Pitt 2010 Forum

[BarbellDreams]

If the rankings are true, this would be a disaster for Temple.

Not sure how you're still disputing this point. The grammar comment was not to boost my ego, I'm busy tonight and if this was to continue to back and forth, I'd prefer you just take an extra few seconds to clean up what you say so it's easier to read. I didn't say you were incapable of writing well. I'm not trying to be abrasive, but with the massive number of guests reading the forums, do you really want someone to to take what you say and make a significant decision off it? Specifically, that Temple's fall was a disaster? I'm not trying to be an internet-doucher.

Why don't I put it a different way that we can both agree on, to ME, if I was a Temple student, I would feel bad about this move. Not speaking for others, this is just how I would take it. I can call it a disaster or something else, but in my own opinion I would be put down by the fact that Temple went from being outranked by 2 schools to being outranked by 4. I will certainly agree that this will not cause firms to not hire from Temple, I also surely agree that temple will still place very well in Philly (although I will say I feel Nova places better simply because I concentrate on big firm placement and nothing else). No, this will not cause the school to close down, bur down, or lose all their OCIs for next year. I am 100% in agreement with you that rankings largely don't matter. With that said, a large gap does matter (No one is going to say that American is the same as GW in the DC area or that Kansas and Maryland are the same schools. I have always looked at rankings a something that matters when there is a significant gap between the two schools). To clarify, I personally would feel bad about this situation if I was going to Temple. Thats pretty much it.

[beach_terror]

Fair enough, sorry for being an asshat about that. I just don't want misinformation to be construed out of that. Also, the Pittsburgh market must be doing quite well in this economy, considering the two Philly based schools dropped and Pitt rose (which is probably due to the employment rates, but we won't know for sure until the official publishing occurs). Enjoy having better job prospects than me

[jack duluoz]

men lie, women lie, numbers don't.

pitt>temple

[BarbellDreams]

Fair enough, sorry for being an asshat about that. I just don't want misinformation to be construed out of that. Also, the Pittsburgh market must be doing quite well in this economy, considering the two Philly based schools dropped and Pitt rose (which is probably due to the employment rates, but we won't know for sure until the official publishing occurs). Enjoy having better job prospects than me

Its understandable. Job prospects are a toss up between these two. You'll have a bigger market, I'll have no competition.

men lie, women lie, numbers don't.

pitt>temple

This actually made me laugh.

[AllBusiness]

Just withdrew, declining a 42K scholarship. Good luck to everyone else!

[servinDizzert]

Withdrew last week. Freed up some money as well

[cyberPUNK]

Will I receive some sort of confirmation email that they've received my deposit? Since the postmark deadline is the 15th and I've just sent it out today, I'd like to know that they've received it. Thanks!

[reverendt]

Will I receive some sort of confirmation email that they've received my deposit? Since the postmark deadline is the 15th and I've just sent it out today, I'd like to know that they've received it. Thanks!

I would call or email them.

[cyberPUNK]

I would call or email them.

Sounds good.

[Scurredsitless1]

Will I receive some sort of confirmation email that they've received my deposit? Since the postmark deadline is the 15th and I've just sent it out today, I'd like to know that they've received it. Thanks!

They sent a confirmation email a couple days after i mailed my deposit.

[cyberPUNK]

They sent a confirmation email a couple days after i mailed my deposit.

That's reassuring, although I'll probably end up calling on Friday anyway. I'd hate to think about it over the weekend. Still debating between Pitt and Santa Clara...I want to work in CA, but with the recent rankings it's hard to ignore the potential qualitative difference in programs.

[Scurredsitless1]

They sent a confirmation email a couple days after i mailed my deposit.

That's reassuring, although I'll probably end up calling on Friday anyway. I'd hate to think about it over the weekend. Still debating between Pitt and Santa Clara...I want to work in CA, but with the recent rankings it's hard to ignore the potential qualitative difference in programs.

Don't let a magazine make this decision for you. Pitt didn't climb that much and santa clara didn't fall that much. There are a lot of good reasons to choose pitt, but the change in rankings is not one of them.

[cyberPUNK]

Don't let a magazine make this decision for you. Pitt didn't climb that much and santa clara didn't fall that much. There are a lot of good reasons to choose pitt, but the change in rankings is not one of them.

I agree, but going $150,000 in debt for a school that could potentially fall outside the top 100 isn't exactly a comforting idea, haha. At least Cooley would've been free I'm merely putting down a deposit which will give me a few more weeks to ponder the decision.

[nyjfanjmk]

I'm hoping that maybe some of you can help me out with my decision here. So I really like Pitt a lot and loved my visit to Pittsburgh. I'd be more than happy to spend the next three years living and going to school there. But I'm concerned about the portability of the degree. On one hand, it's certainly possible that I'll fall in love with living in Pittsburgh and will want to stay and work there. But I'd like to leave my options open and, should I want to practice somewhere else, have that option. I've heard a lot about placement in DC, but I'm just not sure how often that really occurs.

So in short, the only thing stopping me from fully committing to Pitt at this point is the fear of committing to practice law in Western PA (not that there's anything at all wrong with this, just the fact that I'd be obliged to, instead of having the option to).

Any insight would be appreciated.

[cyberPUNK]

^ this is admittedly one of my concerns as well.

i'm not familiar with the placement at pitt, although i assume it's regional, but common wisdom usually dictates that if it's outside a certain rank (T1?), portability is limited. so, either you come to grips with working in the area, try to transfer out to a school in an area you'd want to practice law in (easier said than done), or simply go to a different school. welcome to my conundrum, haha.

[reverendt]

I'm hoping that maybe some of you can help me out with my decision here. So I really like Pitt a lot and loved my visit to Pittsburgh. I'd be more than happy to spend the next three years living and going to school there. But I'm concerned about the portability of the degree. On one hand, it's certainly possible that I'll fall in love with living in Pittsburgh and will want to stay and work there. But I'd like to leave my options open and, should I want to practice somewhere else, have that option. I've heard a lot about placement in DC, but I'm just not sure how often that really occurs.

So in short, the only thing stopping me from fully committing to Pitt at this point is the fear of committing to practice law in Western PA (not that there's anything at all wrong with this, just the fact that I'd be obliged to, instead of having the option to).

Any insight would be appreciated.

Alot of people seem to go to DC, but not so much for biglaw. They go for PI, gov't jobs (DOJ, agencies, etc.)
Pitt also seems to send quite a few to Maryland and throughout PA (the Philly market gets crowded and competitive).
Used to be some opportunities in NYC if you were top 10% but I think that was before the job market there imploded.
If you truly want to leave your options open you wanna go to a top 20-25 school (or higher). Pitt is regional to a large extent, although it was a fairly large region.

[Compaq1984]

^ this is admittedly one of my concerns as well.

i'm not familiar with the placement at pitt, although i assume it's regional, but common wisdom usually dictates that if it's outside a certain rank (T1?), portability is limited. so, either you come to grips with working in the area, try to transfer out to a school in an area you'd want to practice law in (easier said than done), or simply go to a different school. welcome to my conundrum, haha.

IMHO, I would say outside the Top 15/20, most schools are basically regional... if you want to practice in NYC, PITT probably will not place as well as say a RU-N, BLS, or anyone else in that region. Likewise, those schools would not do well in the PITT Region... I am attending PITT because I would like to practice in Pittsburgh so it's an easy choice for me. The best advice is to do some "soul-searching" and see if you can live with the reality of possibly practicing in Western PA/PITT (for atleast a few years)... Some students of course do goto NYC or DC (for example) but I would not feel comfortable going to PITT if I HAD TO end up in DC/NYC... GL w your decision...

[jack duluoz]

just to echo what people are saying

if you're considering pitt w less than a huge scholly or full ride, i'd say it's a safe bet to assume the other schools you're considering are just as regional. T25 or better gives some portability, but if you truly want national placement you need to be T14. Barring top admission stats, where u want to practice is every bit as important as the school.

[LittleMzIvory]

in w/ $$ yayyy!!!

[Compaq1984]

in w/ $$ yayyy!!!

congrats!

[keemos]

sent my deposit in yesterday. Will be attending barring an acceptance with $$ from OSU or a last minute $$ offer from Wake Forest

[LittleMzIvory]

thanks!!

[nyjfanjmk]

Thanks to those who weighed in on my point above. It's going to be a tough decision for me.

I spoke to someone from the career services office who told me that, after Pittsburgh, DC is the second most popular destination for Pitt grads, with Philly as a close third. Pitt's infrastructure in DC seems impressive in terms of the semester in DC program, alumni networking, etc., but no one seems to want to divulge exactly how many grads are working there. Not to mention the fact that Georgetown, GW, American, Catholic, Mason, W&L, UVA, UMD, etc. are all theoretically ahead of Pitt on the DC totem pole. So I'm a little wary here. If anyone could weigh in on the DC placement, that would be great.

[OGR3]

Thanks to those who weighed in on my point above. It's going to be a tough decision for me.

I spoke to someone from the career services office who told me that, after Pittsburgh, DC is the second most popular destination for Pitt grads, with Philly as a close third. Pitt's infrastructure in DC seems impressive in terms of the semester in DC program, alumni networking, etc., but no one seems to want to divulge exactly how many grads are working there. Not to mention the fact that Georgetown, GW, American, Catholic, Mason, W&L, UVA, UMD, etc. are all theoretically ahead of Pitt on the DC totem pole. So I'm a little wary here. If anyone could weigh in on the DC placement, that would be great.

At the open house they had a couple who were both Pitt grads working in DC. One was at the Department of Commerce, the other worked as counsel at the Canadian embassy. So if you use the alumni forum as the basis for your statistics, 20% of grads can get a good job in DC.

Seriously though, I think the key is the office they opened recently. It will give students a chance to network hardcore when they do the semester in DC program, giving them a leg up on other law grads from regional schools.

[FunkyJD]

Withdrawn with a pile of money. Good luck to all.