Top Law Schools

Hey all,

I am leaning towards UVA (it's my dream, but they only give 46% of students scholarship and I doubt I will be in that group). I got into UT and Vanderbilt too, but haven't heard about scholarship. With my stats, I was lucky to just get into these schools at all.

I can't afford/I don't have the time to visit all 3. Should I try to or is UVA the no-brainer?

Edit: Goals- practice either NY or LA or TX not sure yet (mobility @ UVA is a plus). I like the idea of Con Law and of Entertainment Law, but I have sat in on Torts, Criminal Law, and Contracts classes and loved them too! LOL So I'm very open to exploration (UVA seems like a plus for that too).

ray.bee wrote:Hey all,

I am leaning towards UVA (it's my dream, but they only give 46% of students scholarship and I doubt I will be in that group). I got into UT and Vanderbilt too, but haven't heard about scholarship. With my stats, I was lucky to just get into these schools at all.

I can't afford/I don't have the time to visit all 3. Should I try to or is UVA the no-brainer?

Edit: Goals- practice either NY or LA or TX not sure yet (mobility @ UVA is a plus). I like the idea of Con Law and of Entertainment Law, but I have sat in on Torts, Criminal Law, and Contracts classes and loved them too! LOL So I'm very open to exploration (UVA seems like a plus for that too).

What are your stats and your scholarship offers (if any) you have received so far from each school?

Full disclosure - I went to Vandy and work in Houston now (2nd year biglaw).

I did not apply to UVA, but d to both UT and Vandy. Got into Vandy with the goal of ending up in Texas, which I did.

If you are set on Texas, UT is the way to go. If you thing you want to work elsewhere, I would discourage it. UVA will let you cast the widest net, but I would not attend at sticker. I would not go to Vandy or UT for much over 100K in debt. PM me if you want more specifics or have any questions about Vandy specifically.

Right2BearArms wrote:

ray.bee wrote:Hey all,

I am leaning towards UVA (it's my dream, but they only give 46% of students scholarship and I doubt I will be in that group). I got into UT and Vanderbilt too, but haven't heard about scholarship. With my stats, I was lucky to just get into these schools at all.

I can't afford/I don't have the time to visit all 3. Should I try to or is UVA the no-brainer?

Edit: Goals- practice either NY or LA or TX not sure yet (mobility @ UVA is a plus). I like the idea of Con Law and of Entertainment Law, but I have sat in on Torts, Criminal Law, and Contracts classes and loved them too! LOL So I'm very open to exploration (UVA seems like a plus for that too).

What are your stats and your scholarship offers (if any) you have received so far from each school?

Full disclosure - I went to Vandy and work in Houston now (2nd year biglaw).

I did not apply to UVA, but d to both UT and Vandy. Got into Vandy with the goal of ending up in Texas, which I did.

If you are set on Texas, UT is the way to go. If you thing you want to work elsewhere, I would discourage it. UVA will let you cast the widest net, but I would not attend at sticker. I would not go to Vandy or UT for much over 100K in debt. PM me if you want more specifics or have any questions about Vandy specifically.

I haven't travelled much so it's hard for me to say where I want to practice. I have not gotten scholarhship info from any of these schools yet. (I got 90k from WUSTL and 75k from USC). I have a 161, 4.02. Would you say Vandy has more mobility than UT?

you need to solidify your goals a little more. if you want NYC or texas, i dont think you really know what the fuck you want. they arent at all the same.

JohannDeMann wrote:you need to solidify your goals a little more. if you want NYC or texas, i dont think you really know what the fuck you want. they arent at all the same.

LOLZ. They are not all the same? Thank you for telling me! On a serious note, you are 100% right. As a 21-year-old, I cannot say where I would want to settle for the rest of my life. I have never been to NY or Texas. I don't want to confine myself to one market though to be completely honest. I think law school for many is a time to explore options and then use the newfound knowledge to solidify those goals.

ray.bee wrote:

JohannDeMann wrote:you need to solidify your goals a little more. if you want NYC or texas, i dont think you really know what the fuck you want. they arent at all the same.

LOLZ. They are not all the same? Thank you for telling me! On a serious note, you are 100% right. As a 21-year-old, I cannot say where I would want to settle for the rest of my life. I have never been to NY or Texas. I don't want to confine myself to one market though to be completely honest. I think law school for many is a time to explore options and then use the newfound knowledge to solidify those goals.

Pretty sure that last sentence is directly opposed to what the TLS community stands for. In fact, if there was such a thing as the TLS Commandment list, I think it would go something like this:

1. Don't attend GULC at anything close to sticker
2. Retake until 170+
3. Go to school where you want to practice
4. Have clear goals before you make the law school investment

If money isn't an issue for you then you probably have more leeway to figure it out as you go. It sounds like money is an issue for you, though. If you genuinely don't know where you want to be I think UVA is the choice here if money is close to equal as it's a more portable degree.

ray.bee wrote:

JohannDeMann wrote:you need to solidify your goals a little more. if you want NYC or texas, i dont think you really know what the fuck you want. they arent at all the same.

LOLZ. They are not all the same? Thank you for telling me! On a serious note, you are 100% right. As a 21-year-old, I cannot say where I would want to settle for the rest of my life. I have never been to NY or Texas. I don't want to confine myself to one market though to be completely honest. I think law school for many is a time to explore options and then use the newfound knowledge to solidify those goals.

That's undergrad. Law school is an expensive 3 years in time and money. People used to just go to law school when they didn't know what to do, but it's not practical to do that anymore. Also those people generally hated law.

You should consider working for a few years and making decisions about your life. Take a few road trips. If you've got a trust fund paying for school and supporting you after graduation, then go to UVA.

Don't go to Texas if you want to work someplace else or if you've never been there.

Do you even have a sense of what lawyers do every do,what they earn, how they are hired?

ray.bee wrote:

Right2BearArms wrote:

ray.bee wrote:Hey all,

I am leaning towards UVA (it's my dream, but they only give 46% of students scholarship and I doubt I will be in that group). I got into UT and Vanderbilt too, but haven't heard about scholarship. With my stats, I was lucky to just get into these schools at all.

I can't afford/I don't have the time to visit all 3. Should I try to or is UVA the no-brainer?

Edit: Goals- practice either NY or LA or TX not sure yet (mobility @ UVA is a plus). I like the idea of Con Law and of Entertainment Law, but I have sat in on Torts, Criminal Law, and Contracts classes and loved them too! LOL So I'm very open to exploration (UVA seems like a plus for that too).

What are your stats and your scholarship offers (if any) you have received so far from each school?

Full disclosure - I went to Vandy and work in Houston now (2nd year biglaw).

I did not apply to UVA, but d to both UT and Vandy. Got into Vandy with the goal of ending up in Texas, which I did.

If you are set on Texas, UT is the way to go. If you thing you want to work elsewhere, I would discourage it. UVA will let you cast the widest net, but I would not attend at sticker. I would not go to Vandy or UT for much over 100K in debt. PM me if you want more specifics or have any questions about Vandy specifically.

I haven't travelled much so it's hard for me to say where I want to practice. I have not gotten scholarhship info from any of these schools yet. (I got 90k from WUSTL and 75k from USC). I have a 161, 4.02. Would you say Vandy has more mobility than UT?

Maybe not 100% helpful, but I seriously doubt you'll get fin aid from UVA with a 161. Have you gotten accepted there yet?

ray.bee wrote: I don't want to confine myself to one market though to be completely honest. I think law school for many is a time to explore options and then use the newfound knowledge to solidify those goals.

Not having a complete understanding of where you want to practice is fine, but that mindset is only open to you with certain opportunities.

You have gotten in great schools, but my concern is you aren't giving enough weight to the financial burden that paying sticker or close to it brings with it, and how sticker debt narrows what career outcomes you can pursue

UVA, for example, is a great school that could successfully place you in several markets on either coast or in Texas. However, you'd be paying sticker price which, at least I think, is not worth it.

Total COA at UVA sticker would be over $300k in loans. That may be hard to grasp as a 21 year old how much money that is. You'd have realistically 2 career options to pay off this debt, biglaw or government/PI.

Biglaw would give you a comfy salary, but the work is brutal and you very likely won't last past 4-5 years, which isn't enough time to make a really serious dent in that debt load. There are income based repayment options available for pos tbiglaw jobs, but it would still affect your life in terms of ever trying to get a mortgage, finance cars, getting married and sharing finances, etc.

Government/PI can offer loan forgiveness for service, but that too has cons. You have to work for 10 years in those places, and that's a good chunk of your career right there.

Without droning on forever, UT/Vandy are not worth sticker or close to it, especially if you are not completely comfortable with living in Texas. I went to UT I know.

My final advice: Retake LSAT and take a year off between college/law school.

I know that's cliche TLS advice, but it sounds like you in particular would really benefit from it. Spend a year working in one of the above markets, retake and get better scholarship offers from these schools.

A law degree is a career that you'll practice for decades, do not ruin your start by rushing into law school with poor options and heavy debt just because you feel like you "have to go" right away. Go when it makes the most sense financially and academically.

ray.bee wrote: I think law school for many is a time to explore options and then use the newfound knowledge to solidify those goals.

Not to be rude, but what you described is undergrad. Even though law school is 3 years, you don't really get the full 3 years to "figure it out." Hustling for a 1L summer associate position starts before the end of your very first semester of law school (usually opens up Dec. 1st), biglaw hiring for 2L summer associate positions happens the summer after your 1L year, and clerkship hiring happens anywhere from your 1L summer to throughout your 2L year. Granted, you have some more flexibility for PI jobs if that's what you want (but you don't want PI at sticker). You need to hit the ground running when you go to law school and have a pretty clear idea of what you want to do and where you want to be. This is why people recommend taking a year or two off between undergrad and law school, so you can get some actual work experience to help you figure all of this out.

Npret wrote:

ray.bee wrote:

JohannDeMann wrote:you need to solidify your goals a little more. if you want NYC or texas, i dont think you really know what the fuck you want. they arent at all the same.

LOLZ. They are not all the same? Thank you for telling me! On a serious note, you are 100% right. As a 21-year-old, I cannot say where I would want to settle for the rest of my life. I have never been to NY or Texas. I don't want to confine myself to one market though to be completely honest. I think law school for many is a time to explore options and then use the newfound knowledge to solidify those goals.

That's undergrad. Law school is an expensive 3 years in time and money. People used to just go to law school when they didn't know what to do, but it's not practical to do that anymore. Also those people generally hated law.

You should consider working for a few years and making decisions about your life. Take a few road trips. If you've got a trust fund paying for school and supporting you after graduation, then go to UVA.

Don't go to Texas if you want to work someplace else or if you've never been there.

Do you even have a sense of what lawyers do every do,what they earn, how they are hired?

+1 billion

OP, work for a few years and then decide what you want to do. Retake as well. Nobody should go to law school straight out of college, esp if they are taking out tons of debt.

Maybe apply to be a biglaw paralegal - so you can see what biglawyers do on a daily basis.

Since you don't know where you want to end up these are the only two things that matter:

-Brand recognition
-Money

It's really up to you and your personal situation to assign different weight to each factor. No one on TLS can predict your ability to pay off debt. Just know that it will be difficult.

My personal vote is for UVA. It gives you the best opportunity to go elsewhere.

You have a 4.02, retake and get 170 (or even higher 160s) and that would mean we are now talking about Yale/Harvard/Stanford. Retaking one test can literally change your entire professional life.