San Antonio, St. Mary's and general info

[FreddyPharkas]

The top 5% have a shot at biglaw.  Of the remaining 95%, the upper half typically take jobs with the DA or JAG, or with a small firm; and the bottom half start up their own firms.

Really? How many law students are capable of starting their own practice right after graduation?  Doesn't it require start up costs, experience, etc.? 

It's not that easy, you need some experience realistically. No matter what you learn in school, you need to be familiar with the courts in your area and such. Of course you can technically not have any experience and learn through trial and error (pun intended), but you would serve your clients better to at least work with another small firm for a short period of time.

Of course it requires start up costs, just like any business.

Keep in mind though, people don't usually start big firms doing nice work. If you start your own practice, especially from a tier 3/4 school, you will likely work DUIs/misdemeanors/minor assault/shoplifting. That kind of stuff is easy to get down after you do the same type of cases over and over. It can also make you some money, but it's boring work. Especially knowing you're basically facilitating people getting off DUIs and committing crimes so you can get paid. SOMEONE needs to do that kind of work, but I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

[EarlyAction]

I hear it is decent since St. Mary's is the only law school in the South Texas area.  Good luck!

Oh, and an hour and 20 minutes north is the University of Texas, which is unquestionably the best law school within 900 miles, and you have to go at least 1,300 miles to find a legitimately better law school.

Well Chicago is about 1165 miles from Austin and Vanderbilt is less than 900 miles.  UT may be the best law school in the region, but its ranking is down (to 18); the 2007 pass rate on the Texas Bar was not so hot (ranking 7th out of the 9 Texas Law schools on the July 2007 exam and posting a 79% pass rate for the Feb. 2007 exam); a lot of its faculty members have left/may be leaving; the school wants to raise tuition by almost 50%; schools like Vandy, UCLA and GW now have higher medians; the law school is simply too large, given its location, to become elite; and it is located in a relatively small market.  So, I'm not so sure it's so great.

Yeah, Vandy is about 900 miles, which is the one I was referring to. I thought UC was further though, I was thinking about Duke originally. Regardless, the point still stands.

However, what's your point with the rest? It's not like another LS is going to spring up and beat TX in the rankings. The only schools that could dream of coming close in the region are UH, Baylor, and SMU. We know that won't happen, even if Baylor keeps its absurdly high bar passage rate.

Texas is a large market, unless you're referring to Austin specifically. However, that's not the scope of UT. People go to UT if they are smart enough to get in and want to practice in any major TX market (Austin, Dallas, or Houston) or in the south somewhere.

As far as tuition, its in state would need to double to be comparable to the tuition of its peer schools.

It's certainly not the best school in the country, but someone would be a fool to choose another Texas school over it for practicing in Texas. This is especially true given that the tuition is much better for an in stater than Baylor/SMU and the functional equivalent to UH.

The point with the rest:  You were so quick to point out that St. Mary's wasn't so great, so I simply pointed out that UT has its own deficiencies.  Most people considering St. Mary's do not have a chance at UT, and you know it.  Likewise, most students considering Texas do not have a chance at a school like Chicago.

There is no doubt that Texas places well in Houston and Dallas; however, most elite law schools, outside the southern part of the US, are located much closer to major legal markets.  Many spouses of law students and law professors have professional careers that are more difficult to pursue in a city the size of Austin. 

As far as tuition goes, UT is quickly losing its advantage.  Texas wants to lift instate tuition to $28,934 per year; that's getting a lot closer to private school tuition.       

[NATUREBOY]

The top 5% have a shot at biglaw.  Of the remaining 95%, the upper half typically take jobs with the DA or JAG, or with a small firm; and the bottom half start up their own firms.

Really? How many law students are capable of starting their own practice right after graduation?  Doesn't it require start up costs, experience, etc.? 

It's not that difficult if you go into criminal law and hustle to get court appointments.  For that you really don't even need an office.  Just make friends with the court coordinators and they'll feed you 2-3 appointments per day.  At $100 for each plea you take (you get more if the case progresses past the guilty plea stage) X 2-3 appointments per day, you're looking at $50-$75k per year just in appointments.  I have friends that have literally zero clients (all they take is appointments) and they're making $100k or more.  Yeah, I know...it sounds like pure bull, and I know it sounds totally TTT not to have an office, but I see it done everyday in court.  For anything other than criminal law it will be very hard to start up your own gig, because there are no court appointed lawyers in civil matters.

[JJ2]

The curve is pretty brutal.  My class started with 260 students and we’re down to about 200.  The required median is C+, which translates to a 2.33.  Additionally, at least 10% of the class must get a C- or worse (which is below a 2.0) and only 20% of the class can get a B+ or better.  It’s really difficult to break a 3.0 GPA. 

The professors have an open door policy.  You will rarely need to schedule an appointment.  Most are pretty good.  Some aren’t.

The top 5% have a shot at biglaw.  Of the remaining 95%, the upper half typically take jobs with the DA or JAG, or with a small firm; and the bottom half start up their own firms.

There is pretty cheap housing close to campus.  They also set aside on campus housing for law/graduate students.

Good info.  I'm starting this fall, and I got a small scholarship, that is renewable if I keep my grades in the top 25% of my class.  What's the ballpark range for the top 25%?

Thanks-
JJ

[NATUREBOY]

The curve is pretty brutal.  My class started with 260 students and we’re down to about 200.  The required median is C+, which translates to a 2.33.  Additionally, at least 10% of the class must get a C- or worse (which is below a 2.0) and only 20% of the class can get a B+ or better.  It’s really difficult to break a 3.0 GPA. 

The professors have an open door policy.  You will rarely need to schedule an appointment.  Most are pretty good.  Some aren’t.

The top 5% have a shot at biglaw.  Of the remaining 95%, the upper half typically take jobs with the DA or JAG, or with a small firm; and the bottom half start up their own firms.

There is pretty cheap housing close to campus.  They also set aside on campus housing for law/graduate students.

Good info.  I'm starting this fall, and I got a small scholarship, that is renewable if I keep my grades in the top 25% of my class.  What's the ballpark range for the top 25%?

Thanks-
JJ

1L scholarships at St. Mary's are NOT renewable.  You have to reapply each year through the financial aid office.  Currently the requirement is that you be in the top 10% of your class.  Below that, don't expect anything.  (Sorry, you were misinformed.)

[JJ2]

1L scholarships at St. Mary's are NOT renewable.  You have to reapply each year through the financial aid office.  Currently the requirement is that you be in the top 10% of your class.  Below that, don't expect anything.  (Sorry, you were misinformed.)

Prior to 2008-2009, that's true.  However, this is the first year that the scholarship IS renewable (according to the award letter, and confirmed by the director of FinAid).  The requirement spelled out in the scholarship letter is top 25%.

But thanks for letting me know.