BYU vs. WUSTL vs. USC Forum

[Hobbes]

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[Bronck]

This is easy: WUSTL. You have ties to the Midwest and want to live/work in the Midwest and it's only going to cost you 40k.

[coldshoulder]

This is easy: Are you Mormon? If not, WUSTL. If you are Mormon and would love to be part of that community and near your wife's family, BYU.

[Hobbes]

...

[coldshoulder]

I am Mormon. Are there any substantial academic or career opportunity differences between these schools or is it really down to where my family would most like to end up?

WUSTL is a better school, and if you enjoy St. Louis then it's a great option with plenty of academic and career opportunities.
BYU is also a very well-regarded school, but you'll be competing with Utah grads in Utah, and will have fewer options elsewhere. Because of the minimal cost difference and you not wanting to pursue big law, I think it should come down mostly to where you want to live, with WUSTL having a small advantage in terms of opportunities.

[thexfactor]

Here is my situation, I'll try to include all of the factors I read that people need to comment. I was born and raised in the Midwest, about two hours outside of St. Louis. I like the Midwest and would like working and living there, my wife feels the same way. I have gone to school in the Mountain West for the last several years and my wife's family is from there. I would also not mind working in the West, it has really started to grow on me. That basically narrows my options down to BYU and WUSTL (unless someone, for some reason, believes that in spite of the aforementioned information USC is still the best choice). Cost of attendance is in the poll.

I do not want biglaw. I am planning on working in business/tax law at a small or mid sized firm.

Here are my questions:

What are the advantages of WUSTL over BYU and vice versa?
What school offers the best opportunity to accomplish my career ambitions?
What factors should I consider when deciding between schools?

Thanks for your input.

STL firms might not count that as "ties to the area." Check in with Romo. I remember how he said he was basically treated like an outsider and he was from like 1 hr outside of STL.

I would go with USC. 100k for a 3x the chance at a biglaw/midlaw job. Keep in mind that midlaw/good PI/ big gov/ big fed jobs are just as hard to get as biglaw jobs.

USC will give you the best chance at getting a good high paying law firm job. Check the NLJ250 stats. I think usc is around 35% and WUSTL is around 13%.

Also, it is very tough to get a midlaw job. Law is bimodal which means that there aren't a lot of jobs that pay 60-80k. Furthermore, most midlaw firms only hire 1-2 SAs.

[romothesavior]

I would go with USC. 100k for a 3x the chance at a biglaw/midlaw job. Keep in mind that midlaw/good PI/ big gov/ big fed jobs are just as hard to get as biglaw jobs.

Come on man, I know you're the most self-loathing WUSTLer on TLS, but he said he doesn't want to do the big firm thing, and USC costs an extra 70-80k. There is literally zero reason to go to USC given his ties, scholarships, and most importantly, his goals. You're a good guy, but you're off base here.

OP, it really comes down to where you want to work. I think securing a decent lawyer job of some sort from one of these two school wouldn't be all that hard to do, as most students from both schools will get lawyer jobs. Keep in mind that most small firms hire outside of OCI, so be prepared to be battling for a job throughout your 2L and 3L year, and maybe even post-bar exam.

WUSTL is going to have more national reach (if that matters to you) and certainly is going to place better in the Midwest, whereas BYU will be better in the Mountain West region. WUSTL's biggest issue is biglaw placement. Most people need biglaw because of the cost, but because the degree would be so cheap for you, you have tons of flexibility as to what you want to do. I wish I could tell you where I think you should go, but I can't because it really depends on where you want to work. At that price, I think both schools can get you what you want. If you have any questions about WUSTL specifically, fire away.

[20160810]

WUSTL

[CanadianWolf]

BYU for Utah & the Mountain West.

WashUStl for the Midwest if affordable in light of your career goals.

[071816]

WUSTL

[Hobbes]

Thanks everybody for your thoughts so far. Just a side question, is the only/best way to get in-house counsel to work at a biglaw firm? Not that I'm gunning for in-house, I'm just curious.

[thexfactor]

My only concern is that the Op says "I do not want biglaw. I am planning on working in business/tax law at a small or mid sized firm."

There arent a heck of a lot of small to middle size transactional firms. I just hope the OP doesn't suddently want to go into biglaw after he realizes that most small firms pay 40-50k start.

[checkster]

WUSTL is the best option here unless you're connection to the Mormon community is a big enough draw. I don't think it would be for me...

[romothesavior]

Thanks everybody for your thoughts so far. Just a side question, is the only/best way to get in-house counsel to work at a biglaw firm? Not that I'm gunning for in-house, I'm just curious.

Generally yes. There are some companies that will hire straight out of law school (some even follow the OCI model), but they are few and far between.

[southwick]

Thing is, you're going to be connected to the "Mormon network" no matter where you go--as long as you're a Mormon. So you're not giving up all the networking things that BYU would give you, since you'll still be dialed in to the network via the J Reuben Clark Association. That's not to say that WUSTL is the easy choice (it's not, necessarily), but don't get too hung up on the Mormon thing.

The right answer here is "not USC." Toss-up between WUSTL and BYU. I'd probably take WUSTL unless you're really certain you want to be in Utah. Don't underestimate how much you wife might want to get back in Utah after spending three years in MO.

[Hobbes]

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[southwick]

Then the right answer is WUSTL.