Choosing Between WUSTL($$$) v Minnesota ($$$) v Colorado ($$) v UCLA ($$) Forum

[trebekismyhero]

Colorado placed slightly over 8% of its class into biglaw. You'd need to be in the top 10% to have a comfortable, realistic shot at Colorado biglaw from that school. I can tell you for a fact that someone with the same grades from WUSTL (top 10%) got a biglaw job in Denver, and I believe she could have done it with lower grades too (she had super strong ties though).

While I wouldn't go to either school excepting to get biglaw in Denver/Boulder, CU isn't any better than WUSTL. If you land outside the top 10% at CU, you are OUT of biglaw. Not so at WUSTL.

That is pretty anecdotal. I highly doubt people top 1/4 or lower are getting big law in Denver from WUSTL.

OP really just needs to bite the bullet and figure out their UG loans for the next year, reapply early/maybe retake and go to a t13 on a good scholarship.

[grades??]

Colorado placed slightly over 8% of its class into biglaw. You'd need to be in the top 10% to have a comfortable, realistic shot at Colorado biglaw from that school. I can tell you for a fact that someone with the same grades from WUSTL (top 10%) got a biglaw job in Denver, and I believe she could have done it with lower grades too (she had super strong ties though).

While I wouldn't go to either school excepting to get biglaw in Denver/Boulder, CU isn't any better than WUSTL. If you land outside the top 10% at CU, you are OUT of biglaw. Not so at WUSTL.

That is pretty anecdotal. I highly doubt people top 1/4 or lower are getting big law in Denver from WUSTL.

OP really just needs to bite the bullet and figure out their UG loans for the next year, reapply early/maybe retake and go to a t13 on a good scholarship.

Agreed. I know median students at duke/uva that had no colorado ties and got colorado biglaw no problem. OP it is much harder to be at top 10% than median

[TripleM]

Colorado placed slightly over 8% of its class into biglaw. You'd need to be in the top 10% to have a comfortable, realistic shot at Colorado biglaw from that school. I can tell you for a fact that someone with the same grades from WUSTL (top 10%) got a biglaw job in Denver, and I believe she could have done it with lower grades too (she had super strong ties though).

While I wouldn't go to either school excepting to get biglaw in Denver/Boulder, CU isn't any better than WUSTL. If you land outside the top 10% at CU, you are OUT of biglaw. Not so at WUSTL.

You make valid points. I will say that I know a number of people who fell outside of the top 10% at CU who are working at BL. Colorado is a bizarrely parochial market and networking plays an outsized role. Rank matters, but not as much as it would if one were entering the market from outside. I would have agreed had your argument been that WUSTL offered better odds of BL in general, but I'd still maintain that CO BL odds are better from CU. In the end, the numbers won't prove either of us conclusively correct. Of course CU has more grads in CO BL, but that's largely reflection of self selection and not the ability of the school. If more WUSTL students aimed for the CO market, they might beat CU but we'll probably never know.

That said, the anecdotes of the folks I know hardly constitute "data" and the numbers you cite are worth consideration by the OP. Your fundamental point still stands: neither school is great for BL, whether in CO or elsewhere. I think your post again reinforces the idea that the OP should really search for a way to relieve his debt obligations and re-apply next year. With a compelling personal statement he'd likely end up with affordable options at T13/14 schools that would render this debate moot.

[aatu7485]

Thank you, everyone, for the advice. It's been tremendously helpful. I will be putting down deposits at WUSTL and CU then I will see what shakes out of the T14 for me before second deposits are due. If I don't like what I see at that point, I will try again next year. I've looked into reducing loans and with my mom as a cosigner with a high income, there is not a tremendous amount of wiggle room. However, If I can't pay them, they'll go after her.. . It was probably a slight mistake to say biglaw in my original post. While it would be a nice perk, it's not a priority. I'm philosophically an opportunist in the sense that I'm hoping to get a feel for what kind of law I will be best at/where the opportunities are, and I'll go that direction.

Thank you again for everyone's input. I'm certainly feeling a bit less lost; if more disappointed.

[cavalier1138]

I'm philosophically an opportunist in the sense that I'm hoping to get a feel for what kind of law I will be best at/where the opportunities are, and I'll go that direction.

Just to make sure this is clear to you: your opportunities are going to be limited (more heavily at Colorado and Minnesota than at WashU and UCLA) by default at these schools.

[njdevils2626]

Thank you, everyone, for the advice. It's been tremendously helpful. I will be putting down deposits at WUSTL and CU then I will see what shakes out of the T14 for me before second deposits are due. If I don't like what I see at that point, I will try again next year. I've looked into reducing loans and with my mom as a cosigner with a high income, there is not a tremendous amount of wiggle room. However, If I can't pay them, they'll go after her.. . It was probably a slight mistake to say biglaw in my original post. While it would be a nice perk, it's not a priority. I'm philosophically an opportunist in the sense that I'm hoping to get a feel for what kind of law I will be best at/where the opportunities are, and I'll go that direction.

Thank you again for everyone's input. I'm certainly feeling a bit less lost; if more disappointed.

If your primary goal is to end up at a job earning between $120-150k, then your only option really is biglaw so I don't think it was a mistake to say biglaw was your goal.

[Lord Randolph McDuff]

Go to CU because you want to work in Colorado and they are giving you a good price. If you main goal is biglaw, do not go to CU. Retake and get into a top 10 school where you can end up median and get biglaw.