Top Law Schools

Is the huge difference between these two schools mostly where they place? My understanding is that the schools above T14 are a clump of regional schools (T15-T20 at least), so am I right to assume that UT doesn't necessarily rank better than BU, it just targets a different market, or am I missing something? I know that ATL has Texas ranked like... 12, I think, and BU at 18, and Vault has Texas right at 15 like it usually is but knocks BU out of the T20 (not that those rankings matter more than USNWR, I was just looking to see some other numbers, I guess), so across three different ranking systems, UT is above BU...

Your premise is flawed. Rankings dont matter at all

lymenheimer wrote:Your premise is flawed. Rankings dont matter at all

I went on a tangent regarding rankings so I see how you got that, but that wasn't quite the question I meant to ask.

Essentially, the question is: given that these schools seem to have comparable employment statistics, am I correct in my understanding that the main [objective] difference between these two schools is where they place or am I missing something?

Yes, it basically comes down to whether you want to be in Boston and Texas (if you don't want either, you shouldn't go to these schools). That being said, UT is the top local school in Texas while BU has to compete with BC and Harvard, so UT is probably comparatively stronger in Texas than BU is in Boston.

kingpin101 wrote:Yes, it basically comes down to whether you want to be in Boston and Texas (if you don't want either, you shouldn't go to these schools). That being said, UT is the top local school in Texas while BU has to compete with BC and Harvard, so UT is probably comparatively stronger in Texas than BU is in Boston.

Thank you, that's the kind of answer I was looking for lol.

Rankings are silly, but UT has always been T20 whereas Boston is the new kid on the block this year and doesn't have a permanent seat at the table. BU cracking T20 this year means nothing and UT/UCLA/Vandy crew are still more prestigious with a larger portion of the class getting the most desirable outcomes.

UT has what I'd consider not insignificantly better employment numbers, but if you really wanted Boston then obviously UT would make less sense.

All things equal, I'd choose UT if you truly don't have geographic preferences.

brinicolec wrote:given that these schools seem to have comparable employment statistics

I wouldn't say that they really have comparable employment statistics.

Sure, BU places better in Boston than UT does (hint BC places better in Boston than BU does despite being "ranked" lower). UT places much better in Texas than BU does for its markets though.


You have more than a 10% difference in kids getting biglaw and federal clerkships at UT than BU, which is kind of a lot when you are comparing schools outside the T-14.