Top Law Schools

Currently at a T4 school in Texas on a full ride, graded onto law review, #15 in my class. Recently accepted into SMU with access to their OCI's, but would be going completely on student loans. Would have to write onto law review, but have the chance to.

I want to do big law starting out. But, I do not want to be stuck in BigLaw for ten years because I need to be able to afford to pay off my loans. Mind you, there are students that graduate from my school and get into BigLaw, but it's hard. Possible, but difficult. Is it worth the chances of not landing in the top 10% at SMU and being $100k in debt?

HELP! So confused.

The answer is going to depend on a lot of things. But first, you probably aren't getting big law either way. So to get the best answer it really matters which school you currently attend and which market you are aiming for. It also probably matters if you are actually from Texas and where in Texas.

With the information provided, I would stay put. You are in a sort of limbo where #15 at a T4 isn't that impressive and SMU isn't that impressive either (to employers). If it was UT then I would say go but your COL at SMU is going to be much more than $100k without any savings

TL;DR = Probably not worth it

oliv8518 wrote:The answer is going to depend on a lot of things. But first, you probably aren't getting big law either way. So to get the best answer it really matters which school you currently attend and which market you are aiming for. It also probably matters if you are actually from Texas and where in Texas.

With the information provided, I would stay put. You are in a sort of limbo where #15 at a T4 isn't that impressive and SMU isn't that impressive either (to employers). If it was UT then I would say go but your COL at SMU is going to be much more than $100k without any savings

TL;DR = Probably not worth it

+1. In your case, I don't think it's worth shelling out six figures for marginally better career opportunities.

Here, the t4 is better.

oliv8518 wrote:The answer is going to depend on a lot of things. But first, you probably aren't getting big law either way. So to get the best answer it really matters which school you currently attend and which market you are aiming for. It also probably matters if you are actually from Texas and where in Texas.

With the information provided, I would stay put. You are in a sort of limbo where #15 at a T4 isn't that impressive and SMU isn't that impressive either (to employers). If it was UT then I would say go but your COL at SMU is going to be much more than $100k without any savings

TL;DR = Probably not worth it

Ok a little more information. Parents will pay for cost of living and help out with the loans, but most will be on me. Wanting to stay in Dallas to practice. Had pretty good internships my 1L year summer. Legal intern for the In-house counsel for a very large corporation and another at a smaller litigation firm where I drafted motions, etc. First semester gpa is what brought me down a bit, but second semester I got all A's.

Loving the honesty in this thread. I want to know realistically, what are my chances of getting into big law from SMU.

barkschool wrote:Here, the t4 is better.

Why? Expand! I have to make my decision in two days!

Don't rely on these Herberts for help. You know what's the best decision, trust yourself and make the call!

Unless you're at UNT/Thurgood Marshall, I'd stay at the T4, SMU is not worth the debt

eagle2a wrote:Unless you're at UNT/Thurgood Marshall, I'd stay at the T4, SMU is not worth the debt

At A&M!

leingdownthelaw wrote:

barkschool wrote:Here, the t4 is better.

Why? Expand! I have to make my decision in two days!

Cause ur job chances aren't going to magically shoot into being worth the money. Keep ur scholarship.

SMU is presTTTigious

leingdownthelaw wrote:

oliv8518 wrote:The answer is going to depend on a lot of things. But first, you probably aren't getting big law either way. So to get the best answer it really matters which school you currently attend and which market you are aiming for. It also probably matters if you are actually from Texas and where in Texas.

With the information provided, I would stay put. You are in a sort of limbo where #15 at a T4 isn't that impressive and SMU isn't that impressive either (to employers). If it was UT then I would say go but your COL at SMU is going to be much more than $100k without any savings

TL;DR = Probably not worth it

Ok a little more information. Parents will pay for cost of living and help out with the loans, but most will be on me. Wanting to stay in Dallas to practice. Had pretty good internships my 1L year summer. Legal intern for the In-house counsel for a very large corporation and another at a smaller litigation firm where I drafted motions, etc. First semester gpa is what brought me down a bit, but second semester I got all A's.

Loving the honesty in this thread. I want to know realistically, what are my chances of getting into big law from SMU.

Realistically, SMU places 20.9% of their class in large firms. Whereas at A&M, they place 1.8%. Your odds aren't good either way. Honestly, if you're going to graduate debt-free from A&M, that's better than taking out significant loans for SMU.

hipcatdaddio wrote:

leingdownthelaw wrote:

oliv8518 wrote:The answer is going to depend on a lot of things. But first, you probably aren't getting big law either way. So to get the best answer it really matters which school you currently attend and which market you are aiming for. It also probably matters if you are actually from Texas and where in Texas.

With the information provided, I would stay put. You are in a sort of limbo where #15 at a T4 isn't that impressive and SMU isn't that impressive either (to employers). If it was UT then I would say go but your COL at SMU is going to be much more than $100k without any savings

TL;DR = Probably not worth it

Ok a little more information. Parents will pay for cost of living and help out with the loans, but most will be on me. Wanting to stay in Dallas to practice. Had pretty good internships my 1L year summer. Legal intern for the In-house counsel for a very large corporation and another at a smaller litigation firm where I drafted motions, etc. First semester gpa is what brought me down a bit, but second semester I got all A's.

Loving the honesty in this thread. I want to know realistically, what are my chances of getting into big law from SMU.

Realistically, SMU places 20.9% of their class in large firms. Whereas at A&M, they place 1.8%. Your odds aren't good either way. Honestly, if you're going to graduate debt-free from A&M, that's better than taking out significant loans for SMU.

You will be better off at your current school- having access to SMU's OCI may net you more screening interviews than your current school does, but that cannot possibly be worth the additional debt.

Don't transfer but you should be mass-mailing, starting a week ago.

Don't transfer. Try your best for biglaw, but understand that it's probably not going to happen. (Same if you went to SMU, but with an insane amount of debt). But you knew it would be the case that you wouldn't get biglaw when you decided to attend A&M, so I presume you have other goals for a legal career, and it sounds like you're in a good position to seize those, either way. And you're graduating with little or no debt, so you're going to be fine (so long as you do not transfer).

Good luck!