- PowerScore Staff
- Posts: 9010
- Joined: Feb 02, 2011
- Fri Jul 17, 2020 10:14 am
#77223
Below is a law school choice discussion from accepted student James and PowerScore CEO Dave Killoran.
James: "Hi! I’m currently in between two law schools for the start of the fall semester and I have to make my decision within a week. I studied chemical engineering in undergrad, and plan to pursue a career in patent law. The two schools I’m deciding between are the University of Alabama and UNC Chapel Hill. I was offered a full-tuition scholarship to Alabama and no $ is being offered from UNC right now.
While my initial impression is to obviously take the scholarship to UA and be debt-free, I live in Birmingham and would like to practice law in the D.C. area or Texas after law school so I feel as if studying in Alabama will place me back in Birmingham or Atlanta. UNC’s ranking this year is slightly higher than UA; however, I’m not sure if the reputations follow suit. Is the reputation at UNC historically higher than UA, or is UA a better option for national job placement over UNC?
Thank you so much for your time and consideration during this unpredictable time.
Hi James,
Dave Killoran: "As a Duke grad, this is an easy one for me: avoid UNC
Ok, I’m just kidding. I’m actually a big fan of UNC in general and have positive feelings towards their law school. That said, what you have here is:
Alabama, ranked #31, for basically free
UNC, ranked #27, for around $200K over three years
Right away I’m going to tell you that it’s going to be quite hard to justify paying $200K for Carolina, but let’s look at the jobs and see what you are “buying” with going there at that cost.
LST’s comparison:
https://www.lstreports.com/compare/unc/alabama/
Alabama power jobs: 31.6% (this is clerkships + law firm placement at firms 100 and larger)
UNC power jobs: 35%
Hmm, $200K for a 3.4% advantage? Not loving that.
So, let’s look at your main concern: placing in DC or Texas.
Alabama: Texas placement is 8.3%, no DC data (which typically means it is very low). Btw, check this stay with the school to make sure it’s Texas and not Tennessee.
UNC: DC placement is 8.9%, no Texas data (which typically means it is very low)
So yes, UNC is placing into DC better than Alabama. But, Alabama seems to do just fine over in Texas, which is an offset. Is that slim DC advantage enough to go for UNC? It unquestionably would not be for me personally. Debt-avoidance is critically important because it gives you more options after school ends, and to maybe take that lower-paying position in DC if you wanted to
So, I personally feel this is clearly a win for Alabama, but you are the one making the call. You should look carefully at what $200K or so of debt looks like on a monthly basis since you’ll be on the hook for that with UNC.
Please let me know if this helps, and what you decide!"
James: "Dave,
Thanks a bunch for all your advice, it really helps! I actually just got offered a 25k/yr scholarship to UNC today, so that makes the decision a little tougher. While 25k/yr doesn’t cover out-of-state tuition, UNC has told me that I can claim residency status as a 2L and 3L as long as I moved to Chapel Hill before orientation and stayed for 365 days. Therefore, the scholarship would cover all of tuition for my 2L and 3L years. My family is prepared to cover all the general living expenses wherever I go, so tuition is the primary concern in this monetary dilemma. I’d like to get out of the MS/AL area as I’ve lived in Birmingham most of my life, so the Raleigh area is very attractive to me. Does the scholarship change your perspective on the situation?
P.S. Still on the waitlist for Duke so maybe you can make a call for me
kidding of course"
Dave Killoran: "Hey James,
Thanks for the reply! So, now we’re down to UNC for about $40K total vs Alabama on full ride? At this point, I think you make the call that you feel best about, which I’d say is UNC based on everything you’ve said. You’d have a greater portability in DC with that degree, and the cost is far more manageable than before. I’d say you’re good to get out of Alabama
Side note: Raleigh is pretty far away from Carolina (it’s about 30 miles away iirc), but Chapel Hill is awesome and a great small town. The Triangle in general is cool so I’m sure you’ll enjoy all parts of it.
Have fun and work hard!"
James: "Hi! I’m currently in between two law schools for the start of the fall semester and I have to make my decision within a week. I studied chemical engineering in undergrad, and plan to pursue a career in patent law. The two schools I’m deciding between are the University of Alabama and UNC Chapel Hill. I was offered a full-tuition scholarship to Alabama and no $ is being offered from UNC right now.
While my initial impression is to obviously take the scholarship to UA and be debt-free, I live in Birmingham and would like to practice law in the D.C. area or Texas after law school so I feel as if studying in Alabama will place me back in Birmingham or Atlanta. UNC’s ranking this year is slightly higher than UA; however, I’m not sure if the reputations follow suit. Is the reputation at UNC historically higher than UA, or is UA a better option for national job placement over UNC?
Thank you so much for your time and consideration during this unpredictable time.
Hi James,
Dave Killoran: "As a Duke grad, this is an easy one for me: avoid UNC
Ok, I’m just kidding. I’m actually a big fan of UNC in general and have positive feelings towards their law school. That said, what you have here is:
Alabama, ranked #31, for basically free
UNC, ranked #27, for around $200K over three years
Right away I’m going to tell you that it’s going to be quite hard to justify paying $200K for Carolina, but let’s look at the jobs and see what you are “buying” with going there at that cost.
LST’s comparison:
https://www.lstreports.com/compare/unc/alabama/
Alabama power jobs: 31.6% (this is clerkships + law firm placement at firms 100 and larger)
UNC power jobs: 35%
Hmm, $200K for a 3.4% advantage? Not loving that.
So, let’s look at your main concern: placing in DC or Texas.
Alabama: Texas placement is 8.3%, no DC data (which typically means it is very low). Btw, check this stay with the school to make sure it’s Texas and not Tennessee.
UNC: DC placement is 8.9%, no Texas data (which typically means it is very low)
So yes, UNC is placing into DC better than Alabama. But, Alabama seems to do just fine over in Texas, which is an offset. Is that slim DC advantage enough to go for UNC? It unquestionably would not be for me personally. Debt-avoidance is critically important because it gives you more options after school ends, and to maybe take that lower-paying position in DC if you wanted to
So, I personally feel this is clearly a win for Alabama, but you are the one making the call. You should look carefully at what $200K or so of debt looks like on a monthly basis since you’ll be on the hook for that with UNC.
Please let me know if this helps, and what you decide!"
James: "Dave,
Thanks a bunch for all your advice, it really helps! I actually just got offered a 25k/yr scholarship to UNC today, so that makes the decision a little tougher. While 25k/yr doesn’t cover out-of-state tuition, UNC has told me that I can claim residency status as a 2L and 3L as long as I moved to Chapel Hill before orientation and stayed for 365 days. Therefore, the scholarship would cover all of tuition for my 2L and 3L years. My family is prepared to cover all the general living expenses wherever I go, so tuition is the primary concern in this monetary dilemma. I’d like to get out of the MS/AL area as I’ve lived in Birmingham most of my life, so the Raleigh area is very attractive to me. Does the scholarship change your perspective on the situation?
P.S. Still on the waitlist for Duke so maybe you can make a call for me
kidding of course"Dave Killoran: "Hey James,
Thanks for the reply! So, now we’re down to UNC for about $40K total vs Alabama on full ride? At this point, I think you make the call that you feel best about, which I’d say is UNC based on everything you’ve said. You’d have a greater portability in DC with that degree, and the cost is far more manageable than before. I’d say you’re good to get out of Alabama
Side note: Raleigh is pretty far away from Carolina (it’s about 30 miles away iirc), but Chapel Hill is awesome and a great small town. The Triangle in general is cool so I’m sure you’ll enjoy all parts of it.
Have fun and work hard!"