PI Southeast long-term goals Forum

[tncats]

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[UVA2B]

I'd vote Alabama(?) here if you're really comfortable being in other cities (in this case, Alabama) not in TN. All are pretty expensive, and wanting to do PI work will come hand in hand with low pay, making the likelihood of ever repaying the debt difficult, but it at least won't be categorically impossible. You won't likely get back to TN sometime down the road absent just deciding to drop your practice in AL and start from scratch in TN.

I'm not sure you'll ever have "great" outcomes with your GPA, but these are all manageable debt loads, and getting into PI is much more about how well you network, intern, and dedicate your entire focus to getting into that area of PI. But Also realize you likely won't be able to "work your way up" to impact litigation PI. That type of work is almost exclusively cream of the crop pedigree. It's not impossible (because nothing in this career is impossible), but it is extremely, extremely unlikely. But more modest PI work from these schools is still possible.

[guynourmin]

I'd vote Alabama(?) here if you're really comfortable being in other cities (in this case, Alabama) not in TN. All are pretty expensive, and wanting to do PI work will come hand in hand with low pay, making the likelihood of ever repaying the debt difficult, but it at least won't be categorically impossible. You won't likely get back to TN sometime down the road absent just deciding to drop your practice in AL and start from scratch in TN.

I'm not sure you'll ever have "great" outcomes with your GPA, but these are all manageable debt loads, and getting into PI is much more about how well you network, intern, and dedicate your entire focus to getting into that area of PI. But Also realize you likely won't be able to "work your way up" to impact litigation PI. That type of work is almost exclusively cream of the crop pedigree. It's not impossible (because nothing in this career is impossible), but it is extremely, extremely unlikely. But more modest PI work from these schools is still possible.

echo all this and warn: don't think of UNC as more portable than Bama or as W&M's alumni network as helping you move around easier. You're wrong about that. Alabama would seem to be the best option you have unless you strongly prefer rural VA to Alabama, which doesn't seem to be the case.

[tncats]

I'd vote Alabama(?) here if you're really comfortable being in other cities (in this case, Alabama) not in TN. All are pretty expensive, and wanting to do PI work will come hand in hand with low pay, making the likelihood of ever repaying the debt difficult, but it at least won't be categorically impossible. You won't likely get back to TN sometime down the road absent just deciding to drop your practice in AL and start from scratch in TN.

I'm not sure you'll ever have "great" outcomes with your GPA, but these are all manageable debt loads, and getting into PI is much more about how well you network, intern, and dedicate your entire focus to getting into that area of PI. But Also realize you likely won't be able to "work your way up" to impact litigation PI. That type of work is almost exclusively cream of the crop pedigree. It's not impossible (because nothing in this career is impossible), but it is extremely, extremely unlikely. But more modest PI work from these schools is still possible.

Thanks so much! I can settle for modest PI, but it's good to have realistic expectations. I'm hoping my experience and connections in Tennessee PI can bring me back to the state, but I know that's not a guarantee either.

[tncats]

I'd vote Alabama(?) here if you're really comfortable being in other cities (in this case, Alabama) not in TN. All are pretty expensive, and wanting to do PI work will come hand in hand with low pay, making the likelihood of ever repaying the debt difficult, but it at least won't be categorically impossible. You won't likely get back to TN sometime down the road absent just deciding to drop your practice in AL and start from scratch in TN.

I'm not sure you'll ever have "great" outcomes with your GPA, but these are all manageable debt loads, and getting into PI is much more about how well you network, intern, and dedicate your entire focus to getting into that area of PI. But Also realize you likely won't be able to "work your way up" to impact litigation PI. That type of work is almost exclusively cream of the crop pedigree. It's not impossible (because nothing in this career is impossible), but it is extremely, extremely unlikely. But more modest PI work from these schools is still possible.

echo all this and warn: don't think of UNC as more portable than Bama or as W&M's alumni network as helping you move around easier. You're wrong about that. Alabama would seem to be the best option you have unless you strongly prefer rural VA to Alabama, which doesn't seem to be the case.

Ohh okay, thanks. I noticed that UNC has a not insignificant number of graduates in other states, and the name is highly recognized through the southeast. Those things don't add up to slightly more portability then?

[guynourmin]

I'd vote Alabama(?) here if you're really comfortable being in other cities (in this case, Alabama) not in TN. All are pretty expensive, and wanting to do PI work will come hand in hand with low pay, making the likelihood of ever repaying the debt difficult, but it at least won't be categorically impossible. You won't likely get back to TN sometime down the road absent just deciding to drop your practice in AL and start from scratch in TN.

I'm not sure you'll ever have "great" outcomes with your GPA, but these are all manageable debt loads, and getting into PI is much more about how well you network, intern, and dedicate your entire focus to getting into that area of PI. But Also realize you likely won't be able to "work your way up" to impact litigation PI. That type of work is almost exclusively cream of the crop pedigree. It's not impossible (because nothing in this career is impossible), but it is extremely, extremely unlikely. But more modest PI work from these schools is still possible.

echo all this and warn: don't think of UNC as more portable than Bama or as W&M's alumni network as helping you move around easier. You're wrong about that. Alabama would seem to be the best option you have unless you strongly prefer rural VA to Alabama, which doesn't seem to be the case.

Ohh okay, thanks. I noticed that UNC has a not insignificant number of graduates in other states, and the name is highly recognized through the southeast. Those things don't add up to slightly more portability then?

Roll Tide is also highly recognizable throughout the country.

UNC sends a good chunk of grads to other states, but you don't know the context. Someone from Georgia goes to UNC because its higher ranked than Georgia then goes back to work in Georgia. That doesn't make the degree portable, and that isn't a reliable "network" that you can build on.

I'm not disparaging any of these schools (although you are right to be concerned about UTK!), I'm just saying treat them as equally local when you're deciding between them. my thoughts, at least.

[tncats]

I'd vote Alabama(?) here if you're really comfortable being in other cities (in this case, Alabama) not in TN. All are pretty expensive, and wanting to do PI work will come hand in hand with low pay, making the likelihood of ever repaying the debt difficult, but it at least won't be categorically impossible. You won't likely get back to TN sometime down the road absent just deciding to drop your practice in AL and start from scratch in TN.

I'm not sure you'll ever have "great" outcomes with your GPA, but these are all manageable debt loads, and getting into PI is much more about how well you network, intern, and dedicate your entire focus to getting into that area of PI. But Also realize you likely won't be able to "work your way up" to impact litigation PI. That type of work is almost exclusively cream of the crop pedigree. It's not impossible (because nothing in this career is impossible), but it is extremely, extremely unlikely. But more modest PI work from these schools is still possible.

echo all this and warn: don't think of UNC as more portable than Bama or as W&M's alumni network as helping you move around easier. You're wrong about that. Alabama would seem to be the best option you have unless you strongly prefer rural VA to Alabama, which doesn't seem to be the case.

Ohh okay, thanks. I noticed that UNC has a not insignificant number of graduates in other states, and the name is highly recognized through the southeast. Those things don't add up to slightly more portability then?

Roll Tide is also highly recognizable throughout the country.

UNC sends a good chunk of grads to other states, but you don't know the context. Someone from Georgia goes to UNC because its higher ranked than Georgia then goes back to work in Georgia. That doesn't make the degree portable, and that isn't a reliable "network" that you can build on.

I'm not disparaging any of these schools (although you are right to be concerned about UTK!), I'm just saying treat them as equally local when you're deciding between them. my thoughts, at least.

That makes sense. Thanks for the help!

[deadpanic]

For public interest, I would actually vote UT here. PI is much more about showing dedication to the field than school (other than really high-end PI stuff like ACLU). If you want to be in Nashville, my advice would be to go to the flagship and intern every summer for something in public interest. I mean, I guess you could potentially do this from Bama as well, but IMO there is no reason to not to go to the state flagship for the state you want to work in, especially for PI.

FYI: I recall Davidson County's DA's office policy was to only hire former interns. This is typically the case for most DA/PD places, but they explicitly come out and say that.

[tncats]

For public interest, I would actually vote UT here. PI is much more about showing dedication to the field than school (other than really high-end PI stuff like ACLU). If you want to be in Nashville, my advice would be to go to the flagship and intern every summer for something in public interest. I mean, I guess you could potentially do this from Bama as well, but IMO there is no reason to not to go to the state flagship for the state you want to work in, especially for PI.

FYI: I recall Davidson County's DA's office policy was to only hire former interns. This is typically the case for most DA/PD places, but they explicitly come out and say that.

Ahh, interesting. I'll definitely keep that in mind if I develop an interest in the DA's office. I didn't put down a deposit at UT this weekend, so they're out of the equation at this point. Thanks for your input though!

I put down a deposit at Alabama, and I'm waiting to hear if UNC will give me more money. I'm also still wondering if I should retake the LSAT and aim for the couple of T20 or T14 schools that will take a low GPA/high LSAT. I think those options may be significantly more expensive if they even worked out at all though.

[Rigo]

I would intern every single semester after 1L too if you can. Those kind of jobs look for a lot of experience and shown interest.