To those familiar with law school/the admissions process... - Page 3

beta1607 · #21 06-29-2005, 02:29 PM

I know many people who went to Willam and Mary Law School and absolutly loved it. It is a small school that often gets over looked when people are doing applications but it is a beautiful area and well respected.

Also, just because you are going to law school doesn't mean you have to be a lawyer. Law degrees are in huge demand on Capitol Hill and throughout the government,political and non-profit worlds. The pay is less but the job satisfaction is very high and most importantly you actually do work that makes a difference in millions of peoples lives. Also, if its a consideration these jobs can lead to very high paying jobs later.

nickg1532 · #22 06-29-2005, 02:34 PM

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I know many people who went to Willam and Mary Law School and absolutly loved it. It is a small school that often gets over looked when people are doing applications but it is a beautiful area and well respected.

Also, just because you are going to law school doesn't mean you have to be a lawyer. Law degrees are in huge demand on Capitol Hill and throughout the government,political and non-profit worlds. The pay is less but the job satisfaction is very high and most importantly you actually do work that makes a difference in millions of peoples lives. Also, if its a consideration these jobs can lead to very high paying jobs later.

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This is an excellent point. At this point I see myself using a law degree to actually practice, but if for some reason things change, having such a degree can certainly help in opening other doors.

freekobe · #23 06-29-2005, 02:50 PM

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do not discount the FACT that the majority of law school graduates practice in the area where they went to law school. also once you are admitted, it's a big pain to move to another state because you will need to get admitted in that state. when planning your law school applications, seriously consider this.

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This is partially wrong. Going to school outside of the area where you want to practice/live is not a bad thing IF YOU GO TO A TOP SCHOOL.

If you go outside the Top 10, practicing somewhere other than the location of your school will be difficult. If you go to Harvard, you can go anywhere.

if you go USC, you'll have a lot of trouble working in NY.

Take that into consideration.

As a law school grad working at a big firm in NYC, you are making a HUGE MISTAKE if you don't go to the best school you get into (igoring scholarships, if money is an issue).

Don't go to the Univ. of Hawaii over the University of Pennslyvania because you want to get a tan. You will regret that the rest of your life. I can promise you that.

Law school is about keeping options open. Hawaii closes doors; Penn opens them. Obviously, this applies to more schools, but go to the best school you can. You won't regret it.

freekobe · #24 06-29-2005, 02:52 PM

The reason that previous post was wrong is because "getting admitted" in a state other than where you went to school is not a big deal. You just take a different bar exam. Sure, you learn a few state-specific things in law school, but that is about 2% of what you learn. Plus, TONS of people take the bar in other states - it's not something to get bent out of shape about.

bogey · #25 06-29-2005, 02:55 PM

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I am actually applying for the MBA/JD progam at UH and hope to be able to graduate with both degrees in two years.

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and how exactly do you plan on condensing a 2 year and a 3 year degree which done jointly usually takes 4 years into 2? good luck with that

freekobe · #26 06-29-2005, 02:58 PM

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To anyone else, do you feel your law school was overrated/underrated? Are there schools that maybe don't have excellent reputations, but are actually excellent schools? Are there schools with great reps that probably don't deserve the high rankings?

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Trust me - overrated/underrated doesn't matter. This is not a restaurant. It's law school. When go to apply for a job and your resume says New England School of Law and not Columbia or Penn, you won't get a chance to tell the interviewer that "NE School of Law is really underrated."

People don't care. They have to judge you based on what they know. You can't be positive what you want to do after law school - keep your options open. Doors close faster when you go a mediocre school - that's not an insult to people who did, it's a fact of life. That's not to say great minds / great people didn't go to bad law schools. They did. But it's just harder to get where you're going if you go to a lesser school. Facts are facts.

AND.....if you want another tip - do well in your first yr. It really is all that matters. Get in the top 10%. if you do that at most schools, you'll be able to land a good job. Do that at a top school and you'll be able to go just about anywhere you want (clerkship, big law firm, small law firm, etc).

Play a lot of golf and poker during your 3rd yr and maintain a decent GPA. Enjoy it as much as you can. And if you go to a law firm after, prepare to be reasonably unhappy.

CollinEstes · #27 06-29-2005, 03:03 PM

I already have 1.5 years of my JD finished. And I can take some MBA classes in the summer. It is possible but not easy. More likely I have 3 more years.

lucas9000 · #28 06-29-2005, 03:07 PM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
do not discount the FACT that the majority of law school graduates practice in the area where they went to law school. also once you are admitted, it's a big pain to move to another state because you will need to get admitted in that state. when planning your law school applications, seriously consider this.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is partially wrong. Going to school outside of the area where you want to practice/live is not a bad thing IF YOU GO TO A TOP SCHOOL.

If you go outside the Top 10, practicing somewhere other than the location of your school will be difficult. If you go to Harvard, you can go anywhere.

if you go USC, you'll have a lot of trouble working in NY.

Take that into consideration.

As a law school grad working at a big firm in NYC, you are making a HUGE MISTAKE if you don't go to the best school you get into (igoring scholarships, if money is an issue).

Don't go to the Univ. of Hawaii over the University of Pennslyvania because you want to get a tan. You will regret that the rest of your life. I can promise you that.

Law school is about keeping options open. Hawaii closes doors; Penn opens them. Obviously, this applies to more schools, but go to the best school you can. You won't regret it.

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obviously top 10 schools are an exception. however, only a small fraction of law students go to those schools. that's why i said "majority" and not "all." i think you're wrong about going to the best school you can, if you're deciding best by rank. going to univ of colorado (i don't know its exact rank but i think it's near the bottom of the top 50), just because it's the highest ranked school you could get into, when you don't want to live in colorado long term would be a huge mistake.

nickg1532 · #29 06-29-2005, 03:08 PM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
To anyone else, do you feel your law school was overrated/underrated? Are there schools that maybe don't have excellent reputations, but are actually excellent schools? Are there schools with great reps that probably don't deserve the high rankings?

[/ QUOTE ]

Trust me - overrated/underrated doesn't matter. This is not a restaurant. It's law school. When go to apply for a job and your resume says New England School of Law and not Columbia or Penn, you won't get a chance to tell the interviewer that "NE School of Law is really underrated."

People don't care. They have to judge you based on what they know. You can't be positive what you want to do after law school - keep your options open. Doors close faster when you go a mediocre school - that's not an insult to people who did, it's a fact of life. That's not to say great minds / great people didn't go to bad law schools. They did. But it's just harder to get where you're going if you go to a lesser school. Facts are facts.

AND.....if you want another tip - do well in your first yr. It really is all that matters. Get in the top 10%. if you do that at most schools, you'll be able to land a good job. Do that at a top school and you'll be able to go just about anywhere you want (clerkship, big law firm, small law firm, etc).

Play a lot of golf and poker during your 3rd yr and maintain a decent GPA. Enjoy it as much as you can. And if you go to a law firm after, prepare to be reasonably unhappy.

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Good advice. I'd like to think employers would be open-minded about candidates from less prestigious schools, and I was hoping it wasn't all about the "name", but I trust what you're telling me and can see how this would be the case.

lucas9000 · #30 06-29-2005, 03:10 PM

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The reason that previous post was wrong is because "getting admitted" in a state other than where you went to school is not a big deal. You just take a different bar exam. Sure, you learn a few state-specific things in law school, but that is about 2% of what you learn. Plus, TONS of people take the bar in other states - it's not something to get bent out of shape about.

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sure, you can go take another state's bar exam, but you still need to get a job. like it or not, a lot of job decisions are not solely based on the academic credentials of the applicants (this sentence brought to you by captain obvious). a local law student who worked at a firm over the summer during law school and did a great job is far more likely to get the entry-level associate position than someone coming from out of state who passed the bar and is also applying for that position (with the obvious exception if the out of state person graduated from a very prestigious school).