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Hi, Gals and Guys:

I want some input on selecting a law school to attend this fall. But first, some background on my two law school choices.

Choice A is a T-30 public law school. Choice B is a T-20 private law school. Both law schools are located in the same region (Midwest) where I plan to work after graduation. The employment statistics (75% employed 9 months after graduation) and bar passage rates (approximately 95%) are comparable. However, the salary statistics are not. Specifically, choice A's salary statistics for the private sector are $50k/$100k at the 25th/75th percentiles ($75k at the median). And choice B's salary statistics for the private sector are $75k/$160k at the 25th/75th percentiles ($110k at the median). Below are my current scholarship offers from each of these two law schools.

Choice A: Full-tuition scholarship with a research assistant position for 2L and 3L, which includes a stipend of $1250 per semester and subsidized health insurance ... guaranteed for all three years (min. GPA of 2.1 required). Choice B: $63k scholarship (or $21k for each year of law school) ... guaranteed for all three years (no minimum GPA requirement). If I attend choice A, at graduation I will have accumulated approximately $55k in student loan debt (from undergraduate and law school combined). If I attend choice B, at graduation I will have accumulated approximately $150k in student loan debt (from undergraduate and law school combined).

Let's break this information down into a simple table. (Also, let's constructively assume that I'll have a job 9 months after graduation regardless of which of these two choices I select.)

Choice A
$55k (debt) / $50k (potential income at the 25th percentile)
$55k (debt) / $75k (potential income at the median)
$55k (debt) / $100k (potential income at the 75th percentile)

Choice B
$150k (debt) / $75k (potential income at the 25th percentile)
$150k (debt) / $110k (potential income at the median)
$150k (debt) / $160k (potential income at the 75th percentile)

Which choice do you believe I should select? Discuss!
(We might want to consider opportunity cost, comparative advantage, etc.)

So Iowa vs. WashU?

What do you want to do? Like, what kind of job are you hoping to get? What would make you happy?

If you're hoping to become, say, an ADA/PD, or some other job that isn't super school prestige focused, then it makes sense to go with choice A. If you want a meaningful shot at Big Law, you should probably go with B (or retake).

T-20 with a median income in the private sector of $110,000...is this self-reported by the law school?

Salary reporting statistics are basically useless for most law schools outside of the T14 because the reporting rates are so low. I think a better thing to do is rely on bimodal distribution and use biglaw rates as a proxy for how many people are earning six figure salaries, and assume the rest are earning 40-60k. For the schools you're talking about, that most likely means about 10-20% of the class are earning six figures, while the rest are earning 40-60k and also struggling to find legal work.

Iowa, for example, only has less than a third of its 2012 class reporting salaries on the NALP report.

bcmax wrote:So Iowa vs. WashU?

Correct.

What are your stats?

TheSpanishMain wrote:What do you want to do? Like, what kind of job are you hoping to get? What would make you happy?

If you're hoping to become, say, an ADA/PD, or some other job that isn't super school prestige focused, then it makes sense to go with choice A. If you want a meaningful shot at Big Law, you should probably go with B (or retake).

I have some Ideas about what I would like to do, but I want to set myself up for a diverse set opportunities. Big Law isn't necessarily my dream ... I'd like to live in a larger city in the Midwest (or in Houston), have an affordable debt load, and work at a mid-sized (or larger) law firm that can provide me with the experience/expertise needed to transition to in-house counsel at mid-sized (or larger) company/organization. (Keep in mind that this is my 'vision' as a 0L.)

eurasianartifact wrote:Big Law isn't necessarily my dream ... I'd like to ...work at a mid-sized (or larger) law firm that can provide me with the experience/expertise needed to transition to in-house counsel at mid-sized (or larger) company/organization. (Keep in mind that this is my 'vision' as a 0L.)

Biglaw is no one's dream but it's what you are shooting for.