UH v UT Forum

[lifflaff96]

I've been warned against seeking advice on TLS, but deadlines are looming and I've got nothing to lose.

I am 100% sure I want to work in a biglaw firm in Houston upon graduation. No huge interest in leaving Houston, much less Texas.

In addition, I would have to pay nothing at University of Houston. I would be paying full tuition at UNiversity of Texas.

I keep hearing how it's a stupid decision to turn down UT, but UHs placement in biglaw firms in Houston is quite steady, and that is where I want to end up. UH just makes sense.

Am I being stupid for turning down UT???

[poptart123]

UH's biglaw placement is about 17% I believe, so it's going to be very competitive. Are you a Texas resident?

[BigZuck]

UH makes no sense if you want to work at a large firm

UT makes no sense at full instate sticker price

[UVA2B]

UH is a better choice, but you have to be comfortable with the likelihood you could miss out on Biglaw. Having no debt (I'm assuming you have COA covered, not just tuition. If not, please clarify this.) will give you the freedom to pursue other types of employment if you miss the Biglaw train without being under crushing debt for UT. UT gives you a ~50% chance of achieving your goal, whereas UH is closer to 20%, but a coin flip's chance at getting Biglaw and having $200k debt following graduation isn't fun. If you win, you get the pleasure of paying ~$2500/month toward loans for the next ten years; if you lose, you're already head under water in debt, scrapping for jobs that pay significantly less, and likely miserable because you didn't reach your goal on that gamble. You can still do good work at a smaller firm or in government work in Houston, live your life, and not have to worry about the payments you have to make toward student loans.

If you're uncomfortable with the likely outcomes at UH (not Biglaw), then UT becomes the subjectively better choice (not a good choice IMO, but subjectively better because you get a coin flip's chance of achieving your goal vice a roll of a dice bet).

[curry1]

I've been warned against seeking advice on TLS, but deadlines are looming and I've got nothing to lose.

I am 100% sure I want to work in a biglaw firm in Houston upon graduation. No huge interest in leaving Houston, much less Texas.

In addition, I would have to pay nothing at University of Houston. I would be paying full tuition at UNiversity of Texas.

I keep hearing how it's a stupid decision to turn down UT, but UHs placement in biglaw firms in Houston is quite steady, and that is where I want to end up. UH just makes sense.

Am I being stupid for turning down UT???

"I am 100% sure I want to work in a biglaw firm in Houston upon graduation" If you are this inflexible, you shouldn't go to law school. Even out of Yale/Harvard/Stanford, Houston/TX biglaw would not be close to a guarantee. There just aren't that many jobs. UH with full tuition is a fine option as long as you recognize that you'll probably be working at a small/mid-size firm in Houston after graduation. You need to think more clearly about your goals and what you need to do to accomplish them.

[lifflaff96]

UH is a better choice, but you have to be comfortable with the likelihood you could miss out on Biglaw. Having no debt (I'm assuming you have COA covered, not just tuition. If not, please clarify this.) will give you the freedom to pursue other types of employment if you miss the Biglaw train without being under crushing debt for UT. UT gives you a ~50% chance of achieving your goal, whereas UH is closer to 20%, but a coin flip's chance at getting Biglaw and having $200k debt following graduation isn't fun. If you win, you get the pleasure of paying ~$2500/month toward loans for the next ten years; if you lose, you're already head under water in debt, scrapping for jobs that pay significantly less, and likely miserable because you didn't reach your goal on that gamble. You can still do good work at a smaller firm or in government work in Houston, live your life, and not have to worry about the payments you have to make toward student loans.

If you're uncomfortable with the likely outcomes at UH (not Biglaw), then UT becomes the subjectively better choice (not a good choice IMO, but subjectively better because you get a coin flip's chance of achieving your goal vice a roll of a dice bet).

Full COA would be taken care of. No debt upon graduation. I think you really highlight my concern with UT- even though its chances are higher for big law than UH, it's still not high enough for me to happily undertake the debt as a student at UT. This is really helpful! Thank you for your honesty

[lifflaff96]

UH's biglaw placement is about 17% I believe, so it's going to be very competitive. Are you a Texas resident?

Currently a Texas resident, so in-state applies to UT, but it's still a hefty price next to ZERO debt.

[cavalier1138]

UH's biglaw placement is about 17% I believe, so it's going to be very competitive. Are you a Texas resident?

Currently a Texas resident, so in-state applies to UT, but it's still a hefty price next to ZERO debt.

Right. But you have less than a 20% chance at getting the job outcome you want from UH.

This is a perfect example of when a retake would solve all your problems (except the problem of the TX biglaw market just generally being difficult to break into).

[ponderingmeerkat]

You have three options:

1. Go to UH and probably never sniff a biglaw job thus missing out on your goals.
2. Go to UT and probably never sniff a biglaw paycheck because of soul-crushing loan repayment that'll eat up your earnings.
3. Retake/reapply with a better score.

I'd choose option 3 if I had goals similar to yours.