BC for Boston Biglaw. Please critique potential decision
Posted: Sun May 08, 2016 3:59 pm
Hey TLS,
I’d appreciate your criticism to my potential decision. I know that the common response is to retake and I do generally agree BUT please do read this in its entirety before leaving that as a one word response. I’d like criticism/feedback on this decision as a whole, not just my LSAT score. Stats: 3.3/164 (taken once).
I’m potentially going to be moving to Boston to attend BC. This is my absolute first choose because I truly want to live and work in Boston. This is not some spontaneous decision, I have genuinely considered multiple cities and Boston is where I see myself and yes, I have also visited it already, seen the law school, etc. The nature of the Boston legal market makes it difficult to break into without established ties. As someone without prior ties to the area, going to school in Boston seems like the best decision to make to establish ties and have a shot at employment. Hence, why it is my first choice.
My career goal is biglaw. I understand that biglaw from BC is not guaranteed but in terms of the Boston legal market, BC arguably does well for a regional non T-14 school. The LST scores from the class of 2015 were a little over 40% for biglaw/fed clerkship (though they count firms that are 100+ attorneys in that number and those don’t necessarily pay the market salary so this may be overestimating). So it seems that those that place in the top 1/3 of their class are in a good position for biglaw unless the economy goes down the drain again. I’ve spoken to numerous biglaw attorneys in Boston and they pretty much unanimously agreed that Boston ties can be established through BC and it does offer one of the larger shots at biglaw. It is a well respected school in the area.
My position and concerns: BC has offered my 20k/year, so my COA adjusted for interest rates is probably going to be around 150-170k max after personal and parental contributions. This is a lot of money to pay off. But for the purpose of Boston biglaw, this does seem to be my best opportunity. If I manage to snag an SA position my 2L summer, that money is going straight to tuition. But that’s all speculative. I don’t know how well I’ll do in law school, it’s not something I can predict. All I can say is I’m going to put my best foot forward and hopefully my study habits and preparation are sufficient. IF I were to retake for the purpose of more money, I MIGHT be able to get 30-45k more next cycle more depending on how high my LSAT is. If I get biglaw, I could pay that amount off in a year so the extra year off isn’t financially worth it. If I don’t get biglaw, that’s another story. I truly want BC over any T-14 school because it offers me the opportunity to establish ties to the area and work in the city I want to live in. The only thing I'm doing prior to moving is enjoying life, reading GTM and TLS guides, and working on networking with BC alumni who work in biglaw.
Please critique and provide your opinions as to my position.
I’d appreciate your criticism to my potential decision. I know that the common response is to retake and I do generally agree BUT please do read this in its entirety before leaving that as a one word response. I’d like criticism/feedback on this decision as a whole, not just my LSAT score. Stats: 3.3/164 (taken once).
I’m potentially going to be moving to Boston to attend BC. This is my absolute first choose because I truly want to live and work in Boston. This is not some spontaneous decision, I have genuinely considered multiple cities and Boston is where I see myself and yes, I have also visited it already, seen the law school, etc. The nature of the Boston legal market makes it difficult to break into without established ties. As someone without prior ties to the area, going to school in Boston seems like the best decision to make to establish ties and have a shot at employment. Hence, why it is my first choice.
My career goal is biglaw. I understand that biglaw from BC is not guaranteed but in terms of the Boston legal market, BC arguably does well for a regional non T-14 school. The LST scores from the class of 2015 were a little over 40% for biglaw/fed clerkship (though they count firms that are 100+ attorneys in that number and those don’t necessarily pay the market salary so this may be overestimating). So it seems that those that place in the top 1/3 of their class are in a good position for biglaw unless the economy goes down the drain again. I’ve spoken to numerous biglaw attorneys in Boston and they pretty much unanimously agreed that Boston ties can be established through BC and it does offer one of the larger shots at biglaw. It is a well respected school in the area.
My position and concerns: BC has offered my 20k/year, so my COA adjusted for interest rates is probably going to be around 150-170k max after personal and parental contributions. This is a lot of money to pay off. But for the purpose of Boston biglaw, this does seem to be my best opportunity. If I manage to snag an SA position my 2L summer, that money is going straight to tuition. But that’s all speculative. I don’t know how well I’ll do in law school, it’s not something I can predict. All I can say is I’m going to put my best foot forward and hopefully my study habits and preparation are sufficient. IF I were to retake for the purpose of more money, I MIGHT be able to get 30-45k more next cycle more depending on how high my LSAT is. If I get biglaw, I could pay that amount off in a year so the extra year off isn’t financially worth it. If I don’t get biglaw, that’s another story. I truly want BC over any T-14 school because it offers me the opportunity to establish ties to the area and work in the city I want to live in. The only thing I'm doing prior to moving is enjoying life, reading GTM and TLS guides, and working on networking with BC alumni who work in biglaw.
Please critique and provide your opinions as to my position.
