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Texas Tech Law School

Barely 40 years old (established 1967), Texas Tech University is located in Lubbock, the heart of the Texas panhandle. Though often overshadowed by the state’s heavier hitters –UT Austin, SMU, the University of Houston, and Baylor – Texas Tech nevertheless provides a firm legal foundation at a price more reasonable than many tier one or two schools.

Admissions & Tuition

Texas Tech is one of the more competitive law schools in the third tier. As of 2009, the school’s 25^th and 75^th percentile LSAT scores were 153 and 158, with a median of 156. Unlike many schools in the third tier, Texas Tech “finds value in examining all...[LSAT] scores.” The GPAs ranged from a 25^th percentile 3.13 to a 75^th percentile 3.62, with a median of 3.43. In 2009, Texas Tech accepted approximately 652 of its 1768 applicants (38%); of those, 213 matriculated. The school's enrollment is composed of 58% men and 42% women; 25% of the class is self-identified minority students.

Being a state school, Texas Tech is considerably less expensive for Texas residents ($16,200) than for out-of-state residents ($23,610). Though daunting figures to be sure, this price tag actually makes Texas Tech rather inexpensive by law school standards. The school also offers many scholarships based on both merit and demonstrated need – 97% of students receive some form of financial assistance, and 20% of students receive grants greater than the full tuition cost. Debt load upon graduation is also extremely low at around $54,500.

Academics

The 1L curriculum is quite typical: Civil Procedure, Contracts, Torts, Property, Constitutional Law, and Criminal Law. Students are also required to take two semesters of Legal Practice, which is designed to offer practical experience in areas such as legal writing, client interviewing and counseling, and oral advocacy. U.S. News & World Report ranked this one of the top 25 legal writing programs in the country as recently as 2006. All students must complete in their second or third year a paper involving scholarly or problem-solving legal research. Texas Tech students also have the opportunity to study abroad in Mexico, Spain, France, and Australia.

Texas Tech prides itself on several programs, especially litigation. The law school offers 12 dual-degrees, including: JD/MBA, JD/MD, and several Master of Science options. The prevailing attitude in the Texas legal community is that Texas Tech gives students a very good practical legal education; but unlike many higher ranked schools, there tends to be little emphasis placed on legal academia or philosophy. One major drawback at Texas Tech is the high student-to-faculty ratio (15.2), despite having a small student body. However, most committed and dedicated students find that the professors are approachable and that student/faculty relationships are relatively easy to develop.

Quality of Life

For a student moving from Manhattan or the Bay Area, life in Lubbock will seem quite slow – by general consensus, the town is a hub neither of excitement nor diversity. It is nearly a five-hour drive to Dallas, the nearest big city. Until recently, the university was situated in a dry county (no alcohol sales), which was a potential negative for some students; to the delight of many, a recent referendum changed this. Cost of living is extremely low, however, at only three quarters of the national average. That same New Yorker, potentially bored by the small town feel of Lubbock, will nevertheless be quite thrilled at the prospect of spending a mere $400 dollars monthly on rent.

Bar Passage

Texas Tech graduates tend to perform quite well on the Texas bar exam. In 2008 overall, 90 percent of Tech graduates passed the Texas bar exam, 6 percent higher than the state average. An impressive 94.52 percent of Tech graduates passed the July 2009 administration of the bar exam, giving Texas Tech the highest pass-rate of any school in the state that month.

Employment

Texas Tech students, like most graduates with a J.D. degree from a third tier institution, find their employment opportunities somewhat restricted. While most (88%) find employment within 9 months of graduation, almost all are employed in Texas. Many find it difficult to break into the bigger law firms in areas like Dallas, Austin, and Houston, because of competition from graduates of more prestigious Texas schools. However, Texas Tech graduates place well in the Texas panhandle, west Texas, and eastern New Mexico, since there are no competitor schools in the area.

About seventy percent of Texas Tech graduates go on to work in the private sector, and another twenty percent work in government. Though not unheard of, it is difficult for a Texas Tech graduate to obtain judicial clerkships or enter the public interest field – again, owing to competition from higher-ranked institutions. In 2008, the median reported private sector starting salary was $55,000, and the median for the public sector was $50,000.

Conclusion

Texas Tech Law School is hardly the Mecca of the legal world. However, for an applicant looking at third and fourth tier law schools, Texas Tech can be a solid option. The tuition is inexpensive (particularly for Texas residents), and the job prospects are decent, especially for an individual looking to practice in west Texas.

Fast Facts

Texas Tech University School of Law
Campus MS0004
1802 Hartford Ave.
Lubbock, TX 79409-0004
admissions@law.ttu.edu
Ranking: Tier 3
Median LSAT: 156
Median GPA 3.43
Tuition: $16,200 (in-state), $23,610 (out-of-state)
Employed 9 months after Graduation: 93%
Median Private Sector Salary: $55,000 (Class of 2008, 85% reporting)