T2 grads that do not regret going to law school Forum

[vanwinkle]

I am just trying to reassure myself that going to a T2 like Seattle U or UOP might not be that bad of an idea if I am actually keen on practicing law.

A lot of 0Ls make the mistake of thinking that "actually wanting to practice law" or "just wanting to practice law somewhere" makes them unique or different. A lot of people who go to law school want to practice law when they graduate. The problem is that to practice law you need to either 1) find a job or 2) have enough money to both pay off your loans and be able to work for free somewhere. The vast majority of people going to law school can't pull off #2, so everyone is competing for jobs. Just "wanting to practice law" doesn't make you stand out, everyone who seeks a law job presumably wants to practice law.

Assume everyone else wants to practice law as much as you do. Then do your probability/risk assessment based on that.

[gens1tb]

For what it's worth, I've read that Seattle is a small market dominated by UW. I'm unsure of how Seattle U does in the rest of Washington. $40,000 a year for tuition isn't offset very much by $8,000 a year. If memory serves, about half of their graduates have a salary range with a median of about $60,000, and a lot of those aren't public service jobs, meaning the debt will not be easy.

[Naked Dude]

Thanks for the comments. bump

I have a friend who was strongly encouraging me to go to a T2 over schools in the T14. He had really good numbers, but he didn't get Penn and he didn't want to move to any of the peer-school areas. He ended up at a school ranked in the eighties, that traditionally does very well for its top 5%. He's in the top 5%, and has a SA at a V20, and now he evangelizes for his choice. I have another friend (1L) who made a similar choice, and also seems to be in the top 10% - but I'm not sure if that will be enough for him.

The people I know in real life seem to belie the TLS assumption that "you don't know you'll do better at a worse school."

Villanova or Rutgers-Camden I'm guessing. Must be Rutgers, typically the top 10% at Nova is safe for biglawl.

Close enough.

Nova? You can't be serious. I'm from Florida (and applied to a couple FL lawl schools as backups). The uniform thing that I heard from all my family lawyer friends and legal employers is: UF, UM, FSU are ok if you do well, but avoid St. Thomas, Nova, Barry, Ave Maria, no matter how much money they give you. If you look up FL firms, you'll see the occasional Nova grad partner (invariably summa cum laude, editor in chief of law review, President of Moot Court), but you have to be the king of the mountain. In this legal market, and hell the legal market of the entire 2000s even I wouldn't go to Nova. There are unemployed UM/UF grads in the top 20% of their class. It's rough out there. I wouldn't go to UM unless I got at least a 3/4 scholarship and lived with my parents. I can't even imagine what Nova would have to give me. Maybe a brand new car and a house.

No offense intended, but the Florida legal market is less than stellar (as everywhere I guess, though I hear estates & trusts are hot). I could be convinced to go to a T2 on a large sum of money, but not a TTT. I'm sure there are extremely intelligent people there, but top 10% is far from a guarantee. I guess it's ok if you're a local. My mother almost went to Nova Law, but she had 10 years of work experience in the healthcare industry, very solid connections, and a spouse with a stable job. Can't in good conscience recommend it for someone without very strong local connections, work experience, and definitely an employed partner.

[Naked Dude]

That said, the one sub-T2 I would consider is FIU. Cheaper than UM, and they're doing pretty well for themselves. But be careful

[beach_terror]

Nova? You can't be serious. I'm from Florida (and applied to a couple FL lawl schools as backups). The uniform thing that I heard from all my family lawyer friends and legal employers is: UF, UM, FSU are ok if you do well, but avoid St. Thomas, Nova, Barry, Ave Maria, no matter how much money they give you.

What the fuck are you talking about. We were blatantly talking about the Philadelphia market, not Florida. Also, it was VILLANOVA, not whatever shitfucked school you have down there.

[stayway]

That said, the one sub-T2 I would consider is FIU. Cheaper than UM, and they're doing pretty well for themselves. But be careful

FIU? GTFO.

[Naked Dude]

Nova? You can't be serious. I'm from Florida (and applied to a couple FL lawl schools as backups). The uniform thing that I heard from all my family lawyer friends and legal employers is: UF, UM, FSU are ok if you do well, but avoid St. Thomas, Nova, Barry, Ave Maria, no matter how much money they give you.

What the fuck are you talking about. We were blatantly talking about the Philadelphia market, not Florida. Also, it was VILLANOVA, not whatever shitfucked school you have down there.

Ah I see. I know that Nova is a common nickname for Villanova (in point of fact, the father of someone I know is a professor there), but there is a law school at Nova Southeastern University in South Florida. Coming from this area, I still think of NSU whenever someone says Nova. Usually takes a few seconds.

[Naked Dude]

That said, the one sub-T2 I would consider is FIU. Cheaper than UM, and they're doing pretty well for themselves. But be careful

FIU? GTFO.

Not a great school, but they beat out all other Florida law schools in bar passage rate. That's just one metric, and that says nothing of job prospects (although presumably passing the bar improves an individual's chances of finding legal work, I mean in the aggregate). Still wouldn't go there, still doesn't mean it's better than UF, but interesting. Like Miami-Dade winning some college chess championship a few years back. The underdog people rag on doing well somewhere. Just find it interesting.