How marketable is a Columbia degree outside of NY? Forum

[Tiago Splitter]

Anecdotally, everyone I know from texas at my t14 has 2L biglaw SAs in texas, and if I remember correctly, also had 1L SAs. Being from texas and being willing to work there seems to be a big advantage in the job search. This may mitigate the advantage of going to Columbia with more debt.

That would matter if he only had to choose between Columbia and UT, but since he already has a full ride at Northwestern he might as well just take that.

[dabbadon8]

Anecdotally, everyone I know from texas at my t14 has 2L biglaw SAs in texas, and if I remember correctly, also had 1L SAs. Being from texas and being willing to work there seems to be a big advantage in the job search. This may mitigate the advantage of going to Columbia with more debt.

That would matter if he only had to choose between Columbia and UT, but since he already has a full ride at Northwestern he might as well just take that.

It would also matter if he was deciding between Columbia and NU. My point is, if he/she wants texas, he has less to gain (and obviously more to lose) by choosing Columbia.

[ManOfTheMinute]

I need some advice. I just got in to Columbia, which I am totally psyched about, but I will almost certainly be paying sticker. I am fairly debt averse, and my end goal is to practice in TX. I know CLS is a way better school with way better job prospects than UT overall, but if I want to end up in TX anyway should I take a full scholly at UT and stay close to friends/family and be debt free or live in NYC for 3 years and try to move back down south after I graduate? I checked lawschooltransparency.com and all the information they have is that 60% of CLS grads stay in NY, and about 10% go to CA and DC. FWIW I also have a full ride at Northwestern, had an interview last week with UChicago that I think went really well, and am still waiting from Penn, NYU, SLS, and HLS. Any advice would be appreciated, thanks!

OP how do you have a full ride at NU already? I thought they didn't start awarding scholarships until March.

What a less than epic 1000th post.

[TexasAggie13]

Wow! Thanks for all the advice guys. To answer the question about how I know already about the NW scholarship: They made me that offer contingent on me deferring for a year. NW seems to be the winner here. I will need to think hard about this, thanks again!

[helix23]

I need some advice. I just got in to Columbia, which I am totally psyched about, but I will almost certainly be paying sticker. I am fairly debt averse, and my end goal is to practice in TX. I know CLS is a way better school with way better job prospects than UT overall, but if I want to end up in TX anyway should I take a full scholly at UT and stay close to friends/family and be debt free or live in NYC for 3 years and try to move back down south after I graduate? I checked lawschooltransparency.com and all the information they have is that 60% of CLS grads stay in NY, and about 10% go to CA and DC. FWIW I also have a full ride at Northwestern, had an interview last week with UChicago that I think went really well, and am still waiting from Penn, NYU, SLS, and HLS. Any advice would be appreciated, thanks!

OP how do you have a full ride at NU already? I thought they didn't start awarding scholarships until March.

What a less than epic 1000th post.

lol! shiiiit all that hype

[bizzybone1313]

I need some advice. I just got in to Columbia, which I am totally psyched about, but I will almost certainly be paying sticker. I am fairly debt averse, and my end goal is to practice in TX. I know CLS is a way better school with way better job prospects than UT overall, but if I want to end up in TX anyway should I take a full scholly at UT and stay close to friends/family and be debt free or live in NYC for 3 years and try to move back down south after I graduate? I checked lawschooltransparency.com and all the information they have is that 60% of CLS grads stay in NY, and about 10% go to CA and DC. FWIW I also have a full ride at Northwestern, had an interview last week with UChicago that I think went really well, and am still waiting from Penn, NYU, SLS, and HLS. Any advice would be appreciated, thanks!

OP how do you have a full ride at NU already? I thought they didn't start awarding scholarships until March.

What a less than epic 1000th post.

lol! shiiiit all that hype

You messed it all up: By ruining your nice round number of 1000, you have to keep posting until you reach 2,000.

[timbs4339]

I was in the same situation 3 years ago and if I could do it again I'd take NW. And I had CLS with a 50% scholly.

TX is extremely hard to break into. A lot of Texas firms show up to EIP but they look to call back between 1-3 people out of 30 because they have small offices. I know several people who had ties to the Lone Star State as deep as they come (grew up there, went to college there) who struck out completely- not a single callback.

[pastapplicant]

I faced a similar situation as you when I was a 0L. Listen to the people here and go to Northwestern. Trust me, having no debt plus a degree from Northwestern is something you do not want to pass up.

[Bronck]

1L at CLS. Take NU.

[star fox]

This is one case where I think TLS prestigewhoring may be in the wrong. UT rapes in the state of Texas. Texas is the best state in the country right now economically (sorry leftwing ivory-tower Coasters. At UT you will pass up going to a slightly better school in Northwestern but you'll be in the region where you want to work and can get busy networking right away. Your chances at a job at a Big Firm or a Federal Clerkship are very high and given that you got a full scholarship I think you'll have little problem getting the necessary grades to get a good outcome (I've heard the only thing keeping UT out of the T14 is that it's mandated they take the vast majority of their students from Texas lowering their admissions criteria).

[Bronck]

This is one case where I think TLS prestigewhoring may be in the wrong. UT rapes in the state of Texas. Texas is the best state in the country right now economically (sorry leftwing ivory-tower Coasters. At UT you will pass up going to a slightly better school in Northwestern but you'll be in the region where you want to work and can get busy networking right away. Your chances at a job at a Big Firm or a Federal Clerkship are very high and given that you got a full scholarship I think you'll have little problem getting the necessary grades to get a good outcome (I've heard the only thing keeping UT out of the T14 is that it's mandated they take the vast majority of their students from Texas lowering their admissions criteria).

I'm just going to pick out one thing to go WTF at.

[star fox]

This is one case where I think TLS prestigewhoring may be in the wrong. UT rapes in the state of Texas. Texas is the best state in the country right now economically (sorry leftwing ivory-tower Coasters. At UT you will pass up going to a slightly better school in Northwestern but you'll be in the region where you want to work and can get busy networking right away. Your chances at a job at a Big Firm or a Federal Clerkship are very high and given that you got a full scholarship I think you'll have little problem getting the necessary grades to get a good outcome (I've heard the only thing keeping UT out of the T14 is that it's mandated they take the vast majority of their students from Texas lowering their admissions criteria).

I'm just going to pick out one thing to go WTF at.

Elaborate? I know you can't really predict grades but you don't need to be top 5-10 % to get a good outcome in the State of Texas from UT. Someone with a UT full scholarship will do better more often than not compared to the people just being admitted to keep the "in-state # high" (could be different if UT is one of those schools that sticks all the scholarship people in the same section).

[pastapplicant]

This is one case where I think TLS prestigewhoring may be in the wrong. UT rapes in the state of Texas. Texas is the best state in the country right now economically (sorry leftwing ivory-tower Coasters. At UT you will pass up going to a slightly better school in Northwestern but you'll be in the region where you want to work and can get busy networking right away. Your chances at a job at a Big Firm or a Federal Clerkship are very high and given that you got a full scholarship I think you'll have little problem getting the necessary grades to get a good outcome (I've heard the only thing keeping UT out of the T14 is that it's mandated they take the vast majority of their students from Texas lowering their admissions criteria).

I'm just going to pick out one thing to go WTF at.

Elaborate? I know you can't really predict grades but you don't need to be top 5-10 % to get a good outcome in the State of Texas from UT. Someone with a UT full scholarship will do better more often than not compared to the people just being admitted to keep the "in-state # high" (could be different if UT is one of those schools that sticks all the scholarship people in the same section).

Just because you get a full scholarship/high 0L stats, it does not mean you are going to get good grades in law school. Going to NU if you have TX ties will give you a better shot at TX firms. Biglaw/prestigious fed from UT is actually not "very high". As long as OP has TX ties, he will be fine without the "networking".

[dissonance1848]

NW with fullride is the only option here. Congradulations OP.

[star fox]

This is one case where I think TLS prestigewhoring may be in the wrong. UT rapes in the state of Texas. Texas is the best state in the country right now economically (sorry leftwing ivory-tower Coasters. At UT you will pass up going to a slightly better school in Northwestern but you'll be in the region where you want to work and can get busy networking right away. Your chances at a job at a Big Firm or a Federal Clerkship are very high and given that you got a full scholarship I think you'll have little problem getting the necessary grades to get a good outcome (I've heard the only thing keeping UT out of the T14 is that it's mandated they take the vast majority of their students from Texas lowering their admissions criteria).

I'm just going to pick out one thing to go WTF at.

Elaborate? I know you can't really predict grades but you don't need to be top 5-10 % to get a good outcome in the State of Texas from UT. Someone with a UT full scholarship will do better more often than not compared to the people just being admitted to keep the "in-state # high" (could be different if UT is one of those schools that sticks all the scholarship people in the same section).

Just because you get a full scholarship/high 0L stats, it does not mean you are going to get good grades in law school. Going to NU if you have TX ties will give you a better shot at TX firms. Biglaw/prestigious fed from UT is actually not "very high". As long as OP has TX ties, he will be fine without the "networking".

Yeah it's double the odds of getting a big firm job out of Northwestern but it seems like a lot of their grads end up in Chicago which I'm sure is self-selecting. Going by LST I don't see as big national reach for Northwestern. Not sure how much Texas firms will ooh and ahh over a fancy degree from the north when they seem to have no problem taking people from the state flagship.

Look, I'm probably in the wrong and am largely talking out my ass so feel free to ignore what I say. I know that just because no NW grads have ended up in TX the last two years that means it's impossible.. but still.. ya know.

[bizzybone1313]

I am pretty surprised by what seems to be the across the board support for Northwestern. For no other reason than being a T-14, does Northwestern really have that much pull in Texas? TLS routinely bashes the lower T-14, so why is this situation so different? Is it just because of the huge scholarship? If OP wants to be in Texas no matter what, will Northwestern get him here a lot more easier than UT?

[stillwater]

I am pretty surprised by what seems to be the across the board support for Northwestern. For no other reason than being a T-14, does Northwestern really have that much pull in Texas? TLS routinely bashes the lower T-14, so why is this situation so different? Is it just because of the huge scholarship? If OP wants to be in Texas no matter what, will Northwestern get him here a lot more easier than UT?

No one is saying that. It is about the MONEY homeboi

[Teflon_Don]

Hopefully your end goal to practice in Texas doesn't change in the next several years. If you choose UT

[Crowing]

I am pretty surprised by what seems to be the across the board support for Northwestern. For no other reason than being a T-14, does Northwestern really have that much pull in Texas? TLS routinely bashes the lower T-14, so why is this situation so different? Is it just because of the huge scholarship? If OP wants to be in Texas no matter what, will Northwestern get him here a lot more easier than UT?

T14s are fine for secondary markets that you have ties to. Without any Texas ties NU is gonna be a problem, but since OP has ties already going to NU will still allow him to come back to Texas as well as keep more options open by giving him more potential for hitting NYC/Chicago.

[Aberzombie1892]

I am pretty surprised by what seems to be the across the board support for Northwestern. For no other reason than being a T-14, does Northwestern really have that much pull in Texas? TLS routinely bashes the lower T-14, so why is this situation so different? Is it just because of the huge scholarship? If OP wants to be in Texas no matter what, will Northwestern get him here a lot more easier than UT?

T14s are fine for secondary markets that you have ties to. Without any Texas ties. NU is gonna be a problem, but since OP has ties already going to NU will still allow him to come back to Texas as well as keep more options open by giving him more potential for hitting NYC/Chicago.

This, and Northwestern has the strongest placement (in general) outside of HYSCCP in the T14. Thus, with Texas ties and a full ride there, it would be hard to justify any non HYS school (CCP range only) without a huge scholarship over a full ride at NW.

[Tom Joad]

NU easily. How is this a question unless CLS ends up offering similar money?

[kwais]

CLS 2L here who loves CLS. Go to NW and don't look back.

Choosing NW here is credited because if OP strikes out in the TX market, there is a shot at Chicago and NY. I know that OP could also strike out everywhere too. However, missing the TX market at UT means likely that OP graduated unemployed.

But I must say that I always think these conversations miss a critical element. People are very debt-averse in this economy and I think that is very smart. However, never underestimate the sinking feeling that you will have if you choose the cheaper route and then end up not getting to do with your life what you set out to do. People act like that will be fine and dandy just because the debt burden is low. This is a moot point here because NW is free, but it is more of general point when comparing a school like CLS to UT when there are major money differences at stake.
I work with a bunch of students from other schools. They are hustling for post grad work paid or UNPAID. The feeling they have is that no one is ever going to give them a chance to use their degree. If given the chance they would pay more for school for a chance at the career they want.
Good luck OP, and congrats

[313DetroitLove]

Just the fact that so many others also voted NW free with me made me feel like commenting. Look dude general advise is T14 or free. Your badass can do both at the same time. Embrace it dude, these are all great options.

UT or NW imho, spend your money chasing the ladies, getting business attire etc... forget paying for tuition

W

[you'rethemannowdawg]

Just the fact that so many others also voted NW free with me made me feel like commenting. Look dude general advise is T14 or free. Your badass can do both at the same time. Embrace it dude, these are all great options.

UT or NW imho, spend your money chasing the ladies, getting business attire etc... forget paying for tuition

W

TITCR

[DaleCooper]

I am pretty surprised by what seems to be the across the board support for Northwestern. For no other reason than being a T-14, does Northwestern really have that much pull in Texas?

He's from Texas. Texas firms love Texans who go to T14s. All the Texans I know at NYU got at least two offers from Texas V100s for 1L summer. I don't think there's any other group of students who cleaned house the way the Lone Star Kids did.

It's free, Northwestern is an awesome school in the awesome part of an awesome city, and if he changes his mind about Texas both NYC and Chicago will be easy pickings. This is such a no-brainer I'm amazed it's only got 60% support.