Top Law Schools

Hey guys, I was accepted to both W&M($$) and BU, still waiting on some of my reaches with a waitlist at UVA.

Anyway, I'm wondering which school would be better for me considering the following:

1) I have B.S. degrees in both physics and math and have worked quite extensively in experimental physics at UG (published several peer-reviewed papers)
2) I'm very interested in patent and IP law; big law is secondary.
3) I'm rather poor (less than 10k to start out with)

All things considered, I'm still leaning toward BU. The city life is something I could get used to, but I prefer the comparatively bucolic W&M campus.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Bump. : )

Patent lawyers are actually in demand (contrary to an average generelist lawyer). Undergrad in science is a big plus. Despite rankings, I would say the two schools are very similar, and school ranking will be discounted in an IP firm in favor of an engineering background. Considering that, I would go to the one which is cheaper. In the end you will likely et an IP job with or without 150K in debt.

That's a tough choice. I've been accepted to both (also with no $ at BU, but $$ at W&M). I'll say up front that I am unlikely to choose either due to another offer. With that being said...

BU has outstanding health and IP law faculty and is situated in the midst of a decent location for IP work. If you haven't visited, BU is in a 20 story tower overlooking the river. It's somewhat stark to look at and the interior is somewhat dated. The views of Boston are excellent though and the building is a short walk from Fenway.

W&M, as you know, is located in a very pleasant environment and is only a couple of hours away from DC, a major IP hub.

Am I correct in guessing that you're a Virginia resident. If so, then your W&M scholarship probably doesn't have a stipulation of working for them 8 hours/week, which would be a relief. For me, it would come down to cost. I calculated a 3 year cost of ~$90,000 for W&M (with $$ scholarship) whereas BU would be ~$170,000 without a scholarship. That's an easy choice if - like me - you're debt averse. I wouldn't worry too much about the lower ranking of W&M if IP law is your goal. From anecdotal evidence, job opportunities for IP law are far more lenient in regard to law ranking.

Did you get any other offers in the USNWR #20-#30 range?

UFMatt wrote:Did you get any other offers in the USNWR #20-#30 range?

Yes, I got several, including IU-Bloomington$ and W&L$$. I'm not a Virginia resident. I'm still waiting to hear if I can get off the waitlist at UVA, my dream school, but who knows. I still have some cycle left to play out with pending decisions from GULC and a few others.