UNC vs. Tulane Forum

[Grindd-]

Trying to choose between these two and I would love some more opinions. I want to keep tuition costs out of this though that's obviously a factor. With the assumption I'm not paying sticker for either, how do these two schools compare? I hear some people saying it's pretty much a wash if I'm staying in the south (I am) and then other people saying UNC is a significantly better school. I have no issue living in Louisiana or North Carolina after I graduate, and I know I'd make the best out of either option. I just want to be in the south. Not hellbent on going into BL but I'd like to keep my job opportunities plentiful. Portability is a plus, too. Anyone have any thoughts on this? Thanks.

[crazywafflez]

Very similar schools.

https://www.lawschooltransparency.com/schools/unc

https://www.lawschooltransparency.com/schools/tulane

About one third or so place grads into BL from both schools. My guess is east of the Cumberland UNC is stronger, west of it Tulane is. Looks like Tulane has some portability to TX and NYC. UNC has more so in DC.

At the firm I previously worked for we didn't differentiate between these two schools. I think if you want to be in NC, UNC is the clear winner. If you want to be in LA, or possibly Houston, Tulane is. If you want to be in NYC, you should try to get into Fordham. If you want to be in Atlanta, go to UGA or Emory. And so on.

Go to the cheaper one. I wouldn't go over 80-90k debt for either school.

[nixy]

Yeah, you can’t just “keep tuition costs out of this” because the primary considerations when choosing a law school are 1) how much will it cost you, 2) whether it can get you a job that will allow you to service the debt you incur, and 3) whether it can get you a job that you want to do. If you’ll have no (or de minimus) debt, you can go wherever you like. If you’ll have a ton of debt, you need to go somewhere that will get you a job that will let you handle the debt (whether that’s a big law job to pay it off, or a public sector job to earn PSLF). If you want any legal job, almost any school will probably get you there. If you want the tippy top elite unicorn job, almost no schools can guarantee that.

Obviously you fall somewhere in between the extremes I’ve outlined, but that doesn’t mean you can just remove tuition costs from the equation.

Beyond that, crazywafflez is right (to my understanding).