Top Law Schools

I am top 2% with a 4.0 at South Texas College of Law...I have been accepted for transfer to SMU, but not sure if its worth the transfer or not...I am still waiting on UT, but chances are that my grades wont be posted in time before classes start next semester at UT, so I likely wont be accepted there....I want to work in Big Law in either Dallas or Austin when this is all said and done...so im just trying to get a feel of what would be the best move

Have students in the top 5% at your current law school been hired by the firms that you're targeting ?
Are you on scholarship at your current school ?
Any chance of getting a federal judicial clerkship from your current school with your class rank ?
Would you consider living & working in Houston after law school ?

Of course some students have been getting hired, but not near as many as SMU produces....Also I have the fear of grades dropping at some point, to where it knocks me all the way down to out of top 10%, it just seems impossible to maintain this level of performance for 3 years...also, I do have a scholarship of about 1/2 tuition...Clerkships are not well known from out of STCL...I would of course consider living and working in Houston, but it certainly would not be my ideal situation.

For Dallas biglaw, SMU is a logical move. Austin biglaw is tough regardless of the school you go to--even from UT. What's SMU's policy regarding law review and OCI?

edit: Just saw your other post re: Baylor. Don't go there. Not that it's a bad school. I've heard from folks who attend that it's miserable 3L and that callbacks are the worst on account of having to travel.

outrageousresipsa wrote:Of course some students have been getting hired, but not near as many as SMU produces....Also I have the fear of grades dropping at some point, to where it knocks me all the way down to out of top 10%, it just seems impossible to maintain this level of performance for 3 years...also, I do have a scholarship of about 1/2 tuition...Clerkships are not well known from out of STCL...I would of course consider living and working in Houston, but it certainly would not be my ideal situation.

If you are worried about staying on top, I say transfer. Wait for UT though. Trust me, they will let you in.

See what you can do about getting your STCL scholly bumped to full.

UT has been pretty strict on the idea that they cant decide until all my grades are in...There is a very strong possibility that I wont have all my grades in by the time SMU classes start (jan 10)(UT= Jan 14)....So I dont know if I accept transfer to SMU, give up top 2% position at STCL, but got better job opps in Dallas...

Do I call UT and tell them Ive been accepted to SMU (maybe wait til I have a couple of grades in) and tell them I need some sort of guess as to my chances because smu starts on the 10th...Its all a mess and a huge decision....

Once again, congratulations for this wonderful position you have put yourself in.

How many grades do you have left? This whole mid-year transfer without a complete transcript idea is bizarre. If you "accept" SMU are you placing a deposit or is there a final commitment?

I have 18 hours total as of now, so I have 12 coming in from this semester...I also interned for a federal judge over the past summer...it would only be a 400 dollar deposit...

outrageousresipsa wrote:I have 18 hours total as of now, so I have 12 coming in from this semester...I also interned for a federal judge over the past summer...it would only be a 400 dollar deposit...

Assuming UT rejects you, would you still accept SMU over staying at STCL (even @ top2%)? If yes, then ACCEPT SMU.

When I was transferring, I got accepted to a school I though I'd be attending in late August, put down $750 deposit and a $1000 deposit on an apartment next to the law school. Fuck me, a week later, one of my top choices calls me and I couldn't say no. Lost $1750 and had to write that embarrassing renege email.

The worst that'll happen is you'll lose $400 and write a shitty email to a school that's trying to charge you full tuition anyway. Just do it, bro.

edit: Oh, yeah, and UT doesn't care that SMU accepted you. If you call to tell them they'll say, cool story.

Tell your current law school that you have been accepted by another law school as a transfer. Ask if STCL will increase your current half-scholarship to a full tuition & fees scholarship (if you are willing to stay).

Yeah I certainly would accept UT regardless of if I had put 5gs on a deposit to smu...UT is that important to me....but the underlying question is...if I dont get into UT...is it worth dropping a top 2% and 4.0 from south texas college of law, to graduate with SMU on my diploma (likely somewhere around top 10-15%)

any more advice?

outrageousresipsa wrote:any more advice?

Go bro. Don't look back.

Get the heck out of there. Congrats on awesome grades.