Top Law Schools

Dear TLS,

I will be applying in the upcoming cycle. And while I know that is months away and will be several more months before I know my offers, I would like to get some feedback on what schools would be best for me in my situation and with my goals.

The situation:

171, 3.79
~60k debt from undergrad when I graduate
May need a degree with some national reach, but mostly looking to stay in South/Southeast (ATL?)

Goals:

Scholarship Money to keep additonal debt low. Really low.
Would love to be able to clerk/do PI/government/non-profit right after, or soon after Law School (ie. keep Big-Law years few)

Schools I plan to apply to, (Texas Resident):

UT, Vandy, Duke, Virginia, Emory, UGA, Wake

My question may sort of be phrased as the following: Would it be idiotic given my career goals, to take a full/near-full ride to UGA or Emory over 50k-70k more debt for Vandy or Duke? Or is my best bet, as I think it might be, to plan on going to UT if I get a good scholly coupled with my in-state tuition? Is that much additonal debt worth the increase in job prospects given my goals?

Thanks for any insight TLS.

I'd agree with you that UT sounds like the strongest fit, especially if you wouldn't mind clerking and practicing in Texas, which it doesn't seem like you do.

DaveBear07 wrote:mostly looking to stay in South/Southeast (ATL?)

DaveBear07 wrote:Scholarship Money to keep additonal debt low. Really low.

Have fun at Emory.

If you want to stay in Texas, UT sounds like a great fit. With your numbers, I can see you getting significant monetary offers at UT and at Vandy and Emory. UGA and wake would be extra cheap for you, but I wouldn't go over significant money at Emory or Vandy. You have a great shot at Duke or UVA, but the money is a different issue. Apply to all of those, maybe a few more T14, see where you get money, and reevaluate.

Thanks for the input you guys.

UT on the cheap does seem to be one of the best options. I'm not looking to stay in Texas necessarily, it's possible but not incredibly likely (my GF is from Georgia). However, my understanding is that UT's reach can stand this uncertainty; thus making it such a good option. But even getting my tution down to 15k a year equals 45k more in debt (100k total). This certainly means Big-Law for a few years right?

Presumably UT would be a more attractive offer financially than Vandy, so the above applies to it (Vandy) as well.

Emory would have to give a crazy scholarship to get down to less than 15k a year, though I guess it's possible. Then it would become a question of the marginal increase in savings versus career prospects.

Question: How does all of this compare to a full-ride to UGA, given my career goals? I know there is very little portability with UGA but let's say location is settled and ATL is the goal. Would anyone think I was being ridiculous in taking it over the other schools?

DaveBear07 wrote: Question: How does all of this compare to a full-ride to UGA, given my career goals? I know there is very little portability with UGA but let's say location is settled and ATL is the goal. Would anyone think I was being ridiculous in taking it over the other schools?

Not at all, though I would hope you aren't primarily making this decision just because your girlfriend is from Georgia.

DaveBear07 wrote:Thanks for the input you guys.

UT on the cheap does seem to be one of the best options. I'm not looking to stay in Texas necessarily, it's possible but not incredibly likely (my GF is from Georgia). However, my understanding is that UT's reach can stand this uncertainty; thus making it such a good option. But even getting my tution down to 15k a year equals 45k more in debt (100k total). This certainly means Big-Law for a few years right?

Presumably UT would be a more attractive offer financially than Vandy, so the above applies to it (Vandy) as well.

Emory would have to give a crazy scholarship to get down to less than 15k a year, though I guess it's possible. Then it would become a question of the marginal increase in savings versus career prospects.

Question: How does all of this compare to a full-ride to UGA, given my career goals? I know there is very little portability with UGA but let's say location is settled and ATL is the goal. Would anyone think I was being ridiculous in taking it over the other schools?

If I were you, I wold apply everywhere except HYS. You'll probably wind up being surprised with some of the offers you get.

And then, you can make the decision about where you want to go, how much money you want to spend, etc. But I would def apply to a bunch of schools if I were you

Pearalegal wrote:

DaveBear07 wrote: Question: How does all of this compare to a full-ride to UGA, given my career goals? I know there is very little portability with UGA but let's say location is settled and ATL is the goal. Would anyone think I was being ridiculous in taking it over the other schools?

Not at all, though I would hope you aren't primarily making this decision just because your girlfriend is from Georgia.

--ImageRemoved--

Apply to schools as high as Penn. Admissions to more prestigious schools can be used to squeeze more money out of the lower-ranked ones.

Cilent21 wrote:

DaveBear07 wrote:Thanks for the input you guys.

UT on the cheap does seem to be one of the best options. I'm not looking to stay in Texas necessarily, it's possible but not incredibly likely (my GF is from Georgia). However, my understanding is that UT's reach can stand this uncertainty; thus making it such a good option. But even getting my tution down to 15k a year equals 45k more in debt (100k total). This certainly means Big-Law for a few years right?

Presumably UT would be a more attractive offer financially than Vandy, so the above applies to it (Vandy) as well.

Emory would have to give a crazy scholarship to get down to less than 15k a year, though I guess it's possible. Then it would become a question of the marginal increase in savings versus career prospects.

Question: How does all of this compare to a full-ride to UGA, given my career goals? I know there is very little portability with UGA but let's say location is settled and ATL is the goal. Would anyone think I was being ridiculous in taking it over the other schools?

If I were you, I wold apply everywhere except HYS. You'll probably wind up being surprised with some of the offers you get.

And then, you can make the decision about where you want to go, how much money you want to spend, etc. But I would def apply to a bunch of schools if I were you

Credited.

Apply from Columbia through Texas, and then regionals that you could see yourself at with the right money (Emory, UGA?). And if you get a NYU acceptance but prefer Texas for cheaper, you have great leverage--definitely worth the cost of the application fee.

The end result is most likely Texas on the cheap but you'll improve your scholarship chances there and elsewhere by applying widely.

In-state tuition plus hopefully from $$$ from UT sounds like it would be almost perfect for you.

With 60k in UG debt you need to put more emphasis than usual on cost, IMO.

acadec wrote:Apply to schools as high as Penn. Admissions to more prestigious schools can be used to squeeze more money out of the lower-ranked ones.

I like this idea. I definitely probably will do it considering its potential cost-benefit.

SoftBoiledLife wrote:In-state tuition plus hopefully from $$$ from UT sounds like it would be almost perfect for you.

I agree, but...

TheOcho wrote:With 60k in UG debt you need to put more emphasis than usual on cost, IMO.

This is really getting to me as I think this over. I'm really leaning towards wanting to go somewhere for free. Obviously I don't want to lose THAT much in career prospects though. But if UT gets to be super cheap it would be very hard to say no to... I'm just not sure what that $ threshold is yet...

Just apply from about 6 on down to 20-22 or so.

See what offers you get and go from there.

Though I do agree that UT sounds like a good bet.

DaveBear07 wrote:Would love to be able to clerk/do PI/government/non-profit right after, or soon after Law School (ie. keep Big-Law years few)

Why not not do Big Law at all, go to the best school you can, get a good PI/govt job, and IBR your loans into forgiveness?