Michigan vs UVA for Biglaw Forum

[Zach0901]

Plain and simple, assuming both are at sticker and geographic placement after graduation doesnt matter, which school is more worth the 200k sticker price when pursuing big law? Thanks for the help

[bk1]

Peer schools are peer.

[RVP11]

Arguably neither are worth sticker.

Visit and decide. Deciding this on placement alone is dumb - you'd be splitting hairs.

[theaether]

Arguably neither are worth sticker.

Visit and decide. Deciding this on placement alone is dumb - you'd be splitting hairs.

i'm interested in hearing this argument. what would be your preferred alternative if say, you got sticker at mich

[Moxie]

Peer schools are peer.

I voted UM because it's about 5k cheaper per year, but +1 to the above.

[Kronk]

Peer schools are peer.

I voted UM because it's about 5k cheaper per year, but +1 to the above.

I voted UVA to even you out because peer schools are peer.

[duckmoney]

Arguably neither are worth sticker.

Visit and decide. Deciding this on placement alone is dumb - you'd be splitting hairs.

i'm interested in hearing this argument. what would be your preferred alternative if say, you got sticker at mich

I'd say they are still worth sticker, although once the data for the next 2 employment cycles comes out that might change. I would also say that if you go much below them, say, to Cornell or GULC, sticker is a bad decision.

If you get into Mich or UVA, massive splitters not withstanding, you can usually get a full ride to a regional T1. I'd say a full ride to a T1 is about equal to MVP at sticker, although not as good as CCN at sticker.

[flexityflex86]

law school admissions can be tough when evaluating prices.

you come into it thinking you want big law but a full ride. you get that. then you get a half ride to a top 25, and you think, oh well it's definitely worth 60k more to go here v. here. then you get a 1/3 ride to a top 20 and you think well it's def worth a bit more than the t-25. then you get sticker to a top 10, and you're like well it's def worth 45k more than the top 20.

[flexityflex86]

Arguably neither are worth sticker.

Visit and decide. Deciding this on placement alone is dumb - you'd be splitting hairs.

i'm interested in hearing this argument. what would be your preferred alternative if say, you got sticker at mich

I'd say they are still worth sticker, although once the data for the next 2 employment cycles comes out that might change. I would also say that if you go much below them, say, to Cornell or GULC, sticker is a bad decision.

If you get into Mich or UVA, massive splitters not withstanding, you can usually get a full ride to a regional T1. I'd say a full ride to a T1 is about equal to MVP at sticker, although not as good as CCN at sticker.

i hear this argument but cost of living is 60k probably (just an average) for 3 years.

i just think that once you're over 50k in debt, you're taking a big risk so i'd rather just pay 200k for a school where greater than half the people earn 120k, and where many of those who don't get clerkships.

[Kronk]

Honestly with the T14 bailout that is IBR, PSLF, and LRAP, I can't say it's a terrible idea to go to their school. Even if you do poorly in your class and don't get biglaw, you can pay off your massive loans in 10 years.

Could be a 10 year waste of your life if you're not 100% uninterested and would be unhappy doing law jobs that aren't BigLaw, though.

[bk1]

Honestly with the T14 bailout that is IBR, PSLF, and LRAP, I can't say it's a terrible idea to go to their school. Even if you do poorly in your class and don't get biglaw, you can pay off your massive loans in 10 years.

Could be a 10 year waste of your life if you're not 100% uninterested and would be unhappy doing law jobs that aren't BigLaw, though.

I could be wrong, but aren't law-related PSLF jobs not plentiful either?

[Kronk]

Honestly with the T14 bailout that is IBR, PSLF, and LRAP, I can't say it's a terrible idea to go to their school. Even if you do poorly in your class and don't get biglaw, you can pay off your massive loans in 10 years.

Could be a 10 year waste of your life if you're not 100% uninterested and would be unhappy doing law jobs that aren't BigLaw, though.

I could be wrong, but aren't law-related PSLF jobs not plentiful either?

Government and 501(c)(3) work. Depends on if you consider them plentiful. They're certainly hard to get, but they don't ask for your grades most of the time, so if you go to a T10 or T14 school I'd say with enough legwork you can definitely get one regardless of your rank.

Notice I didn't say it was a bailout for anything past that, because just getting a job is hard enough T20 on down.

[JamMasterJ]

Peer schools are peer.

I voted UM because it's about 5k cheaper per year, but +1 to the above.

I voted UVA to even you out because peer schools are peer.

I didn't vote so that it would stay this way.

[flcath]

Michigan is the clearly superior choice. It's reputation so outshines that of UVa, and it's placement is so much more 'national,' that I can safely say that we would all concur that you'd be a fool to choose UVa over Michigan--even at sticker--unless UVa were willing to offer you a full ride.

[flexityflex86]

Michigan is the clearly superior choice. It's reputation so outshines that of UVa, and it's placement is so much more 'national,' that I can safely say that we would all concur that you'd be a fool to choose UVa over Michigan--even at sticker--unless UVa were willing to offer you a full ride.

is this a joke?

[JamMasterJ]

Michigan is the clearly superior choice. It's reputation so outshines that of UVa, and it's placement is so much more 'national,' that I can safely say that we would all concur that you'd be a fool to choose UVa over Michigan--even at sticker--unless UVa were willing to offer you a full ride.

is this a joke?

full disclosure: flcath is probably transferring to M

[die Zauberflote]

If you get into Mich or UVA, massive splitters not withstanding, you can usually get a full ride to a regional T1. I'd say a full ride to a T1 is about equal to MVP at sticker, although not as good as CCN at sticker.

It depends on your region and on what you want to do. This is probably true if you're from a rural state and want to go in to state or local politics. But it isn't true if you want to do some other things.

I was faced with this option (although I was comparing a modest scholarship at Michigan to a full ride with large stipend at a regional T1) and after speaking with many attorneys, both in my home market and in primary markets, I was told that Mich. was the clear winner. FWIW.

[bk1]

It depends on your region and on what you want to do. This is probably true if you're from a rural state and want to go in to state or local politics. But it isn't true if you want to do some other things.

Why are we talking about politics?

[flcath]

Michigan is the clearly superior choice. It's reputation so outshines that of UVa, and it's placement is so much more 'national,' that I can safely say that we would all concur that you'd be a fool to choose UVa over Michigan--even at sticker--unless UVa were willing to offer you a full ride.

is this a joke?

full disclosure: flcath is probably transferring to M

It is also a joke.

[JamMasterJ]

Michigan is the clearly superior choice. It's reputation so outshines that of UVa, and it's placement is so much more 'national,' that I can safely say that we would all concur that you'd be a fool to choose UVa over Michigan--even at sticker--unless UVa were willing to offer you a full ride.

is this a joke?

full disclosure: flcath is probably transferring to M

It is also a joke.

I was joking too
ETA: unsuccessfully

[Cavalier]

Visit both. They are peer schools and so the opportunities they will offer you are basically equal; your decision should be based on where you'd rather spend three years of your life. I personally love Charlottesville and the UVA community, but I've heard great things about Michigan and Ann Arbor too.

[flcath]

full disclosure: flcath is probably transferring to M

It is also a joke.

I was joking too
ETA: unsuccessfully

Was the Mich transfer thing a total guess (or, more accurately, a joke)?

[JamMasterJ]

I was joking too
ETA: unsuccessfully

Was the Mich transfer thing a total guess (or, more accurately, a joke)?

No, I read a thread yesterday or the day before. I have a weird memory, plus that anti-Michigan asshole was trolling
Edit: I can't spell

[$$$$$$]

uva student here, both are equal for biglaw, maybe uva outshines by a little bit. But michigan and ann arbor are sweeter places to be.

[Zach0901]

I like the debate, the reason I havent said much is because I really have no clue either way. Thanks all for the contributions and Ill be curious to see where this debate heads