Would You Rather...

Law School Admissions Choosing a Law School
1

Which School / Legal Market Combo?

  • Kent for Chicago
  • Rutgers for NYC
  • Miami for South Florida
0 voters

Try to break into the NYC, Chicago, or South Florida legal market? Given the following region appropriate schools:

Rutgers
Chicago Kent
Miami

Cost is not an issue, but my NY and Chicago area choices are the most cost effective in the region. That’s why I’ve selected them. However, I’m particularly worried about Rutgers, because I want to work in private practice, and Rutgers seems so geared toward the public sector; I also want to try to avoid working in NJ. Still, its the closest to home, and better than a school like Brooklyn at sticker price.

Cast your vote and share your opinion. Keep in mind I am not focused on debt, but rather which school provides the best chance for entrance into a semi-respectable career in private practice. Right now I’m leaning toward Miami (hence the avatar), because its the third best school in Florida, generally well respected in South Florida, and surely faces a little less competition than Rutgers and Kent. The small size of the Florida market worries me. However, the crowded nature of the other two markets is equally concerning.

As for regional preference? I don’t have one, except to say that Chicago is my least favorite city. I’ll go wherever the odds of success are best.

Rutgers boasts the best employment numbers and highest median private practice salary, but only 40% of its graduates enter private practice. Many find work as judicial clerks or get involved in public interest work. Chicago Kent and Miami both place 60+% into private practice.


I realize these are not great schools, but they’re the best I’ve got at the moment.


Waitlisted at Iowa, W&M, Cardozo, American, and Loyola-LA. Don’t expect to get off any of them.

Got into Temple today. Feel pretty good about the price and prospects. Plus a family home in PA means I could possibly establish residency. Going to head there unless I get a very good offer from USD, which also rendered a decision today.

Thanks for all the help folks!

2

Considering you have Miami for a whole state (in which it is, unlike rutgers, situated), how is this even a contest? In regards to the other two, I think Kent for Chicago > Rutgers for NYC, by a large margin.

3

Thanks for the input. I’m inclined to agree. I will say that although Miami certainly gets some respect in the northern part of the state, that is clearly FSU and UF territory. So before casting your vote, keep in mind that my best opportunities would likely come from South Florida.

Edited the poll to be more region specific. Now South Florida.

4

Miami ftw

5

Thanks for the input fathergoose. Withdrew from SMU today. I just didn’t want to do part-time. Really sad about it.

6

7

Lebron had the same options if I recall correctly. He probably should have gone to Chicago, the Bulls would be unstoppable now. Should I take this as a sign?

8

I’m kind of disapointed, becasue when I clicked on this post I was looking for “would you rather” options like:

Would you rather cut off your arm or go to Chicago Kent?

Would you rather gouge out your eyeballs or go to Rutgers?

Or woudl you rather amputate your toes or go to Miami?

So now that I’ve provided a real “would you rather” list, I can answer your question. I’d rather lose my bodyparts to be honest - short term pain would be much more preferable than the long term pain that comes from being put in the position of having massive debt and no way to pay it off. These schools are not good choices imo.

9

Gotta do what you gotta do.

Miami has much better beaches than Dallas does

10

Maybe! And, people would have still liked him… Chicago FTW?

11

I’ve saved quite a bit from previous work. These schools vary in price, but I will still be debt free upon graduation. I’m simply looking for the best choice when paired with a corresponding market.

12

Now I think this would be a toss up between Kent and Miami.

13

If Cost is truly not in the equation and you dont have any regional preference I feel like Kent may have slightly (and I do mean slightly) higher placement in Chicago than Miami does in Southern FL. Rutgers wouldnt be in the equation.

If it was up to me without regard to money I would easily go to Miami though, just based on quality of life.

14

If you can somehow wait until June, I would base your decision on the playoffs. You would probably have to throw Northeastern into the mix though.

15

Thanks for the feedback and hilarious Lebron pic. Any additional thoughts are welcome. Particularly from those with insight into recent trends in the Chicago and S. Florida legal markets. I think I have a pretty good handle on the situation here in NY.

16

Rutgers boasts the best employment numbers and highest median private practice salary

As their career services will tell you, this is mainly a function of New Jersey’s high income and cost of living as compared to the other 49 states. In other words, they’re not actually banking this money. RU-N is a good school if you want government, public interest, or New Jersey firms. RU-N grads are in Newark, Morristown and Roseland, not NYC.

17

I’m aware that elevated cost of living in the tri-state area, among other factors, contributes to Rutgers high median salary in private practice. However, given that most opportunities would likely come from the NJ area, I’m actually leaning more toward Brooklyn for NYC. The caveat is an extra 20,000+ in annual tuition for a school in an ultra competitive market. So with that said, I’m favoring Miami or Kent at the moment. Since I don’t really think I would enjoy Chicago, I’m thinking Miami would be the way to go. The poll seems to share my opinion.

I have no qualms about this, as I think I’ll be very happy living and working in South Florida.

18

at kent you’ll have to compete against JM, DePaul, LUC, ND, U of I, NU, U of C, U Mich, WUSTL kinda, random Big 10’s like iowa

at miami your only competition will be UF, FSU, and some TTT’s so less competition in a bigger state

i’ll grant that Chi is a bigger legal market but it still is hurting pretty bad and you’ll have stiffer competition in general, at miami you’ll be closer to the top of the pecking order, so i’m gonna say Miami

19

Brooklyn and Kent both cost about $40,000 per year and put the top 10% of their classes into Biglaw. After that, they’re competing with a lot of grads from better schools for scarce jobs. With a scholarship, it’s risky. At sticker, which it sounds like you were offered, it’s a suicide mission. I don’t know anything about Miami’s placement, but it can’t be worse.

20

I received a scholarship to Kent, though its not significant enough to make me think its an inherently better option than Miami. Brooklyn would be at sticker, and their tuition is actually around 45,000 per year. That seems awfully steep to me. Still, none of these options are a “suicide” mission, as none would lead toward financial ruin. The question I’m debating is which school offers the best chance at a career in private practice. My background is in real estate and construction, so I’m interested in practicing in law related to those fields. Also interested in Tax law, and I’ve heard Miami has a good program. Of course I would likely need to pursue an Ll.M. for that, and would probably shoot for NYU, GT, or UF. Provided I did well in tax related classes.