deleted Forum

[DQ5589]

.

[Rigo]

Rankings are pretty meaningless in and of themselves. Go to the school that allows you to achieve your career goals for little cost. Obviously there's a trade off.
What are your stats? What are your career goals?
Boulder isn't worth sticker price or significant debt, if that's what you're asking. But you also shouldn't assume you won't get any money from Colorado, especially if your stats are good enough for a Denver full ride.

[mvp99]

http://www.lstscorereports.com/schools/denver/

http://www.lstscorereports.com/schools/colorado/2013/

What are your goals?

edit: Agree with the poster above. At this level, rankings are pretty useless.

[DQ5589]

.

[Rigo]

Why aren't you aiming way higher as a 165 URM? What kind of URM are you?

[DQ5589]

.

[03152016]

i guarantee you will get big money from cu-boulder

don't make any decisions rn

[Rigo]

i guarantee you will get big money from cu-boulder

Seconding.
Also, is there a good chance your husband will be transferred elsewhere? These two schools are unfortunately very regional so finding employment elsewhere will very difficult.

[daleearnhardt123]

I'm Black and Hispanic.
My husband is in the military and we're currently stationed in Colorado so that's the highest I can go since I don't want to leave him behind.

you're doing yourself a major disservice if you go to one of those schools. If you absolutely must be near your husband, and he absolutely can not leave Colorado, then the best advice is to wait until his situation changes. You can get T-14 easy with money with that profile.

[DQ5589]

.

[03152016]

no way to give you that advice until we know your goals, specifically

[DQ5589]

.

[Tr3]

Are you from Colorado? Do you want to work in Colorado? I would say only go to one of these schools if you plan to practice in Denver or the immediate surrounding area, but best job prospects will be in Denver.

In the Denver market, CU is viewed as being slightly better than DU; but both are feeder schools to Denver firms. All the firms recruit at both. Class size is smaller at CU. CU probably won't give you a full ride. I think their maximum award is full tuition first year + 10/12K 2L and 3L (with the ability to apply for more scholarships after 1L). Although, I have heard of some people negotiating better packages at CU, I just don't know what the circumstances were.

URM + your stats could get into several T14s, so depending on your career goals, I'd say shoot for T20/T14.

Also, it's University of Colorado Boulder, not University of Boulder (not trying to be rude, just saying...).

Best of luck.


Edit: You posted career goals before I submitted the comment. In the case of working for the state, I think either would be fine. It will mostly come down to networking.

[03152016]

I just want to work for the state.
I don't have huge ambitions of working at a top law firm or anything.

that could mean anything from working at the state ag's office to being a law clerk to working as a legislative aide to working as a state public defender
it sounds like you don't have a clear picture yet of what you'd like to do
have you worked in the legal field before?

[Rigo]

So pretty much, go to a top 20 or don't go?

No, not necessarily. You do have modest goals and going to Boulder would be defensible since you'll likely have little debt. The problem lies in that you don't know how long you'll stay in Colorado, and the only reason you should consider regional Colorado schools in Colorado is if you want to practice in Colorado (or maybe a few surrounding states in the Rocky Mountain West).

A 165 URM with a decent GPA could definitely snag T14's. I understand you don't want to move away from your husband, but if there's a chance he may be stationed elsewhere soon, it may be worth waiting.

What are your husband's plans? Is he looking to retire in a few years or be in the military more long-term? If he's retiring soon, maybe you can go to law school then and you both can move to wherever you plan on going to school.
Do you want to return to Las Vegas?

[dissonance1848]

African-American with a 3.66 and 165? You need to find the best scholly T-14 combination out there. The top schools have a huge advantage in terms of portability. Since your husband is military and gets transferred around, it will be doubly important to have a degree that you can use. If you take a degree from either of those schools, and you two move, your odds of getting another legal job crash to near zero. You need a degree from a T-14 to have a chance at having a legal career.

[A. Nony Mouse]

You need a degree from a T-14 to have a chance at having a legal career.

This isn't strictly true. It's more a question of your goals and the cost of your options.

[03152016]

apparently op has bailed from the thread

this demonstrates one of the principal problems with law school as it exists today
people don't want to do serious research, answer hard questions, or consider their futures

instead, they will quit their job, study for months for the lsat, go through an admissions cycle, move, and matriculate, basically starting a whole new life, without having even a basic understanding of what's involved in entering the legal field or what they'd like to do long-term
they prefer to reduce complex decisions to a ranking, or completely arbitrary distinctions like "T20"

there was a time when admissions was more of a black box and information about outcomes was sparse. this is no longer the case. yes, many students are still being scammed by law schools. but more and more prospective students are aware of the risks, as op's posts (which i have saved) indicate. they have access to the information they need to make the right decision, but choose not to because it's too much work. these people have no right to complain later when they are dissatisfied with their outcomes

[Rigo]

apparently op has bailed from the thread

I'm hoping she just got the answer she needed.
It's a difficult situation when you're a military spouse. In many way your life takes a back seat. However, OP has much greater potential than she probably initially realized. It's probably worth waiting until she's more settled in a location and her future is more certain.

[A. Nony Mouse]

apparently op has bailed from the thread

this demonstrates one of the principal problems with law school as it exists today
people don't want to do serious research, answer hard questions, or consider their futures

instead, they will quit their job, study for months for the lsat, go through an admissions cycle, move, and matriculate, basically starting a whole new life, without having even a basic understanding of what's involved in entering the legal field or what they'd like to do long-term
they prefer to reduce complex decisions to a ranking, or completely arbitrary distinctions like "T20"

there was a time when admissions was more of a black box and information about outcomes was sparse. this is no longer the case. yes, many students are still being scammed by law schools. but more and more prospective students are aware of the risks, as op's posts (which i have saved) indicate. they have access to the information they need to make the right decision, but choose not to because it's too much work. these people have no right to complain later when they are dissatisfied with their outcomes

I think this is a little harsh based on five posts in this thread. There is lots of information available, but access doesn't always make it easy to understand/absorb right away.