My law school list.

[pg22]

Many of these schools I have no business applying to. But hey, might as well gamble a bit. Some I have a decent chance, though part of me worries that I will get rejected from all 17.

Prices ranged from around $35-$85. Ya, this cost a lot (in currency and time).


AMERICAN UNIV- WASHINGTON COLL OF LAW
BOSTON COLLEGE LAW SCHOOL
EMORY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW
FORDHAM UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW
GEORGE MASON UNIV SCH OF LAW
GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL
GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY LAW CENTER
INDIANA UNIV SCHOOL OF LAW-BLOOMINGTON
NOTRE DAME LAW SCHOOL
THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY
THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SCHOOL OF LAW
UNIV OF CALIF, HASTINGS COLL. OF THE LAW
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-DAVIS
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON SCHOOL OF LAW
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN LAW SCHOOL
WASHINGTON UNIV SCHOOL OF LAW
WILLIAM AND MARY LAW SCHOOL

 

[FoBoT]

good luck!

(you don't seem to have a question)

 

[mcvickj]

What is the worst that can happen? Better to apply and wait for a yes or no vs. wondering what could have been. Which one is your top choice?

 

[Taughnter]

Good Luck, you're in for a ride. Just remember, wherever you end up, don't be intimidated by the other students and remember to have a good time. (FYI I recently finished law school, got my Bar results yesterday and it appears that I will be a lawyer barring any difficulties in my background check.)

T

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

As a Hastings alum I can't really recommend it, FWIW. It has been rated as having the worst quality of life of any law school in the United States, partially a function of the fact that it is America's only free-standing public law school (i.e., it is not on a college campus). Also, unless things have changed drastically, they have a relatively poor career services office. This is why the school's rating is not higher - it was, when I enrolled, ranked something like #15 by academics, with a total rating of #23. During my first year it dropped to #45, and it has remained in this range since. With all the other law schools in the Bay Area (including higher-ranked schools like Boalt and Stanford, and worse schools with better placement offices, like Golden Gate and USF), it can be tricky to get employment out of Hastings.

Actually I don't know that I would recommend law school, period, but that's a topic for another day. Good luck in any case.

 

[RKS]

Originally posted by: Taughnter
Good Luck, you're in for a ride. Just remember, wherever you end up, don't be intimidated by the other students and remember to have a good time. (FYI I recently finished law school, got my Bar results yesterday and it appears that I will be a lawyer barring any difficulties in my background check.)

T

In Ohio we have our background check /interviews well before being allowed to sit for the bar.

edit: FWIW your schools seem to all over the place. Unless you go to a top 10 or so school it becomes more difficult to find work 'out-of-region' because of strong alumni ties.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Originally posted by: RKS

Originally posted by: Taughnter
Good Luck, you're in for a ride. Just remember, wherever you end up, don't be intimidated by the other students and remember to have a good time. (FYI I recently finished law school, got my Bar results yesterday and it appears that I will be a lawyer barring any difficulties in my background check.)

T

In Ohio we have our background check /interviews well before being allowed to sit for the bar.

IIRC in California it was left to the applicant to get their character fitness materials in to the bar, and to the extent they sent them in late they risked not being admitted with the others who took the July exam. I think CA is probably different from other states, in that there are many more test takers there than anywhere else.

 

[dr150]

Your law school selection is all over the place. They have good regional reps. so you'll most likely work in that area (unless you're a top grad, which adds flexibility of getting a job outside of the region). Are you really open to working in all those areas?!

BTW, I would disgree with the opinion of the previous poster downgrading Hastings. Hastings has an excellent rep and grads do very well for themselves in the SF/CA area. He's right that it doesn't have a campus. It's really a commuter school in the city ala NYU. Law school placement depends on class standing and the economy. If you graduate when the economy is tanking, then it becomes difficult for ANYONE to get a job. Placement centers don't help very much. One has to do their own legwork in getting jobs. Only the elite law schools have companies come to the schools begging for your "talent" to work 100 hrs.



FWIW.....although I'm not a lawyer, I have many elite school lawyer friends who vehemently hate their jobs or have left the industry entirely b/c they couldn't take it anymore.

 

[Randum]

Join the club

 

[DigDug]

I started a 100 post thread on this a couple years ago. Look for it....

 

[j00fek]

have fun!

 

[pg22]

Thanks for the well wishes guys.

As for my selection being all over the place, part of that has to do with the fact that I am open to going to school almost anywhere. Granted I would much prefer SF/NY/DC, but with my stats*, I'm not really sure where I will place. I am a bit worried about having to stay there to work, but I have heard other opinions from people saying it's not really true.

I'm a bit bummed about the negative view of Hastings, as that is pretty much my #1 choice in Cali. I also figured from there I may be able to transfer to UCLA/Berkeley/USC after the first year.

* My stats are 3.6/161 (UCLA, double major, graduated cum laude).

 

[alkemyst]

for the most part where your degree comes from doesn't matter so much if you are active in it prior and can lay down some ground work (internship).

In law and most other studies it's who you know that gets you the initial and subsequent jobs.

Law is all over the place too...in some aspects the 'social [engineering] butterfly' wins in others the desk jockey wins.

 

[HomeBrewerDude]

I'm guessing you'll get many offers. Good luck!

 

[AndrewR]

Best advice I can give is find a school that's relatively inexpensive, i.e., state as opposed to private. Since something like 50% of the people who go to law school don't wind up as practicing attorneys (me included), you're better off minimizing your legal debt to open up options when you finish. The alternative is locking yourself into higher salary jobs, perhaps in areas of the country where you don't want to live, to be able to afford to pay your law school debt.

Trust me on this one. I'm getting out of active duty with the Air Force because I have an opportunity to pay off my debt if I do, but I'd rather stay in uniform full time (at least I can get in the Reserves, hopefully). I would have rather not had this decision forced on me.

 

[Adam8281]

Good luck. I just found out last week that I'm accepted to Georgetown Law School. Maybe I'll see you there

 

[SampSon]

The lord won't help you, it despises lawyers. Especially divorce lawyers.

Anyway, it's good to put many feelers out and see what potential bites you get. If you don't try you won't accomplish.

Good luck being a blood sucker, Dracula made out well until that stake through the heart.

 

[DaWhim]

God helps those that help themselves.

 

[WildHorse]

Strike
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-DAVIS
and replace with
UCLA

 

[pg22]

I went to UCLA and would love to, but a 161 gives me roughly a 5% chance of getting in even with a 3.6 from UCLA.

Again, thanks for the advice and well wishes.

 

[Adam8281]

what kind of law do you want to do?

 

[pg22]

I have no idea

International law sounds cool.