UT vs. BC Forum

[mz253]

With my disappointing LSAT, I was thrilled to get into BC. Now I heard back from UT and I'm freaking out. UT ranks much higher than BC. And it seems that UT has a stronger national reach. Since I'm paying sticker for both schools, money is not an iuuse. IDEALLY, I want to work for a big law firm in business/securities investment related areas. Government jobs and clerkships are not my option since I'm a foreign citizen. And I only want to live in a major city. But if I want to work in security law, is NYC pretty much the only choice?

I will visit both schools in March. I am listing pros and cons for each school, would like you guys' input. Thanks!

BC
pro
1. all my friends are in Boston or NYC. (I went to college and grad school in New England and have lots of friends and strong network in the area)
2. i heard BC has a very collegiate environment (i went to a tiny liberal arts school, i figure i may like it)

con
1. i cannot deal with the cold weather and hate driving in snow.
2. i heard BC is good for Boston, and possibly for NYC and D.C. It's difficult to get beyond these three cities. (I am Asian, if I have chance to work for a firm's Asian office, I would take it!
3. though I went to two extremely preppy schools, i got really sick of the preppy/old money culture.

UT
pro
1. a change of environment. from small school setting to a big state school.
2. good weather.
3. strong entrepreneural environment (really important to me)

con
1. big class (over 400 people)
2. difficult to get jobs outside Texas? (I have no problem working in Texas, but I heard you need to have some ties to the area. And I have zone)
3. don't know anyone in the area.
4. Difficult to adjust culturally, both Texas and big state school (?)

I asked a few college alums who practice in Boston and NYC. They said BC is a very prestigious school? Is that true? They do not think that highly of UT Austin and was surprised that I was considering taking UT over BC.

[Informative]

Both are great schools, but both are regional. It really should come down to whether you want to work in the northeast or southwest.

If you want the southwest, go to UT.
If you want the northeast, go to BC.

As for law firm placement, they are fairly similar statistically. http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog ... hool-.html While they both place well in large law firms, the region of those placements is going to be very different.

[mz253]

honestly, i don't think location matters that much to me, as long as i get to live in a major city. the thing is that, i see myself much more a business investor so i want to move into private equity/venture capital after 10-15 years.

from my limited understanding, NYC and Boston has the best private equity firms, and SF has most venture capital firms. i heard Texas' economy is doing very well too. so my question is that will working in Texas dim my chance to go to finance later?

[Rule11]

You'll need to be at the very top of your class at either school to have a chance at the job you're looking for. Did either give you money? If not, I recommend not going to law school--these days, government jobs are not much a safety net, but you would not even have that as a potential backup plan.

All in all, it seems prudent to retake the LSAT and try again next year, or maybe just to rethink law school altogether.

edit: What country are you from? Do you speak the language fluently? If so, you might have better odds at a big firm job than most, if you're willing to work in that country (particularly if China or Japan). I'm still not sure it would be a worthwhile gamble (and gamble it would remain), but the odds are somewhat increased.

[mz253]

no money from either school. money is not an issue in my case. i have taken the LSAT three times and I dont' want to apply for next cycle.

[Law Sauce]

both are good schools. From everything I've heard, the texas market is huge and thriving. I'd say go there unless you really like new england. But both are good.

[mz253]

both are good schools. From everything I've heard, the texas market is huge and thriving. I'd say go there unless you really like new england. But both are good.

what type of law you can practice in Texas? I feel there's lots of energy/IP/environment related areas, but is there any M&A, investment related type of work?

[Rule11]

m&a dealflow is weaker in Texas, but there's plenty of work that could fit within "investment" and other forms of financing. Energy law frequently dovetails with areas like project finance, which could be a strong fit for your background (if you have fluency in an asian language).

If money is not an issue to you (generous family?) and you don't mind driving a car, then you should go to Texas without much hesitation.

[AP-375]

Texas has a giant economy and has more Fortune 500 companies than any other state. I'm not crazy with Texas pride, but any idea that a business law career will be stiffled in Texas is ridiculous.
http://politifact.com/texas/statements/ ... st-fortun/

[mz253]

Texas has a giant economy and has more Fortune 500 companies than any other state. I'm not crazy with Texas pride, but any idea that a business law career will be stiffled in Texas is ridiculous.
http://politifact.com/texas/statements/ ... st-fortun/

Thanks for pointing to the resource. I really don't know anything about Texas!!! Considering Texas pride, are they friendly towards foreigners? I'm Chinese.

[mz253]

m&a dealflow is weaker in Texas, but there's plenty of work that could fit within "investment" and other forms of financing. Energy law frequently dovetails with areas like project finance, which could be a strong fit for your background (if you have fluency in an asian language).

If money is not an issue to you (generous family?) and you don't mind driving a car, then you should go to Texas without much hesitation.

Interesting thing about energy law. Do you think I can do a good job in energy law if (1) I am not an envrionmentalist (2) I am great with numbers and money?

Why Asian language proficienty is important? I speak both Chinese and Japanese.

[LSATWIZ]

You might be able to use your UT acceptance to get $$ from BU. This probably will not work vice versa. The best thing you could do is spend sometime in Austin. I'm a big proponent of the belief that major life decisions should not be made over friends. You can always make new friends. Most people, particularly in this country are good deep down and make excellent friends. You can still keep in touch with your old friends.

[mz253]

You might be able to use your UT acceptance to get $$ from BU. This probably will not work vice versa. The best thing you could do is spend sometime in Austin. I'm a big proponent of the belief that major life decisions should not be made over friends. You can always make new friends. Most people, particularly in this country are good deep down and make excellent friends. You can still keep in touch with your old friends.

yea, well, considering that i've been moving so much throughout my life. at this point, i feel family is much more important. prob should move to Texas because no one in NYC wants to get married, haha

[justadude55]

You might be able to use your UT acceptance to get $$ from BU. This probably will not work vice versa. The best thing you could do is spend sometime in Austin. I'm a big proponent of the belief that major life decisions should not be made over friends. You can always make new friends. Most people, particularly in this country are good deep down and make excellent friends. You can still keep in touch with your old friends.

yea, well, considering that i've been moving so much throughout my life. at this point, i feel family is much more important. prob should move to Texas because no one in NYC wants to get married, haha

I can't comment on that. You're taking your eye off the ball. Emotion has no place in law.

[jwmalone87]

Thanks for pointing to the resource. I really don't know anything about Texas!!! Considering Texas pride, are they friendly towards foreigners? I'm Chinese.

UT-Austin, like most of Texas, is a very racially diverse campus. If you end up settling in a big city like Houston, you'll feel right at home -- there are little segments in town belonging to virtually every ethnicity.

[mz253]

i have a friend who is in teach for america houston. she said it's a terrible city. not sure if it's because she's doing teach for america, or houston is just a terrible city?

[francisConn]

i have a friend who is in teach for america houston. she said it's a terrible city. not sure if it's because she's doing teach for america, or houston is just a terrible city?

It's a big city with lots of variety. Yes, there are terrible areas, and, I would argue, there are great areas.

[HowdyYall]

You might be able to use your UT acceptance to get $$ from BU. This probably will not work vice versa. The best thing you could do is spend sometime in Austin. I'm a big proponent of the belief that major life decisions should not be made over friends. You can always make new friends. Most people, particularly in this country are good deep down and make excellent friends. You can still keep in touch with your old friends.

yea, well, considering that i've been moving so much throughout my life. at this point, i feel family is much more important. prob should move to Texas because no one in NYC wants to get married, haha

If you want to get married, go to Texas. Just visit the UT campus for an hour and count how many hot girls (i have no clue about guys) you see; betcha $10 its over 150

[HowdyYall]

i have a friend who is in teach for america houston. she said it's a terrible city. not sure if it's because she's doing teach for america, or houston is just a terrible city?

houston is miserable. Always humid. Dallas, San Antonio, and Austin are where it iz at

[francisConn]

i have a friend who is in teach for america houston. she said it's a terrible city. not sure if it's because she's doing teach for america, or houston is just a terrible city?

houston is miserable. Always humid. Dallas, San Antonio, and Austin are where it iz at

Houston might be humid, but I'd take Houston humidity over Austin allergies any day of the week! You don't know the meaning of allergies until you live in Austin.

[ArchRoark]

BC so you can withdraw from Texas and hopefully they pick me to fill your spot. B)

I would pick UT, but if you don't have a desire to practice in Texas then the choice is much harder. BC has a bunch of competition, not just in Boston, but in the region as a whole. UT is the powerhouse of Texas, and cost of living here is significantly lower. Plus, Austin is a kick ass place to spend three years. I bet you will fall in love with it. However, if you are a wuss, the 100+ degree summers will kill you. But, there is always A/C.

[mz253]

i have a friend who is in teach for america houston. she said it's a terrible city. not sure if it's because she's doing teach for america, or houston is just a terrible city?

houston is miserable. Always humid. Dallas, San Antonio, and Austin are where it iz at

Houston might be humid, but I'd take Houston humidity over Austin allergies any day of the week! You don't know the meaning of allergies until you live in Austin.

I've never had allergies in my life. Will that change if I move to Austin?

[mz253]

BC so you can withdraw from Texas and hopefully they pick me to fill your spot. B)

I would pick UT, but if you don't have a desire to practice in Texas then the choice is much harder. BC has a bunch of competition, not just in Boston, but in the region as a whole. UT is the powerhouse of Texas, and cost of living here is significantly lower. Plus, Austin is a kick ass place to spend three years. I bet you will fall in love with it. However, if you are a wuss, the 100+ degree summers will kill you. But, there is always A/C.

the biggest complain I have about BC is the weather. I just hate snow. I grew up in southwest China, it's humid and hot. I don't like hot summers, but I prefer that to cold winter and snow!

[mz253]

You might be able to use your UT acceptance to get $$ from BU. This probably will not work vice versa. The best thing you could do is spend sometime in Austin. I'm a big proponent of the belief that major life decisions should not be made over friends. You can always make new friends. Most people, particularly in this country are good deep down and make excellent friends. You can still keep in touch with your old friends.

yea, well, considering that i've been moving so much throughout my life. at this point, i feel family is much more important. prob should move to Texas because no one in NYC wants to get married, haha

If you want to get married, go to Texas. Just visit the UT campus for an hour and count how many hot girls (i have no clue about guys) you see; betcha $10 its over 150

unfortunately, i'm a girl. so it's not great news for me

[ArchRoark]

I've never had allergies in my life. Will that change if I move to Austin?

Some people have horrible allergies here. I don't have any. If you are allergic to cedar... yahhhhhhh prepared to get owned.

BC so you can withdraw from Texas and hopefully they pick me to fill your spot. B)

I would pick UT, but if you don't have a desire to practice in Texas then the choice is much harder. BC has a bunch of competition, not just in Boston, but in the region as a whole. UT is the powerhouse of Texas, and cost of living here is significantly lower. Plus, Austin is a kick ass place to spend three years. I bet you will fall in love with it. However, if you are a wuss, the 100+ degree summers will kill you. But, there is always A/C.

the biggest complain I have about BC is the weather. I just hate snow. I grew up in southwest China, it's humid and hot. I don't like hot summers, but I prefer that to cold winter and snow!

Ahh man, then you will love it here. If there is one thing we have, it is hot and humid. It was tshirt weather this last weekend, got a bit cold the last couple of days, but it is already warming back up. I don't even own a "real" winter coat.