UNC or BC? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Accepted as a transfer at UNC and BC.

Want to work in Boston BigLaw. UNC is much, much cheaper. I can also be on Law Review at UNC and cannot at BC.

Please advise.

[pbfoot]

Want to work in Boston BigLaw.

Unless you outright can't afford BC, you answered your own question.

[K Rock]

I would go to UNC, but it is very unlikely that you will get boston biglaw from there. Can't justify the debt at BC though.

[Anonymous User]

What about NYC BigLaw or NC BigLaw? The placement chart on the website lists a lot of great NY/Boston firms but doesn't give a number of graduates that go there, which makes the information a bit hollow.

Mostly I am concerned with working in BigLaw. Boston is only a preference.

[K Rock]

Mostly I am concerned with working in BigLaw. Boston is only a preference.

BC only gives you 25% chance according to LST: http://www.lstscorereports.com/?school=bc

UNC only gives you a 16% chance according to LST: http://www.lstscorereports.com/?school=unc

BC gives you a better chance, still not sure if it is worth the risk.

[Nova]

Expected debt out of each?

Expected debt if you don't transfer?

[pbfoot]

Per NLJ, BC places 21% of grads into NLJ250 firms while UNC places 13%. You'll face significantly less competition for NC firms from UNC than you will at Boston firms from BC though, as UNC is the top school that places in NC (Duke grads tend to go to DC/NY/ATL).

[jackattack17]

Do you have ties to Boston? If so, you could get there from UNC, as long as you stay in the top 10-20%. Where are you now? What is your expected debt from there, BC, and UNC?

edit: We have a few Boston firms (or, I think firms with Boston offices) come here for OCIs. Ropes and Gray comes to mind.

[Anonymous User]

1L was at a Boston school. Top of the class. Several honors/awards. I have a bit of networking that I can hopefully use to get interviews for 2L summer positions in Boston.

Expected debt from BC would be around 200k. UNC debt would be around 140k.

I appreciate everyone's input.

When you say "stay in the top 10-20%," do you mean through 2 and 3L? I am operating under the assumption that you need to do a BigLaw 2L summer to get a BigLaw job when you graduate.

[Great Satchmo]

When you say "stay in the top 10-20%," do you mean through 2 and 3L? I am operating under the assumption that you need to do a BigLaw 2L summer to get a BigLaw job when you graduate.

If you do not get a a summer associateship with a large firm from 2L OCI, there are sometimes a few opportunities for 3L's to engage in OCI, but there are far, far fewer firms looking to fill positions with 3L's by comparison. You can also do your own application campaign via letters and email and networking - I'm sure some of the students included in the UNC and BC are accounted for there.

The latter situation is where your class standing is going to matter. I also think this is where it is much less likely to predict what is going to happen.

So, when you look at these numbers with regard to transferring, you're looking at the number of students at the school generally hired to these positions and hoping that you'll be considered by the firms, on the basis of your 1L resume and the fact of transfer, as among them.

[jackattack17]

1L was at a Boston school. Top of the class. Several honors/awards. I have a bit of networking that I can hopefully use to get interviews for 2L summer positions in Boston.

Expected debt from BC would be around 200k. UNC debt would be around 140k.

I appreciate everyone's input.

When you say "stay in the top 10-20%," do you mean through 2 and 3L? I am operating under the assumption that you need to do a BigLaw 2L summer to get a BigLaw job when you graduate.

I'm not sure how OCIs for transfers work, but if you transfer to UNC and get a 2L gig in Boston (through OCI or your own networking), which is very possible at UNC given your grades/ties, you should be in good shape post-grad. If you don't get a 2L gig, you'll definitely need to keep your grades up and hustle networking. Very unlikely to be any Boston firms coming to 3LOLCI.

Are you paying sticker at your Boston school right now (like, debt $175k+)? If so, I think UNC would be worth it. If your debt will be significantly lower, say, less than $100k, probably not worth it for the extra $40k at UNC, assuming that grades good enough to transfer=grades good enough to get a good 2L gig from your current school.

PM me if you want more insight, and I might be able to help.