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Hello,

I graduated from the UT Law. I would like to obtain a Tax LLM, and I am thinking about either the NYU Tax LLM (#1 in the US) or the UHLC Tax LLM (#18 in the US in 2014).

I live in Houston, and will be living in Houston. No plan of living in any other city. After obtaining a Tax LLM, I would like to work at Big 4 or other big accounting firms or law firms in Houston.

I know that the NYU Tax LLM is way better and more reputable Tax LLM program than the UHLC's. However, in my opinion, it will be somewhat easier to get high grades from the UHLC Tax LLM than the NYU Tax LLM. Obviously, at NYU Tax LLM, I will be competing against more people who are just smarter and hard working. I am concerned of the possibility that I will be graduating bottom of the class at the NYU Tax LLM, which will be really bad outcome.

So, since I will be living in Houston, and believe that it will be easier to get higher grades from the UHLC Tax LLM than from the NYU Tax LLM, should I attend the UHLC over the NYU?

Thank you!

I graduated near the bottom of my class in the NYU Tax LLM and got a biglaw job and a few big-4 offers a few years ago. I think there is more leeway graduating from NYU. My offers were not in Houston, but another southern city.

I believe many of the big-4 jobs in Houston are filled by NYU and Georgetown tax LLMs. Go onto LinkedIn and see where UH Tax LLM alum end up.

OP here.

Could you tell me where your law school (JD) is ranked and how you did in your JD? Don't you think you got a Biglaw and Big 4 offers due to the reputation of your JD school and your JD GPA? Also, did you have reputable work or internship experiences?

Thank you,

My JD was top 25. But I was median there. Didn’t have any remarkable experiences. Wasn’t on law review or anything either.

I had some bites at biglaw pre-LLM though, so there may be something in my resume that people liked.

I think grades are a silly reason to choose UH over NYU. Just like law school, you can't really predict LLM grades. Even so, they are far less emphasized than JD grades, especially for someone who went to a well-regarded school. Besides name recognition and employment, the reason you go to NYU is the opportunity to learn from the national leaders in the field rather than local leaders.

I agree with the above posters. Potential grades is a silly thing to base your decision on. At least here at NYU, it seems like your grades only matter if you want Biglaw or IRS Counsel.

I am about to graduate NYU's program probably near the bottom of my class. I received 2 Big 4 offers and 1 regional offer a month after I stepped onto campus. Considering the last released employment stats for the Class of 2016 are around 97% IIRC, my situation is not unique. My JD is from a top 40 and I ranked around top 1/3.

If you have a job in Houston, I think UH is the right call. If you don't have a job, I'd probably go to NYU/GT/NU.