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I am trying to decide between UNLV and the University of Miami. I was not offered scholarship money from either school. I recently read a thread regarding poor career opportunities for Miami grads. Based solely on the school and career prospects, not weather and surrounding areas, which is the better choice? Any feedback is greatly appreciated as I am having a tough time with the decision. Thanks in advance!

Probably UNLV, if only because they lack some of the competition that Miami has (FL and FL State)

I really think that it's dangerous to go to either of these at sticker though. Have you considered retaking the LSAT and trying again next cyle?

In miami you'll be competing with uf, fsu, and t14 kids coming back to south florida. In unlv you'll be facing a dying state, a state legislature dead set on cutting school budget, and t14 kids looking for work.

bit of a lose lose

where do you want to end up?

japan4 wrote:I am trying to decide between UNLV and the University of Miami. I was not offered scholarship money from either school. I recently read a thread regarding poor career opportunities for Miami grads. Based solely on the school and career prospects, not weather and surrounding areas, which is the better choice? Any feedback is greatly appreciated as I am having a tough time with the decision. Thanks in advance!

If you decide to attend one of these schools, it should be based on whether you'd rather end up in South Florida or Vegas, cause I don't think the job prospects are too different at either one.

If you're going to pay sticker don't go to either.

2011Law wrote:If you decide to attend one of these schools, it should be based on whether you'd rather end up in South Florida or Vegas, cause I don't think the job prospects are too different at either one.

Yes. Both of these schools have very shitty job prospects. OP, don't go!

clone22 wrote:In miami you'll be competing with uf, fsu, and t14 kids coming back to south florida. In unlv you'll be facing a dying state, a state legislature dead set on cutting school budget, and t14 kids looking for work.

bit of a lose lose

I'm not sure where you're getting your information regarding Nevada being a "dying" state. Yes the state was one of the hardest hit by the real estate downturn but that is because it was also the state to benefit the most from the upswing. The mining industry is experiencing a strong boom at the moment due to the rise in commodity prices, the gaming industry has turned the corner with most major companies announcing better than expected earnings and expressing their intentions to make additional investments in Las Vegas, and the commercial real estate industry (my business) is starting to show signs of a leveling out. I personally have worked with 3 clients in the past 2 months who are relocating their businesses to NV from other states (1 from NY, 2 from CA). The state is most certainly not dying.

With regards to the budget cuts, yes the state is cutting higher education rather than raising taxes and driving businesses away. What this means for the law school is a tuition increase (not program cuts). Even with the increase factored in, full-time tuition will still be below the median for the pacific and mountain states.

As for job prospects, I can't speak for Miami or Florida but UNLV has been doing very well in placing graduates in the state. Most of the law firms here have a strong preference for UNLV grads and actively recruit on the campus. Also if you look at the recently released clerkship data, UNLV came in 22nd for Article III clerkships and also had a very high number of state clerkships. This is one of the advantages of going to a small school that is the only LS in the state and highly supported by the local legal community.

I would agree that the best job prospects for a UNLV grad are within that state of Nevada (but they also do well in Idaho and Utah), and if it is not a place you want to live you may want to consider other options. As you can probably tell, I love the place and, having traveled much of the country, believe it is one of the best places to live (especially in the northwestern part of the state around Tahoe).

not that it means muchh, but miami is an amazing place

I appreciate everyones feedback. I decided on UNLV and just received an admissions letter from USD soooo now I'm trying to figure that one out...