Stay in TX or venture out? very confused...please help!

[What should I do? (I included total debt I will accrue during my three years)]

What should I do?  (I included total debt I will accrue during my three years)

Texas Tech (t3) - $38k

 1 (5.6%)

SMU (46) - $90k

 9 (50%)

UIUC (25) - $80k

 6 (33.3%)

UMN (20) - $110k

 2 (11.1%)

Total Members Voted: 18

[Marc03]

Here's a bit of background:
-Live in Lubbock (west Texas)
-Almost all of my family lives here except my father who lives in Dallas
-Brother will likely be attending Texas Tech Law this fall (he's deciding between that and Baylor).
-Would "probably" like to work in TX, but do not want to limit myself based on my school
-The amount of debt is a HUGE deal for me as I do not want to be handcuffed into a job due to loan payments
-I owe $36k from undergrad so that will be added to total debt upon graduation from law school

So yeah, I have narrowed it down to these four schools that pretty much run the gamut from 20's to "TTT". My top three priorities are proximity, total cost, and quality of education.  I view all three as equally important.

[Marc03]

any other insightful comments and/or baseless opinions? 

[lawandethan]

I would stay in Texas.

Tech (I imagine) is more focused on employment in the west (smaller firms, naturally, because there are fewer and smaller firms in the west.  You have family there and are from Tech, so it might be a good option.  Upon graduation your debt will be relatively low, and manageable with a lower range salary.  You WILL HAVE CAREER OPTIONS because Tech has a strong alumni network and you have connections in Lubbock.

SMU is very expensive and I think your second best option, but only if you are gunning for a high-paying BIGLAW job and even then it's going to be rough.

If you go to the other schools, it is very likely that you will not be able to come back to Texas upon graduation and possibly never.

[JeNeSaisLaw]

What are your career goals? It's tough to say without knowing that. Instinctively my choice would be between SMU and UIUC.

[Clayton]

I decided not to attend Tech in favor of Willamette in Oregon. Simiarly ranked schools, but I like Oregon better than Texas. I am currently waitlisted at UO.


I did my undergrad at Tech....