Top Law Schools

I've been agonizing over this decision for weeks, and I hope that someone out there can provide a fresh perspective. My options are as follows:

University of Washington: in-state tuition with a $10,000/year scholarship. I would still have to take out Stafford loans, so my total debt would be $61,500.

UT Austin: OOS tuition the first year is $45,000, but I have a $15,000/year scholarship. I would have to take out Grad Plus loans for 1L, but if I can get resident tuition for the last two years, then my total debt would be at least $85,000, at most $110,000.

Neither scholarship has a GPA requirement (good academic standing is the only stipulation). Location is not a big factor - I like Seattle, but would be willing to practice anywhere. Like most of the TLS crowd, I'd love to have a shot at biglaw, but given the economic circumstances and non-t14 options I realize that may not be possible. So what do you think? Does UT offer enough in the way of employment opportunities to offset the higher cost and debt load? It seems that even top UW grads are competing with t14 grads for a limited amount of jobs here, so is there any advantage to going to the top regional school when the market is so small? I would greatly appreciate any input, and thank you for reading my post.

Take UT. Near T-14 portability. Not a great cost difference and Austin is awesome.

Only downside to UT is that it's huge. But I think that's small compared to the increased strength of your job prospects. UW would only serve you better in the PacNW.

UT, unless you want to work in the Pacific NW.

Barolo wrote:Take UT. Near T-14 portability. Not a great cost difference and Austin is awesome.

Only downside to UT is that it's huge. But I think that's small compared to the increased strength of your job prospects. UW would only serve you better in the PacNW.

Makes sense to me. It seems that UT is basically considered a T-14 or better in the West/Southwest/South. Also, you would still be attending on scholarship! My full disclosure is that I am waiting to hear from UW (waitlisted). Out of curiosity, did you end up having to send deposits to both schools?

TCScrutinizer wrote:UT, unless you want to work in the Pacific NW.

+1

JOThompson wrote:

TCScrutinizer wrote:UT, unless you want to work in the Pacific NW.

+1

+2

Thanks for all the input! I'll likely be packing up and heading to Austin after graduation

Out of curiosity, did you end up having to send deposits to both schools?

Yes, I did deposit at both schools. Had UW offered me more money, I would have fully committed. It seems like there aren't too many need-based grants being offered this year, unfortunately.

I will say that UW impressed me communication-wise. I received a phone call from Sandra Madrid (assistant dean for students) two days after I received my acceptance. She spent around forty minutes explaining the various programs and classes, asking me about my options, etc. Arlo Hammontree from Financial Aid was very personable and candid, and the $10,000/year scholarship was a decent offer considering that UW doesn't give out a lot of money. Overall, they did make me feel wanted. UW is a good school, and I hope you get in, aPosseAdEsse.

Though I'd love to practice in the Pacific NW, it's not a large market. I suppose I've been trying to justify UW because Seattle is home, but the vote for UT is pretty unanimous, both offline and online.

Thank you all again! TLS is a great resource - wish I'd known about it before I took the LSAT and started the application process.