MBA After Law - State School DD or Standalone or None

Share tips as you apply, write essays, interview...
This topic has expert replies
Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Apr 23, 2020 12:55 pm
I am currently a 2L at Buffalo Law School (UB), wavering between at dual-degree at UB (cheap and just 1 year) or a subsequent standalone brand-name program. The third option of just graduating and getting a good law job seems unlikely, given that I did not get a summer associateship (the golden ticket to big law) and given the impending Great Coronavirus Depression. I have no idea what I am likely to get into, or how much if at all my JD will help my chances. I already got into the UB dual program (would have to admit by last year of lawschool rather than from scratch for following year). My GRE scores are 167 verbal 152 math. Obviously I would have to get the math up, but I think that at least low 160's would be very easy if I studied and retook this summer (I'm not bad at math - I ran out of time when I took the test). While I don't have prior "management" experience, I was a financial analyst before law at Morgan Stanley for 6 months and Citibank for 6 months. I had a 3.3 finance undergrad at Fordham (was a student athlete), and currently 3.8 at UB (I'm on law review). With regard to career goals, I'm open minded but I want to do something thoughtful, impactful, lucrative - mediocrity is not an option. I want the chance to have a substantial positive impact on society and to not have to worry about money. When I was a finance student, I knew my grades and school weren't gonna get me into Mckinsey (consulting) or Bridgewater (global macro investing) or Sequoia Capital (venture capital), but those were the industries I dreamed of being a player in. Despite working at "morgan stanley" ("back office" role) I found my "financial analysis" roles to be incredibly non-analytical and repetitive. I just didn't have the resume to get into more thoughtful roles. I thought further education would open better doors, so I came to law school (was also considering MBA then). I certainly didn't expect to get hired by a Skadden out of UB, but considering my top 10% class rank I am incredibly frustrated that even mediocre NYC lawfirms clearly don't value my school and acknowledge my many applications. This leads me to believe that UB (although the MBA school is a bit better ranked than the law school) just isn't going to cut it. Given my credentials and rather broad goals, any advice on what kinds of programs I'd be likely to get into and how they may compare to the budget 1-year UB DD is greatly appreciated. Any chance a standalone 1-year program might be on the table?

Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Feb 19, 2021 12:58 pm

-

by Willikinnadog » Thu Mar 04, 2021 7:03 am
Thought about an MBA briefly and decided against it. Am fortunate to be working in a company where capability and results are valued over academic qualification. I dont think I would want to work for an organisation that placed too much of an emphasis on an MBA.