Top Law Schools

After scholarships and family contributions, I will end up with COA of $62,000 at Emory and ~$100,000 at Vanderbilt. I will get loans for these amounts.

I have southern ties, specifically Texas, and ideally would like to work in Atlanta or Dallas, however I'm not opposed to Nashville.

I'm definitely not looking for Biglaw, however, maybe I should be aiming for that to pay off debt. Anyway, my goals are government/public interest

*I am also in the process for Teach for America, so any advice on going this route first (if accepted) is also welcomed. Deferring with a specific school, when during the process to retake, any other advice

retake

One of your ideal outcomes is Atlanta and you don't want biglaw so Emory sounds like a winner with the lower cost. I am a 0L though so take that with a grain of salt. Why not Texas?

If you want government/PI in Atlanta, take a full ride at UGA. If you want biglaw, retake the LSAT.

TFA sucks don't

also retake

Don't do TFA if you don't want to be a teacher IMO

If you want to be in Dallas why isn't UT in the running?

sneezus wrote:TFA sucks don't

also retake

Really? Mind elaborating? (On TFA)

BigZuck wrote:Don't do TFA if you don't want to be a teacher IMO

If you want to be in Dallas why isn't UT in the running?

I don't want to be a teacher long term but I'm prepared to fully dedicate myself for the two year commitment. Also I was hoping it would allow me time to save/get experience.

Still waiting on UT decision. I guess I'm expecting the worst at this point and trying to figure out which would be the next best option

Maryrose56 wrote:

sneezus wrote:TFA sucks don't

also retake

Really? Mind elaborating? (On TFA)

i was recruited into TFA; had no plans to do it, was persuaded away from law school. i bought their "do some good" pitch, which was dumb.

i was given a 5 week summer "training" program that consisted of some lesson planning instructions, teaching small summer school classes 2-3 times per week for an hour, and a poopload of group discussions on nebulous topics such as inequality, achievement, diversity, and community. then, i inherited 6 classes (170+ students altogether) to teach for a year.

i suck ass at this job, and so do most TFA teachers. these kids deserve (and require, honestly) the most experienced teachers, and TFA gives them the least experienced (and qualified) teachers. it's also misery. i like the kids and really sympathize with them (they have tough lives), but i hate trying to discipline them more than anything. also i suck ass at it.

do not do it if you aren't planning to be a teacher long-term. force charter schools to shell out for veteran teachers instead of relying on cheaper, inexperienced TFA labor. find something better/less miserable to do before law school.

Maryrose56 wrote:I don't want to be a teacher long term but I'm prepared to fully dedicate myself for the two year commitment.

You're not going to do much good or be very good after 2 years more likely than not. Let those kids have someone who wants to do the job do the job. If you want to pad your resume do something else.

Just my opinion. Most people around here seem to think teaching is a joke/doesn't matter so I'm sure I'm well in the minority there.

eta: scooped

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buckiguy_sucks wrote:if you want to do good do AmeriCorps, AmeriCorps*VISTA or PeaceCorps. If you want to do good and also help people learn do City Year. Lots of options for people that are just as resume padding and come with the extra bonus of not handicapping young kids educations

This

Maryrose56 wrote:

BigZuck wrote:Don't do TFA if you don't want to be a teacher IMO

If you want to be in Dallas why isn't UT in the running?

I don't want to be a teacher long term but I'm prepared to fully dedicate myself for the two year commitment. Also I was hoping it would allow me time to save/get experience.

Still waiting on UT decision. I guess I'm expecting the worst at this point and trying to figure out which would be the next best option

Nope

BigZuck wrote:

Maryrose56 wrote:I don't want to be a teacher long term but I'm prepared to fully dedicate myself for the two year commitment.

You're not going to do much good or be very good after 2 years more likely than not. Let those kids have someone who wants to do the job do the job. If you want to pad your resume do something else.

Just my opinion. Most people around here seem to think teaching is a joke/doesn't matter so I'm sure I'm well in the minority there.

eta: scooped

This. I did TFA and left after a year. Teaching has a really steep learning curve and no one is good in their first year or two. Some people are better than others and after four or five years can grow into amazing teachers, but if you are planning on leaving after two all you are doing is perpetuating a cycle wherein the most needy and under-served students are saddled with the most inexperienced teachers.

there is an incredible amount of ignorance ITT.

sneezus wrote:force charter schools to shell out for veteran teachers instead of relying on cheaper, inexperienced TFA labor

huge lol at this. this is not in any way how it works. charter schools can't find enough teachers, period. that applies to experienced teachers, inexperienced teachers, good teachers, bad teachers, cat teachers, and dog teachers.

buckiguy_sucks wrote:Lots of options for people that are just as resume padding and come with the extra bonus of not handicapping young kids educations

also nope. the notion that TFA scoops up teaching positions that would otherwise be filled by qualified, veteran teachers is dangerously wrong. oftentimes TFA do better in these contexts than their counterparts, veteran or otherwise, and there is data to show this. first-/second-year teachers suck, period. this is not somehow specific to TFA.

i'm a third-year charter school teacher and TFA alum. OP, pm me if you want more info. others should stop talking if they don't know what they're talking about.

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ballcaps wrote:there is an incredible amount of ignorance ITT.

sneezus wrote:force charter schools to shell out for veteran teachers instead of relying on cheaper, inexperienced TFA labor

huge lol at this. this is not in any way how it works. charter schools can't find enough teachers, period. that applies to experienced teachers, inexperienced teachers, good teachers, bad teachers, cat teachers, and dog teachers.

buckiguy_sucks wrote:Lots of options for people that are just as resume padding and come with the extra bonus of not handicapping young kids educations

also nope. the notion that TFA scoops up teaching positions that would otherwise be filled by qualified, veteran teachers is dangerously wrong. oftentimes TFA do better in these contexts than their counterparts, veteran or otherwise, and there is data to show this. first-/second-year teachers suck, period. this is not somehow specific to TFA.

i'm a third-year charter school teacher and TFA alum. OP, pm me if you want more info. others should stop talking if they don't know what they're talking about.

I think TFA doesn't always do a great job of picking people who actually want to teach for America. They pick people who are VERY PRESTIGIOUS and who are just going to resume pad away for a couple years before lining up at the big law drone factory with the rest of us sheep when they could perhaps pick a slightly less prestigious person who might actually want to be a teacher. Not sure how they could change their process to correct that though. But to me it is a problem.

I'm not anti-TFA, I know a lot of great career teachers who came from there. I am anti-using it as a vehicle for resume padding and I think TFA itself is at least partly to blame there.

i suppose since you want atl and you don't want biglaw, $62k for emory isn't suicidal, but you should understand it's a tremendous risk
emory's employment rate is only 62.4% (long-term, full-time, jd-required positions, minus school-funded, nine months after graudation)
emory might be doing well in the usnwr rankings, but in the rankings that matter – employment, they've been on a bit of a death spiral
each year they've had to employ more and more of their own graduates. just look:



this chart shows the percentage of long-term attorney jobs that emory pays for to inflate their employment numbers
it's clear the employment picture there isn't pretty, and i actually know an emory law grad who has confirmed this to me

Brut wrote:i suppose since you want atl and you don't want biglaw, $62k for emory isn't suicidal, but you should understand it's a tremendous risk
emory's employment rate is only 62.4% (long-term, full-time, jd-required positions, minus school-funded, nine months after graudation)
emory might be doing well in the usnwr rankings, but in the rankings that matter – employment, they've been on a bit of a death spiral
each year they've had to employ more and more of their own graduates. just look:



this chart shows the percentage of long-term attorney jobs that emory pays for to inflate their employment numbers
it's clear the employment picture there isn't pretty, and i actually know an emory law grad who has confirmed this to me

Having a quarter of the class employed by the school is insane.

ya it's shocking
just to clarify, the chart shows the percentage of students in lt/jd jobs who are employed by the school
but the percentage of the overall class employed by the school isn't far behind: 23.3% according to their 509s (via lawschooltransparency)

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100k for Vandy isnt insane. Its close to the top end of reasonable, but not insane. Emory has little to no reach in Texas, Vandy will get you there, but you need to be in the top half of the class. I would see what UT says.

Also, retake, get Vandy for cheaper or somewhere better for the same COA.

ballcaps wrote:there is an incredible amount of ignorance ITT.

sneezus wrote:force charter schools to shell out for veteran teachers instead of relying on cheaper, inexperienced TFA labor

huge lol at this. this is not in any way how it works. charter schools can't find enough teachers, period. that applies to experienced teachers, inexperienced teachers, good teachers, bad teachers, cat teachers, and dog teachers.

buckiguy_sucks wrote:Lots of options for people that are just as resume padding and come with the extra bonus of not handicapping young kids educations

also nope. the notion that TFA scoops up teaching positions that would otherwise be filled by qualified, veteran teachers is dangerously wrong. oftentimes TFA do better in these contexts than their counterparts, veteran or otherwise, and there is data to show this. first-/second-year teachers suck, period. this is not somehow specific to TFA.

i'm a third-year charter school teacher and TFA alum. OP, pm me if you want more info. others should stop talking if they don't know what they're talking about.

lololololololol @ this. classic TFA apologism, i.e. there are still teacher shortages in most large urban centers. complete bullshit in many of america's largest cities.

first and second yr teachers do suck ass; the difference is that non-TFA teachers more often stay in the classroom making the guinea pig stage worth it, and 80 percent of TFA are gone after the 3rd year.

you may have had a nice experience, that's fine. but please don't parrot bullshit to other people about the effectiveness of the program as a whole.

sneezus wrote:i suck ass at this job, and so do most TFA teachers.

sneezus wrote:i hate trying to discipline them more than anything.

sneezus wrote:also i suck ass at it.

sneezus wrote:it's also misery.

sounds like someone is having a bad experience

it gets better, bro, you just gotta have a positive attitude!

wolfie_m. wrote:

Maryrose56 wrote:After scholarships and family contributions, I will end up with COA of $62,000 at Emory and ~$100,000 at Vanderbilt. I will get loans for these amounts.

I have southern ties, specifically Texas, and ideally would like to work in Atlanta or Dallas, however I'm not opposed to Nashville.

I'm definitely not looking for Biglaw, however, maybe I should be aiming for that to pay off debt. Anyway, my goals are government/public interest

How much debt do you have now? Any?

I don't have any debt currently

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