IN AT TEXAS!!!!!!! CLASS OF 2013!! Forum

[JazzOne]

So the lady at the financial aid office was wrong? She told me it would be less because it's less credits.

I know this is normally not a big deal, but I pretty much have to make a decision on where to go on how this works. UT and Vandy virtually gave me the same scholarship and I have to pay $1000 more at UT than Vandy. But if I can pay less in my 2nd and 3rd years at UT, I'm going with UT; if not, I'm going with Vandy. I like both schools a lot so it really comes down to whichever one I have to pay less at.

A few thousand bucks is negligible. Pick the school you like better, IMO.

Jazz, is there anything about UT that would sway you to take it over Duke? I haven't done too much research, but it seems like Duke's placement is significantly better... Does the NLJ250 underrate Texas firms (and thus UT placement)?

Well, UT is much less expensive. I may have missed it earlier in the thread, but what kind of scholarships have you received? Better yet, how much will you pay per year at each school? That's a better way to assess it since I don't know the cost of attendance for Duke. Having said that, Duke is probably a better school. I tend to agree with the US News rankings. Although, I think UT should be ahead of the other #15 schools and Georgetown (I just don't trust what they do with the part-time program).

I have purposely refrained from giving advice regarding UT vs. Duke because it's really a tough call. Duke is well respected, and it places well in the south. I personally was not interested in Duke because I fucking hate cold weather. Plus, I feel some pride in attending my home state's law school. Austin is a great place to live. Have you visited both schools? Also, I don't know if UT's placement suffers from underrated Texas firms or not. The one thing I will say is that my 1L job search is not going well, and my grades are very high. I am completely disgusted with the good-ol'- boy hiring network (I got no offer from V&E, and I know for a fact that they hired a 1L with a lower GPA than mine), and I am strongly considering a transfer to HYS.

[John J. Rambo, Esq.]

I personally was not interested in Duke because I fucking hate cold weather.

[Jericwithers]

I personally was not interested in Duke because I fucking hate cold weather.

How you enjoying the Austin winter then, Jazz? Make a snow angel last week? lol

[JazzOne]

I personally was not interested in Duke because I fucking hate cold weather.

How you enjoying the Austin winter then, Jazz? Make a snow angel last week? lol

Lol

I want my money back.

[texaspecial88]

I was held from ED a few months ago and sent in an LOCI shortly after. I still have not heard back from them. Is anyone else in the same boat as me? (i.e. held from ED and hot heard a peep!).

They said they would have a final decision by april, but should I do anything else to help them make a decision?

[Twix]

I was held from ED a few months ago and sent in an LOCI shortly after. I still have not heard back from them. Is anyone else in the same boat as me? (i.e. held from ED and hot heard a peep!).

They said they would have a final decision by april, but should I do anything else to help them make a decision?

I'm in the same boat, I sent a LOCI a few weeks ago and have heard nothing. I was held in early December. I'm wondering if they just haven't looked at my/our apps yet.

[Apple Tree]

So the lady at the financial aid office was wrong? She told me it would be less because it's less credits.

I know this is normally not a big deal, but I pretty much have to make a decision on where to go on how this works. UT and Vandy virtually gave me the same scholarship and I have to pay $1000 more at UT than Vandy. But if I can pay less in my 2nd and 3rd years at UT, I'm going with UT; if not, I'm going with Vandy. I like both schools a lot so it really comes down to whichever one I have to pay less at.

A few thousand bucks is negligible. Pick the school you like better, IMO.

Jazz, is there anything about UT that would sway you to take it over Duke? I haven't done too much research, but it seems like Duke's placement is significantly better... Does the NLJ250 underrate Texas firms (and thus UT placement)?

Well, UT is much less expensive. I may have missed it earlier in the thread, but what kind of scholarships have you received? Better yet, how much will you pay per year at each school? That's a better way to assess it since I don't know the cost of attendance for Duke. Having said that, Duke is probably a better school. I tend to agree with the US News rankings. Although, I think UT should be ahead of the other #15 schools and Georgetown (I just don't trust what they do with the part-time program).

I have purposely refrained from giving advice regarding UT vs. Duke because it's really a tough call. Duke is well respected, and it places well in the south. I personally was not interested in Duke because I fucking hate cold weather. Plus, I feel some pride in attending my home state's law school. Austin is a great place to live. Have you visited both schools? Also, I don't know if UT's placement suffers from underrated Texas firms or not. The one thing I will say is that my 1L job search is not going well, and my grades are very high. I am completely disgusted with the good-ol'- boy hiring network (I got no offer from V&E, and I know for a fact that they hired a 1L with a lower GPA than mine), and I am strongly considering a transfer to HYS.

That is scary...

[86revolt]

The one thing I will say is that my 1L job search is not going well, and my grades are very high. I am completely disgusted with the good-ol'- boy hiring network (I got no offer from V&E, and I know for a fact that they hired a 1L with a lower GPA than mine), and I am strongly considering a transfer to HYS.

That is scary...

agreed. are you at least getting a good number of interviews? also, are you only considering paid positions or is it equally difficult finding unpaid summer gigs?

--ImageRemoved--

[Apple Tree]

The one thing I will say is that my 1L job search is not going well, and my grades are very high. I am completely disgusted with the good-ol'- boy hiring network (I got no offer from V&E, and I know for a fact that they hired a 1L with a lower GPA than mine), and I am strongly considering a transfer to HYS.

That is scary...

agreed. are you at least getting a good number of interviews? also, are you only considering paid positions or is it equally difficult finding unpaid summer gigs?

--ImageRemoved--

Yes. Please define "not going well" because I know different people have different standards of what is "well". And considering you are probably at the top of your class, your standard is probably higher than most people's.

[Jericwithers]

The one thing I will say is that my 1L job search is not going well, and my grades are very high. I am completely disgusted with the good-ol'- boy hiring network (I got no offer from V&E, and I know for a fact that they hired a 1L with a lower GPA than mine), and I am strongly considering a transfer to HYS.

That is scary...

agreed. are you at least getting a good number of interviews? also, are you only considering paid positions or is it equally difficult finding unpaid summer gigs?

--ImageRemoved--

Yes. Please define "not going well" because I know different people have different standards of what is "well". And considering you are probably at the top of your class, your standard is probably higher than most people's.

You could also ask what his definition of 'very high' grade are, as that is a subjective standard also. I only know one Texas 2L, and he is still searching after 150+ applications. Roughly median class rank.

[Sauer Grapes]

...

[UT Law 3L]

If any of you are looking for a one bedroom apartment that is walking distance to campus, check out the craigslist ad below for my apartment.

Congrats on your acceptances!

--LinkRemoved--

[Jericwithers]

Well, if he is looking at transferring to HYS, then I'm guessing his definition of "very high grades" is not out of line.

I was very close to putting "I'm sure his grades are top of his class, but the phrasing is still vague and uninformative" as I didn't mean to call someone a liar or insult their hard work. However, just because someone is looking at transfering doesn't mean they have the good grades which will give them a chance (unless there is a minimum class rank to apply for transfer to these schools).

[JordynAsh]

Has anyone been able to register for ASW? Sign up is supposed to start today, but I can't find the link on Freshlaw. Maybe my headcold is just making me a dum :/

[louboutin]

So the lady at the financial aid office was wrong? She told me it would be less because it's less credits.

I know this is normally not a big deal, but I pretty much have to make a decision on where to go on how this works. UT and Vandy virtually gave me the same scholarship and I have to pay $1000 more at UT than Vandy. But if I can pay less in my 2nd and 3rd years at UT, I'm going with UT; if not, I'm going with Vandy. I like both schools a lot so it really comes down to whichever one I have to pay less at.

A few thousand bucks is negligible. Pick the school you like better, IMO.

Jazz, is there anything about UT that would sway you to take it over Duke? I haven't done too much research, but it seems like Duke's placement is significantly better... Does the NLJ250 underrate Texas firms (and thus UT placement)?

Well, UT is much less expensive. I may have missed it earlier in the thread, but what kind of scholarships have you received? Better yet, how much will you pay per year at each school? That's a better way to assess it since I don't know the cost of attendance for Duke. Having said that, Duke is probably a better school. I tend to agree with the US News rankings. Although, I think UT should be ahead of the other #15 schools and Georgetown (I just don't trust what they do with the part-time program).

I have purposely refrained from giving advice regarding UT vs. Duke because it's really a tough call. Duke is well respected, and it places well in the south. I personally was not interested in Duke because I fucking hate cold weather. Plus, I feel some pride in attending my home state's law school. Austin is a great place to live. Have you visited both schools? Also, I don't know if UT's placement suffers from underrated Texas firms or not. The one thing I will say is that my 1L job search is not going well, and my grades are very high. I am completely disgusted with the good-ol'- boy hiring network (I got no offer from V&E, and I know for a fact that they hired a 1L with a lower GPA than mine), and I am strongly considering a transfer to HYS.

I was almost all set on UT. Rethinking things

[Esc]

Well, UT is much less expensive. I may have missed it earlier in the thread, but what kind of scholarships have you received? Better yet, how much will you pay per year at each school? That's a better way to assess it since I don't know the cost of attendance for Duke. Having said that, Duke is probably a better school. I tend to agree with the US News rankings. Although, I think UT should be ahead of the other #15 schools and Georgetown (I just don't trust what they do with the part-time program).

I have purposely refrained from giving advice regarding UT vs. Duke because it's really a tough call. Duke is well respected, and it places well in the south. I personally was not interested in Duke because I fucking hate cold weather. Plus, I feel some pride in attending my home state's law school. Austin is a great place to live. Have you visited both schools? Also, I don't know if UT's placement suffers from underrated Texas firms or not. The one thing I will say is that my 1L job search is not going well, and my grades are very high. I am completely disgusted with the good-ol'- boy hiring network (I got no offer from V&E, and I know for a fact that they hired a 1L with a lower GPA than mine), and I am strongly considering a transfer to HYS.

I was almost all set on UT. Rethinking things

I don't know what happened to JazzOne's job hunt, but there are several people that I know of in my large section with paying firm gigs, and quite a few people who are interning for judges.

JazzOne, maybe you can enlighten us a bit on what happened? Did you only apply to paying firm gigs?

[DallasCowboy]

What are we talking about 1L job-wise, a high-paying summer gig at a big firm? After re-doing my COAs at the schools for my Georgetown scholarship application, I realized it is almost 50k cheaper for me to attend UT than Duke. I'm confused again!

[blackknight]

There are job opportunities from UT. I know of people in my large section and small section who are working big law. I also know of a couple that have summers filled with judges and PI work. There are people still looking, but for the most part they seem to be people who wanted to wait and go after just paying summer gigs. If you want to find a job especially now you have to do a lot of work and not just relly on recruitment through the school.

[los blancos]

So the lady at the financial aid office was wrong? She told me it would be less because it's less credits.

I know this is normally not a big deal, but I pretty much have to make a decision on where to go on how this works. UT and Vandy virtually gave me the same scholarship and I have to pay $1000 more at UT than Vandy. But if I can pay less in my 2nd and 3rd years at UT, I'm going with UT; if not, I'm going with Vandy. I like both schools a lot so it really comes down to whichever one I have to pay less at.

A few thousand bucks is negligible. Pick the school you like better, IMO.

Jazz, is there anything about UT that would sway you to take it over Duke? I haven't done too much research, but it seems like Duke's placement is significantly better... Does the NLJ250 underrate Texas firms (and thus UT placement)?

Well, UT is much less expensive. I may have missed it earlier in the thread, but what kind of scholarships have you received? Better yet, how much will you pay per year at each school? That's a better way to assess it since I don't know the cost of attendance for Duke. Having said that, Duke is probably a better school.

I still haven't received info from either school - but I'm predicting roughly $40k at Duke at $80k at UT given what people with numbers similar to mine seem to be getting. Money isn't really a big issue to me, I just want the best possible shot at a biglaw gig, possibly PI. Still hoping to crack CCNB.

[Apple Tree]

What are we talking about 1L job-wise, a high-paying summer gig at a big firm? After re-doing my COAs at the schools for my Georgetown scholarship application, I realized it is almost 50k cheaper for me to attend UT than Duke. I'm confused again!

The same situation here. 40k more to go to mich than UT.

[JazzOne]

Please don't quote this post. I might have a change of heart tomorrow.

It seems that my earlier post has created a lot of angst. I have received many PMs. I am sorry if you sent me a PM and I failed to respond. I simply received too many to conveniently reply to all. I am going to post more details about my situation here.

When I said my job search was not going well, I meant that I have not found a paid position. I mailed letters and resumes to the big three firms in Texas. I was interviewed by three different offices, and I received three rejection letters. The V&E interview was a joke. The interviewer told me up front that they were not going to hire many 1Ls and that the interview was a way to recruit us for 2L jobs next year. I thought that was extremely distasteful. Thanks for wasting my time. I doubt I'll be applying next year. Luckily, I have very little debt, so I don't need big law. We are having spring OCI this week. I have five interviews lined up, but I am pessimistic about my chances.

As for my grades: I don't know anyone in my class with a higher GPA than mine. UT doesn't officially rank us, and I obviously don't know everyone's GPA, so it's possible someone has equaled or bested mine. However, I don't even know of anyone within a tenth of a point of my GPA. Plus, an interviewer told me yesterday that I was first in my class. I don't think he has access to data for the entire class, but I figure most of the top grade earners applied to the Texas firms at OCI, so he probably knows what he's talking about. I mean, he interviews at UT every year, and he made a huge deal about my GPA, so I got the impression that it is fairly unusual to accomplish what I did.

So how are others getting big law offers while I get passed by? I suppose I might be a poor interviewee, but then again, I have nine years of work experience, and I've been to my fair share of interviews. I even participated in the mock interview by our Career Services Office. In my opinion, I am being passed over because of my age. I know a few of my classmates with big law offers, and they all seem to be straight out of UG. Perhaps the big firms consider me a flight risk, or maybe they just don't think I'll lay down and take a bunch of crap since I have other options. I really don't know, but I feel a bit insulted, not because I didn't get the job, but because they wasted my time only to hire someone with a lower GPA and less work experience. I know another older 1L with terrific grades who is in my same situation.

Someone above mentioned that there are big law jobs for UT 1Ls. This is true. I know of several in my section. The problem is that the criteria for obtaining those jobs are unclear. They act as though the metric is primarily based on grades, but my situation is hard to explain if that is true. I am from Texas. I am a URM. I love UT. I have enjoyed every minute of law school here, but this job situation is driving me crazy, and if I transfer to HYS, I'm not coming back to Texas to practice. I always wondered why outsiders hate Texas so much. I guess I'm starting to see why. I'm the type of person who wears his emotions on his sleeve. I am probably overreacting to all this, but I have to do what makes me happy. I think I'm going to push for academia.

I hope that people are not basing decisions on my story. It's just one anecdote, and 1L jobs are scarce (even for an HLS URM, according to another thread). Still, I did everything that was asked of me. I studied hard. I rocked my finals. I researched the firms. And now I'm out in the cold. I did not apply for any judicial internships. I really thought my grades would carry me through. I guess that was naive. Good luck everyone. Sorry to throw a wrench in the works.

[Jericwithers]

Very informative, thanks.

[catharsis]

that didn't do anything for me.. im still depressed and scared.

with that said, JazzOne you've always been incredibly helpful towards myself and other TLS'ers. im sure im not alone when i say congrats on all you've accomplished, i'm sorry to hear how things are turning out so far for you, and best of luck in whatever route you choose to go in the future. you're obviously extremely bright and incredibly talented.. there's no doubt you're lined up for greatness.

[FunkyJD]

Truly sobering anecdote, Jazz One. Gives me pause on many levels of my law school decision-making.

[los blancos]

Thanks for the info, Jazz. I don't know anything about transferring, but you probably have a great shot at HYS and I wish you the best of luck.