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I am a current 1L at a TTT in Texas. I finished with a 3.6 which should be a rank around the 5-10%. I am from the DFW metroplex and want to end up there. I just applied to UT and am waiting to hear back. What would be my chances at UT? Also, should I try and apply to any other schools? I obviously want to leave the law school where I am for the increased chance to end up in Dallas after law school. I have a 50% scholarship at my current school and I get about 25,000 from my parents in help a year. I know everyone here is focused on T14 but I am mainly just focused on practicing in Texas/Dallas (biglaw would be preferable but not necessary). I know my current school gives me a very small chance at big law but I wanted to know whether any other schools would be worth it besides UT. Any thoughts or guidance in this process would be appreciated.

Anonymous User wrote:I am a current 1L at a TTT in Texas. I finished with a 3.6 which should be a rank around the 5-10%. I am from the DFW metroplex and want to end up there. I just applied to UT and am waiting to hear back. What would be my chances at UT? Also, should I try and apply to any other schools? I obviously want to leave the law school where I am for the increased chance to end up in Dallas after law school. I have a 50% scholarship at my current school and I get about 25,000 from my parents in help a year. I know everyone here is focused on T14 but I am mainly just focused on practicing in Texas/Dallas (biglaw would be preferable but not necessary). I know my current school gives me a very small chance at big law but I wanted to know whether any other schools would be worth it besides UT. Any thoughts or guidance in this process would be appreciated.

Perhaps apply to SMU as well.

I think you've got a solid chance at UT. I got in from an out of state ttt ranking around top 5% a couple of years ago. I also got into Gtown as well, but to the extent you're sold on working in Texas, UT is likely the better option. I'm not sure that SMU would be worth it. I think that you might be better off staying at your current school than going to SMU or UH. If it were me, I would be thinking UT or stay.

your parental contribution equates to a $75k scholarship for anyone who doesn't have any parental assistance of any kind, so i would 100% transfer to UT if given the chance. I don't think I would transfer to any t14, though.

Here's what worked for my friend (and something I never thought of): why not just call the legal recruiting department @ many of the major Dallas/Texas firms and ask for their input. Like "do you think it's better for me to stay or transfer? What does your firm look for in its applicants...etc..." if anything, it's a good way to reach out and connect. YMMV though and some people on TLS may disagree

Another thing,
I was very happy with how everything worked out for me, the transfer process and my ultimate outcome, but sometimes I wish I would have applied to more schools just to see what would have happened. So while I think UT is best for your goals, you might also consider throwing apps at GTown, Northwestern, Duke, Cal, etc because....why the hell not? I'm not sure your chances at these schools, but I think its enough to send an app. You never know what could happen. At the very least, I would be surprised if you didn't get into UT.

Consider Duke and UVA as well, as both of them place pretty well in Texas. You've presumably got Texas ties (and your current school is in Texas, obviously), so that should help. I've heard, anecdotally, that Biglaw firms will "dig deeper" into classes at UVA and Duke than they will at Texas, but someone else can help confirm/reject that.

Because you're likely in-state though, and because transfers usually have to pay full freight, UT may be the best financial situation for you. Do not consider SMU, as full-tuition as a transfer to SMU is not worth it, IMO.

Good luck!