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[speedsta247]

Post removed.

[luckenmeister]

Hi y'all

I'm struggling to make an objective comparison between the aforementioned schools, so I thought I'd open it up to discussion. Thanks in advance.

I've lived nearly my whole life in Texas, and I enjoy the warm weather and low cost of living, but the prospect of staying in-state for my whole career is a bit daunting. I also like DC and Cali, but I'm not interested in moving northeast to Boston or NYC (too cold).

I wouldn't be taking on any debt to attend any of these schools.

Want to do IP law (BME major from Top 2 BME program), and I believe Austin, Cali, and DC are all suppose to be good tech hubs. I don't have significant work experience as an engineer, nor do I have an advanced engineering degree, so I have been led to assume that this means I wouldn't be able to do a whole lot of patent prosecution work (at least at certain big firms), but I guess that's a discussion for a different thread.

Essentially, I'm curious if there's any difference in perceived employment prospects at the cusp of T14. Is this a "go wherever feels best" situation, or is there a clear favorite among the choices listed?

Thanks for your help. Sorry I rambled.

EDIT: Also, if it helps, I'm just one year out of undergrad. Been working as an intern at a law firm to get a feel for the business. Sort of interested in the national v. regional employment prospects of these schools. UCLA and Texas seem to put most grads in-state, but I'm wondering if that's mostly because those students were planning to stay in state.

From what I've learned on these forums, D.C. is really hard to get no matter what school you go to. So I wouldn't bank on say, D.C. Biglaw, from anywhere, even gtwn. ***Disclaimer: I have no idea what type of boost your undergrad background would have, so I may be wrong.***
But in general, I would choose between UCLA or UT based on your geographic goals. Whichever of the two gives you the most dough is where I'd go. I feel like either one of UT and UCLA can both get you to TX and Cali, so you wouldn't be regionally bound by either.

However, I think the best fit for you would be Berkeley. Did you apply? Obv. advantage of being in the tech hub of america with the flexibility to make both TX and D.C. easier possibilities.

[BigZuck]

You need to answer the questions in the sticky at the top of this forum before anyone can really help you:

-The schools you are considering
-The total Cost of Attendance (COA) of each. COA = cost of tuition + fees + books + cost of living (COL) + accumulated interest - scholarships. Here is a helpful calculator.
-How you will be financing your COA, i.e. loans, family, or savings
-Where you are from and where you want to work, and other places where you have significant ties (if any)
-Your general career goals
-Your LSAT/GPA numbers
-How many times you have taken the LSAT

I go to UT, I wouldn't go there unless you have your sights set on Texas. I would start thinking a bit more deeply about where, specifically, you would like to end up geographically because that is a huge part of this decision.