HELP!! The end is near! U Washington, Boston College, or Colorado

[Which should I choose]

Which should I choose

University of Washington

 14 (29.2%)

Boston College

 28 (58.3%)

University of Colorado

 6 (12.5%)

Total Members Voted: 38

[sofa king]

re: what tinytim heard:

My brother in law graduated from University of New Mexico, and, after a year of unsuccessfully finding a decent job in the Bay area, moved to Denver and found work immediately. That was in 1998. He left for a few years, and recently returned, and found another job immediately. Maybe it's become much tougher since 1998, and probably his work experience in Denver got him his second job, but I don't think Denver is a ridiculously competitive market. It seems like the DU and CU grads place quite well there.

Good luck with your decision - your three current choices, coincidentally, were my three reaches, so I am living vicariously through you. Whatever you choose, you'll be at an awesome school.

[gcs451]

So where are you leaning towards?

I too would like to get into the Denver market after law school, but from what I have heard it is killer if you are not in the T14. They take some from CU and DU who are in the top 5% of their class and then only T14 schools.

I think you have been misinformed.  According to searches done on Martindale for attorneys less then 5 years out of school here are the numbers:

Y - 3
S - 4
H - 12
Columbia - 3
NYU - 4
Chicago - 1
Penn - 1
Berkeley - 1
Michigan - 8
Virginia - 7
Duke - 8
NU - 5
Cornell - 1
Georgetown - 12
Total - 70

CU - 103
DU - 272
Total - 375

[tinytim]

I have only really been looking at the BIG firms in Denver. No doubt there is work at lots of mid-small firms there, but the Big name firms typically only hire T14 or the top of the Colorado classes.

Sorry for the misunderstanding. I'm sure lateralling into Denver is a possibility...one in fact that I am hoping to do after a few years of work experience.

[gcs451]

I agree. But that is going to be true in every market not just Denver.  In any city the Big firms are going to hire from the t14 and top 10%-15% at the regional schools.

[letitbe]

If you're a cautious, practical person, I would choose BC because the Boston legal market has more options, new york, d.c. and philly are also around the corner, and the name carries further.  But, if you are more interested in loving where you are and enjoying your life, I would recommend taking the risk and going with UW or CU.  It's not like there are lawyers on the street fresh out of law school, begging for money.  You'll find work, and with perserverance, end up doing something you enjoy. 

Plus, don't forget that this board tends to recommend people take the highest ranked school or, in the case of a tie (ie UW and BC), the one with more prestige.  Make sure that if you are making your decision based on this that your highest priority is job security.  If you have confidence that you'll be able to get a good job eventually (albeit with blind faith), then choose based on quality of life. 

[Stuje1]

My last day to decide!!! Any less minute votes/comments?!

[Stuje1]

Thank you all for your help!   I've decided to attend Boston College in the fall!   Clearly, the poll results had a big influence on my decision     

All the advice everyone gave me truly was helpful.  I really appreciate helping me out in this difficult process.  If anyone ever has any questions for me, feel free to ask!  Good luck at law school everyone, and if any of you are going to BC, give me a buzz!

[revelareveritas]

Well, Washington will either be blown off the map by Rainier or the next huge earthquake/Tsunami, so I'd say Colorado... Boston is nice, but that bridge is just too futuristic for one of our founding cities... IMHO

[WitterUin4]

If you want to work in Denver, you should come to CU. It's kind of a "duh" actually. I just finished 1L there. Many of my classmates have legal jobs for the summer. New building is sweet. Boulder's great. Job prospects in Denver are good.