I know this board gets tons of these questions, but I wanted to know what you guys think. I am a 3rd year in a Tier 2-3 borderline and waivering law school. I have a 3.2 GPA in the top 50% (I am moving up quickly - stuck in the curve). I have made As and Bs in my relevant coursework and moot court. What do you guys think my chances are at getting into Boston U's tax program? What about Loyola or Washington? Thanks a ton!!

My guess is you'd be fine getting in, just make sure your personal statement is acceptible and you have decent recommendations. On the otherhand I would seriously consider the economics of this decision. The program isnt cheap and it might not open as many doors for you as you may hope it will. The education will no doubt be useful but the program isnt very highly ranked and I think there might be some difficulty finding a job outside the boston area if you are looking towards Big Law.

I generally echo the prior comments, but will also ad that Boston's program seems to be a bit "adrift" - I could not get straight answers when I called them! No one could answer my questions or put me in contact with a professor/director who could. Not knocking the program, just the customer service.

Re: WULS, it is a mature program, but still regional as far as jobs go. [EDIT: I assumed you meant Washington @ St Louis, if you meant UW-Seattle, then see my comments re: Loyola below instead.]

Re: Loyola LA, it's a young program (along with Chapman Univ's in the OC), but is just fine if you want to work in LA/OC or at the IRS. [Edit: Same basic thoughts re: UW-Seattle - young, regional, etc.]

If you're heading west you might as well throw an application at San Diego. If you get unto BU, you should get into San Diego. If you get into San Deigo, you will certainly get into the regional programs.

Alas, none of them will let you "name your salary" at the end of the day , and none (except maybe Seattle) are cheap to go to. Keep us posted as you apply.

Thank you guys very much for your advice and letting me pick your brains. Luckily I go to one of the cheapest law schools in the nation so my debt is not going to be as bad as it could be, and my wife has an income to help.

I am not so much interested in Big Law as I am opening doors at mid-size level firms and/or the IRS. I would love to work for the government (benefits, hours, security, etc.). More than likely I will want to move to a different area (I will be taking the TX bar in July) than where I graduate from, but will stick around a few years to gain experience if that appears to be the best option.

My primary interest is actually in estate planning (so of course, I will be applying to Miami). Boston, Loyola, and Washington (Seattle) seem to have pretty good courses offered in that area. I was also considering San Diego, I just left it off the list because I thought it comparable to Loyola.

I will keep everyone posted as to what happens. I now get to write the personal statement and move on from there. I have some good recommendations coming so that will certainly help. Let me know if anyone else has any additional comments or other schools I have not thought of. Thanks!