Pitt v. Temple v. Tulane Forum

[Headybrah]

So, its that time of year, Im having trouble making a decision and defer to you, the anonymous posters of TLS to help me think through this mess and give me some unbiased/very biased advice


Pitt is offering me 22k a year ---> total cost of attending = 28k/year
Temple is offering 12k a year ---> total cost of attending = 38k/year
Tulane is offering 15k a year ---> total cost of attending = 45k/year


All these are pretty expensive and while I am footing the bill for this shit, I don't want to look back and say I should have gone to a better school... or close any option that opens the most doors due to price....

About me:
I don't care where I live as long as its not the south (this is what really scares me about Tulane, while New Orleans is cool and I could def live there for like 5-7 years total including school, I don't want to raise a family there), close to ocean or mountains and a good city. Id love to end up in SF, Philly, New England, DC, Colorado or China!

I am Caucasian but speak fluent Chinese and really would love to do work in China. I am interested in environmental law but I can see myself doing a 1000000 different things once I start and realize I like the thrill of the courtroom or like business transactions or some other part of the law so while I enjoy environmental stuff and currently work in ocean policy, I can see myself shifting gears entirely.

I will riding out waitlists at:
Davis
Hastings
Wash Lee
Colorado


Any advice or suggestions, ideas?

Thanks may your deity of choice shower you with good karma for helping this poor confused man....

Def going to ask temple for more monies to match Pitt...

[El Chupacabra]

All three are regional schools. So, if you want to live in Pittsburgh, take Pitt, Temple for Philly, and Tulane for New Orleans.

[Aberzombie1892]

If you don't want to live in Pittsburgh or Philly, Tulane.

Tulane places about 25%-30% per year in LA, 10% in CA, 25% in the Northeast, etc.

[Headybrah]

my problem with Tulane is that those statistics are a bit misleading because that is where most their students are originally from - which I feel makes it a bit easier to get into those markets...

Also, I know Tulane's had problems with getting people to OCI and if I want a job on the East Coast I will definitely need to leave campus fairly frequently...

more than location I guess is, which is going to provide me with the best education?

[pany1985]

If Philly is the only of the 3 cities you'd want to stay in, I'd go with Temple

[Headybrah]

yeah I am leaning toward temple - especially because they have connections with China...

but this certainly isnt an easy choice

I feel like I may get a better education in NOLA and it would be a very fun place to live!

[You Gotta Have Faith]

Tulane is your best option if you think you might want to go international (as you mention working in China). Don't get me wrong, it's not a powerhouse for international law or anything... but they have a bigger presence in it than similarly ranked schools.

Then again, if the South scares you TOO much, you might just stick with Temple or Pitt (or of course one of the wait lists assuming a few come into fruition). I will say that the South actually is diverse though. There are a few fun cities (NOLA and Austin, notably) that don't fit the more traditional view that people have of the South.

[therealellewoods]

is your hometown in PA? if so, I would go with Temple over Pitt...

altho it's dropped in the rankings, Temple is the generally received as the number 2 law school in Philly (and therefore Pennsylvania IMO) second only to UPenn.

also I believe Temple is the only ABA law school with a program in Tokyo... not China, I know, but if you want to explore International Law/the Asian legal market it could be an interesting alternative

good luck with whatever you decide! and may the deities shower you with good luck too

[Headybrah]

yeah I don't hate the south or anything! Its just not for me, I don't love the humidity and don't love the lack of seasons...

Tulane has a great international program, but mainly focused on EU and few connections with China

Temple has strong connections with china - has an LLM in Chinese law - has many students from China at the school....

[StateSt]

Where are the strongest alumni bases for each of these schools outside of their respective cities?

[Headybrah]

good question thanks for the help

+4 karma on u

[Aberzombie1892]

Tulane:
Louisiana 2473
Texas 566
New York 434
California 387
Florida 364
DC 260
Georgia 196
Illinois 138
Alabama 118
Mississippi 118
New Jersey 92
Pennsylvania 84
Virginia 98
Massachusetts 85
Missouri 74

Temple:
Pennsylvania 4723
New Jersey 940
New York 398
California 185
Florida 170
Delaware 164
Connecticut 79

Pittsburgh:
Pennsylvania 3416
DC 185
Florida 149
New Jersey 88
Virginia 74


Edit: Sorry the link didn't work that well; I used a martindale.com search for graduates from each of the law schools. For the reporting purposes, I didn't count states that had fewer than 70 graduates.

[Headybrah]

+9 karma on you! that was awesome!

[StateSt]

Are there GPA/Top x% of class requirements with the money at any of the schools, or is it all guaranteed?

[Headybrah]

there are some...

Tulanes is redic

[Headybrah]

reup on karma now!

[beach_terror]

altho it's dropped in the rankings, Temple is the generally received as the number 2 law school in Philly (and therefore Pennsylvania IMO) second only to UPenn.

You can't do Philly and PA together like that. Pitt has a better hold on Pittsburgh than Temple does on Philadelphia because Pitt only really has Duquense and Case out there... whereas Temple has Upenn, Villanova, RU-Camden, and now Drexel. Philly also got hit much harder in the recession than Pittsburgh did.

Also, I wouldn't say Temple is the clear cut 2nd choice for Philadelphia. Villanova is a great school, and is pretty much interchangeable from the attorneys I've talked to in Philly.

[keg411]

Temple/Nova/RU-C are all about the same in Philly. Temple is stronger for PI in the city, 'Nova is stronger in the Philly-side suburbs, RU-C is stronger in the South Jersey suburbs (Penn mostly places in NYC). Pitt probably has a better hold on it's market because of less competition, but Pittsburgh is a small legal market than Philadephia.

[Headybrah]

any other advice?

where do I have the best shot at making bank?

[beach_terror]

If you're after money, all of these are a bad choice. Retake the LSAT and go to a school that places 30+% into biglaw, that's where the money is.