trying to decide… dd has been accepted to UT Austin (we are very proud that)… but after looking at the total cost for OOS student compared to the cost (almost full tuition scholarships) at Arkansas, OU, or Alabama.
She has communications/Journalism interest… but is seriously thinking law school (but not 100% sure yet)… any advice?
If she is serious about law school, then what is important are: a high GPA in college, a high LSAT, and no college debt at the undergraduate level. I am a practicing attorney (and have been for seventeen years). I have no undergraduate or graduate school debt. But, I do have law school debt (I went to Georgetown Law). I am thankful that I made the decisions that I did back then as it allows me to do have greater financial freedom now (my wife, a doctor, followed a similar path).
So, if you are looking at professional school and the educational experience will otherwise be similar, then perhaps save the money.
I’d stick with Alabama for that major. If you regularly start your tailgating BBQs with stacks of $100 bills, then UT Austin might also be good! ;
thank you… that is very good advice. I feel we need to have some more in depth discussions (to the extent possible with a high school senior!) on her interested in law school.
She did very well on the standardized testing (ACT-34) and excels at reading and writing and enjoys it…( we anticipated that she could do well on the LSAT in the future)… She has had an interest in law school for most of high school. But after visiting UT moody school of communications, she started to think that maybe communications/Journalism was the path— it sounded like the moody school was very connected and she felt she could get a great job upon graduation from that program. It was easy to get excited about that program.
After visiting the honors program at U Ark and Alabama- she liked that as well and would probably choose to major in English Lit. at those schools and the goal would be to do really well and prep/perform well on the LSAT… then try for a top law school (like UT austin).
Sounds like if she is leaning toward a future in law… then U ark or Alabama honors English degree with minimal debt upon graduation would be the best path.
It is tough to reject the offer to attend UT austin given how hard it is to get accepted.
@Cheertx You probably want to research undergrad degrees that pair well with law degrees.
Any degree that encourages you to read critically and teaches you to write will do you well for law: see, e.g., English, History, PoliSci, Philosophy, Economics, Business degrees. If she is interested in law, then she may consider either volunteering at a free legal clinic or working as a runner at a law firm. Any position in the legal field that gives you a view of what the life is actually like, helps. Said differently, the practice of law is different than the portrayal of law.