SMU 2011 Forum

[kalvano]

Yes and no. That chart only ranks the top 250 firms by pure size. So while being out of the top 10% - top 15% will effectively cut you off from a Jones-Day or Baker-Botts, keep in mind Dallas has a lot of local firms that are fairly large but draw mainly from UT / SMU and do not have as strict a grade cutoff.

And every indication is that there will be more firms doing SA positions and extending offers this year.

[kalvano]

Forgot to mention, but I'm pretty sure I saw the girl from the SMU Follies video in the contracts class at ASD.




how YOU doin

She sits next to me. She's very nice, if a little right-wing. She gets picked on in Civ Pro a lot.

lol u know you're at SMU right? We didn't get the G-dub library by coincidence.

We got it because he's from Dallas.

And I don't mean it in a bad way, I just mean that I disagree with her a lot. I was the one in Civ Pro last semester who got into the "rat poison" debate with her.

[ebo]

We got it because he's from Dallas.

Laura being an SMU alum certainly didn't hurt either...

[mbusch22]

We got it because he's from Dallas.

Laura being an SMU alum certainly didn't hurt either...

SMU being one of the most conservative bush-tolerant schools in the nation didn't hurt either.

Last year he came to a football game and the student section started chanting "four more years". Just sayin'.

[fathergoose]

SMU being one of the most conservative bush-tolerant schools in the nation didn't hurt either.

Last year he came to a football game and the student section started chanting "four more years". Just sayin'.

Yea, rumor had it that they were going to build it opposite his dad's in College Station, but Former Students didn't want 43's library. So that says something.

Edit: They actually went so far to as to number the parking lot in front of George senior's library 41 and the parking lot directly across and in front of a big field 43.

[fathergoose]

Not to rain on the parade, but if you weren't in the top 16% of the c/o 2010, does that data really do you any good?

Also I forget where I saw it but one of the transparency groups had SMU's confirmed 2009 or 2010 employment numbers and it had 65-70% of grads making 100k+ at 9 months after graduation. That's not big law money but that certainly pays off the the loans

Edit: I can't seem to find that graph so take it with a grain of salt.

[ebo]

Not to rain on the parade, but if you weren't in the top 16% of the c/o 2010, does that data really do you any good?

Also I forget where I saw it but one of the transparency groups had SMU's confirmed 2009 or 2010 employment numbers and it had 65-70% of grads making 100k+ at 9 months after graduation. That's not big law money but that certainly pays off the the loans

Edit: I can't seem to find that graph so take it with a grain of salt.

Outside of the 30 or so NLJ 250 firms that have offices in Dallas, where else are recent SMU grads finding these 100k + jobs in Dallas? Not questioning what you've said, I'm just curious

[fathergoose]

Outside of the 30 or so NLJ 250 firms that have offices in Dallas, where else are recent SMU grads finding these 100k + jobs in Dallas? Not questioning what you've said, I'm just curious

I'm curious as well. I just remember seeing that somewhere in my compulsive procrastinating. It is probably very subject to confirmation bias as well. I may have seen 20 graphs to the contrary but believe the one that supports my theory.

Edit: In the interest of not being just a sunshine pumper, here is a link to another thread that has significantly grimmer numbers than what I contending. It looks like about half at $75k+. Take it for what you will
http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 1&t=150681

[kalvano]

Dallas Biglaw pays East Coast market. However, there are a number of smaller firms in Dallas that pay that, or close to it, that will never make the NLJ 250.

Also, Dallas has a lot more "midlaw" firms that start around $80K to $100K than most other places.

[Longhorn88]

Regardless of one's personal political views, having a presidential library on campus is pretty badass. The opportunities for researching primary documents are amazing. I don't particularly agree with a lot of LBJ's philosophies or policies but being able to use research in his archives as an undergrad was one of the best experiences I've had in college. That said, it may not benefit us as much as future Mustangs, since I'd wager a lot of stuff is still classified and it'll take them years to go through everything. Also it's going to be interesting seeing how they archive materials in dealing with digital materials, given that his presidency was one of the first to be entirely in the Internet Age.

Just curious, I'd heard he taught a class at SMU. Anyone know anything about this?

[bartleby]

well, after the huge stink i made ten or so pages back, i'll be putting down my deposit tomorrow (had a week extension). i just don't think the $2500 difference in cost of living and $600 in tuition at UGA is worth the ties to Texas - been in Houston for the last 10 years.

[fathergoose]

well, after the huge stink i made ten or so pages back, i'll be putting down my deposit tomorrow (had a week extension). i just don't think the $2500 difference in cost of living and $600 in tuition at UGA is worth the ties to Texas - been in Houston for the last 10 years.

Cycles are funny that way. SMU wasn't in my top five at the beginning of mine.

Dallas ftw?

I hope so.

[mbusch22]

Regardless of one's personal political views, having a presidential library on campus is pretty badass. The opportunities for researching primary documents are amazing. I don't particularly agree with a lot of LBJ's philosophies or policies but being able to use research in his archives as an undergrad was one of the best experiences I've had in college. That said, it may not benefit us as much as future Mustangs, since I'd wager a lot of stuff is still classified and it'll take them years to go through everything. Also it's going to be interesting seeing how they archive materials in dealing with digital materials, given that his presidency was one of the first to be entirely in the Internet Age.

Just curious, I'd heard he taught a class at SMU. Anyone know anything about this?

yeah he unexpectedly dropped in on a freshman poli sci class last year. He actually made quite a few little surprise visits to campus last year, I heard he also popped in on a journalism class. Never came over to Cox though.

[Longhorn88]

Anyone have any recommendations on places to live that are close to campus? As in walking distance, or at least a very short drive. I know anything in HP/UP is going to be extremely expensive but at lunch on Friday some 2Ls recommend I look for a garage apt/back house sort of deal.

[smithc2011]

Hey, this may not be the thread for this, but there seems to be a lot of activity here. Did anyone have any success, or personally know anyone that had any success, negotiating for extra scholarship money at SMU? I'm probably about 80/20 SMU vs. UH, with negligible COA differences, so a little bit more money would pretty much seal the deal. I just contacted UH asking about negotiation again (already did once, got a bit), and was wondering if i could have any hope for success at SMU. I'm expecting a few hopeful boosts to my application at the conclusion of this semester (tough semester, much better grades than my UGPA, may have a killer letter of rec from the head of my academic dep't), so I was thinking about asking for reconsideration based on that stuff and the additional funds that are probably now available, following those who dropped out after the seat deposit deadline.

sorry for the long-winded post, i'm coked out on 5-hour energy. Thanks for any feedback.

[swilson215]

Anyone have any recommendations on places to live that are close to campus? As in walking distance, or at least a very short drive. I know anything in HP/UP is going to be extremely expensive but at lunch on Friday some 2Ls recommend I look for a garage apt/back house sort of deal.

I saw a couple of duplexes and town homes right in the area that didn't seem like they would be that expensive...and there are always the complexes in the village, right?

Edit: I got the numbers for a couple of the duplexes that I saw for rent if you want me to PM them to you...

[Billy Batts]

Anyone have any recommendations on places to live that are close to campus? As in walking distance, or at least a very short drive. I know anything in HP/UP is going to be extremely expensive but at lunch on Friday some 2Ls recommend I look for a garage apt/back house sort of deal.

Just walk around the streets that run east/west on the west side of Hillcrest. There are tons of apartments renting for anywhere from around $1,000 all the up to $3-4k per month. Most of those owners don't seem to advertise on craigslist, etc., but you'll see plenty of signs in their front yards. You'll be able to easily spot the really expensive rentals.

[bartleby]

how are the bathrooms on campus? are there any secret spots to shit that i should know about? if anyone is going to UH here, feel free to PM me and i'll let you in on a few secrets.

[fathergoose]

Hey, this may not be the thread for this, but there seems to be a lot of activity here. Did anyone have any success, or personally know anyone that had any success, negotiating for extra scholarship money at SMU? I'm probably about 80/20 SMU vs. UH, with negligible COA differences, so a little bit more money would pretty much seal the deal. I just contacted UH asking about negotiation again (already did once, got a bit), and was wondering if i could have any hope for success at SMU. I'm expecting a few hopeful boosts to my application at the conclusion of this semester (tough semester, much better grades than my UGPA, may have a killer letter of rec from the head of my academic dep't), so I was thinking about asking for reconsideration based on that stuff and the additional funds that are probably now available, following those who dropped out after the seat deposit deadline.

sorry for the long-winded post, i'm coked out on 5-hour energy. Thanks for any feedback.

Personally I've not heard of anybody managing to negotiate scholarships. They tend to make their best offer the first time and stand by it.

[Longhorn88]

Hey, this may not be the thread for this, but there seems to be a lot of activity here. Did anyone have any success, or personally know anyone that had any success, negotiating for extra scholarship money at SMU? I'm probably about 80/20 SMU vs. UH, with negligible COA differences, so a little bit more money would pretty much seal the deal. I just contacted UH asking about negotiation again (already did once, got a bit), and was wondering if i could have any hope for success at SMU. I'm expecting a few hopeful boosts to my application at the conclusion of this semester (tough semester, much better grades than my UGPA, may have a killer letter of rec from the head of my academic dep't), so I was thinking about asking for reconsideration based on that stuff and the additional funds that are probably now available, following those who dropped out after the seat deposit deadline.

sorry for the long-winded post, i'm coked out on 5-hour energy. Thanks for any feedback.

Personally I've not heard of anybody managing to negotiate scholarships. They tend to make their best offer the first time and stand by it.

I've heard this line repeatedly from them and am inclined to believe it now. Given, their first offer is very good.

[kalvano]

Thirded on the "best offer first".

Though I am going to try and hit them up for more money for my 2L year.

[lokist86]

Thirded on the "best offer first".

Though I am going to try and hit them up for more money for my 2L year.

Have also tried negotiating - same response: best offer upfront and stands by the intial amount.

[txsunshine]

Found some promising housing options while I was up there this weekend. Is anyone interested in a roommate situation? Female here but I don't really care whether roommate is male or female.

[swilson215]

Found some promising housing options while I was up there this weekend. Is anyone interested in a roommate situation? Female here but I don't really care whether roommate is male or female.

Hey, I am. PM me for my email address and we can chat off of the thread.

[lokist86]

Yeah, I'm going to UGA. It was a hard decision. I think Dallas is cool. I think SMU is a quality school. I was just pointing out some scary stats - that are scary regardless of how many other schools share similar ones. I just jumped in because other 0Ls were being crazy gung ho / aggressive about how awesome SMU is.

Well, now we know who to call if we need to keep it real. Thanks, bro.

You are welcome, my bro.

Also, if I decide to go to SMU, I won't post it here - less the TLS Pony Stampede trample me.

so...changed your mind about the school and your decision to publicize it, huh?

EDIT: Just teasing.