One week left to decide, Please advise! Tier 1 vs Tier 2 Forum

[un bon avocat]

Edited..

[rad lulz]

Read before posting in this forum

http://top-law-schools.com/forums/viewt ... 1&t=206299

[un bon avocat]

Edited

[rad lulz]

Teaching law is rarefied air and that's basically not gonna happen from these places

Houston for that much doesn't make sense because your shot at high paying jobs is so low

Rutgers is fine for that price if you just want to be a lawyer in a small firm doing "shitlaw," but not if you aren't from NJ

Don't know a lot about reaching undergrad w a law degree but have heard anecdotal stories of some people adjunctive at universities and community colleges. I don't think that's really what you want though.

[Void]

Take Rutgers. In the end, your shot at gainful employment will be a mixture of luck, your grades, your law school experiences, your writing skills, your interviewing skills, "fit," the needs of the local market at the precise time you're applying, who you know, and the name of your school. Right now you really only have control over one of those factors- the last one. That last one matters, but only a tiny amount compared to the whole picture (unless the name of your school is HYS and perhaps the rest of the T-14).

The other BIG factor you can control right now is your debt. Given your choices, it would seem like a reckless decision to pick a lot more debt on the gamble that the name of your school will even really matter in the end.

[Yukos]

Are you from Jersey and fine with working at a small firm there all your life (and not making $$$)? If yes, Rutgers is a decent choice. If you answered no to any part of that question, you need to retake and not go to law school right now. With your GPA, you won't be able to get into a law school that will give you a decent chance at a teaching job, so I think you need to move past that dream. Your realistic options are: retaking, getting a 170+ and going to a school near where you live for free and then working at a smallish firm (if you can get a job), or retaking, getting a 170+ and going to Northwestern (assuming you have work experience) for a decent shot at working at a big firm. Anything else would be a terrible financial decision. Sorry if that sounds harsh, but it's important for you to realize the stakes of your decision.

[un bon avocat]

What about going to either school and transferring with really good grades, or leaving if grades dont come out so hot. I could deal with having spent a year's worth of tuition/costs.

[cidergirl]

Take the full ride. Transfer to a T14 if your grades are good enough. Don't look back.

[sparty99]

What about going to either school and transferring with really good grades, or leaving if grades dont come out so hot. I could deal with having spent a year's worth of tuition/costs.

You DON'T GO TO LAW SCHOOL WITH THE INTENTIONS OF TRANSFERRING TO A BETTER SCHOOL.

GO to Rutgers or retake.

[hephaestus]

Where are you from?

[TheSpanishMain]

I really think the right answer is to retake, work for a year or two, and then revisit the idea of law school. If that's out, I guess Rutgers if you're fine with being geographically limited to Jersey and not getting into academia.

[Otunga]

You're going to have a tough time attaining a job in academia with your GPA due to the t14 being mostly inaccessible. You say you'd be content to be an attorney, though, so retake and go to a school with better job prospects.

I'd say take the Rutgers full ride but you don't seem all too enamored with the idea. And if you're at all hesitant about going to a school where you're locked into a region that you're unsure you even like, don't do it.

[un bon avocat]

Yes, I am definitely hesitant about Rutgers.

[jselson]

Where are you from?

[Void]

Yes, I am definitely hesitant about Rutgers.

I agree that you shouldn't go to Rutgers unless you want to practice in NJ for the first few years of your career. If you are hesitant because you don't want to be in NJ, then you probably should retake.

If you want NorCal you're in a tough spot because Stanford and Boalt dominate out there and the brutal truth is you won't get into either of them with your GPA. But you could retake and get 170+ and try for a full ride at one of the lower ranked Bay Area schools like Davis or Hastings.

[rad lulz]

Yes, I am definitely hesitant about Rutgers.

I agree that you shouldn't go to Rutgers unless you want to practice in NJ for the first few years of your career. If you are hesitant because you don't want to be in NJ, then you probably should retake.

If you want NorCal you're in a tough spot because Stanford and Boalt dominate out there and the brutal truth is you won't get into either of them with your GPA. But you could retake and get 170+ and try for a full ride at one of the lower ranked Bay Area schools like Davis or Hastings.

Not with that GPA

[Nova]

Did you apply to wustl?

Seems like you missed out on some opportunities for better scholarships at some better schools.

I would retake/reapply and blanket the t30 if I were you.

[jarofsoup]

You didn't get into Hastings, Davis, Santa Clara or any CA schools with your LSAT score?

[Ti Malice]

Ignore the USNWR rankings. "Tier 1" and "Tier 2" don't necessarily mean anything because the rankings don't necessarily correlate to job placement power. Also, outside the T14 (and even within), schools only place locally/regionally. Preexisting ties will range from somewhat important to essential for breaking into many of these markets.

You're also underestimating your cost of attendance, mostly for UH, since it looks like you're not accounting for tuition increases or interest that accrues during your time in law school. If you debt-financed everything, you'd end up with ~$130K of debt at the beginning of repayment; paying $20K in your first year would leave you with about $105K of debt at repayment. That's absurd for UH.

If you're hesitant about Rutgers-Camden, don't go. At least attending won't financially ruin you, but job prospects out of R-C are not pretty.

Please tell us where you have ties.

[Void]

Yes, I am definitely hesitant about Rutgers.

I agree that you shouldn't go to Rutgers unless you want to practice in NJ for the first few years of your career. If you are hesitant because you don't want to be in NJ, then you probably should retake.

If you want NorCal you're in a tough spot because Stanford and Boalt dominate out there and the brutal truth is you won't get into either of them with your GPA. But you could retake and get 170+ and try for a full ride at one of the lower ranked Bay Area schools like Davis or Hastings.

Not with that GPA

No? Not even with like a 175?

[Ti Malice]

You didn't get into Hastings, Davis, Santa Clara or any CA schools with your LSAT score?

All three of those schools would be worse choices than what OP already has on the table.

[rad lulz]

Yes, I am definitely hesitant about Rutgers.

I agree that you shouldn't go to Rutgers unless you want to practice in NJ for the first few years of your career. If you are hesitant because you don't want to be in NJ, then you probably should retake.

If you want NorCal you're in a tough spot because Stanford and Boalt dominate out there and the brutal truth is you won't get into either of them with your GPA. But you could retake and get 170+ and try for a full ride at one of the lower ranked Bay Area schools like Davis or Hastings.

Not with that GPA

No? Not even with like a 175?

With a 2.7 you probably won't even get in. CA publics almost never admit people with sub 3.0 GPAs

[Void]

You didn't get into Hastings, Davis, Santa Clara or any CA schools with your LSAT score?

All three of those schools would be worse choices than what OP already has on the table.

Except he actually wants to be in CA and doesn't appear to want to be in NJ. If you're going to graduate without a job either way, you may as well be someplace nice. Plus, being homeless in CA is pretty easy, weather-wise.

[Void]

No? Not even with like a 175?

With a 2.7 you probably won't even get in. CA publics almost never admit people with sub 3.0 GPAs

Huh. Didnt know they were so choosy.

[Ti Malice]

You didn't get into Hastings, Davis, Santa Clara or any CA schools with your LSAT score?

All three of those schools would be worse choices than what OP already has on the table.

Except he actually wants to be in CA and doesn't appear to want to be in NJ. If you're going to graduate without a job either way, you may as well be someplace nice. Plus, being homeless in CA is pretty easy, weather-wise.

Except Rutgers is offering him a full ride whereas stingy Hastings/Davis would leave him with $200K+ of debt at graduation (probably closer to $300K). If you're going to graduate unemployed, you may as well not also graduate in utter financial ruin. And he did say he had no real preference as to where he ends up working, so emphasizing CA schools that amount to horrible investments just because of his "perfect world" statement makes no sense at all.