GW vs. SMU Dedman Forum

[starry eyed]

I am probably gonna get hell for this but i am curious so i'll ask: if someone is not from Texas but wants to work in houston or dallas, how is going to UT always the clear choice? Going to UT is good for establishing Austin ties but aren't Austin jobs the hardest to get anyway? (i realize UT's #'s are way better- but this is more focused on ties)

top quarter at SMU vs median at UT with no ties: who has the dallas advantage?

-my reasoning is that dallas and houston will both probably wonder what reason you have for wanting to work there since you haven't displayed an interest in going to school there nor have family ties.

[kalvano]

Because UT is next to Harvard in the eyes of many Texas firms.

[OhBoyOhBortles]

Retake. Definitely worth it.

[starry eyed]

there seems to be a contradiction here: if one can got to HYS or UT, it doesn't matter if they have ties or not.

But the underlying logic is the same; firms don't want to waste an investment on a flight risk.

I can see the benefit of having a Yale grad in the firm, but there are a ton of UT guys in texas.

[downbeat14]

Retake and it isn't even close. Make the LSAT your job and get a massive ROI from those studying hours. With URM status you are just leaving globs of cash on the table and job odds out the wazoo by not retaking and getting much better options. GW is a dumpster fire. SMU is very limiting. Bad and bad.

[BigZuck]

top quarter at SMU vs median at UT with no ties: who has the dallas advantage?

I'm guessing either way that person is going to have a rough go of it.

If I didn't have ties I'd rather be a top student at SMU than a schmo-y student at UT but I don't think the difference is that stark. If you do well at SMU you'll likely do well at UT I would think. It's only a few LSAT point difference, that isn't very meaningful IMO.

But yeah, what Kalvano said.

there seems to be a contradiction here: if one can got to HYS or UT, it doesn't matter if they have ties or not

I think generally it does matter if you have ties no matter which school you choose. But of course anecdotes, etc. and things can be overcome.

[Poldy]

there seems to be a contradiction here: if one can got to HYS or UT, it doesn't matter if they have ties or not.

But the underlying logic is the same; firms don't want to waste an investment on a flight risk.

I can see the benefit of having a Yale grad in the firm, but there are a ton of UT guys in texas.

Somebody who isn't a 0L can correct me if I'm wrong but I think the "ton of UT guys in Texas" is exactly why UT is an advantage even for non Texans. People from UT like to hire other people from UT (or at least that's part of what I'm banking on lol).

[OhBoyOhBortles]

Retake and it isn't even close. Make the LSAT your job and get a massive ROI from those studying hours. With URM status you are just leaving globs of cash on the table and job odds out the wazoo by not retaking and getting much better options. GW is a dumpster fire. SMU is very limiting. Bad and bad.

[thisiswater]

SMU 1L here - retake

If you wanted Dallas, SMU at 70 isn't an awful option and I know there is a lot of support here for URMs but I think you could do better with that GPA