. Forum

[TheFactor]

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[monarchylover]

carolina ssssuuuuuuccccckkkkksssss

[protein]

Vandy for your career goals

[TheFactor]

Poll added.

[TheFactor]

carolina ssssuuuuuuccccckkkkksssss

thanks

[scammedhard]

Go to UNC, work in NC, and save yourself lots of money.

[northwood]

While Vandy has a better rep, i do not think its worth th 75k. Go to UNC.

This would be especially true if you wanted to stay in North Carolina. If you are not sure about exactly where you want to end up- and think you might want to go somewhere else( atlanta maybe?) then perhaps the extra money would be worth it. I dont know, thats a lot of money. Do you have any other school loans to pay back?

[TheFactor]

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[lawyerwannabe]

Voted Vandy because it is better for general placement in the South. There were only thirteen SA positions accepted by Duke students for the summer of 2011. Whether it be self-selection, a rough legal market, or a combination of the two, that number is very small. Because of this (Duke being a better law school than UNC and also in NC), choosing UNC over Vandy due to lower COA and possibly marginally better NC placement seems silly IMO.

[stratocophic]

Coming out of undergrad debt free. I'm not so much worried about being stuck in NC...I love the state. My main concern is the overall job prospect gap between Vandy and UNC.

If you're ok with the South in general and not completely set on Carolina you should probably take Vandy.

[TheFactor]

Coming out of undergrad debt free. I'm not so much worried about being stuck in NC...I love the state. My main concern is the overall job prospect gap between Vandy and UNC.

If you're ok with the South in general and not completely set on Carolina you should probably take Vandy.

So, Vandy still worth the extra $70kish in this case?

[duckmoney]

Vandy really does have better employment prospects, especially if you want biglaw or a clerkship. UNC is a fine school in a decent economy, but right now A LOT of people are having issues. Look at employment stats for last year.

[danielagruesa]

Coming out of undergrad debt free. I'm not so much worried about being stuck in NC...I love the state. My main concern is the overall job prospect gap between Vandy and UNC.

Are you worried that you won't get a good job in NC out of UNC? A similar one to Vandy but for much cheaper?

I think that if UNC grads were to be having problems finding jobs in NC, then there isn't much of a point in attending Vandy or any law school for that matter.

[TheFactor]

Vandy really does have better employment prospects, especially if you want biglaw or a clerkship. UNC is a fine school in a decent economy, but right now A LOT of people are having issues. Look at employment stats for last year.

You're right in that, all else being equal, Vandy's employment numbers are much much better. I would like the chance at biglaw, but I'm not dead-set on it...Mitigating my debt by going to UNC would give me a little more leeway if I don't win the biglaw lottery. I just don't want to put myself in a financial position where I'd have to gun for biglaw.

[TheFactor]

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[xchelcenteno]

Extra debt at Vandy worth their superior placement?

No.

The debt from Vandy is manageable, bur it would put you in a tight spot, whereas you would have a lot of flexibility coming out of UNC with little debt.

[Magnolia]

The NC legal market is really hurting right now, especially in Charlotte. I think it would be worth the extra debt to have the much better shot at biglaw, clerkship and overall employment. Plus, you'll have options in more markets. However, with 140k in debt and Vandy's LRAP, you'll pretty much have to gun for biglaw, but IMO that's still preferable to putting all of your eggs in the NC basket.

[mez06]

Coming out of undergrad debt free. I'm not so much worried about being stuck in NC...I love the state. My main concern is the overall job prospect gap between Vandy and UNC.

Are you worried that you won't get a good job in NC out of UNC? A similar one to Vandy but for much cheaper?

I think that if UNC grads were to be having problems finding jobs in NC, then there isn't much of a point in attending Vandy or any law school for that matter.

Short answer is yes. Latest employment stats at UNC are pretty bad...less than 70% employed at graduation.

65% to be exact.

[stratocophic]

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[javancho]

Voted for UNC.

Yes, Vandy has better job and salary prospects, but not enough to justify the price difference. I think 140K (at ~8% interest) is a pretty deep hole to be in, and if you don't get into big law, then it's going to be very painful to pay back such debt.

[tittsburghfeelers]

Voted UNC. Too much debt combined with a horrible LRAP makes Vandy a risky option and pretty much forces you into gunning for big law. In reality, I guess I'm voting against Vandy more than I'm voting for UNC....if that makes sense.

[TheFactor]

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[Alyosha]

I'm a rising 3L at UNC. There's definitely a fair amount of people here with biglaw jobs both in NC and out. I presume most of them are near the top of the class or IP (or have some other connection). This is pure speculation on my part, but I'd say top 10% has a great shot at biglaw, top 25% a decent shot, and below that is going to be a crapshoot. I do get the sense that NC firms are hiring more than they were a year or so ago. Class of 2011 had a really rough time; class of 2012 seems marginally better. Maybe things will keep getting better? One thing to keep in mind about NC firms is that the class sizes are really small. Even the larger firms typically don't take more than a handful of associates and while it is true that many of those positions go to UNC students, it is still a hard market to break into.

When I went through OCI, there were a fair number of firms from DC, NY, and Atlanta. I assume there's even more at Vandy, and that they go deeper in the class. I'm not sure if that is worth 70k in debt to you, especially since none of this is a guarantee. I'm sure there's people at both schools with great grades who struck out.

Let me know if you have any questions about UNC. I think it's a great school and I've had a really great experience here.

[TheFactor]

I'm a rising 3L at UNC. There's definitely a fair amount of people here with biglaw jobs both in NC and out. I presume most of them are near the top of the class or IP (or have some other connection). This is pure speculation on my part, but I'd say top 10% has a great shot at biglaw, top 25% a decent shot, and below that is going to be a crapshoot. I do get the sense that NC firms are hiring more than they were a year or so ago. Class of 2011 had a really rough time; class of 2012 seems marginally better. Maybe things will keep getting better? One thing to keep in mind about NC firms is that the class sizes are really small. Even the larger firms typically don't take more than a handful of associates and while it is true that many of those positions go to UNC students, it is still a hard market to break into.

When I went through OCI, there were a fair number of firms from DC, NY, and Atlanta. I assume there's even more at Vandy, and that they go deeper in the class. I'm not sure if that is worth 70k in debt to you, especially since none of this is a guarantee. I'm sure there's people at both schools with great grades who struck out.

Let me know if you have any questions about UNC. I think it's a great school and I've had a really great experience here.

PM'd

[Grizz]

I can't believe people are voting UNC here. This is a no-brainer. Yeah, you want to work in UNC. But the Vandy name carries for sure. Vandy grads in 2009 grads jobs at Alston, Cadwalader, Dechert, K&L Gates, Moore and Van Allen (yes this was 2009, but the name carries, and it carries well). Only one person is working in NC this year from 2010, but keep in mind that people at Vandy spread out, and if you come, you will be one of only a very few people gunning for NC in your class, which is nice, as opposed to basically 100% or UNC people.

Plus let's be real, the UNC market sucks right now. Vandy will open up more options in major markets (NY, DC), and if you have other Southern ties, you will open up those markets to in a way Vandy won't. The only way I'd recommend UNC is if you would NOT be happy working ANYWHERE else, and even then, I might still go.