Houston -Below Median T-14 Forum

[Anonymous User]

Basically: Lower T-14 with below median grades (3.0x). Former military, prior work experience in banking before law school, and URM. Obviously with my grades I plan on bidding mostly NY firms, but is Houston completely out of the question? Just trying to decide if I should completely abandon that ship. Any advice appreciated, thanks in advance.

[TripTrip]

Basically: Lower T-14 with below median grades (3.0x). Former military, prior work experience in banking before law school, and URM. Obviously with my grades I plan on bidding mostly NY firms, but is Houston completely out of the question? Just trying to decide if I should completely abandon that ship. Any advice appreciated, thanks in advance.

Are you from Texas?

[Lacepiece23]

Basically: Lower T-14 with below median grades (3.0x). Former military, prior work experience in banking before law school, and URM. Obviously with my grades I plan on bidding mostly NY firms, but is Houston completely out of the question? Just trying to decide if I should completely abandon that ship. Any advice appreciated, thanks in advance.

Can you mass mail Houston firms and bid solely on NYC? That is what I would do. Also, hopefully you are in Houston this summer and can network with some people and maybe snag an interview before OCI.

[Anonymous User]

OP:

Not in TX this summer and no strong ties to the area except a few family members and when I needed to be there for military commitments, but nothing extended.

I'm working at a firm in MN, where I'm from, so I could be closer to an ailing parent. I have been reaching out to alums in the area trying to network.

[Anonymous User]

It seems like everybody from UChicago who wanted TX got it. Grades/ties didn't seem to matter a whole lot.

Not working in TX the first summer will be your largest hurdle. But URM is a solid boost.

[Anonymous User]

It really depends how far below median you are and how great your school is at placing into Texas. If you're at UVA, for example, you likely have a better shot than any other lower T14 since it places better into the South than most of the T14 (possibly all of the T14). If a 3.0x is only slightly below median, you have a good shot. If the median is around 3.3 then you are likely at the bottom of your class and it will be extremely difficult to overcome the no ties + grades. The URM + military and business background will definitely help, but grades will be hard to overcome if you are well below median and have no ties (read: at the bottom of your class).

As an example, I was at the median at one of MVP with no ties to Texas and received callbacks and offers from all the firms I interviewed with. I did not do my first summer in TX. The question of "Why Texas" came up in every interview (and I mean every interview...every screener and each individual interview at the callback) but as long as you have a good reason to be in Texas then you can overcome that. Grades were likely a line item once I got to the callback stage since at that point it was probably more personality/fit/experience than anything else.

[Anonymous User]

Thanks for the replies. Unfortunately, I'm bottom of the class. I think I interview pretty well and I've been doing a lot of practice. Hopefully my other factors will mitigate the grades at least somewhat.

[Anonymous User]

Bump-relevant to my interests

[Anonymous User]

It really depends how far below median you are and how great your school is at placing into Texas. If you're at UVA, for example, you likely have a better shot than any other lower T14 since it places better into the South than most of the T14 (possibly all of the T14). If a 3.0x is only slightly below median, you have a good shot. If the median is around 3.3 then you are likely at the bottom of your class and it will be extremely difficult to overcome the no ties + grades. The URM + military and business background will definitely help, but grades will be hard to overcome if you are well below median and have no ties (read: at the bottom of your class).

As an example, I was at the median at one of MVP with no ties to Texas and received callbacks and offers from all the firms I interviewed with. I did not do my first summer in TX. The question of "Why Texas" came up in every interview (and I mean every interview...every screener and each individual interview at the callback) but as long as you have a good reason to be in Texas then you can overcome that. Grades were likely a line item once I got to the callback stage since at that point it was probably more personality/fit/experience than anything else.

Just out of curiosity, which TX firms did you bid? Btw, different annon.

[Anonymous User]

Bump-relevant to my interests

I would be careful and strategic about putting all your eggs into bidding Houston for a while. Numbers on NALP project a lower expected summer class next year for many firms, and obviously the O&G market is not exactly predictable right now (though most firms are still doing OK). I'd view the city as a smaller secondary market this year for hiring purposes.

That being said, I'm sure there are still a good number of spots open and I don't want to come across as overly pessimistic. But heavily mixing in NY and maybe Dallas as well at OCI/mailing may be a good idea. You can always lateral to a Houston firm a couple years from graduation when business (hopefully) picks up.

[Anonymous User]

It really depends how far below median you are and how great your school is at placing into Texas. If you're at UVA, for example, you likely have a better shot than any other lower T14 since it places better into the South than most of the T14 (possibly all of the T14). If a 3.0x is only slightly below median, you have a good shot. If the median is around 3.3 then you are likely at the bottom of your class and it will be extremely difficult to overcome the no ties + grades. The URM + military and business background will definitely help, but grades will be hard to overcome if you are well below median and have no ties (read: at the bottom of your class).

As an example, I was at the median at one of MVP with no ties to Texas and received callbacks and offers from all the firms I interviewed with. I did not do my first summer in TX. The question of "Why Texas" came up in every interview (and I mean every interview...every screener and each individual interview at the callback) but as long as you have a good reason to be in Texas then you can overcome that. Grades were likely a line item once I got to the callback stage since at that point it was probably more personality/fit/experience than anything else.

Just out of curiosity, which TX firms did you bid? Btw, different annon.

I only interviewed with 5-6 firms of varying size/prestige/satellite-ness (e.g. Big 3/V10 outposts/V20+ satellite offices/small Texas based). All were OCI bids save one but some were supplemental bids that got added to the schedule late and the others I ranked pretty low on my list. Texas was not my primary location of interest during my job hunt, though I did end up taking a job in Texas.