Get a JD/MBA DIRT Cheap.... but is it worth it?? Forum

[Pastels]

I have an opportunity to obtain a JD/MBA at a dirt cheap price. I am fresh out of UG and received a scholarship at my state school which would amount to paying 6K a year in tuition and 1.5K a year in books. I know there are living expenses but I can be out of school with a JD/MBA at 25 debt free. I also hold a Finance and Management degrees from a top UG. Here is the issue, the law school at this school is a fresh Tier 2 but in the past has been a TTT. Its biz school is not ranked and does not hold too much respect out of the state. I am contemplating taking a year and retaking the LSAT in October but is this deal too sweet to pass up? I need some thoughts. Thanks in advance.

[icydash]

I have an opportunity to obtain a JD/MBA at a dirt cheap price. I am fresh out of UG and received a scholarship at my state school which would amount to paying 6K a year in tuition and 1.5K a year in books. I know there are living expenses but I can be out of school with a JD/MBA at 25 debt free. I also hold a Finance and Management degrees from a top UG. Here is the issue, the law school at this school is a fresh Tier 2 but in the past has been a TTT. Its biz school is not ranked and does not hold too much respect out of the state. I am contemplating taking a year and retaking the LSAT in October but is this deal too sweet to pass up? I need some thoughts. Thanks in advance.

Don't do it. Waste of time and money. As I understand it, the business school you come from is even more important to biz employers than the law school you come from is to legal employers.... and I never thought that'd be possible for anything.

Point being, a T2/3 law school OR biz school will get you very little in the way of job prospects, connections, etc... I'd just go for a really good law school, or a really good business school. But doing both at a mediocre school (at best) won't get you anywhere.

RETAKE.

[General Tso]

I'd probably retake. And I'd decide whether I want to be a lawyer or an MBA. There's not much reason to do both.

[Pastels]

I appreciate the advice. I am at a standstill as to what to do. Any more advice is welcome.

[sophistry]

Take a year off. It sounds like you don't know what the heck you want to do with yourself. Have some fun, get a job, and then decide what degree you want. Unlike many on this forum, I don't think the decision is always T14 or bust. But I also don't think that going to a school just because they gave you a good deal is always the smart decision. Besides, I'm sure whatever deal you're getting will be there next year if you want it.

[98234872348]

It isn't worth it.

/thread.

[brocklanders12]

I'd say it depends on the state and if you want to live and work there.

[icydash]

I'd say it depends on the state and if you want to live and work there.

I disagree with this because schools bordering T2/T3 for law, and unranked for business, will have a really, really hard time getting work, even within their own region. It's not like this is a T1 we're talking about.

[mugrad06]

you're still wrestling with WVU? Geez and I thought I was indecisive.

Don't be like the guy I just watched a video on CNN about, who is coming out of NYU, with only a undergrad in business and has 275,000 in loans. http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/201 ... cnn?hpt=T3


icydash - the school is WVU, which is the only ls in the state and dominates here. the OP has been back and forth for months whether or not to go to WVU (instate tutition is 12,000 grand and hepretty much has a full ride) He has a quaranteed job afterwards too. I'm lucky to have less than 20 grand in student loans for undergrad/grad combined so to go to ls and come out debt free or very little debt seems to be a no brainer.

[Danteshek]

I disagree with most of the above. If you think you will use the education go for it. For instance, the government agency I am working for this summer values JD/MBAs, whatever the source.

[Pastels]

I am not sure I want to stay in my area after I graduate, which is why I have the issue.

[hiromoto45]

I don't think it matters that the school goes back and forth from T2/3. If it is a regional school, the prospects (good or bad) should be the same no matter the rank.

You aren't going to pay sticker there so go if you are sure about what you are getting into and want to stay in the market this school feeds. Knowing the name of the school would solicit more helpful responses.

[icydash]

icydash - the school is WVU, which is the only ls in the state and dominates here. the OP has been back and forth for months whether or not to go to WVU (instate tutition is 12,000 grand and hepretty much has a full ride) He has a quaranteed job afterwards too. I'm lucky to have less than 20 grand in student loans for undergrad/grad combined so to go to ls and come out debt free or very little debt seems to be a no brainer.

But he's basically relegating himself to this region eternally. If he ever decides to venture outside this region, I feel like his JD and MBA may be virtually worthless.

As an aside, the point of going to business school is less for the classes and more for the connections. I've taken a bunch of business classes, and the content isn't anything ground-breaking. What's important is the people you meet and the connections they have. This is why going to a top business school is so important. In the T10, your classmates are CEOs, entrepreneurs, and other people who have done tremendous things and add immensely to the value of each class. This isn't the case with low-ranked / un-ranked schools, and you're paying for an education you could get by spending very little time searching Google (trust me... i know a lot about business, have started companies, been a finalist in 3-4 business plan competitions and 2 elevator pitch competitions, pitched to real angel and VC investors, taken classes, etc).

The point I'm trying to make is that spending a year of your life and money for an unranked MBA which provides almost no job security, and no/few valuable connections, is a waste. You only go to B-school (and L-school) once; do it right.

[Borhas]

maybe getting an MBA will better teach you how to run a small business and be a solo practitioner

<---- doesn't know anything about business school, or running a solo law firm

[Pastels]

Well, I met a kid who just graduated with a JD/MBA today at the school I am considering. He is jobless and plans on trying to start his own firm. Not very promising.

[icydash]

Well, I met a kid who just graduated with a JD/MBA today at the school I am considering. He is jobless and plans on trying to start his own firm. Not very promising.

^^^ This.

A JD is a great tool to have when it's from a good school. Same thing goes for an MBA. But getting both from a mediocre school (at best)....not gunna do much for ya.

[SuperFreak]

Not at all if you plan on actually practicing law.

[BenJ]

you're still wrestling with WVU? Geez and I thought I was indecisive.

Don't be like the guy I just watched a video on CNN about, who is coming out of NYU, with only a undergrad in business and has 275,000 in loans. http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/201 ... cnn?hpt=T3


icydash - the school is WVU, which is the only ls in the state and dominates here. the OP has been back and forth for months whether or not to go to WVU (instate tutition is 12,000 grand and hepretty much has a full ride) He has a quaranteed job afterwards too. I'm lucky to have less than 20 grand in student loans for undergrad/grad combined so to go to ls and come out debt free or very little debt seems to be a no brainer.

If you watch the video closely, he's a Stern graduate and has an MBA.

[kittenmittons]

JD/MBA is just a ploy to get an extra year of tuition out of you.

[SuperFreak]

JD/MBA is just a ploy to get an extra year of tuition out of you.

Exactly.

[jdhopeful11]

OP - If it won't cost you much, and you are in no rush to graduate, then get it - it can only help. Not to mention if you interview for a job, your employer would almost certainly be more impressed with a JD/MBA than a JD alone, even if its slightly. In other words, you would have greater credentials than somebody with only a JD from an equally prestigious school (assuming there's no great discrepancy in your grades).

I strongly encourage it if it won't cost a lot and if you are in no rush to graduate. Don't listen to the clowns on this board telling you not to do it because "its not worth it" (they are probably jealous that you can obtain one for so little and they can't)

[kittenmittons]

OP - If it won't cost you much, and you are in no rush to graduate, then get it - it can only help. Not to mention if you interview for a job, your employer would almost certainly be more impressed with a JD/MBA than a JD alone, even if its slightly. In other words, you would have greater credentials than somebody with only a JD from an equally prestigious school (assuming there's no great discrepancy in your grades).

I strongly encourage it if it won't cost a lot and if you are in no rush to graduate. Don't listen to the clowns on this board telling you not to do it because "its not worth it" (they are probably jealous that you can obtain one for so little and they can't)

No

[icydash]

OP - If it won't cost you much, and you are in no rush to graduate, then get it - it can only help. Not to mention if you interview for a job, your employer would almost certainly be more impressed with a JD/MBA than a JD alone, even if its slightly. In other words, you would have greater credentials than somebody with only a JD from an equally prestigious school (assuming there's no great discrepancy in your grades).

I strongly encourage it if it won't cost a lot and if you are in no rush to graduate. Don't listen to the clowns on this board telling you not to do it because "its not worth it" (they are probably jealous that you can obtain one for so little and they can't)

This is poor advice, and reflects a lack of actual hiring knowledge in the legal market.

First of all, if you're applying for a job (and you've got a JD), then 99% it's a legal job. They couldn't care less about your MBA, especially from an unranked school. Everyone knows that the important stuff you learn in an MBA program, you also learn in law school. The only reason to do an MBA is to go to a top school and make amazing connections; that's it. Everything else important you need to know about running a business can be learned in law school and with Google. Any smart employer knows this. Maybe, assuming you and another candidate come from the exact same law school, with the exact same grades, and the exact same work experience, the MBA may give you the edge. But it's the equivalent of a decent soft in the law school admissions process -- maybe worth 5% of your "hiring application"....definitely not worth the money and a year of your life. If it was a Harvard MBA, this would be a different story....but given this particular school, definitely not worth it.

Second of all, this particular JD/MBA gives you no mobility. Outside of your market, both will be worthless. At least get one degree that's portable (MBA) if you're dead set on this particular law school, that way you have a viable backup plan in case of emergency (or you decide you hate law or the legal market your in).

[James Bond]

People always go on and on about how if you don't get into the T6 or T14 in LS you won't get a good job. Well, business school is just as "exclusive" at the top.

Harvard, Stanford, Sloan, Kellogg, Booth, Wharton, Columbia, and maybe Stern or it's just going to help you go from lower-mid management to mid-management

[jdhopeful11]

OP - If it won't cost you much, and you are in no rush to graduate, then get it - it can only help. Not to mention if you interview for a job, your employer would almost certainly be more impressed with a JD/MBA than a JD alone, even if its slightly. In other words, you would have greater credentials than somebody with only a JD from an equally prestigious school (assuming there's no great discrepancy in your grades).

I strongly encourage it if it won't cost a lot and if you are in no rush to graduate. Don't listen to the clowns on this board telling you not to do it because "its not worth it" (they are probably jealous that you can obtain one for so little and they can't)

This is poor advice, and reflects a lack of actual hiring knowledge in the legal market.

First of all, if you're applying for a job (and you've got a JD), then 99% it's a legal job. They couldn't care less about your MBA, especially from an unranked school. Everyone knows that the important stuff you learn in an MBA program, you also learn in law school. The only reason to do an MBA is to go to a top school and make amazing connections; that's it. Everything else important you need to know about running a business can be learned in law school and with Google. Any smart employer knows this. Maybe, assuming you and another candidate come from the exact same law school, with the exact same grades, and the exact same work experience, the MBA may give you the edge. But it's the equivalent of a decent soft in the law school admissions process -- maybe worth 5% of your "hiring application"....definitely not worth the money and a year of your life. If it was a Harvard MBA, this would be a different story....but given this particular school, definitely not worth it.

Second of all, this particular JD/MBA gives you no mobility. Outside of your market, both will be worthless. At least get one degree that's portable (MBA) if you're dead set on this particular law school.

You are not taking into consideration that OP may want to seek a legal job in the business world. In such cases, a JD/MBA would have greater weight than a JD alone even with OP's UG degrees in Finance and Management.