Top Law Schools

So, to sum up, my cycle so far has been pretty good. I applied to FIU and UM as my two Florida schools (I grew up in Miami, so it makes sense). I was given full scholarship to FIU, which was nice, since I've visited the place and it actually has a new/fresh feel. On the other hand, I was granted admission to University of Miami about a week ago, and received awesome news just yesterday that I got a 34K merit scholarship.

I haven't actually visited the campus (out of country at the moment) and while I plan to visit in a month or two, I would really like to hear what people have to say about it, or for some advice on whether to attend. I'm still waiting on a lot of other options, such as maybe BC or BU, but I'm quite certain if I do get in, it'll be at full price.

Basically, what do you think of UM? Thanks for the help anybody can give me!

Daniel

What do you want to do with the degree?

At the moment I don't see myself in a big law kind of atmosphere, although I ultimately am not quite sure what I want to do specifically. I think I'm interested in a medium size law firm, working on some specific angle of law, but that could change over 3 years in law school. I'm worried a bit about limiting myself in the future.

Basically, at the moment I am planning along the lines of a medium sized law firm (most likely in Miami) with the possibility perhaps of using the J.D for business in some capacity.


Thanks

A few thoughts:

There are probably very people who should be applying to both BC/BU and Florida schools, unless you somehow have solid ties to both areas. Out of curiosity, why did you apply to Boston schools if you're looking to work in Miami? In any case, BC/BU for $200,000 in debt is an awful idea even if you were looking to work in Boston and you should probably cross it off your list.

Is that 34k a year or 34k over three years?

I wouldn't really put too much stock on campus visits unless you're deciding between two peer schools at equal cost. Things like "a fresh, new feel" really don't matter.

TheSpanishMain wrote:A few thoughts:

There are probably very people who should be applying to both BC/BU and Florida schools, unless you somehow have solid ties to both areas. Out of curiosity, why did you apply to Boston schools if you're looking to work in Miami? In any case, BC/BU for $200,000 in debt is an awful idea even if you were looking to work in Boston and you should probably cross it off your list.

Is that 34k a year or 34k over three years?

I wouldn't really put too much stock on campus visits unless you're deciding between two peer schools at equal cost. Things like "a fresh, new feel" really don't matter.

It's 34K a year. About 70% of the tuition cost according to their letter/email (about 46k a year to attend). Assuming I keep above 2.5 GPA that's 102k in total.

Thanks for the BC/BU advice. The reason was honestly just to explore my options. I'm not 100% sure what I want to do with my J.D, and while I am quite sure of my commitment to working/living in Miami, it's possible I might have different plans 3 years from now. BC/BU reflected both the desire to have a more popular degree should I choose to maybe practice in NY or something, as well as simply wanting to study perhaps in a different environment/city.
The UM money changes that obviously, and barring some fantastic offer from a bunch of schools I applied to (since I received fee waivers so why not?), I think I would like to settle in UM. The issue is mainly a lot of stories about how it has dropped in quality and while the alumni base is very strong, I am worried that I would come to regret spending 3 years at UM.
Just looking for more overall info on the power of the UM J.D, as well as some more info or reviews on the school and education itself.

Thanks!

You mentioned you're from Miami. Could you live with family while you attend to avoid taking out loans for rent/living expenses? Not knowing a ton about the South Florida legal market, other than it's really crowded, I would think that Miami for 40k in debt, combined with a desire to work in a non-BigLaw firm and ties to the area, is not a bad plan.

I would also suggest reaching out to recent Miami grads to get their thoughts. Focus on talking to graduates 1-5 years out of school. If you talk to baby boomers, you're likely to get a lot of overly optimistic pablum because they don't realize how much the entry level market has changed.

Assuming that you don't hear back from BC or BU with scholarship money, and you have at least a weak preference for staying in Miami, I'd say that UM is probably your best choice here. If you have family in the area and can live with them while you study, then that's an added bonus. Miami is a relatively insular legal market, and it helps to have ties to the area (and Spanish language fluency). I'm not sure about any recent perceived drops in quality, but UM is a big force in the region.

One suggestion I have is that you could try negotiating the UM scholarship up somewhat. It would help if you had good scholarship offers from peer schools, but it's not strictly necessary. Just emphasize that you are interested in the school but financial issues may prevent your attendance. I wouldn't belabor it, but asking doesn't hurt. It's something of a buyer's market for prospective law students right now, so you might have success in bringing down the cost of attendance a bit more.