Ole Miss Law or Memphis Law Forum

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Ole Miss vs Memphis

Ole Miss
9
75%
Memphis
3
25%
 
Total votes: 12

selenamh

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Ole Miss Law or Memphis Law

Post by selenamh » Thu Dec 09, 2021 2:54 pm

I am trying to choose between Memphis or Ole Miss. I am married with two children and will not be moving anywhere else to attend law school. I only applied to these two schools.

I live 45 minutes away from both. Ole Miss has offered a 20k scholarship with a 2.0 GPA stipulation and Memphis will not offer scholarships until January. I have heard that Memphis is not as giving with their scholarships and they are currently 2k more a semester even though I will be considered in-state.
My mom has been a paralegal for over 10 years and has been doing real-estate closings for most of that time. I have been around these types of firms and that is the type of law I am leaning towards (contracts/real-estate).
My entire family is in Memphis and that is most likely where I would work as an attorney but I am not opposed to moving further south in MS, I just feel like Memphis may have more money to offer. I also got my bachelors from Ole Miss.

All that to say, tuition costs aside, which school would be best? Does an Ole Miss J.D. matter vs a Memphis J.D. if I plan to work in the North MS/Memphis area since they are so close together? Does coming out and making decent money depend on the school I go to or am I ok to go to either school and simply rely on my grades in law school to get me a decent job? Pros and Cons of each school?

I don't need advice on taking the LSAT again or going to a different schools. I only need to know which is best.

Thanks!

The Lsat Airbender

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Re: Ole Miss Law or Memphis Law

Post by The Lsat Airbender » Sun Dec 19, 2021 8:00 pm

https://www.lawschooltransparency.com/s ... ississippi

Their job stats are remarkably similar, except that about 80% of Memphis grads stay in Tennessee (presumably mostly west of Nashville), and Texas is a more common destination than Mississippi for the remainder. Ole Miss, on the other hand, has healthy placement into all of MS/TN/AL. But Memphis is your preferred market anyway so the geographic distinction doesn't matter a ton here.

Last year, Memphis a materially higher attrition rate (more dropouts and a nonzero number of academic dismissals) which is mildly concerning. But I'm of the opinion that people mostly get dismissed/drop out for strong reasons and law school wasn't going to work out anyway.

Do you get in-state tuition at either? That makes a huge difference here and probably immediately settles the question unless you get a full ride from Memphis.

nixy

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Re: Ole Miss Law or Memphis Law

Post by nixy » Mon Dec 20, 2021 12:16 am

I also doubt that last year was representative wrt people dropping out of school (and I kind of bet Memphis has more non-trads who had other responsibilities to worry about during a pandemic than Ole Miss does).

I think either will serve your purpose and I’d go to whichever is cheaper. Or if they’re like within $20-30k of each other, pick the one you like better. (No idea if they’re doing admitted student says right now, but when all else is equal, go with whichever one feels better.)

crazywafflez

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Re: Ole Miss Law or Memphis Law

Post by crazywafflez » Mon Dec 20, 2021 4:01 pm

selenamh wrote:
Thu Dec 09, 2021 2:54 pm
I am trying to choose between Memphis or Ole Miss. I am married with two children and will not be moving anywhere else to attend law school. I only applied to these two schools.

I live 45 minutes away from both. Ole Miss has offered a 20k scholarship with a 2.0 GPA stipulation and Memphis will not offer scholarships until January. I have heard that Memphis is not as giving with their scholarships and they are currently 2k more a semester even though I will be considered in-state.
My mom has been a paralegal for over 10 years and has been doing real-estate closings for most of that time. I have been around these types of firms and that is the type of law I am leaning towards (contracts/real-estate).
My entire family is in Memphis and that is most likely where I would work as an attorney but I am not opposed to moving further south in MS, I just feel like Memphis may have more money to offer. I also got my bachelors from Ole Miss.

All that to say, tuition costs aside, which school would be best? Does an Ole Miss J.D. matter vs a Memphis J.D. if I plan to work in the North MS/Memphis area since they are so close together? Does coming out and making decent money depend on the school I go to or am I ok to go to either school and simply rely on my grades in law school to get me a decent job? Pros and Cons of each school?

I don't need advice on taking the LSAT again or going to a different schools. I only need to know which is best.

Thanks!
Full disclosure, I'm from the area- didn't go to law school at either of these schools, but I work in Shelby/Tipton/Fay County and plenty of folks went to both. They are comparable in Memphis. All else being equal, I'd go to Ole Miss. The alumni network is stronger, you've got a scholarship, and Ole Miss places just as well in Memphis as Memphis does (ish) but also has all of MS and some access into other markets. I'd go to Memphis if it were cheaper though. You seem to live in like Horn Lake or something, in which case, you're gonna commute either way- if you were in Memphis and already had a plce to live I'd stay, but again, you're basically at the half way point and I'd just pick Ole MIss, personally. But you won't go wrong by picking whichever you feel more comfortable at.
In sum, go to the cheaper one, baring that, go to the one that you feel that you like best.

selenamh

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Re: Ole Miss Law or Memphis Law

Post by selenamh » Thu Feb 17, 2022 6:26 pm

I am right below Hernando, MS. So, I am basically smack dab in the middle of both schools once you factor in Memphis traffic. Memphis ended up basically matching Ole Miss' scholarship offer so both schools will end up costing the same

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selenamh

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Re: Ole Miss Law or Memphis Law

Post by selenamh » Thu Feb 17, 2022 6:28 pm

The Lsat Airbender wrote:
Sun Dec 19, 2021 8:00 pm
https://www.lawschooltransparency.com/s ... ississippi

Their job stats are remarkably similar, except that about 80% of Memphis grads stay in Tennessee (presumably mostly west of Nashville), and Texas is a more common destination than Mississippi for the remainder. Ole Miss, on the other hand, has healthy placement into all of MS/TN/AL. But Memphis is your preferred market anyway so the geographic distinction doesn't matter a ton here.

Last year, Memphis a materially higher attrition rate (more dropouts and a nonzero number of academic dismissals) which is mildly concerning. But I'm of the opinion that people mostly get dismissed/drop out for strong reasons and law school wasn't going to work out anyway.

Do you get in-state tuition at either? That makes a huge difference here and probably immediately settles the question unless you get a full ride from Memphis.
I got in state tuition to both since I am in a border county for Memphis. Memphis sent their scholarship info out today and both schools will end up costing the same after scholarships

crazywafflez

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Re: Ole Miss Law or Memphis Law

Post by crazywafflez » Fri Feb 18, 2022 7:05 pm

selenamh wrote:
Thu Feb 17, 2022 6:28 pm
The Lsat Airbender wrote:
Sun Dec 19, 2021 8:00 pm
https://www.lawschooltransparency.com/s ... ississippi

Their job stats are remarkably similar, except that about 80% of Memphis grads stay in Tennessee (presumably mostly west of Nashville), and Texas is a more common destination than Mississippi for the remainder. Ole Miss, on the other hand, has healthy placement into all of MS/TN/AL. But Memphis is your preferred market anyway so the geographic distinction doesn't matter a ton here.

Last year, Memphis a materially higher attrition rate (more dropouts and a nonzero number of academic dismissals) which is mildly concerning. But I'm of the opinion that people mostly get dismissed/drop out for strong reasons and law school wasn't going to work out anyway.

Do you get in-state tuition at either? That makes a huge difference here and probably immediately settles the question unless you get a full ride from Memphis.
I got in state tuition to both since I am in a border county for Memphis. Memphis sent their scholarship info out today and both schools will end up costing the same after scholarships
I'd still personally pick Ole Miss, just me though. It's an ever so slightly stronger school - and it has all of MS market as well as Memphis, whereas Memphis law only has Memphis.

CanadianWolf

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Re: Ole Miss Law or Memphis Law

Post by CanadianWolf » Thu Mar 31, 2022 8:25 pm

As a first year law student with 2 children, you should consider any difference in commute time as well as any commute induced stress when making your decision.

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deadpanic

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Re: Ole Miss Law or Memphis Law

Post by deadpanic » Wed Apr 27, 2022 6:14 pm

Disclosure: I went to Ole Miss for law school, practice in real estate in MS, and previously practiced in Memphis.

I would go wherever is cheaper. Overall, they are pretty similar and your performance + connections will decide where you land. At either, you are going to have to hustle and have a bit of luck/connection to land a real estate practice gig. Memphis has more non-traditional students but Ole Miss has a few. You also have to deal with downtown parking at Memphis vs. easy parking in Oxford; typically not a big deal, but you are short on time in law school, especially with your commute + children. Shoot me a PM if you are still deciding.

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selenamh

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Re: Ole Miss Law or Memphis Law

Post by selenamh » Fri Jun 30, 2023 10:08 am

deadpanic wrote:
Wed Apr 27, 2022 6:14 pm
Disclosure: I went to Ole Miss for law school, practice in real estate in MS, and previously practiced in Memphis.

I would go wherever is cheaper. Overall, they are pretty similar and your performance + connections will decide where you land. At either, you are going to have to hustle and have a bit of luck/connection to land a real estate practice gig. Memphis has more non-traditional students but Ole Miss has a few. You also have to deal with downtown parking at Memphis vs. easy parking in Oxford; typically not a big deal, but you are short on time in law school, especially with your commute + children. Shoot me a PM if you are still deciding.
Came back to say I ended up choosing Ole Miss and one of my main reasons was parking! Ole Miss was just overall more friendly and welcoming as well. I enjoyed my first year and am happy with the decision!

selenamh

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Re: Ole Miss Law or Memphis Law

Post by selenamh » Fri Jun 30, 2023 10:12 am

selenamh wrote:
Thu Dec 09, 2021 2:54 pm
I am trying to choose between Memphis or Ole Miss. I am married with two children and will not be moving anywhere else to attend law school. I only applied to these two schools.

I live 45 minutes away from both. Ole Miss has offered a 20k scholarship with a 2.0 GPA stipulation and Memphis will not offer scholarships until January. I have heard that Memphis is not as giving with their scholarships and they are currently 2k more a semester even though I will be considered in-state.
My mom has been a paralegal for over 10 years and has been doing real-estate closings for most of that time. I have been around these types of firms and that is the type of law I am leaning towards (contracts/real-estate).
My entire family is in Memphis and that is most likely where I would work as an attorney but I am not opposed to moving further south in MS, I just feel like Memphis may have more money to offer. I also got my bachelors from Ole Miss.

All that to say, tuition costs aside, which school would be best? Does an Ole Miss J.D. matter vs a Memphis J.D. if I plan to work in the North MS/Memphis area since they are so close together? Does coming out and making decent money depend on the school I go to or am I ok to go to either school and simply rely on my grades in law school to get me a decent job? Pros and Cons of each school?

I don't need advice on taking the LSAT again or going to a different schools. I only need to know which is best.

Thanks!
I ended up choosing Ole Miss and had a great (although stressful but what is 1L without stress) first year! Thank you everyone for your input.

crazywafflez

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Re: Ole Miss Law or Memphis Law

Post by crazywafflez » Wed Jul 05, 2023 3:24 pm

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