<p>Are the t14 just US News top 14 law schools? UT Austin is 15th on US News, so it just misses this strange number of schools that can be considered elite. Does that mean it's not worth attending? I'd like to go into M&A or another law-heavy business field. U Texas is top 20 for both JDs and MBAs and is much cheaper than other schools that can say the same.</p>
<p>Also, I know it's customary for students to go to law school right out of undergrad and MBA students to work for about five years in between, but what about JD/MBA applicants? I should graduate with a very good resume with multiple internships and leadership positions if that makes a difference. I would like to finish my degrees as soon as possible, but is there a chance I could maybe do law school right out of undergrad and have an employer that's willing to pay for the MBA later? That option would seem like a no-brainer, but I really like the time saved with a JD/MBA, so it would need to be worth an extra year or two and a pretty safe bet.</p>
<p>That second paragraph was very sloppy. Replace it with this:
I’m currently doing undergrad business at McCombs at UT Austin. I would like to save the extra year by getting a dual degree, but would it be advantageous to go to law school right out of undergrad and go back for an MBA later? This way I could earn the necessary experience for admission to an MBA program and have perhaps a better job until then.</p>
<p>U of Texas is a superb law school. If you get caught up in this t14 crap you are doing yourself a disservice. </p>
<p>You don’t need an MBA unless you plan on going into business and not practicing law. If you have an undergraduate business degree from a good business school (like your school), you don’t need an MBA. Many MBA courses repeat the content of your undergraduate program.</p>
<p>I’ve thought about that (not getting an MBA because I’ll already have so much of it), but razorsharp also mentioned not practicing law and it might apply to me.</p>
<p>I want a JD mostly for the sake of M&A work and because I’d like to be involved in writing contracts and maybe having my own business someday. I want an MBA because it seems like it’s almost a requirement to get into top consulting firms or ibanks, which are where the M&A jobs are. I also find strategy consulting very interesting, and the top consulting firms hire more MBAs than anything else. I would be interested in doing corporate law, but mostly just for the experience.</p>
<p>Where would be best to go to school for corporate law?</p>
<p>As for the MBA, I’ve heard a lot of firms require you get one after a few years, but I guess I’d just wait and see if they’ll pay for it when the time comes.</p>
<p>Thanks. I guess I was still a bit on the fence about it, but I’ve done some more reading and I’m more confident in just going to law school after undergrad now. I’ll know enough business and law to do fine.</p>
<p>However, I’m having a bit of doubt about the iMPA program.</p>
<p>U Texas has an integrated Masters in Professional Accounting degree that you can start working on in undergrad to save a year of grad school for the masters. You come out with a (#1 ranked) bachelors and (also #1 ranked) masters degree in accounting and CPA eligibility in 5 years.</p>
<p>My dad tells me it’s worth getting the MPA to sit for the CPA exam and that it’ll open doors in consulting and everything I’m interested in. I know accounting is generally considered a good background for law, but it seems like that combination really only gives you an edge for tax.</p>
<p>He is a CPA in tax who started in a “big #” accounting firm and would’ve gone to law school if he had the money, so I fear he’s just trying to have me do what he wanted to do. It’s not a bad thing, I just am not as interested in tax as I am in other aspects of business.</p>
<p>That said, I also heard an advanced degree helps when applying to a top law school, particularly Yale, because it is more academically inclined.</p>
<p>Does a CPA mainly give you an edge for tax, or what other areas is it useful in? Does a CPA help for strategy consulting or M&A?
Does an advanced degree help you get into a top law school?
Would you advise a person in my situation with my interests to go for the MPA?</p>
<p>Have you considered this option? Undergraduate accounting degree and then JD/MBA? If you wish to go into business, this might be a good approach.</p>
<p>Eligible for what? The major consulting firms just don’t hire very much at too many law schools. Even at the law schools at which consulting firms do recruit, they are incredibly selective. There is not a lot of consulting recruiting on campus that occurs at the lower T14 or any law schools below that.</p>
<p>I disagree with the advices given here. Maybe Im biased towards business where as this forum lean towards law. The OP wants to go in to M&A (merger and acquisition), which is a finance related jobs. MBA will be better suited for this purpose. I dont know how consulting even came up. </p>
<p>For MBA, the OP would most likely need some work experience. Some top MBA schools only recently started to take in students fresh out of undergrad. McCombs is one of them with the McCombs Scholars program. However, thats a difficult route, because MBA employers tend not hire inexperienced students. Unlike l-school admissions, GPA/GMAT will only get you so far with b-school.</p>
<p>Also, MBA and BBA are totally different degrees. MBA classes (at top programs) are immersion based program, in which students learn to deal with real life scenarios; whereas, BBA classes are traditional lecture style classes. Although McCombs Business Honors Program comes close to a MBA styled teaching, McCombs regular undergrad classes do not. </p>
<p>The major recruiters at McCombs undergrad b-school are accounting firms and not banking firms. So the OP may have trouble landing a job doing M&A. Hence, the importance of getting MBA for M&A. </p>
<p>I have to agree that if the OP wants a JD/MBA, the value offered for in-state JD/MBA at Texas is unbeatable. But I would caution against going straight into law after undergrad, given the OPs future goals.</p>
<p>An abundance of law students go into M&A without an MBA or business experience.</p>
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<p>Didn’t read the OP, but this deal is unbeatable if you want to be in Texas. If your goal is to work for a “Wall Street firm,” your best bet is to head to the highest ranked law school you can get into, with particular emphasis on Harvard, Yale, Chicago, Columbia, NYU, and Stanford.</p>