Decision Between Texas Schools Forum

[Hush]

Hey guys, I've finally made an account for this website and I need some additional opinions on my decision to choose which law school I should go to. I have been accepted to the University of Houston Law Center, Texas A&M Law, and Texas Tech Law. I am originally from Katy which is closest to Houston and I would like to practice in or around Houston. Each of the schools has its pros and cons for me. They have also each given me a scholarship, UH gave me the least and A&M gave me the most. I am also an A&M undergrad alumni.

While UH has been my #1 option it seems to be the least financially stable option. What it lacks in scholarship money and costs of living it makes up for with it's high ranking and proximity to the legal market I actually want to work in. I have considered possibly commuting from Katy (living with my parents) but I don’t know if I could maintain that commitment for an entire semester or longer.

Texas Tech has the financial advantage of the lowest tuition out of the three and a scholarship on top of that but the distance from Houston is one negative and it’s relatively low ranking is another negative. Would I be able to successfully compete in the Houston legal market after getting an education out in Lubbock?

Texas A&M is giving me the most scholarship money so they place their costs around the same area as Tech. They are ranked higher than Tech but I’ve been reading that their reputation is not near UH or even Tech despite its quick rise in rankings.

I will be paying for law school through these scholarships and mostly loans. I will have a good amount of money saved up but I feel like most of it will be used to help pay rent. Before A&M decided to destroy my plans I was deciding between UH and Texas Tech. I was leaning towards Tech but now I really want to look at each of my options and make a final decision. Any help is welcome and I appreciate your time!

[QContinuum]

I don't think either Texas Tech or A&M place all that well. Coupled with the fact that your goal is to practice in Houston, and I think out of your three choices UH is a no-brainer.

What's your GPA/LSAT? And what are your goals out of law school?

[cavalier1138]

What's your GPA/LSAT? And what are your goals out of law school?

Yeah, these are pretty important things to know about.

Even before knowing your specific goals, I'd say that A&M is a hard no (probably Tech, too).

[nealric]

I don't see why you would consider any school other than UH in that situation.

To me, A&M isn't really A&M. It's the old Texas Wesleyan with a new name. Perhaps it will one day get up to the stature of the parent university, but I think that's a project decades in the making. You will run into a lot of practicing lawyers in Houston who do not realize A&M has a law school. I would think it plays much better in DFW than Houston.

[Hush]

So you guys think the additional debt and possible living costs would be worth it going to UH? What makes the other two schools so "bad"?

My goals out of law school would be to work in the Houston legal market or the surrounding area in small or mid law. Don't really care for big law right out of law school. Maybe even government work. I'm interested in criminal, civil rights, or environmental law but I know these interests besides criminal will change. (I work at a law firm that does criminal and family law so I'm getting a pretty realistic view on those two types of law)

I have a 3.8 GPA and LSAT of 153 (not impressive I know, you guys will probably tell me to retake lol)

[Hush]

I don't see why you would consider any school other than UH in that situation.

To me, A&M isn't really A&M. It's the old Texas Wesleyan with a new name. Perhaps it will one day get up to the stature of the parent university, but I think that's a project decades in the making. You will run into a lot of practicing lawyers in Houston who do not realize A&M has a law school. I would think it plays much better in DFW than Houston.

This is a primary concern for me and even my boss (who is an attorney) gave me the same talk. Sounds like A&M is the school that despite giving me the most money has the most baggage associated with it.

[cavalier1138]

So you guys think the additional debt and possible living costs would be worth it going to UH?

No one said that.

I have a 3.8 GPA and LSAT of 153 (not impressive I know, you guys will probably tell me to retake lol)

Yup.

[Npret]

Why would you waste a 3.8 GPA by not studying and retaking the LSAT if you are concerned about money?

[trmckenz]

UH is the best of your current options. But you should absolutely retake and go to UT. It'll open significantly more doors for you. Plus you're in-state... tuition is affordable.

[hookem7]

I know you don't want to hear it, least of all from a diehard Longhorn I'm sure, but you are doing yourself a huge disservice by not retaking. If you studied your way to a 3.8 at A&M, you can study your way to at least a 160-165 if not more. A score in that range would drastically improve your situation and is definitely attainable. I would really think hard about how you prepped and whether or not 153 is truly indicative of your capabilities. As a native Houstonian, UH is a good school for your goals and is a solid brand within the city. But, why not maximize the return by making it as cheap as possible? I'd be aiming for at least UH with a scholarship.

As to why the other schools are a bad choice, it's mostly due to the fact that both Tech and A&M will be seen as significantly inferior to UH in Houston. In fact, I'd argue South Texas is a better choice for working in Houston than either Tech or A&M.

[Hush]

If I'm being honest i couldn't give y'all a more honest answer than I just don't want to hold off on law school any longer than absolutely necessary so retaking the LSAT has never really been the highest thing to do on my priority list.

So it sounds like UH is the unanimous decision. I'm still considering Tech just because it is the cheapest option but it's hard to ignore the fact that UH is actually in the city I want to practice in. I'm gonna tour these 3 schools in the next few weeks so I'll have a concrete idea of what each school looks like. Any tips on how I should be thinking on these tours/what I should be looking for? I think seeing the schools in person will help solidify where I'm going. (I think I've written off A&M but I'll still take a tour there)

[Npret]

If I'm being honest i couldn't give y'all a more honest answer than I just don't want to hold off on law school any longer than absolutely necessary so retaking the LSAT has never really been the highest thing to do on my priority list.

So it sounds like UH is the unanimous decision. I'm still considering Tech just because it is the cheapest option but it's hard to ignore the fact that UH is actually in the city I want to practice in. I'm gonna tour these 3 schools in the next few weeks so I'll have a concrete idea of what each school looks like. Any tips on how I should be thinking on these tours/what I should be looking for? I think seeing the schools in person will help solidify where I'm going. (I think I've written off A&M but I'll still take a tour there)

No one thinks you should spend more to go to your local law school because you won’t retake. It’s not a “unanimous decision.” The unanimous decision is to retake and go to a better school for a reasonable price or go to UH for a much lowered cost. Read what people said again.

How much are you paying for UH?

[cavalier1138]

If I'm being honest i couldn't give y'all a more honest answer than I just don't want to hold off on law school any longer than absolutely necessary so retaking the LSAT has never really been the highest thing to do on my priority list.

You don't consider a $150k discount to be "absolutely necessary?"

Law school isn't going anywhere. Having more work experience is only a positive. Don't rush your decision just because you're scared of a test (hint: you're going to have a lot worse in school).

I'm gonna tour these 3 schools in the next few weeks so I'll have a concrete idea of what each school looks like. Any tips on how I should be thinking on these tours/what I should be looking for? I think seeing the schools in person will help solidify where I'm going. (I think I've written off A&M but I'll still take a tour there)

Literally nothing about this will be helpful. Law school is not undergrad, and "feel" means fuck-all to employers. You're going to law school to get a job. Your primary concerns should be what kind of jobs these schools set you up for, where they will let you work, and how much you'll be paying. Only if all those factors are equal (and they aren't for you) should you start thinking about the "feel" of a school.

Tech and A&M will not set you up for a job in Houston. Houston will, but you shouldn't go without a significant (read: full) scholarship. Retake the LSAT, and you can set yourself up for UH with that scholarship.

[sev]

Tech and A&M will not set you up for a job in Houston. Houston will, but you shouldn't go without a significant (read: full) scholarship. Retake the LSAT, and you can set yourself up for UH with that scholarship.

FYI that Houston in-state tuition is very cheap ($~30k). I don't think OP needs a full-ride to justify going there, especially if they want to stay in the city where they have pretty good outcomes.

[Right2BearArms]

So you guys think the additional debt and possible living costs would be worth it going to UH? What makes the other two schools so "bad"?

My goals out of law school would be to work in the Houston legal market or the surrounding area in small or mid law. Don't really care for big law right out of law school. Maybe even government work. I'm interested in criminal, civil rights, or environmental law but I know these interests besides criminal will change. (I work at a law firm that does criminal and family law so I'm getting a pretty realistic view on those two types of law)

I have a 3.8 GPA and LSAT of 153 (not impressive I know, you guys will probably tell me to retake lol)

If you want to work in Houston, go to Houston.

There are a negligible number of lawyers from either Tech or Wesleyan (A&M) in Houston at any level that I am aware of, and you will have a 0% chance of anything higher than a small firm hiring you realistically in Houston if you go the Tech/A&M route. Also, I cannot imagine that Ft. Worth is that much cheaper than Houston when also factoring in travel costs to and from home (have you thought about living with your parents, assuming they are still in Katy?)

Also yeah, agree with the re-take advice. In-state tuition with no scholarship at UT is still one of the cheaper options for a good school (maybe the cheapest). A 10 pt jump probably gets you into UT, or gets you a bigger scholarship from UH.