Want to practice in Hawaii Forum

[sunynp]

I just called Hawaii to get more of an exact price of how much my tuition would be with my tuition waiver and what little financial aid they have given me.

It comes out to about $3712 per year. I also don't have to pay for housing.

I think I've made up my mind.

This was the right decision. I'm glad the price is right as well. If only I had grown up in Hawaii instead of Manhattan. I could happily live your life.

[thexfactor]

There is a very good chance (~80-90%) that after you graduate from UH you wouldn't have a job that pays more than 40k.


Good luck and I hope you can beat the odds. At least you will be in paradise.

[hurldes]

I wish I knew how Hawaii law firms view grads from Hawaii

I didn't read through all the posts so sorry if this is redundant, but why don't you just ask them? Find a few attorneys' email addresses from their firms' websites and tell them about your options, and then ask for their advice on what you should do. They would be able to tell you a lot better how their firm views Hawaii grads than most everyone on TLS. Attorneys are always willing to give advice to prospective attorneys.

[sunynp]

So if she has to borrow her tuition it will be $11,136. Lets assume it goes up a grand every year and some money for books - lets call it $15,000. Or even if it doubles call it $20,000. Plus no housing.

So all she needs is transportation, food and clothes. Maybe a cell phone bill.

I think she can cover this on whatever job she gets.

[thexfactor]

So if she has to borrow her tuition it will be $11,136. Lets assume it goes up a grand every year and some money for books - lets call it $15,000. Or even if it doubles call it $20,000. Plus no housing.

So all she needs is transportation, food and clothes. Maybe a cell phone bill.

I think she can cover this on whatever job she gets.

I genuinely hope she can beat the odds.

Hawaii is a very expensive place to live. Costs of living are on par with NYC. Law is bimodal, aka feast of famine. Once you start in shitlaw or doc review, it is very hard to make good money out of it. Your first job really lays a blueprint for the rest of your career. While there are always people who can beat the odds, the odds are really really against you.

[Samara]

I wish I knew how Hawaii law firms view grads from Hawaii

I didn't read through all the posts so sorry if this is redundant, but why don't you just ask them? Find a few attorneys' email addresses from their firms' websites and tell them about your options, and then ask for their advice on what you should do. They would be able to tell you a lot better how their firm views Hawaii grads than most everyone on TLS. Attorneys are always willing to give advice to prospective attorneys.

Unless they are a hiring partner or on the hiring committee though, they may not have good information on what their own firm looks for, much less the market as a whole.

[Lord Randolph McDuff]

It's the only law school in the state. Only law school within a thousand miles actually. I'm sure employers on the island have a favorable view of UH.

[thexfactor]

It's the only law school in the state. Only law school within a thousand miles actually. I'm sure employers on the island have a favorable view of UH.

I don't think that is the problem. The problem is that how many lawyers can the island of hawaii support? Yes they have a favorable view of UH but how many can they actually afford to hire?

[sunynp]

She is in a much better situation than people going into 6 figure debt and banking on that biglaw salary. Even if Hawaii is expensive, as long ad she can work she won't have to worry about her huge debt load following get around her whole life.

[thexfactor]

She is in a much better situation than people going into 6 figure debt and banking on that biglaw salary. Even if Hawaii is expensive, as long ad she can work she won't have to worry about her huge debt load following get around her whole life.

Yes she woudln't have any debt, but she will also have very limited career opportunities. Why waste 3 years of your life if you don't gain anything out of it? UH has a 53% employed at graduation stat. Like every other school, I bet that stat is fudged.

Look on the school's employment statistic. They are still using 2008's numbers.

[mixmasterehd]

I am from Hawaii but i go to a top 40 school (2L). I actually didn't get into UH even though i am a resident and had competitive scores. However, I will say that i have not had trouble with employment on oahu [last summer and this coming summer] and I think that local employers are actually impressed with the mainland experience that I have. If you take a look at the bar directory, most of the partners and big time attys in hawaii have gone to mainland schools.

While UH is great the job prospects suck for them. for such a small island it is pretty saturated with attorneys.
I might be a little jaded at not being admitted, but i think that going to a mainland school is a better choice since you will have more to offer in terms of experience. The people at UH only know hawaii and how to do business in Hawaii; you kind of already know that being a resident. UH students do not know how to do business with mainlanders which is important for all the big firms (cades, mccorriston)

In short: you got into great schools so any choice is good, but mainland experience AND Hawaii ties are valuable espcially in this market