UT, WUSTL, Vanderbilt, Gerogetown, Houston, SMU Forum

[carboy67]

I've asked for opinions before but I've recently gotten the majority of my decisions and scholarship notifications and want to get new opinions. My options are the ones above. I want to work in Houston, Austin, or southern California when I graduate (I was WLed at UCLA and no decision yet from USC). I'm debt averse but willing to pay some money for better opportunities and the chance to get the better education. Let me know what you think.

[Moral_Midgetry]

Going with UT on this due to your preference for Texas and the West coast. Otherwise, I'd go with Vandy.

[bk1]

UT no question.

[carboy67]

Does everyone agree to nix WashU even with the money??

[romothesavior]

I'd say UT because of your desire for Texas. If not UT, then SMU or Houston.

Does everyone agree to nix WashU even with the money??

I'm admittedly biased (although I'm still pretty damn objective when talking about WUSTL), but I think WUSTL is your best non-Texas option here. Getting a law degree for ~60k is a pretty sweet deal.

[krad]

UT no question.

[You Gotta Have Faith]

Does everyone agree to nix WashU even with the money??

Nah, but I would nix G'Town. C'mon... 45K when you have UT for less than half? You can go ahead and nix SMU and Houston too, If you would be paying less than half the tuition at WUSTL, why even bother? Unless you're completely sold on Texas, in which case I would say UT, so still nix them.

I would personally go with either UT or WUSTL. If your debt-averse side wins over, then WUSTL. But if your love of southern weather, Texas, etc. wins out, then UT.

Vandy would be respectable too, I guess. But I don't think it's really that much better than WUSTL (relative to how much more you would be paying for it, that is).

[bk1]

I would personally go with either UT or WUSTL. If your debt-averse side wins over, then WUSTL. But if your love of southern weather, Texas, etc. wins out, then UT.

Vandy would be respectable too, I guess. But I don't think it's really that much better than WUSTL (relative to how much more you would be paying for it, that is).

Vandy is that much better than WUSTL. If you're applying the "Vandy isn't better enough than WUSTL to justify the cost difference" argument then the same argument applies to UT.

Fact is OP wants Texas or SoCal and UT has the best chance of landing that. If OP wanted the South or Northeast then I would have said Vandy. WUSTL doesn't place nearly as well as UT in OP's desired region so while it is a very tempting offer, it doesn't make sense to take it considering UT will cost around 100k (which is manageable).

[You Gotta Have Faith]

Vandy is that much better than WUSTL. If you're applying the "Vandy isn't better enough than WUSTL to justify the cost difference" argument then the same argument applies to UT.

I respectfully disagree. If I'm not mistaken, tuition at WUSTL is 3.5/year, and at Vandy it is 20/year. Over three years it is $10,500 versus $60,000. So yeah... Vandy is not nearly $50K better than WUSTL. At least not to me, and I genuinely think most people wouldn't pay an extra $50K for Vandy when they have WUSTL. But we're free to disagree.

However, I do agree with you, mostly, on the UT thing. Which is why I place it in there in the first place as one of the top two picks I would consider. It's a great school. And if it's tuition is cheaper than Vandy (18.5/year versus 20/year), which the poll seems to indicate, I would handily pick UT over Vandy.

But having such little debt at a decent school is a powerful thing in this economy, which is why I still say UT or WUSTL.

[romothesavior]

Vandy is that much better than WUSTL. If you're applying the "Vandy isn't better enough than WUSTL to justify the cost difference" argument then the same argument applies to UT.

I respectfully disagree. If I'm not mistaken, tuition at WUSTL is 3.5/year, and at Vandy it is 20/year. Over three years it is $10,500 versus $60,000. So yeah... Vandy is not nearly $50K better than WUSTL. At least not to me, and I genuinely think most people wouldn't pay an extra $50K for Vandy when they have WUSTL. But we're free to disagree.

It is a close call. I wouldn't fault OP for picking Vandy over WUSTL or vice-versa. Personally, 50k is a big difference, especially once you factor in interest on the loans. Being an indebted 1L has made me a lot more debt averse, so that's why I say WUSTL > Vandy in this instance. Of course, I may change my mind again after 2L OCI. Vandy is clearly better, the question is just how much better.

I do disagree about nixing UH and SMU in favor of WUSTL. Both place pretty well in their markets and SMU isn't THAT much farther down the ladder from WUSTL in NLJ placement (IIRC). If WUSTL is cheaper, then I could see taking WUSTL over SMU or UH even for Texas. Again, it is a close call.

But this is all academic, because clearly UT is the best option here.

[Richie Tenenbaum]

On most of these polls there are at least two options where there can be decent arguments on both sides. In your situation though UT is the clear choice. The COA between SMU/Houston vs UT isn't large enough to take either, and SMU really doesn't even belong on the list with the choices you have when you want to work in either Houston or Austin. UT gives you the best shot of Houston. Plus, unless you went to undergrad in Austin or you're from the area, you're going to have a hard time getting a shot at Austin from other schools besides UT. Texas is a pretty insular market, making it difficult unless you have ties or you go to a school here. Austin is an extreme version, wanting not just state ties but city ties.

Unless you get into USC with $$, decide you want really want to work in southern california, and have a change of heart about working in Texas, UT is your best choice by far.