Any Baylor Students out there?? Forum

[patrickd139]

They have a non-existent presence in the major DA's offices.

Haha. False. Gregg County DA (Longview) is made up of almost entirely of Baylor Law grads

[kalvano]

They have a non-existent presence in the major DA's offices.

Haha. False. Gregg County DA (Longview) is made up of almost entirely of Baylor Law grads

I wouldn't really call Longview a major city.

[patrickd139]

They have a non-existent presence in the major DA's offices.

Haha. False. Gregg County DA (Longview) is made up of almost entirely of Baylor Law grads

I wouldn't really call Longview a major city.

Dude(ette), I'm on your side.

[kalvano]

I just wanted to clarify. We are talking about people seriously considering going to Baylor.

[colemf]

So if someone graduates in the top 10% from Baylor with previous internships in the Harris/Dallas county DA's office i would think they would have a pretty good shot at securing a job in one of those two offices, am i wrong? i mean that third year practice court has to count for something.

[kalvano]

So if someone graduates in the top 10% from Baylor with previous interships in the Harris/Dallas county DA's office i would think they would have a pretty good shot at securing a job in one of those two offices, am i wrong? i mean that third year practice court has to count for something.

No, it doesn't. Want to work in a DA's office? Intern there as part of your schooling. Work with them while you're in law school. Demonstrate to them that that's where you want to be.


You can't do that from Baylor. You can from the local schools. Do you really think practice court is going to mean much against an SMU student who has done mock & moot and has worked the criminal prosecution clinic and interned with the Dallas DA's office?

It might if you are in the top 10% and they are in the bottom 10%, but even then it might not. And going in counting on being in the top 10% is a disaster waiting to happen. Hell, at Baylor, even planning on keeping your scholarship is iffy.

You keep looking for reasons to justify Baylor. If you want to go to Baylor, go. But for what you want to do, it's a poor choice. You seem to want to be an ADA in either Dallas or Houston. If you wanted to be a prosecutor in Bumblefuck West Texas, then Baylor would be great. But you don't. You're talking about massive metropolitan areas with a good amount of competition for the job you want. Why make it exponentially harder for yourself before you ever set foot in a classroom?

Getting a job often isn't about being the most qualified. It's about connections. You can try and justify killing yourself with practice court and an extra workload, but at the end of the day, other schools give you far better connections.

[txlaw2010]

I'm not exactly sure what kalvano has against Baylor. (And I assume he will respond by saying he has nothing against Baylor, he just wants to make sure people don't go to such a terrible school). Maybe he's a little annoyed he didn't apply and get that full scholarship everyone is bragging about.

I've said it before. There is a lot to hate about Baylor. But there are also a lot of great things about Baylor (case in point--unlike UT, Baylor does require a brief writing class). And it's hard to turn down $120,000.

You'll get great experience. If you do well, you'll get the job you want. It is not hard to keep a scholarship. I've already showed you the stats on that.

If you want an honest opinion about Baylor, feel free to email me. I'll tell you The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, without having to argue with someone who doesn't know anything about the school.

[kalvano]

Why bother applying to a school I wouldn't attend if they paid me to go?

Baylor overworks people for no real reason, it's been in a steady decline in the rankings for a decade with no sign it will stop, it's located in a shithole of a town, and you're already at a disadvantage going in because Baylor has no direct market it feeds. It's sucking hind tit to other, better schools in the area. Not only do they overwork you, they take some sort of perverse pride in it. Law school is hard enough already, why make it harder?

Sounds like a great place to go. Can I sign up for Texas Wesleyan as a back-up?

I've got family and friends that went there, and one of my family members went so far as to offer to make up the tuition difference between Baylor and other schools just so I didn't go to Baylor.

[HBK]

I don't think it's as hard to get prosecuting positions as you all think. In Austin, TX- home of the #1 law school in the state- where you'd think a lot of UT grads would want to continue living, there are several STCL grads in the county attorney's office. If you want to be a prosecutor, I really don't think going to Baylor would be that much of a hindrance.

I also know of several Baylor grads in Harris County and Dallas DA's offices.

[colemf]

I don't think it's as hard to get prosecuting positions as you all think. In Austin, TX- home of the #1 law school in the state- where you'd think a lot of UT grads would want to continue living, there are several STCL grads in the county attorney's office. If you want to be a prosecutor, I really don't think going to Baylor would be that much of a hindrance.

I also know of several Baylor grads in Harris County and Dallas DA's offices.

Yea, i guess thats what i'm trying to figure out about Kalvano's comments, i too know several Baylor alum who have easily secured ADA positions in both Harris and Dallas county in recent years and from every thing i hear its pretty easy in general to get an ADA job.

[HBK]

I don't think it's as hard to get prosecuting positions as you all think. In Austin, TX- home of the #1 law school in the state- where you'd think a lot of UT grads would want to continue living, there are several STCL grads in the county attorney's office. If you want to be a prosecutor, I really don't think going to Baylor would be that much of a hindrance.

I also know of several Baylor grads in Harris County and Dallas DA's offices.

Yea, i guess thats what i'm trying to figure out about Kalvano's comments, i too know several Baylor alum who have easily secured ADA positions in both Harris and Dallas county in recent years and from every thing i hear its pretty easy in general to get an ADA job.

My first post in this thread mentioned that Baylor is decently regarded for prosecution. I know several alums who are prosecutors. They said if they could do it over again, they would not have gone to Baylor.

[kalvano]

I don't think it's as hard to get prosecuting positions as you all think. In Austin, TX- home of the #1 law school in the state- where you'd think a lot of UT grads would want to continue living, there are several STCL grads in the county attorney's office. If you want to be a prosecutor, I really don't think going to Baylor would be that much of a hindrance.

I also know of several Baylor grads in Harris County and Dallas DA's offices.

Yea, i guess thats what i'm trying to figure out about Kalvano's comments, i too know several Baylor alum who have easily secured ADA positions in both Harris and Dallas county in recent years and from every thing i hear its pretty easy in general to get an ADA job.

How many Baylor grads versus how many grads of the schools in the city? Not many, I would bet. It's a poor choice to go there when you have superior schools that actually feed those cities. It's like saying you want to work in D.C., the going to Lewis & Clark in Portland. Is it possible? Sure. Is it the best way to achieve your goal? Not even close.

It's also not "pretty easy" to get an ADA job. In Dallas, it's easier than a Biglaw job, but it's still quite competitive.

[colemf]

Ok so i just found out i got into Notre Dame with a half scholarship, i really don't care were i practice so long as im in a big city, is Notre Dame, given its much higher ranking, a better choice for me considering i want to work in a DA's office? also keep in mind i've gotten no money from UH.

[patrickd139]

Ok so i just found out i got into Notre Dame with a half scholarship, i really don't care were i practice so long as im in a big city, is Notre Dame, given its much higher ranking, a better choice for me considering i want to work in a DA's office? also keep in mind i've gotten no money from UH.

IMHO, ND is the clear winner here.

[txlaw2010]

I agree, the half scholarship at Notre Dame is better than a full scholarship at Baylor, since you're open to living outside of Texas.

[kalvano]

Go to ND. Roll 'em up when you drive through Gary.

[huskylives]

It might if you are in the top 10% and they are in the bottom 10%, but even then it might not. And going in counting on being in the top 10% is a disaster waiting to happen. Hell, at Baylor, even planning on keeping your scholarship is iffy.

I think kalvano makes some very good points, but is a bit off-base on the whole "keeping your scholarship is iffy" bit. What others have said is correct -- judging from Baylor's actual data (http://law.baylor.edu/CareerServices/CS ... alysis.htm) the 2.5 GPA stipulation means you pretty much have to just stay out of the bottom 10-15%. If you can't do this, you shouldn't be going to law school. Basically, I think there's plenty of valid cautions against going to Baylor, but not being able to maintain a 2.5 isn't one of them. Their curve is bad, but it's not that bad.

[wreckem]

I am only commenting on this thread because of the mention of ADA positions in Texas.

Most major counties have laid off aleast some ADA's in the past year with the likelyhood of more getting let go(or positions being closed and not refilled when people leave) because of serious budgeting issues. County governments are going to have a tough several years, the bigger the county the bigger the financial problems. Dallas and Harris inparticular. On the upside, there is a very good chance the larger counties will be hiring a significant amount of ADA's once the budget issue/tax revenue issues get better in 3-4 years.

That said, Denton has quite are few Baylor and Texas Tech Alums, both at low level positions and at high level positions(2 division chiefs from Baylor, 3 from Texas Tech). Collin County(Frisco, Plano, McKinney, aka the major suburbs of Dallas) is pretty similar to Denton and isn't dominated by SMU/UT grads. Tarrant doesn't appear to be either. As for Dallas, there are a lot of grads from most law schools in Texas since the Dallas DA's office is HUGE in terms of number of ADA's, SMU may have the most ADA's in the Dallas DA's office, but all Texas Law schools are pretty decently represented inside the Dallas DA's office.

[BLS Casualty]

I am also a 3L at Baylor about to graduate. I will probably give a more realistic opinion of the school than has been previously perpetrated in this thread. I think the previous poster is the exception rather than the rule so I will try to offer a countering, more general point-of-view of the school. Shoot.

[david787]

BLS, could you kindly answer what I believe is the most relevant question in determining which law school to attend, what are the job prospects like for current Baylor 3Ls, both in the top 10% and not those in the top. Thanks!

Second most important question, is there any socialization/fun among students or just class, study, family?

[BLS Casualty]

Obviously for the top 10% the job prospects are going to be better. I saw earlier in the thread where it was said 10/70 of the Fall group that started three years ago have BIGLAW jobs. This is taking a really expansive view of BIGLAW, imo, and includes mid-size firms from cities like Tyler and here in Waco. If you are talking 160k/year, DFW/Houston, V100, etc. as your definition of BIGLAW then I only know of 4 people with those types of jobs. That isn't to say that the other people with those midlaw jobs don't have good gigs, but I think it's misleading to lump those firms into that definition when most people on this site are looking for the DFW and Houston traditional BIGLAW jobs. Firms like V&E and A&G don't even come to Baylor for OCI (or at least didn't during our go around last year).

Also, the 10 or so people with the firm jobs are not exclusively top 10%. I know plenty of people in the top 10-15% with Law Review that shot for the moon during OCI, bombed, and are now scrambling.

I agree with a lot of what TXLaw has said (especially about the lack of respect from employers after all the crap we go through), but I think there is an incorrect perception left as to what the true state of job prospects is right now.

As for social stuff, it is what you make of it. If you wanna be in the crowd that hits up the bars 2-3 times a week then you'll meet and hang around those people. There are enough bars around here to keep you entertained if that is your thing. There will be a group of married people who go out and have the traditional Baylor Baptist fun, too.

[david787]

Thanks, that's very helpful. For someone who wants to be employed by either a midsize Texas firm or a county DA's office, assuming they are not in the bottom of their class, would they have a reasonable chance of securing such employment (assuming they can handle an interview, have previous work experience, etc). I'm just trying to separate out "good employment" from biglaw, it's pretty obvious that biglaw isn't an reasonable option from a >50 ranked school.