Top Law Schools

Long time lurker, first time poster.

I was recently offered a spot at UF and have till Friday to make up my mind. To make matters more complicated I have already signed a lease and moved to Tallahassee. I could move to Gainesville and live rent free for the next year which would render COL a wash.

It's been my dream since I was a kid to attend UF Law, but I've come to really like what I believe FSU has to offer. Will UF's larger alumni base and more prestigious name really make the difference when it comes time to get a job? FSU is raved about for it's laid back atmosphere and extracurricular opportunities; is the atmosphere and student experience really that much better than UF's?


I need some help here people. Do you guys it's truly worth abandon Tallahassee and make my way back to Gainesville?

useruseruser wrote:Long time lurker, first time poster.

I was recently offered a spot at UF and have till Friday to make up my mind. To make matters more complicated I have already signed a lease and moved to Tallahassee. I could move to Gainesville and live rent free for the next year which would render COL a wash.

It's been my dream since I was a kid to attend UF Law, but I've come to really like what I believe FSU has to offer. Will UF's larger alumni base and more prestigious name really make the difference when it comes time to get a job? FSU is raved about for it's laid back atmosphere and extracurricular opportunities; is the atmosphere and student experience really that much better than UF's?


I need some help here people. Do you guys it's truly worth abandon Tallahassee and make my way back to Gainesville?

UF. Short time inconvenience, but you will fulfill your childhood dream. Seems pretty clear cut to me.

Go to UF. Follow your dream, which also happens to align with going to the more prestigious school.

If UF wasn't your dream, I'd say FSU. I liked FSU a lot more than UF, personally, because of all the things you named... but UF is a bigger name dropper.

ttt

If you must, go to UF law. However, I highly reccomend retaking and reapplying. The schools are just ok (barely above average).

lawschool2014 wrote:If you must, go to UF law. However, I highly reccomend retaking and reapplying. The schools are just ok (barely above average).

not for people who want to practice in fl

Go for UF! Most people on the site would kill to go to their dream school, in addition to free rent!

Congrats!

Barbie wrote:

lawschool2014 wrote:If you must, go to UF law. However, I highly reccomend retaking and reapplying. The schools are just ok (barely above average).

not for people who want to practice in fl

Yea its fine, especially since he has free rent, but its not that great. If you go to a t14, then you will have a better shot at landing a good job in Florida because of the national reach

lawschool2014 wrote:

Barbie wrote:

lawschool2014 wrote:If you must, go to UF law. However, I highly reccomend retaking and reapplying. The schools are just ok (barely above average).

not for people who want to practice in fl

Yea its fine, especially since he has free rent, but its not that great. If you go to a t14, then you will have a better shot at landing a good job in Florida because of the national reach

not everyone has the t14 or bust opinion some people have to do as well as they can, and if UF is it for a guy who wants to practice in FL, IMO that is just fine

Barbie wrote:

lawschool2014 wrote:

Barbie wrote:

lawschool2014 wrote:If you must, go to UF law. However, I highly reccomend retaking and reapplying. The schools are just ok (barely above average).

not for people who want to practice in fl

Yea its fine, especially since he has free rent, but its not that great. If you go to a t14, then you will have a better shot at landing a good job in Florida because of the national reach

not everyone has the t14 or bust opinion some people have to do as well as they can, and if UF is it for a guy who wants to practice in FL, IMO that is just fine

Agreed.

Yes it is an adequate choice given his goals and finances. I just think a t14 is much better for obtaining a good job in Florida. I am not trying to turn this into a flame war and the OP should feel good about having this options, but its nothing that great. A t14 has far better reach in Florida than UF and FSU

lawschool2014 wrote:Yes it is an adequate choice given his goals and finances. I just think a t14 is much better for obtaining a good job in Florida. I am not trying to turn this into a flame war and the OP should feel good about having this options, but its nothing that great. A t14 has far better reach in Florida than UF and FSU

Duke Law is really just ok. Go, if you must, but I really recommend retaking, reapplying, and going to Yale.

lawschool2014 wrote:Yes it is an adequate choice given his goals and finances. I just think a t14 is much better for obtaining a good job in Florida. I am not trying to turn this into a flame war and the OP should feel good about having this options, but its nothing that great. A t14 has far better reach in Florida than UF and FSU

grrr. I am sure that many, many law students want to go to t14, and CANT. hence the 150+ other law schools in the nation. only a small, veeery small percentage of law school hopefuls get into t14. Hell, i think something like only half of people that want to go to law school at all, do. just because you apparently can, doesn't mean everyone can. i will never, ever be able to go to a t14 because even if i did get the LSAT score in october, my GPA would mean I'm paying sticker and i could never afford that. point is-- UF, for Florida, is great. and some people don't care about the t14s.

Yes it is an adequate choice given his goals and finances. I just think a t14 is much better for obtaining a good job in Florida. I am not trying to turn this into a flame war and the OP should feel good about having this options, but its nothing that great. A t14 has far better reach in Florida than UF and FSU

As a T14 graduate, I think this post is asinine.

To the OP: go to UF. The inconvenience will be short lived. The benefits of going to the best school last a lifetime.

Barbie wrote:

lawschool2014 wrote:Yes it is an adequate choice given his goals and finances. I just think a t14 is much better for obtaining a good job in Florida. I am not trying to turn this into a flame war and the OP should feel good about having this options, but its nothing that great. A t14 has far better reach in Florida than UF and FSU

grrr. I am sure that many, many law students want to go to t14, and CANT. hence the 150+ other law schools in the nation. only a small, veeery small percentage of law school hopefuls get into t14. Hell, i think something like only half of people that want to go to law school at all, do. just because you apparently can, doesn't mean everyone can. i will never, ever be able to go to a t14 because even if i did get the LSAT score in october, my GPA would mean I'm paying sticker and i could never afford that. point is-- UF, for Florida, is great. and some people don't care about the t14s.

Here is where we both differ. I think that law school is not worth it unless you go to a t14. Perhaps it is for some people, but for most, its not a good idea. Second, I do think that anyone can beat the LSAT to get into a t14 or atleast t20 level with adequate preperation. I am not the brightest person in the world but I managed to sit down for four months and cram this test out, studying 4+ hours a day. I managed to do very well because I studied smart. If I can do it, most people can. Its not that difficult.

If you are happy with your choice to attend a non t14 then great! I hope you do well for yourself (some people do very well) Also, I never said UF is a bad choice, its just adequate

Go to UF. FWIW, I started my cycle with hope of attending either FSU or UF. Although I was slightly leaning toward UF at the beginning, the more I learned about both schools, the more I decided that it was truly a toss up for me. I wound up picking FSU because all the little things sort of tipped the scale in their favor (at least for my purposes). If I were in your shoes, the free housing would be enough to send me to Gainesville, not to mention that it's your dream school. As far as employment prospects go, when factoring this into my decision, I didn't dwell too much on the fact that UF has marginally better stats. I was more interested in the ability to network with local attorneys, gov't agencies, etc. as a means of getting a job, but depending on your goals, the better stats can only be a plus.

If I were you, I'd try to get out of my lease (if possible) or sublease. Even if you have to sublease at a lower price, the fact that you'll be living rent free should more than make up for it.

lawschool2014 wrote:

Barbie wrote:

lawschool2014 wrote:Yes it is an adequate choice given his goals and finances. I just think a t14 is much better for obtaining a good job in Florida. I am not trying to turn this into a flame war and the OP should feel good about having this options, but its nothing that great. A t14 has far better reach in Florida than UF and FSU

grrr. I am sure that many, many law students want to go to t14, and CANT. hence the 150+ other law schools in the nation. only a small, veeery small percentage of law school hopefuls get into t14. Hell, i think something like only half of people that want to go to law school at all, do. just because you apparently can, doesn't mean everyone can. i will never, ever be able to go to a t14 because even if i did get the LSAT score in october, my GPA would mean I'm paying sticker and i could never afford that. point is-- UF, for Florida, is great. and some people don't care about the t14s.

Here is where we both differ. I think that law school is not worth it unless you go to a t14. Perhaps it is for some people, but for most, its not a good idea. Second, I do think that anyone can beat the LSAT to get into a t14 or atleast t20 level with adequate preperation. I am not the brightest person in the world but I managed to sit down for four months and cram this test out, studying 4+ hours a day. I managed to do very well because I studied smart. If I can do it, most people can. Its not that difficult.

If you are happy with your choice to attend a non t14 then great! I hope you do well for yourself (some people do very well) Also, I never said UF is a bad choice, its just adequate

So go post in a T14 or bust thread and leave those of us who believe in ourselves enough to find employment without having to rely completely on our schools reputation.

Tallahassee sucks. It really, really sucks. I spent my undergrad at FSU and I couldn't wait to get out of Tallahassee. Florida is also very much a "gator nation" as well. Go to UF.

lawschool2014 wrote:Yes it is an adequate choice given his goals and finances. I just think a t14 is much better for obtaining a good job in Florida. I am not trying to turn this into a flame war and the OP should feel good about having this options, but its nothing that great. A t14 has far better reach in Florida than UF and FSU

you're an idiot.

lawduder wrote:Tallahassee sucks. It really, really sucks. I spent my undergrad at FSU and I couldn't wait to get out of Tallahassee. Florida is also very much a "gator nation" as well. Go to UF.

This is what I thought would keep me away from FSU. I've always had the Tallanasty opinion, which is why I ended up changing my undergrad last minute from FSU. The law school seems to be kind of different. I know it isn't that far from the UG, but it really has a much different feel. I ended up, upon visit, liking FSU a great deal more than UF. NEVER saw it coming.

Always Credited wrote:

lawschool2014 wrote:Yes it is an adequate choice given his goals and finances. I just think a t14 is much better for obtaining a good job in Florida. I am not trying to turn this into a flame war and the OP should feel good about having this options, but its nothing that great. A t14 has far better reach in Florida than UF and FSU

you're an idiot.

+1. And go to UF: it's a good school, period.

lawschool2014 wrote:

Barbie wrote:

lawschool2014 wrote:Yes it is an adequate choice given his goals and finances. I just think a t14 is much better for obtaining a good job in Florida. I am not trying to turn this into a flame war and the OP should feel good about having this options, but its nothing that great. A t14 has far better reach in Florida than UF and FSU

grrr. I am sure that many, many law students want to go to t14, and CANT. hence the 150+ other law schools in the nation. only a small, veeery small percentage of law school hopefuls get into t14. Hell, i think something like only half of people that want to go to law school at all, do. just because you apparently can, doesn't mean everyone can. i will never, ever be able to go to a t14 because even if i did get the LSAT score in october, my GPA would mean I'm paying sticker and i could never afford that. point is-- UF, for Florida, is great. and some people don't care about the t14s.

Here is where we both differ. I think that law school is not worth it unless you go to a t14. Perhaps it is for some people, but for most, its not a good idea. Second, I do think that anyone can beat the LSAT to get into a t14 or atleast t20 level with adequate preperation. I am not the brightest person in the world but I managed to sit down for four months and cram this test out, studying 4+ hours a day. I managed to do very well because I studied smart. If I can do it, most people can. Its not that difficult.

If you are happy with your choice to attend a non t14 then great! I hope you do well for yourself (some people do very well) Also, I never said UF is a bad choice, its just adequate

A few problems with your post:
First, you are telling the OP that he would be better off at a T14 in a thread specifically asking about two particular schools. Also, you are assuming a retake of the LSAT/taking a year off is even a possibility. On top of that, you don't know the OP's goals or personal circumstances. There are several different instances where it would make more sense to go to UF or FSU over some of the lower T14 (dirt cheap in state tuition, scholarships, family, career goals, etc.) If I were choosing between UF/FSU and say Cornell, and I wanted public interest/small-midlaw/state or local government in florida, it would be dumb to take on the extra debt in a school hundreds of miles away, and still not be at any real advantage when competing for the type of job that I want. For a majority of people on here, you may be right, but given the amount of info in the OP, sounds like you're probably off base.

UF. for sure. Although, I may be a bit biased since I did part of my undergrad there

In all seriousness, it sounds like your rent is the only thing really tying you to FSU. If you want to be a Gator, and you have free rent in G-ville, I say go with your dream. You won't wonder "what if" for the rest of your life. Plus, a UF degree does (if ever so slightly) go farther in Florida. Good luck!

Sublet Tallahassee, live your dream.