There’s a lot of chatter in the blogosphere about whether a lower ranked law school is worth attending. One of my most controversial blog posts ever was on this very topic, so it’s no secret where I stand on the issue. (Just in case you missed it back in 2007: Why Going to Law School is Worth the Sacrifice)
My next Blog Talk Radio Show is going to deal with this very issue. I’ll be interviewing 5 attorneys who graduated from law school in the last 10-12 years. One went to Yale Law, one went to NYU Law, one to the University of Miami (after getting his undergrad at Harvard), one graduated from Santa Clara Law and one from California Western School of Law. One now owns a legal recruiting company, one works for a 70-lawyer, 8 office firm, one works for the Department of Justice, one owns her own 2 person law firm, and one did own a 12-attorney law firm and is now a private investor and stay at home mom. Tune in to match up which lawyer has which job! You might be very surprised!
Listen in to how they chose their law schools (ranking, location, scholarships), what they think of their choice today, whether they took on debt and whether they feel it was worth it, and learn about the career opportunities available to graduates of such differently ranked law schools.
This is going to be a great show, so mark your calendars for Monday, January 25th 11 a.m. PST/2 p.m. EST for a 45 minute blog talk radio show: Choosing the Right Law School For You. (And thanks to the winner of my contest, Chris, for the great topic idea!)
4 Responses
Hi Ann,
I’m stuck on this one and have found few resources on the topic. Hope you can help…
Suppose I CAN get into a T14, should I still consider my state school (Tier-2) an attractive possibility (perhaps for cost and networking potential)?
Thanks for any words of wisdom you can offer.
C Sartorius – YES!!! You should! You will want to check out my new book that talks about what’s important in choosing a law school. I interviewed 300 lawyers and you can read what they have to say!
Hi Ann,
I know this is an old blog post, but I’m stuck and looking for help…
I started law school 13 years ago at a T10 school. I ended up taking a leave of absence after my first child was born. I then withdrew (in good standing) as I had four children in under 3 years. Now, I’m interested in going back but no longer live in an area with many options. There are several schools “near” me (one T10 & three T100s and an hour+ drive, two “Tier 3” an hour away, and one “Tier 4” that is ~ 30 minutes away). It’s possible that I could get excellent scholarships to the lower ranked schools (UGPA 3.9, previous LSAT 170+ … I’d have to retake it, but I think I’ll do well), plus the commute to the Tier 4 is much better (seems small, but when you have children this is a big deal) — is it worth considering? Or is it better to go for the better ranked programs? As a young student, I turned down full scholarships to lower ranked schools to go to the T10, something I shake my head at now, but in reality, going to an excellent school does help. Any advice appreciated!
Thanks so much!
Kathy, of course it’s worth considering. Take the LSAT and see what your options are so that you can get to a point where you have the opportunity to choose between a better ranked school and a scholarship to a lower ranked school. If you got into the Top 10, it wouldn’t be prudent to pick a T3 or T4. I wish you all the best – let me know how I can help. There are a lot more prep options for LSAT now than there were 10 years ago!