UT (total 3 yr cost $80,000) or Bama (free) Forum

[KevinMalone]

My wife and I are from Florida and family is still there, but we have lived in Texas for the past 4 years. I am really struggling with this choice. UT and Austin are ridiculously awesome, but Bama is not bad, close to family, and FREE!!!!

Neither of us are from an affluent family and we have been public school teachers for the last 4 years, so we are not exactly rich ourselves. I really value the freedom that a UT law degree would give me in getting an awesome job after graduation, but the freedom of no debt from Bama would let me take any job I wanted and have a different kind of freedom.

Please HELP

Vote and/or just tell me I am an idiot

[miracle2011]

Only 80k in debt actually quite minimal for a T15 Law School. The long term career prospects from UT Austin will easily outweigh the couple of years you will need to pay off that 80k debt. This is a no-brainer, go to UT Austin.

[duckmoney]

Go to Texas. The job prospects are MUCH better than Bama.

You wouldn't be able to take whatever job you want out of Bama. You would have to take whatever job you can get out of Bama. Unless you manage top 20% of your class, this probably won't be a great job.

At UT you have much more flexibility in class rank to attain an excellent job. Also, $80k for an excellent school is a bargain.

A free degree can be alluring, but your law degree stays with you for the rest of your life. So does your first job. Texas is worth the money.

[duckmoney]

Only 80k in debt actually quite minimal for a T15 Law School. The long term career prospects from UT Austin will easily outweigh the couple of years you will need to pay off that 80k debt. This is a no-brainer, go to UT Austin.

Egregious GULC trolling.

[Magnolia]

Go to Texas. The job prospects are MUCH better than Bama.

You wouldn't be able to take whatever job you want out of Bama. You would have to take whatever job you can get out of Bama. Unless you manage top 20% of your class, this probably won't be a great job.

At UT you have much more flexibility in class rank to attain an excellent job. Also, $80k for an excellent school is a bargain.

A free degree can be alluring, but your law degree stays with you for the rest of your life. So does your first job. Texas is worth the money.

+1 to everything

[CanadianWolf]

Both are very well respected law schools, however, Texas is respected in a much larger geographical area.

[bartleby]

UT

[rupret1]

I had the same choice and chose UT. Actually my COA at UT will be closer to $55,000, maybe less if we can throw some of our income at the tuition costs. My spouse is in public school education and the difference in salary btwn Alabama public schools and Texas public schools is almost $10K, so be sure and factor that into your equation if your spouse will be teaching. For us that brought the difference in attendance cost down to $20-25K and it was a no-brainer at that point.

Bama is a great school and would have been great, but I was trying to get away from the southeast, not get trapped there.