looking long-term: law school or IBD?

People generally dont get fired from their jobs, and a BB IB job is generally considered very prestigious. Be careful with law school, I'm trying to work towards having to make that same decision and I just cant justify spending the extra 150k for a job I may hate. At least if you try out the 2 year analyst program (which is hard as shit, Im sure you know), youll make a little bit of money and you may very well enjoy finance/business in general and want to stay.

If you DO go to law school and hate, there are plenty of places in the business world for someone with a top notch law degree (HF, PE, consulting, etc)

If you did well enough on you LSATs to get into a top 5 law school, consider taking your ibanking offer and applying to dual MBA/JD programs in two years. Your LSAT score won't expire, and the MBA/JD won't force you into law. Consider specializing in something finance related (corporate law, bankruptcy). Also, you just spend 16 years of your life in school. You may want to consider working, making money, and living on your own (though IB isn't a walk in the park). You may enjoy the freedom.

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FML...

I think it would be much easier to go from banking to law school, than it would be to go from law school to banking. Do banking for a couple of years, and if you absolutely hate is, go back to school later... 2 years isn't that long in the grand scheme of things.

You can defer 2 years automatically @ HLS. Just defer and join. And yeah, I wouldn't turn down an Y/H/S law degree for banking in the long term. With your BB IBD experience and network, you'll always be able to join back into banking. Bankers cannot become lawyers.

Also, apply 2 years down the line for HBS. And then you have a choice to make - do not pursue a JD/MBA because it's extremely useless and the opportunity cost at that point is just too high (4 years of tuition, and 4 years of forgone banker income will run you north of $500 - $750,000).

Also - I've done a lot of DD on this lately so let me share with you some thoughts about LS vs MBA. I'm going to guess that you got admitted into HLS (I know they've been sending out admit letters recently). As you know LS is kind of a GPA + LSAT factory. You hit that magic 3.9 + 175+ LSAT and you can write your personal statement in crayon and they'd still admit you.

HBS is a different beast altogether. The GMAT/GPA combo matters far less, and is really contingent upon your experiences / leadership or what-not. I know people that get in with less than 1 year of experience at some head hunting consulting firm, and I also know people rejected after two years at MS + Silverlake.

In terms of long-term prospects, the HBS degree (and really any of the M7 MBA's -i.e. H/W/S, Chicago, MIT, Columbia, Kellogg) will open a lot more doors for you than the Law Degree. From what I've seen - people generally love their MBA experience, whereas most law students absolutely hate LS. The reason for this is due to the nature of BIGLAW recruiting, GPA is the only thing that matters. If you're at H/Y/S, it isn't as tough to get BIGLAW, but getting that Cravath associate position is a definite doozy when you're up against 500 other people who essentially excel at studying + test-taking.

At the end of the day, if you have any desire whatsoever to become a lawyer (and to be honest I don't really know why you would especially if your goal is to become a corporate lawyer...), attend law school. On the other hand, if you really want to have a good time + enter into the business side of the business, take a top-tier MBA. In my opinion, any of HBS / Wharton/ Stanford GSB will yield you far more opportunities than HLS/SLS (perhaps not YLS just because that place is so damn hard to get into).

Alright - sorry for turning this into an essay, but something else to keep in mind. The chances of making equity partner at a Vault 100 law firm is less than 1% for the average Asian associate. Law associates are on an 8-year track to make equity partner. 95% of associates either quit before that, or are booted out. Most of these go on to work in-house (general counsel), mid-law partners (300-400k per year, pretty chill lifestyle), or do something else altogether - it's generally extremely hard to transfer back into finance unless you've managed to build a substantial rolodex.

IF you have any desire to be a lawyer - defer two years, do BB IBD, and matriculate HLS. IF you have any desire to do anything else (finance, management, consulting, start-up) - use the HLS as a backup and apply for a M7 MBA, take it, and don't look back.

^ mas, good points.

But I'll say this. When it comes to recruiting, JD's pick between "Litigation" and "Corporate". 99% of Asians will do corporate. It's extremely hard in this country, as an Asian person to do litigation - not to mention criminal defense lawyer / prosecution man.

I know people that get in with less than 1 year of experience at some head hunting consulting firm

Undergrad Brown, worked for a consulting /head-hunting company that basically made very senior (MD) placements for bulge-brackets. This was in the middle of 2008 so the firm basically disintegrated. Put together a compelling application with scores within the range, admit at HBS and Stanford GSB.

I agree with everything posted, but I would slightly disagree if we're talking about Yale Law. A degree from YLS is one of the most prestigious and noteworthy degrees one can get.

do BB IBD, it will make you a lot more competitive for big law positions once you enroll at HLS if you decide law is for you. if not, you will be in great position to apply to top MBA programs or roll over to the buy side. this is an easy decision - BB IBD lets you put off your decision for 2 years essentially and strengthen your resume no matter your ultimate destination. its risk-averse and essentially a sure thing.

Your parents are ABSOLUTELY CORRECT. The above posters are seriously incorrect and disillusioned. You would have to be absolutely nuts to turn down HYS Law and take an IB gig. You are looking at $160 K base starting with a very bright future. Why throw it all away on the advice of some of the above posters. IB is fleeting. You need Top 5 MBA or serious algo trading skills to make the big bucks. Most of the analysts who are proud of their 80-hour work-weeks are doing mind-numbingly DULL Powerpoint and Excel work which requires extremely low level skills and are just wasting their time.

Agree with TraderJoe1976. Plus, as someone mentioned above, you can always go from Law-->Banking but going from Banking-->Law is an uphill battle.

Being a recent law grad I will weigh in... Please, please understand I am not trying to sway you either way. But, a law degree from Harvard or Yale opens up many, many doors, not only in law but in many industries (banking included). It's something that is really tough to pass up. Definitely think it over. But, whatever path you choose, do so on your own volition, not because of the wishes of your parents or whomever else.

Best of luck. That is a very good "problem" to have.

Thanks all for your help. I guess I can't go wrong by deferring 2 years... If I end up not like banking after 2 years, at least I have a back-up plan.