PLEASE HELP!! Northwestern vs. UHouston Forum

[09042014]

If you're set on Houston biglaw, neither of those options is fantastic, though UH is significantly more attractive than NU, IMO. Which is why I asked about your GPA/LSAT numbers. There are likely decisions that you could make not involving matriculating at one of those two options which might be better off in the long run.

With Houston ties NW is more than fine for Houston big law.

You'd seriously recommend NW at sticker over UH for free?

I wouldn't go to UH for Free no matter what, but I don't wanna work shitlaw.

The debt is killer though. I'm not sure I'd do either. 260k is a fuckton of money.

[SWEDE LAW]

If you're set on Houston biglaw, neither of those options is fantastic, though UH is significantly more attractive than NU, IMO. Which is why I asked about your GPA/LSAT numbers. There are likely decisions that you could make not involving matriculating at one of those two options which might be better off in the long run.

With Houston ties NW is more than fine for Houston big law.

You'd seriously recommend NW at sticker over UH for free?

If he/she really wants big law, yes. Whether that is wise or not, is a decision OP needs to carefully think about along with all of the potential consequences.

[patrickd139]

With Houston ties NW is more than fine for Houston big law.

You'd seriously recommend NW at sticker over UH for free?

I wouldn't go to UH for Free no matter what, but I don't wanna work shitlaw.

The debt is killer though. I'm not sure I'd do either. 260k is a fuckton of money.

TBF, that's kinda what I was getting at. It literally as simple as OP sitting out this year, applying early to UT, and avoiding both dismal biglaw chances AND ~$2,700/month in student loan payments.

[bizzybone1313]

If you're set on Houston biglaw, neither of those options is fantastic, though UH is significantly more attractive than NU, IMO. Which is why I asked about your GPA/LSAT numbers. There are likely decisions that you could make not involving matriculating at one of those two options which might be better off in the long run.

With Houston ties NW is more than fine for Houston big law.

You'd seriously recommend NW at sticker over UH for free?

I wouldn't go to UH for Free no matter what, but I don't wanna work shitlaw.

+1111. Have any of you guys ever tried to make a post on jdunderground.com with "shitlaw" in it. The site doesn't let you. When I first tried to do this, the site gave me a list of words I couldn't use along with "shitlaw". I lol'ed very hard that night. Go try it right now for shits and giggles. It is pretty funny.

[09042014]

Tuition blows, but we'll probably make 6 mil over our careers.

[bruin91]

UHouston, transfer to UT.

[bizzybone1313]

UHouston, transfer to UT.

This is a decent idea. Does anyone know what kind of grades would be required to transfer to UT from U of H?

[bk1]

UHouston, transfer to UT.

This is a decent idea.

No, no it's not.

[nonprofit-prophet]

UHouston, transfer to UT.

This is a decent idea. Does anyone know what kind of grades would be required to transfer to UT from U of H?

probably good enough grades to get big law out of UH.

[bizzybone1313]

UHouston, transfer to UT.

This is a decent idea.

No, no it's not.

I know the standard, boilerplate advice from TLS: Never attend a school with the intent of transferring. Well, OP seems to be intent on being an attorney no matter what. Like other people, I wouldn't attend U of H at any cost. I want to be attorney real bad myself, but I will only attend UT-Austin or above. I only said going to U of H with the hope of transferring as a decent idea only because OP seems so intent on going to law school no matter what.

OP has a lot of different choices: (1) Retake LSAT, (2) attend NU at $250K, (3) attend U of H for free or (4) not go at all. I would do (1) or (4) myself. OP seems to be intent on attending LS in August. OP let us know what you decide to do.

OP, I would disclose your stats. There are a lot of knowledgeable people on this site that could give you additional advice if you were to disclose your numbers.

[09042014]

Transferring is stupid because at OCI you aren't really a UT student yet. They would more or less just judge them off UH standards. And OP would be paying 100K more for that luxury. Anyone who can transfer to UT doesn't need to. Which is why telling someone to transfer is stupid.

Why would you take the money at UH, then transfer to the better school. OP has the chance to go to a better school now, already.

120 advice bro.

[bizzybone1313]

OP, I personally know about a half dozen UT law graduates. A lot of them have personally told me that I should be real, real careful about attending law school. I can imagine this sentiment is magnified 10x by attending U of H. I would spend a lot of time doing research on the legal industry and think very deeply if U of H would be worth it. There are a lot of people from T-20 schools that are struggling, so you can imagine what happens once you get to the T-50 level.

[bruin91]

Transferring is stupid because at OCI you aren't really a UT student yet. They would more or less just judge them off UH standards. And OP would be paying 100K more for that luxury. Anyone who can transfer to UT doesn't need to. Which is why telling someone to transfer is stupid.

Why would you take the money at UH, then transfer to the better school. OP has the chance to go to a better school now, already.

120 advice bro.

My advice was simply going off OP's desire to attend law school in the Fall. I like the UT reconsider option, but U of Houston is a good school. I'm not suggesting he ought to go in with the intent to transfer, just saying to keep it as an option, and excel at UH with no cost at all.

[09042014]

Transferring is stupid because at OCI you aren't really a UT student yet. They would more or less just judge them off UH standards. And OP would be paying 100K more for that luxury. Anyone who can transfer to UT doesn't need to. Which is why telling someone to transfer is stupid.

Why would you take the money at UH, then transfer to the better school. OP has the chance to go to a better school now, already.

120 advice bro.

My advice was simply going off OP's desire to attend law school in the Fall. I like the UT reconsider option, but U of Houston is a good school. I'm not suggesting he ought to go in with the intent to transfer, just saying to keep it as an option, and excel at UH with no cost at all.

And I'm saying, if he wants to go to a good school, he's already in at one.

[bruin91]

Transferring is stupid because at OCI you aren't really a UT student yet. They would more or less just judge them off UH standards. And OP would be paying 100K more for that luxury. Anyone who can transfer to UT doesn't need to. Which is why telling someone to transfer is stupid.

Why would you take the money at UH, then transfer to the better school. OP has the chance to go to a better school now, already.

120 advice bro.

My advice was simply going off OP's desire to attend law school in the Fall. I like the UT reconsider option, but U of Houston is a good school. I'm not suggesting he ought to go in with the intent to transfer, just saying to keep it as an option, and excel at UH with no cost at all.

And I'm saying, if he wants to go to a good school, he's already in at one.

I'd consider NU at sticker. I just don't know OP's financial state.

[Micdiddy]

Interesting choice. I think NU clearly has the most upside but also the most crippling possible downside if you don't make big law.
What's the risk if a free jd? Nothing really, except the opportunity costs. Are you a gambling man op?
I'd probably take the route easier on my fragile, debt-averse psyche, but on the other hand... YOLO and all that.

[helpplease]

Interesting choice. I think NU clearly has the most upside but also the most crippling possible downside if you don't make big law.
What's the risk if a free jd? Nothing really, except the opportunity costs. Are you a gambling man op?
I'd probably take the route easier on my fragile, debt-averse psyche, but on the other hand... YOLO and all that.

LOL that was funny.

Thank you all for the very interesting and diverse opinions. I'm going to mull this over some more and probably decide next week. I will definitely check back on here and let yall know what my decision turns out to be.

Thanks again!

[Myself]

.

[helpplease]

What are the stipulations for your UH scholarship?

A 2.9 GPA, which translates to being in the top 70% of the class. Not worried about keeping it for all three years.

[Myself]

.

[Winston1984]

This is a little ridiculous. I am all in favor of retakes when someone doesn't have good options, but OP literally has zero debt coming from UH. It's not a T14, but it's a solid regional school and if he strikes out at biglaw who cares? It doesn't cost him anything. UH all the way man.

[bizzybone1313]

This is a little ridiculous. I am all in favor of retakes when someone doesn't have good options, but OP literally has zero debt coming from UH. It's not a T14, but it's a solid regional school and if he strikes out at biglaw who cares? It doesn't cost him anything. UH all the way man.

Well, what about being able to actually have a career after three years of law school? Does that mean anything? I would go to lawschooltransparency.com and pore over U of H's overall employment numbers very, very carefully.

[El Principe]

This is a crazy decision.... honestly, I'd look for some form of alternative. I'd honestly do whatever I could to get money from a T14.... even if that means retaking and sitting out the cycle.

That is, if you really want Big Law.

I personally wouldn't pay sticker for most T14s...even with Big Law, that's a massive amount of debt for anyone. Forget chances of big law for a minute. Suppose you do make BigLaw... then you have to worry about attrition. How long will you last? You'll have a massive load of non-dischargeable debt + interest that you'll have to shovel money into to pay off within a reasonable amount of time. That's not something to take lightly. And if you get pushed out, laid off, or just can't take it anymore, you might find yourself in a pinch.

Houston still is a good option, and you have about an 11% chance of Big Law from there. I'd probably take that over most T1 schools outside of Texas (16-50), because from what I've heard from a partner at a Texas Big 3, hiring preference goes from T14 --> Texas --------> Houston/SMU ----------------> Everything else. (anecdotal of course). No debt makes it very low risk financially, but it also limits the rewards... so not a black & white decision.

As for the scholarship at Houston, I don't like the idea of stips, even if it's for top 30%.

TL;DR: I'm going to rank your options as:
1. Sit out and retake for more options and $$$
2. Milk Chi. for some kind of $$$
3. Houston
4. Northwestern at sticker.

[Winston1984]

This is a little ridiculous. I am all in favor of retakes when someone doesn't have good options, but OP literally has zero debt coming from UH. It's not a T14, but it's a solid regional school and if he strikes out at biglaw who cares? It doesn't cost him anything. UH all the way man.

Well, what about being able to actually have a career after three years of law school? Does that mean anything? I would go to lawschooltransparency.com and pore over U of H's overall employment numbers very, very carefully.

You are right in that OP has roughly a 60% chance of becoming a lawyer and about a 20% chance at a good outcome, but that is much better than most schools. Like I said, he is incurring zero debt, and UH is a very solid regional school. Any law school outside the T14 (and really the T14) is a gamble because no one is guaranteed a jerb, but I think it is a little ridiculous to have the mentality that unless a job is 100% guaranteed law school is a waste of time. Every law school is now a gamble, and when you factor in debt it becomes pretty serious, but OP won't have debt. If you think 60% isn't a high enough employment number to go to school, what is? Does a 70% chance magically become good enough? I think these threads are what make TLS look bad at times. He isn't talking about Florida Costal Law, he's talking about UH.

[worldtraveler]

If big law is what you really want, NU all the way. Otherwise, one bad exam can screw up your dreams forever.