Which to pick? Need serious help. Forum

[risktaker]

U of Pacific does have scholly stipulations, I have an 18k a year there, with requirement to stay in top 1/3 of class

I called to ask. Mine has no stipulations.

[FalafelWaffle]

University of the Pacific, Seattle University, and University of Miami so far.

UOP: $10k per year with first year books covered (no stipulations)
Seattle U: $6k per year (top third after first year)
U of Miami: Big fat zero
Chi-Kent: If I get in, likely no money.

Thanks in advance. I really need all the help I can get.

I am just a 0L, but I grew up not far from U Miami and many people in my family went to law school there (in addition to some friends from high school). My aunt and father both went there and have very good careers, but you HAVE to do well. Used to be that the top 15-25% (and the range depended on the economy) got good jobs in South Florida, almost without question-family friend graduated in '05 and has been working at Carlton Fields ever since. But to get comparable jobs you absolutely have to do well, now more than ever I'm sure.

Miami is a gamble though--literally the only reason I would consider U Miami is because I was born and raised there and my entire family lives there (although I don't want to move back to Florida), and has connections there. I always hear of a couple of people from my school going down there for law school because they want to live in South Florida. Horrible idea. If you've going to go to regional/local schools (and U Miami is regional-mostly local to SoFla though-you'll hear of a few people who make it to New York or LA but those are the *extreme* outliers and don't let them tell you otherwise) and you've never lived there-don't. If you're not from Miami, have never lived in Miami, and have no connections to Miami, DO NOT go to the University of Miami. I have solid connections there and even I wouldn't go without a near full ride. Odds of coming back to the Pacific Northwest are not good. If you don't mind staying in Miami, I still wouldn't recommend going without living here first, at least a year or two. Top 10% of your class will give you a shot at great firms that recruit here like Greenberg Traurig, but I know plenty of law students who struck out at OCI. Not worth the gamble in my opinion.

As for the other options, there are people more qualified than me to say. Just my two cents on Miami.

[Justathought]

University of the Pacific, Seattle University, and University of Miami so far.

UOP: $10k per year with first year books covered (no stipulations)
Seattle U: $6k per year (top third after first year)
U of Miami: Big fat zero
Chi-Kent: If I get in, likely no money.

Thanks in advance. I really need all the help I can get.

I am just a 0L, but I grew up not far from U Miami and many people in my family went to law school there (in addition to some friends from high school). My aunt and father both went there and have very good careers, but you HAVE to do well. Used to be that the top 15-25% (and the range depended on the economy) got good jobs in South Florida, almost without question-family friend graduated in '05 and has been working at Carlton Fields ever since. But to get comparable jobs you absolutely have to do well, now more than ever I'm sure.

Miami is a gamble though--literally the only reason I would consider U Miami is because I was born and raised there and my entire family lives there (although I don't want to move back to Florida), and has connections there. I always hear of a couple of people from my school going down there for law school because they want to live in South Florida. Horrible idea. If you've going to go to regional/local schools (and U Miami is regional-mostly local to SoFla though-you'll hear of a few people who make it to New York or LA but those are the *extreme* outliers and don't let them tell you otherwise) and you've never lived there-don't. If you're not from Miami, have never lived in Miami, and have no connections to Miami, DO NOT go to the University of Miami. I have solid connections there and even I wouldn't go without a near full ride. Odds of coming back to the Pacific Northwest are not good.

As for the other options, there are people more qualified than me to say. Just my two cents on Miami.

Question FalafelWaffle, what about going to Miami with the intention of working in Miami? I'm from NY, and if I went, it would be with the expectation of staying there long term.

[FalafelWaffle]

University of the Pacific, Seattle University, and University of Miami so far.

UOP: $10k per year with first year books covered (no stipulations)
Seattle U: $6k per year (top third after first year)
U of Miami: Big fat zero
Chi-Kent: If I get in, likely no money.

Thanks in advance. I really need all the help I can get.

I am just a 0L, but I grew up not far from U Miami and many people in my family went to law school there (in addition to some friends from high school). My aunt and father both went there and have very good careers, but you HAVE to do well. Used to be that the top 15-25% (and the range depended on the economy) got good jobs in South Florida, almost without question-family friend graduated in '05 and has been working at Carlton Fields ever since. But to get comparable jobs you absolutely have to do well, now more than ever I'm sure.

Miami is a gamble though--literally the only reason I would consider U Miami is because I was born and raised there and my entire family lives there (although I don't want to move back to Florida), and has connections there. I always hear of a couple of people from my school going down there for law school because they want to live in South Florida. Horrible idea. If you've going to go to regional/local schools (and U Miami is regional-mostly local to SoFla though-you'll hear of a few people who make it to New York or LA but those are the *extreme* outliers and don't let them tell you otherwise) and you've never lived there-don't. If you're not from Miami, have never lived in Miami, and have no connections to Miami, DO NOT go to the University of Miami. I have solid connections there and even I wouldn't go without a near full ride. Odds of coming back to the Pacific Northwest are not good.

As for the other options, there are people more qualified than me to say. Just my two cents on Miami.

Question FalafelWaffle, what about going to Miami with the intention of working in Miami? I'm from NY, and if I went, it would be with the expectation of staying there long term.

No one in my family works in BigLaw, per se, but there are jobs around. Everything I've observed of my family and friends tells me Miami is great for Miami (there are, as you would expect, Miami Law grads all over the place, especially given their large class size). Everyone I know who is going and who has gone there and did well is gainfully employed in the area. I have shadowed multiple attorneys, and they tell me they will interview/consider top students at the U (Greenberg and Carlton Fields, although I'm sure there are others). But if you have no money from them and aren't tops, I don't know. A lot of my friends there are getting by on their connections, because they're locals. If you want to practice in South Florida, and don't have the numbers for a T14, I would live in Florida, work as a paralegal for a year or two, and after becoming a resident, apply to UF--reputation wise in Miami, UM vs UF is a wash, but it will give you more options across the state and the tuition will be lower. If you get $$ from UM, go for it, but network like a beast. Whatever you do, stay away from Barry/Nova/Ave Maria. UM and UF are solid schools, and top students routinely go to good and great jobs. The TTT's though, are poison unless you're a special snowflake.

Go onto the websites of local firms in Florida, email attorneys that went to UM and ask them about hiring. If they answer I'm sure you'll get more candid responses than from administrations.

[Justathought]

Thanks for the reply. Sounds like sound advice.

[risktaker]

Thanks for the responses Falafel, that was very helpful. It might definitely be dumb of me to move to Miami when I have absolutely no connections to the region. I still haven't got my packed in the mail about financial aid. If it is in fact no money, I will end up at either Seattle or UOP.

[Pilaf Rocket]

See http://pdfserver.amlaw.com/nlj/goto%20l ... s_main.pdf

If retaking is not possible, then you should seriously reevaluate your goal of BigLaw (see link above). Further, if don't snag a BigLaw job out of Miami you are going to have a hell of a time paying off that debt.

I transferred from McGeorge. The BigLaw prospects are horrendous. It's not all McG's fault, the Sacramento legal market is very small, and there's also much better NorCal schools (Davis, Berk, Davis, Stanford, SCU) to compete with.

[FalafelWaffle]

Thanks for the responses Falafel, that was very helpful. It might definitely be dumb of me to move to Miami when I have absolutely no connections to the region. I still haven't got my packed in the mail about financial aid. If it is in fact no money, I will end up at either Seattle or UOP.

I personally don't like Miami, but that's just me. If you're legitimately interested in moving there (as in, not just a daydream about sunshine and beaches, lol-just kidding), I would encourage you to spend some time in the area. It's a very different sort of Hispanic vibe than, say LA. Great restaurants, I will say, though. It's not for everyone, but if you have the time/inclination, explore places you might be interested before you settle down. I was in love with the idea of moving to San Francisco until I actually visited. Just not for me.

[Pilaf Rocket]

U of Pacific does have scholly stipulations, I have an 18k a year there, with requirement to stay in top 1/3 of class

I called to ask. Mine has no stipulations.

This is odd. When I was there, every single scholarship I heard of (including my own) were only renewable if you finished 1L in the top 1/3. I also heard about 2/3 of the school has some form of scholarship meaning there were a lot of very disappointed students after grades came out.

You should call back and very clearly ask them if there is a grade requirement to maintain the scholarship for 2L/3L. If they reiterate there are no requirements, I would get that in writing. Again, I've never heard of this type of scholarship at McG.

[risktaker]

U of Pacific does have scholly stipulations, I have an 18k a year there, with requirement to stay in top 1/3 of class

I called to ask. Mine has no stipulations.

This is odd. When I was there, every single scholarship I heard of (including my own) were only renewable if you finished 1L in the top 1/3. I also heard about 2/3 of the school has some form of scholarship meaning there were a lot of very disappointed students after grades came out.

You should call back and very clearly ask them if there is a grade requirement to maintain the scholarship for 2L/3L. If they reiterate there are no requirements, I would get that in writing. Again, I've never heard of this type of scholarship at McG.

Yup, I called again. They said there were absolutely no stipulations and said I received one of the better scholarships. I am hoping to negotiate a little more money and if I can do that, I am leaning towards picking UOP.