El_Gallo wrote:austrascruff wrote:El_Gallo wrote:Austascruff, are you a current BYU student?
No, I applied a few years back, got accepted at the U and waitlisted at BYU. I deferred because I found out I was pregnant (we weren't supposed to be able to get pregnant according to the Doctors). So now I'm just going through the process again.
Ok, gotchya. Well, I hope you have better luck this time around!
Has anybody heard any anecdotes about how current BYU students are doing job wise? The new NLJ Go-To Law School list does not paint a pretty picture for the cougars. The only BYU alum I know graduated at median during the height of the recession and was never able to find a legal job. I love the school's low tuition, but priority number one is getting a decent job.
On another note, are any other admitted students planning on attending the General Conference reception? I just got an email invite and it sounds like a great way to start networking.
I don't think things are going great in general, but it could be worse. Most of the people I know of in the top 15% of the class have good things lined up. Not everyone at the top of the class has done well, but part of that is poor job search strategy. You can't really count on OCI, although some big, national firms do come and make offers. And SLC is a small, competitive market, so you can't count on getting a job with a high salary there.
Below the top of the class, there are people who have good things going and there are others who don't have anything. It's pretty much what you would expect from a school of BYU's rank in a down job market.
You're right that priority #1 has to be getting a job. I had that job prospects vs. low tuition dilemma when I was deciding where to go. It wasn't as risky for me to go to a lower-ranked school like BYU because I have good patent law credentials. If I didn't have that (and if I were younger and/or childless), I think the best decision would have been to go T-14.
That said, there is something to be said for graduating with a low debt load. That way, even if you don't end up with a high salary, you'll be alright. If T-14 isn't an option, I think BYU makes a lot of sense. And it can make sense even if T-14 is an option, depending on your debt tolerance and family circumstances.