Should I let my BF determine where I go to law school? Forum

[DoubleChecks]

Go to Moritz. 2.5 hours is honestly nothing. If your relationship can't last a 2.5-hour distance, it wasn't meant to be. You won't regret going to the better school for you. You will regret moving closer to a guy for a relationship that wasn't meant to be. I know from experience.

that assumes a lot, and in general i would disagree...but given the larger context, i would say in general, 2.5 hrs isnt so far away that it would become "long, long distance" lol

you guys could visit each other every other week pretty easily (assuming you bring study materials w/ you for those weekends hah!)

[quickquestionthanks]

Don't let anyone question your heart.

If your boyfriend is offended that you want to go to a significantly better school that is 2 (or even 20) hours away from where he lives (as quickquestion suggested he would be), I think you guys have bigger issues.

If your boyfriend is NOT offended, you have bigger issues. "Oh, we could go to grad school together. Or you could go to a marginally better school for more money that's 2.5 hours away meaning we'll barely ever see each other? That's great honey! Yeah...whatever you decide!" Cold blooded.

Go to Moritz. 2.5 hours is honestly nothing. If your relationship can't last a 2.5-hour distance, it wasn't meant to be.

I'm pretty romantic, but "meant to be" is just bullshit. You either attempt to make it work, or you don't.

Definitely don't choose your school solely based on being closer to your SO. I did for my UG and then broke up with him one semester of freshmen year lol.

Shocking. High school --> UG relationships are a whole different beast.

Considering every law school above the T30 is exactly the same ( ), I don't think it really makes a difference.

Why T30? Why not T25 or T23 or T18 or Yale

There's a pretty good argument to be made for the T14 being it's own category. However, I was being facetious (hence the eye roll) and mocking that mentality. Still, she's not debating between Harvard and Hastings.


OP: You keep saying you haven't been dating for "all that long." That is where the disconnect is coming from, since most people would consider that a pretty serious relationship. You've also failed to mention your boyfriend's attitude about this. Have you talked to him about it? Please do report.

[Dr. Strangelove]

I'd go with the better school.
The 2.5 hour distance will test your relationship and see if it's worth it in the long term.
If your relationship is solely based on physical attraction, then yea... it's gonna fail due to the distance.
However, if there truly is a deeper emotional connection.. I think you guys will manage.
OSU is much better for your career prospects than Case.

[Cupidity]

If I can do 1500 miles, you can do 2 1/2 hours.

[84Sunbird2000]

I picked Case solely because you were concerned about out-of-state placement. Case is more portable, and certainly has a more wide-reaching alumni base. There are numerous threads about this, but even in 2009, Case placed more than 50% outside of Ohio, with large groups going to NYC and DC, as well as Chicago. Yes, OSU has higher NLJ 250 placement, but outside of Ohio I really don't see any indication that OSU is better...at all. However, I also thought Cleveland was pretty awesome (top-notch formal arts scene, dirt-cheap living, lake, traffic is manageable, University Circle is amazing) when I visited, so my bias differs from yours.

Moreover, I was pretty much an ass to the Career Services at Case in order to get the real meat of the 2009 employment stats, and after getting every piece of data I could, it appeared Case held up really well through this part of the economic downturn. They didn't pad their employment totals with academic/RA placement or anything like that, and while their salary figures were down a bit, they were still very respectable with a good percentage reporting. I don't know where the rumor mill is going, but I don't think there is any real evidence that Case floundered abnormally ITE..

So, to me:

OOS placement - Case.
Cheaper - Case.
BF- Case.
Ohio Placement - OSU.

I can only assume it is the TLS knee-jerk "rankings reaction" that is driving the poll, but outside of that I don't understand the logic that gives OSU a 3-1 advantage. I don't necessarily think that following your BF should be a major factor in your decision, but if it's close, it seems that BF-locale would be a very fair tiebreaker.

[Nat1018]

I picked Case solely because you were concerned about out-of-state placement. Case is more portable, and certainly has a more wide-reaching alumni base. There are numerous threads about this, but even in 2009, Case placed more than 50% outside of Ohio, with large groups going to NYC and DC, as well as Chicago. Yes, OSU has higher NLJ 250 placement, but outside of Ohio I really don't see any indication that OSU is better...at all. However, I also thought Cleveland was pretty awesome (top-notch formal arts scene, dirt-cheap living, lake, traffic is manageable, University Circle is amazing) when I visited, so my bias differs from yours.

Moreover, I was pretty much an ass to the Career Services at Case in order to get the real meat of the 2009 employment stats, and after getting every piece of data I could, it appeared Case held up really well through this part of the economic downturn. They didn't pad their employment totals with academic/RA placement or anything like that, and while their salary figures were down a bit, they were still very respectable with a good percentage reporting. I don't know where the rumor mill is going, but I don't think there is any real evidence that Case floundered abnormally ITE..

So, to me:

OOS placement - Case.
Cheaper - Case.
BF- Case.
Ohio Placement - OSU.

I can only assume it is the TLS knee-jerk "rankings reaction" that is driving the poll, but outside of that I don't understand the logic that gives OSU a 3-1 advantage. I don't necessarily think that following your BF should be a major factor in your decision, but if it's close, it seems that BF-locale would be a very fair tiebreaker.

Hey 84sunbird. Thanks for your post! Did Case give you 2009 employment stats over the phone? Do you know when they'll be putting it up on their website?

[84Sunbird2000]

They said employment stats will be up in May or June when I asked about it, and possibly because there may have been a couple more updates still being compiled after the March 20 ASD when I spoke with CSO reps. I know employment was 93% 6 months after graduation, and only 0.6% was "academia". Overall firm placement was down, but they always place very well into clerkships, government, and PI, and that continued. They indicated that employment at graduation was upper 60s%, which is down but seems very realistic. They did indicate that USNews stats on "employment at graduation" (even for them) are usually inflated because of quirks in the USNews methodology, which I think is something that we (and Leiter) are aware of.

Their regional splits in the up economy were more 65/35, but are right now close to 50/50.

Added: I'm 99% positive the NALP data is for 2009 graduating class.

Markets for most recent class:
1. Cleveland, OH
2. New York, NY
3. Washington, DC
4. Chicago, IL
5. Los Angeles, CA

Regions:

New England: 3.3
Middle Atlantic: 11.6
East North Central: 57.4
West North Central: 1.1
South Atlantic: 15.5
East South Central: 0.55
West South Central: 1.1
Mountain: 1.7
Pacific: 6.6
Non-US: 1.1

AREAS OF PRACTICE

Private practice: 47.5
Business and industry: 17.1
Government: 11.6
Judicial clerkship: 4.9
Military: 2.7
Public interest organization: 15.4
Academic: 0.55

I don't know if the NALP for OSU is 2008 or 2009, but:

They placed 71% into East North Central, and placed lower numbers into Mid-Atlantic, South Atlantic, and Pacific than Case. The one advantage I saw for OSU is that their B&I placement was only 14%, and they had a higher firm percentage.

But...Case is a PI powerhouse, which is (imho) probably a better and more soul-gratifying alternative to working in a 2-10 person firm in many cases. Pay will likely be low for both, but IBR will be on your side at a lot of PIs.

Anyways, hope this helps.