Arizona or Tulane Forum

[Yellowcard]

Arizona Law with 15k a year or Tulane Law with 25k a year. I'm looking for information along the lines of: which degree will travel farther, which school is looking to move up in the rankings in the next 3 years, which school will give me the best chance of employment upon graduation? Any advice at all is appreciated though.

[nianlong]

Where exactly do you want the degree to travel?

What kind of legal jobs do you intend to pursue?

[sooner25]

according to lsn: tulane had 106 oci of which 24 were from ny/cali/dc whereas arizona only had 57 and 9 from ny/cali/dc. also only 33% on tulane grads stay instate while for arizona its like 66%. also i think tulane will go up just cause new orleans is on the rebound

[Yellowcard]

I'd like to do corporate law, but I would be open to working with a smaller firm. At the moment, I am less interested with the type of law I will be practicing as much as whether or not I can just get a job upon graduation.

[Veyron]

Top 10% at Arizona has a shot at cal biglaw. Other than that both schools realy only place in-state for corporate regardless of the oci. You ha e to remember that most students at these schools do not get jobs through oci.

[nianlong]

I don't know if one school has any advantage over the over in terms of ensuring that you have a job upon graduation. There are so many other factors that employers are going to look consider: grades, interviewing skills, work experiences, etc. If you honestly don't care what you do as long as you have some kind of legal job, go to the cheaper school so that you have more financially viable options.

[MSUPHL]

These are two schools I will most likely be seriously considering, as well OP (even though I havent heard back from UofA yet). I was offered 20k/yr at Tulane. I got their packet yesterday and they estimate total costs at ~60k/yr...so that leaves me ~120k in debt after 3 yrs. UofA i assume will be cheaper for 2nd and 3rd yr with in state tuition. I dont think i would mind working in Phoenix area, and if I go to Tulane I will be lookjing to land a job in Dallas, Austin, South Florida, or Atlanta. I need/want a nice Jewish community wherever I find work so all of these cities will suffice.

Basically, dont know why I posted this. Just looking for more opinions on OP's topic.

[Bustang]

Getting in-state at U of A is nearly impossible. Keep this in mind.

[abodetti]

what was your gpa and lsat score? just curious because i was looking at Tulane as well

[Yellowcard]

Getting in-state is impossible? Why do you say that? I'm pretty sure in the acceptance packet it states that a majority of students claim residency after their first year and reap the benefits of the in-state tuition price.

[fulkersonr1]

I would take Tulane. Seems to open up New Orleans, Texas, Florida and do fairly well on East Cost. They have good programs in international law, environmental law and maritime law. Plus NOLA would be an awesome place to spend three years. To be fair I know nothing about Arizona.

[Bustang]

Getting in-state is impossible? Why do you say that? I'm pretty sure in the acceptance packet it states that a majority of students claim residency after their first year and reap the benefits of the in-state tuition price.

Do some searching. U of A is regarded as one of the most difficult schools to obtain residency at.

[sanpiero]

Getting in-state is impossible? Why do you say that? I'm pretty sure in the acceptance packet it states that a majority of students claim residency after their first year and reap the benefits of the in-state tuition price.

Do some searching. U of A is regarded as one of the most difficult schools to obtain residency at.

+1 i've heard the same

[Sean Bateman]

OP, just curious if you don't mine what your numbers were?

[sanpiero]

i think you're equally likely at both schools to get an SA through OCI.

In general, U of A is better recognized in the West and Tulane in the East. I think Tulane travels better westward than Arizona does eastward. I was faced with this same decision last year plus another school. I ended up choosing the other school. Had the other school not been an option, I would have chosen based on which school's geographic region I prefer.

Cost will be about the same if you don't attain residency at U of A. If you attain residency for 3L, U of A will be 10-25% cheaper.

U of A places heavily in AZ. Tulane offers more portability, though much of its portability is likely explained by students returning to work at firms in their home markets. It will take networking and extra legwork on your part to move outside either school's home region.

Do you want to spend the next 3 years in NOLA and at least the next 3 years after that in the Southeast? Or would you prefer spending 3 years in Tucson and, likely, the 3 years+ after that in Tucson or Phoenix?

Humidity or very little? Mardi gras or the Great Outdoors? The Green Wave or the Wildcats? Good sports teams or a lack thereof? Well-established culture or a region still developing its own? Hurricanes or droughts? Wide open spaces or close quarters? True city or urban sprawl?

[Yellowcard]

Let me get this straight. If I go to Tulane I have a better chance to get out of the region, but I shouldn't expect to be able to go to California or the MidWest. If I go to Arizona, I'm stuck in Arizona. Is there no chance I could be in the surrounding states, most notably California?

Furthermore, does anyone have any numbers as to how either school places out of their home states?

[Veyron]

Top of class at u of a has a shot at ca mid-biglaw.

[RVP11]

UA top 5% and you'll have a shot at big firms in SoCal. If you have ties in Nevada, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, etc. I think a UA degree can travel reasonably well.

If OP just wants any old BigLaw position, Tulane is TCR. It's the difference between 5% to 10% getting big firm jobs from UA, and 10% to 20% from Tulane. And these are liberal estimates.

Then again, if your bar for determining success is whether you get a 2L BigLaw SA, going to either of these schools is tantamount to beating your head against the wall.