Which School? Howard v. Ole Miss Forum

[maybemercer]

I am locked out of T1 school bc of my ridiculously shitty GPA. Even if I get in it would be at sticker which is a death sentence. I'm an AA URM from MS with in state tuition. I desire private practice law with the intent of starting my own firm later in my legal career.

Is Howard worth it 50% off (no stip) or should I go to Ole Miss practically free? Thanks in advance for the help.

[lablankita]

I don't know anything about Ole Miss, but I live in DC and a lot of people have told me that Howard does really well in placing minority students (probably regionally though). That being said, only having a 50% scholarship there + the astronomical COL in DC might make working really hard at a cheaper school a better option. If you want to stay in MS, go to Ole Miss.

[maybemercer]

That being said, only having a 50% scholarship there + the astronomical COL in DC might make working really hard at a cheaper school a better option.

60k is total cost of attendance...including COL.

[lablankita]

That being said, only having a 50% scholarship there + the astronomical COL in DC might make working really hard at a cheaper school a better option.

60k is total cost of attendance...including COL.

totally missed that, sorry (it is 2am). it depends on where you want to practice. the people i know who like what howard does seem to want to stay in the dc area. the general consensus when considering TTT schools is to go where you want to practice and work really hard there.

[maybemercer]

That being said, only having a 50% scholarship there + the astronomical COL in DC might make working really hard at a cheaper school a better option.

60k is total cost of attendance...including COL.

totally missed that, sorry (it is 2am). it depends on where you want to practice. the people i know who like what howard does seem to want to stay in the dc area. the general consensus when considering TTT schools is to go where you want to practice and work really hard there.

Thanks for the help! I would be comfortable in either area. I just don't know if Howard is worth the extra money if I grad in the middle of my class.

Median at Ole Miss with no debt is less risky. Also, being from MS with ties to Jackson gives me some advantage for self initiated jobs...even if said advantage is miniscule.

[romothesavior]

and work really hard there.

You do realize almost everyone at every law school is working really hard?

[AllTheLawz]

umm.. how did you get a Howard scholarship with no stipulations?

[romothesavior]

Also, "Howard does really well in placing minority students," well... uh, yeah? Maybe because it's a HBCU overwhelmingly made up of black students?

I'd probably pick Ole Miss since its pretty much free and you're from there. Just curious though, how did you get Howard for so cheap? 60k is pretty much three years of living in DC.

[Aberzombie1892]

Both have abysmal job prospects. Pick your poison and never say that you weren't warned.

[maybemercer]

umm.. how did you get a Howard scholarship with no stipulations?

Not a scholly...vet benefits. 2k/month for housing, 15k/year for tuition, books and fees covered. I would be left with 42k tuition provided I don't get a scholarship. I estimate 60k will be the total debt load upon graduating (not including interest).

[maybemercer]

Both have abysmal job prospects. Pick your poison and never say that you weren't warned.

Duly noted. That is why I am weighting the cost/benefit of both schools. I am comfortable with Ole Miss. Is the opportunity at Howard worth 60k?

[Rahviveh]

Why do you think you're locked out? Did you take the LSAT 3 times already?

As an AA URM you can crack the T1 with the right LSAT score - even the T14

[rad lulz]

Ideally retake or don't go, but Ole Miss is the least shitty option

[JamesDean1955]

Mind posting the GPA, or at least your GPA range?

[maybemercer]

Took it twice 159/165+...I'm not cracking 170. GPA is literally 2.0- 2.3 range. Even if I get in it will be at sticker.

[Aberzombie1892]

As a URM from MS that turned down both schools you are looking at, I feel as though you severely underestimate the severity of the market. Howard is mediocre at best in DC and Jackson, MS has very few jobs. It's a lose lose on its face. While I agree with rad that Ole Miss would be better (solely because it's cheaper), Ole Miss at free is still difficult to recommend.

For example, I spent my 1L summer at a General Counsel Office and the other summer associate was a URM from Ole miss. He's now a manager at McAlister's. He told me that larger firms only interview the top 10 (or so) people from Ole Miss, and the ABA summary report seems to back up his statement.

[maybemercer]

For example, I spent my 1L summer at a General Counsel Office and the other summer associate was a URM from Ole miss. He's now a manager at McAlister's. He told me that larger firms only interview the top 10 (or so) people from Ole Miss, and the ABA summary report seems to back up his statement.

Thanks for this response. There are not a lot of AA URM anecdotes at PWI schools. I know both schools have potential stark outcomes therefore I feel it is prudent to keep debt at a minuscule level. With that said Ole Miss is still the front runner because of said debt objective.

I am really searching for justification regarding going to Howard instead knowing I will have about 60k in loans.

Any other opinions are GREATLY appreciated!

[Aberzombie1892]

If you are deadset on law school, just go to Ole Miss. Howard is not worth more than Ole Miss, and it will leave you unemployed while holding more debt than you would if you went to Ole Miss.


Good luck, my friend.

[maybemercer]

Any other opinions?

[Po0329]

If you're OK with staying in Mississippi permanently, than go Ole Miss. It won't do anything for you out of state, but people here love it.

[Nova]

Took it twice 159/165+...I'm not cracking 170. GPA is literally 2.0- 2.3 range. Even if I get in it will be at sticker.

You are NOT locked out of T1 with a 165 no matter what your GPA is as an AA. You relize you have one of the top 80 AA scores applying this cycle, RIGHT? http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 4&t=195443 . About 330 AAs get into the T14 every year. My friend was MA sub 3/167 and was getting huge scholarship offers all over T1.

I would suggest soliciting fee waivers from every T1 school you are interested in. Tell them your LSAT. If you are at or above their median, they would likely love to accept you and offer you money. Its getting late, but its not too late to throw some more apps out there.

Also, retake in June for possibly better offers this cycle.

[rad lulz]

If you're OK with staying in Mississippi permanently, than go Ole Miss. It won't do anything for you out of state, but people here love it.

Considering MS has barely any jobs and the employment stats are bad, it doesn't really seem to matter that people "love it."

[deadpanic]

Ole Miss is probably worth it for 10K. Aberzombie is right that the larger firms only interview about the top 10 students and out of those, only a handful get an actual offer. But if you only have 10K in debt, you don't have to rely on getting a bigger firm job (none of these firms are truly "biglaw"). With that being said, there is no real legal market in MS. If you have ties to Jackson, that is your best bet.