Top Law Schools

Got offered money from both Temple and Pitt, and am trying to get the pros and cons on both schools.

I am originally from NYC and am looking to move to a smaller city long-term. From what I have read on other threads, Temple is great for job prospects in Philly and Pittsburgh is great for job prospects in Pittsburgh. Any other insight? (i.e. clerkships from either school/other job prospects, cost of living/quality of life)

Full disclosure: I go to Pitt so obvious bias.

The schools are very similar and it really comes down to where do you want to live. Philly is a larger city, so with that I can only assume it has more firms and jobs. With that said Philly is also a more popular city, has Nova and Penn as competition not to mention other t14s. Philly also costs a lot. Temple places about 3% more in biglaw than Pitt I believe (stats I am going by are relatively old though).

Pitt has a low COL, the firms here really heavily recruit from our school and to a much lesser extent Duquesne. Pitt however does have less firms and jobs than Philly, but there is also less competition.

My experience has been amazing, I love Pitt and am confident I made the right choice. This really just comes down to where you want to live, but if you have any questions about Pitt feel free to PM me.

Temple 1L here and barbell pretty much hit it on the head. Philly is bigger and has more jobs but also has more competition. I'd say the only difference should be what type of city you'd like to live in.

Pitt would be a better place to spend three years than North Philly, but Temple has better proximity to bigger markets. Temple students can get jobs in Philly, Wilmington, NJ, and all along Eastern PA. I don't think Pitt even does exceptionally well in the Ohio markets. I could be wrong, though.

thanks all, i think this thread got into my subconscious bc last night i had a dream that i was apartment hunting in pittsburgh lol.

OP, which did you pick?

classix wrote:OP, which did you pick?

neither yet, need to hear back from some more schools first and also must visit.

showNprove wrote:Pitt would be a better place to spend three years than North Philly

Ah, it's not so bad (Temple was my undergrad). People too often marry the experience of attending Temple to living in NP. Not only are you free to live as far off campus as possible (most law students don't live near campus, if I understand correctly), but the campus is very different than a lot of the surrounding neighborhoods. It can be a little gritty, but meh.

This isn't a "Pitt v. Temple" question so much as a "Pittsburgh v. Philly" question. I'm from Philly, am finishing up at Pitt UG, and happen to love both cities. It all comes down to where you want to work.