Wake v UF to work in the southeast Forum

[KatieKat]

I think I want to do public interest, but I would consider biglaw if it ended up being an option (not counting on it though). I like pretty much everything about Wake better than UF (although I've never been to Winston-Salem), but it would cost almost $20K/yr more and it's not ranked that much higher than UF. Wake is redistributing scholarship $$ from people who withdrew, so I was planning on going there if I got a scholarship (which I definitely have the numbers for) but I just found out that I probably won't know about that until after the binding seat deposit deadline for UF.

So, do I go to the school I love or do I suck it up, save the $60K, and go to UF?

[ndirish2010]

If by southeast, you mean Florida...then UF for sure. I think UF makes sense if you want to work anywhere besides NC, actually.

[hurricane10]

I chose UF over Wake with a 15k year scholarship. I visited both and my target area was the southeast. Honestly, the benefits of Wake are having smaller classes, more professor interaction, etc. but you have to counter that with a smaller alumni network and less overall recognition. Both schools have the same caliber of students (LSAT 25/75 ranges are both 160/164 last time I checked). I would suggest visiting both if you really can't decide. For me, I personally just couldn't justify spending the extra 7K that Wake was going to be even with my scholarship because I couldn't find enough differences that would help them stand out to me. Also, I ultimately decided I would feel more comfortable ending up in Florida as opposed to North Carolina, so it wouldn't make sense going to Wake only to hope to get back to Florida if it was going to be more expensive. Also, Wake places well in Raleigh and Charlotte area but has some pretty tough competition with UNC grads. I generally got the sense that in most of Florida's cities (Miami, Orlando, Tampa, and Jacksonville) that UF law grads were preferred over pretty much every school outside the T14. Both were great options though and I sympathize with your choice.. I literally didn't decide until last week.

[FeelTheHeat]

I chose UF over Wake with a 15k year scholarship. I visited both and my target area was the southeast. Honestly, the benefits of Wake are having smaller classes, more professor interaction, etc. but you have to counter that with a smaller alumni network and less overall recognition. Both schools have the same caliber of students (LSAT 25/75 ranges are both 160/164 last time I checked). I would suggest visiting both if you really can't decide. For me, I personally just couldn't justify spending the extra 7K that Wake was going to be even with my scholarship because I couldn't find enough differences that would help them stand out to me. Also, I ultimately decided I would feel more comfortable ending up in Florida as opposed to North Carolina, so it wouldn't make sense going to Wake only to hope to get back to Florida if it was going to be more expensive. Also, Wake places well in Raleigh and Charlotte area but has some pretty tough competition with UNC grads. I generally got the sense that in most of Florida's cities (Miami, Orlando, Tampa, and Jacksonville) that UF law grads were preferred over pretty much every school outside the T14. Both were great options though and I sympathize with your choice.. I literally didn't decide until last week.

This is true. I cannot speak to UF's range outside of Florida, but I think the combination of savings and in-state prestige make it a more favorable option.