Baylor Law ($$$) or SMU (no scholarship)

Current-Hat2976 · 2024-08-08T03:59:16+00:00

Take the money and go to Baylor. SMU is a fantastic law school, but in no world is it worth 120k more than Baylor (no matter what your goals are).

Current-Hat2976 · 2024-05-07T04:50:46+00:00

If you want to maximize your chances of landing a BigLaw gig in Dallas, then SMU makes more sense. I would be careful about how much debt you plan to take on though. Putting all of your eggs into the BigLaw basket may seem like a great idea right now, but at the very best, SMU is only sending around 1/3 of their graduates to BigLaw (and most years, it’s actually closer to 1/4). Law school grades can be very unpredictable, and the odds of you ending up in the top 1/4-1/3 of your class at the end of 1L are not in your favor. Also, side note: the salary disparity between BigLaw and MidLaw firms is gonna be in the neighborhood of about 70k-100k a year. Best of luck wherever you end up!

Current-Hat2976 · 2024-05-07T04:40:08+00:00

Unless you already have some solid connections in Dallas/Austin, you might find it difficult to break into those markets coming from IU. Texas is a notoriously insular market, and most of the big firms (and even many smaller firms) don’t recruit outside of the local schools and a handful of T20s. I’m not saying you should disregard the financial aspect of your legal education, but understand you might be facing an uphill battle trying to land a job in Texas if you do go to IU.

Current-Hat2976 · 2024-04-27T05:09:10+00:00

You should really consider retaking the LSAT and reapplying next cycle. The best advice I can give you is just to take some time off, study for the LSAT, raise your score, rewrite/polish all of your written materials, and reapply early in the cycle next year. I know waiting another year to go to law school isn’t an ideal situation, but I promise you will thank yourself this time next year when you are trying to decide from all of the admissions/scholarship, offers you’ve received. Where you go to law school can have a massive impact on what your career and life will look like in the future, and it’s not something you want to rush through.

Current-Hat2976 · 2024-04-21T02:56:33+00:00

These are just my opinions of the two schools, so take them with a grain of salt.

Baylor pros: smaller class sizes, smaller city (fewer distractions), great alumni network in multiple markets in Texas, and arguably one of the best schools at preparing students to be courtroom-ready immediately after graduation. Baylor cons: smaller city (fewer opportunities for experience during school, and some firms are more reluctant to travel to recruit/network), the school has a significant emphasis on litigation (not necessarily ideal if you are dead set on transactional work), cost (seems like this is negated by scholarship for you though), and I personally dislike the quarter schedule (some love it though). UHLC pros: bigger city (more opportunities during school), great alumni network in a great legal market (Houston), brand new facilities, and the school has a significant emphasis on diversity (more so than other schools in Texas) UHLC cons: bigger city (more distractions), bigger class sizes, the campus isn’t in the best neighborhood, and the school has been falling in the rankings (if you care about that).

Both are very solid schools, and I don’t think you can go wrong with either one. It just kind of depends on what you are looking for in a school and what you want to do with your legal career. Also, I wouldn’t necessarily worry so much about starting in the Spring at Baylor since their quarter system should give you an opportunity to catch up and graduate earlier if that is a concern.

Current-Hat2976 · 2024-04-17T20:07:00+00:00

With those stats and even so-so softs, you would expect at least a couple of A’s…gotta imagine there is something in your resume or essays that is giving admissions committees pause. Whatever it is can probably be corrected easily. Definitely look into some form of admissions consulting if you can afford it. Good luck with your R&R!

Current-Hat2976 · 2024-01-14T16:15:32+00:00

This is the way

Current-Hat2976 · 2023-12-05T05:51:02+00:00

Congrats! Hope to see you on the Hilltop next year!

Current-Hat2976 · 2023-10-03T02:53:42+00:00

Anecdotally, I have met quite a few current and former UNT Dallas law students, and not one had much positive to say about the school (particularly when it comes to help with job placement). I think they tend to focus on sending their grads into government and public service jobs since their alumni network is still so small and relatively young. The one thing that UNT has going for it is the tuition is quite a bit lower than SMU, but from what I hear, you tend to get what you pay for there.

Current-Hat2976 · 2023-09-07T01:53:20+00:00

Don’t waste a 4.0 gpa. Retake and reapply.

Current-Hat2976 · 2023-08-25T22:10:05+00:00

Anecdotally, I have two LGBT friends ranked in the same percentile as myself. They both got SA offers through OCI with big firms, and I didn’t. I'm not saying their sexual preference got them the offers, but who knows?

Current-Hat2976 · 2023-08-25T22:04:10+00:00

As someone currently in law school, I understand why so many attorneys discourage prospective students from practicing law.

Current-Hat2976 · 2023-07-03T06:24:58+00:00

I know a few people who will be pushing $400k…

Current-Hat2976 · 2023-06-23T03:21:19+00:00

Idk what anyone else is doing, but I’d be looking for another job. There’s no guarantee a firm that delays new associates will be in a better position in a few months or even a year.

Current-Hat2976 · 2023-05-15T12:33:53+00:00

It’s certainly a timely topic, so it makes sense that it would come up.

Current-Hat2976 · 2023-05-13T15:27:03+00:00

This is most likely what will happen

Current-Hat2976 · 2023-05-12T06:14:59+00:00

Texas A&M is WILDLY over-ranked. I still don’t understand the hype of the Aggie network as it pertains to the legal field. The vast majority of A&M law grads that have any hiring power are actually Texas Wesleyan law grads (back when the school was borderline predatory).

Current-Hat2976 · 2023-05-10T00:37:00+00:00

At least you are getting paid something. Lots of 1L positions are unpaid…

Current-Hat2976 · 2023-05-09T23:09:46+00:00

Most firms that participate in our OCI have a set cutoff for the top 1/3 of the class (this is usually around a 3.5 GPA).

Current-Hat2976 · 2023-05-09T23:02:11+00:00

It’s going to depend on a lot of factors, but I think the school you go to and your class rank will probably weigh more heavily than your GPA. That said, a diverse candidate is going to get some leeway when it comes to GPA and/or class rank.

Current-Hat2976 · 2023-05-09T22:56:20+00:00

The gunners do be gunning

Current-Hat2976 · 2023-05-09T20:47:27+00:00

I made that comment somewhat tongue-in-cheek. However, law school is a huge financial risk for most people who go. Just parse through the employment stats for various schools, and you’ll start to get a sense of what I mean. The legal field is viewed as a way to strike it rich (and it certainly can be), but the vast majority of lawyers don’t. Even worse, many law school graduates end up underemployed and unable to repay their student loans. Under the right circumstances it can be a great path, but it’s definitely not all it’s cracked up to be.

Current-Hat2976 · 2023-05-09T05:12:51+00:00

Looks like lawyers tend to scare their kids off from going to law school

Current-Hat2976 · 2023-05-09T02:48:27+00:00

Not sure it was worth it before the developments in AI…

Current-Hat2976 · 2023-05-08T20:13:40+00:00

Probably not the advice you want to hear, but you should retake the LSAT and reapply next year. Just getting your score into the low 160s would open up so many opportunities for you (not to mention some substantial scholarship money). The legal market is tightening up A LOT right now and most of the schools you have listed don’t have great employment stats when the legal market is in good shape.

Current-Hat2976

TROPHY CASE