try to negotiate any scholarship money you got from UVA or Penn with Chicago.

[WokeUpInACar]

I can't see Chicago being worth 70k more than Penn.

[sinfiery]

Definitely Penn as long as pretty much anywhere includes NYC. UChi would be slightly better for your goals, but the added cost is way too much for a very small increase in clerkship opportunities.

[Micdiddy]

Shouldn't there be a mid-option? Like Duke or NU with 120k? Seems weird that it's basically t8 near sticker, or Texas. Quite the leap in schools.
With that said yeah Penn.

[Badges!?!]

Shouldn't there be a mid-option? Like Duke or NU with 120k? Seems weird that it's basically t8 near sticker, or Texas. Quite the leap in schools.
With that said yeah Penn.

If Northwestern lets me in off their waitlist, I'll let you know. Really wish there was an NU-type option for UT money, but that didn't happen.

[Badges!?!]

All of these options suck. $210-280k is a ridiculous sum of money to be paying for these schools.

So long as NYC biglaw is a satisfactory outcome for you, go Penn. Clerkship rate between the schools is pretty negligible (10% vs. 14%). If you really, really prefer Chicago, then go UChicago.

Try to negotiate any scholarship money you got from UVA or Penn with Chicago.

Yeah, scholarship negotiation will certainly occur (at least, I hope it will).

Also, just to be clear, the dollar figure range is $143k-280k. I realize the only T-14 choices start in the $210K neighborhood, but I do consider Texas to be a viable option.

[Doorkeeper]

Also, just to be clear, the dollar figure range is $143k-280k. I realize the only T-14 choices start in the $210K neighborhood, but I do consider Texas to be a viable option.

If you want biglaw, especially biglaw outside of Texas, UT isn't viable. They have 28% biglaw placement, as opposed to Penn's 67% placement.

[northwood]

that is a lot of money to pay. when did you apply? did you apply to other schools? I am debt averse, so I personally would REAPPLY on September 1 and apply al over the t14, plus your state flagship and the state flagship school where you want to end up.

[shifty_eyed]

I can't see Chicago being worth 70k more than Penn.

maybe if he REALLY wants a clerkship

[Doorkeeper]

I can't see Chicago being worth 70k more than Penn.

maybe if he REALLY wants a clerkship

10% vs. 14% chance. That's not worth $70k.

[Micdiddy]

Shouldn't there be a mid-option? Like Duke or NU with 120k? Seems weird that it's basically t8 near sticker, or Texas. Quite the leap in schools.
With that said yeah Penn.

If Northwestern lets me in off their waitlist, I'll let you know. Really wish there was an NU-type option for UT money, but that didn't happen.

Weird. Numbers? Urm? This may become another retake and reapply thread before long...

[shifty_eyed]

I can't see Chicago being worth 70k more than Penn.

maybe if he REALLY wants a clerkship

10% vs. 14% chance. That's not worth $70k.

Huh. For some reason I thought Chicago had much higher clerkship numbers.

[Badges!?!]

that is a lot of money to pay. when did you apply? did you apply to other schools? I am debt averse, so I personally would REAPPLY on September 1 and apply al over the t14, plus your state flagship and the state flagship school where you want to end up.

Applications were sent in early November a day or two after the release of the October LSAT. I think I hit 12 of the T-14 (Application results are in the splitter thread, so I'll spare posting them all here).

LSAT takes are maxed out, and there will be no GPA improvement. I don't think things would change much by waiting a year.

[Nelson]

Meh I don't think that price for Penn is that outrageous but maybe I'm rationalizing.

[sinfiery]

Meh I don't think that price for Penn is that outrageous but maybe I'm rationalizing.

I don't either, especially if COA is calculated correctly.

[Micdiddy]

If you can't retake then yeah Penn at that number is not the worst thing in the world.

[UtilityMonster]

All of these options suck.

No they don't. This site has become so elitist it is just absurd. The OP will likely have better outcomes in his career than at least 90% of people who attend law school. Paying down debt is undesirable, but is worth doing with a degree from a top ten law school.

[Doorkeeper]

All of these options suck.

No they don't. This site has become so elitist it is just absurd. The OP will likely have better outcomes in his career than at least 90% of people who attend law school. Paying down debt is undesirable, but is worth doing with a degree from a top ten law school.

We'll see how you feel on the other side with $300k in loans and a biglaw job. Many of my friends can attest that a Penn or UChicago law degree isn't solace when those bills come in the mail.

[Nelson]

All of these options suck.

No they don't. This site has become so elitist it is just absurd. The OP will likely have better outcomes in his career than at least 90% of people who attend law school. Paying down debt is undesirable, but is worth doing with a degree from a top ten law school.

We'll see how you feel on the other side with $300k in loans and a biglaw job. Many of my friends can attest that a Penn or UChicago law degree isn't solace when those bills come in the mail.

But your Harvard degree is solace enough I suppose?

The $300k exaggeration doesn't apply to OP, who already used an inflated number for his COA. Unless your friends had lucrative careers already before law school, then I'd say that's a grass is greener situation.

[Hutz_and_Goodman]

All of these options suck. $210-280k is a ridiculous sum of money to be paying for these schools.
.

[20141023]

.

[DukeofCambridge]

Doorkeeper, although I usually agree with most of the stuff you post on this site, I kind of wonder why you feel that the OP's options "suck" in this case. Unless you are working under the presumption that sticker at HYS also sucks, I am not sure how can justify your statement. Based on this, which is in turn based on the ABA data, the difference between Penn (77.04%), Harvard (71.36%), and Chicago (70.70%) in terms of BigLaw + AIII placement is within 6%. For article III clerkships alone, the difference between Harvard (17.80%), Chicago (14.42%), and Penn (10.37%) is still about 6%. I understand that YHS are >>> everything else, but if you consider what the OP has as "sucks," I wonder how you justify one of the top 3 to someone who doesn't qualify for need-based aid. With IBR and now PAYE, debt-pwnage is becoming less and less of an issue even if the amount of student loans is astronomical.

I would whole-heartedly agree.