When does school ranking matter? Forum

[lawwithfamily]

I have been accepted to BYU with no money and Cal Western with a full ride. (I am also hoping to get into UofMichigan or UCLA with no money). My question is if there are instances when the school ranking really matters. I know that I would like to practice in San Diego but am concerned because I don't know what I want to do. That is to work for a big firm, small firm, government, non-profits, business, or get involved in politics. Thanks in advance for your help!

[chicoalto0649]

It matters when family members who know nothing about law schools ask, " Oh, what is it ranked?"

Outside of top-13/14 it really, really, doesn't matter. It is just a matter of where you want to be. BYU won't get you a job in Cleveland, and Case will not get you a job in the Mountain West. You certainly would not pick Iowa over Fordham if you want NYC because Iowa is 23 and Fordham is 30

[hsprophet]

It matters primarily on where you want to practice, and also the type of work you want to do. If you want to practice in a geographic location far away from the school, it will be more difficult if the school isn't highly ranked.

A higher ranked school helps long-term career wise if you are wanting biglaw, like some high profile highrise law firm in NYC.

[legends159]

It matters in tiers. HYS/CCN/T10/T14/T20/T30/Tier 1/Tier 2

Location starts to matter more IMO when you're outside of T20.

[nealric]

I would say BYU is kind of a special case because of the LDS thing. It has its own peculiar network.

It's also crazy cheap if you are LDS.