certain law schools harder for conservatives? Forum

[ebo]

if you can't check your politics at the door to do well on a law school exam, i'm worried for you at any law school. bleeding hearts must do cold hearted economic analysis sometimes and conservatives must argue in favor of substantive due process rights sometimes. it's part of the job.

now if you're asking about finding friends with similar interests, that might vary on law schools, but guaranteed you will find plenty of conservatives at all t14s.

+1

Lawyers work on behalf of clients, and their ideals aren't always aligned. Liberal or conservative, if you can't get past your own ideology and see the big picture, you probably aren't going to do well in law school or as an attorney.

**Mandatory 0L disclaimer**

[Cade McNown]

[
Traditional =/= politically conservative.

Yes, of course not (but I wasn't saying traditional or politically conservative really). Conservatives value caution and revere traditional institutions, as do lawyers. I was introducing a new piece of information to the conversation to help OP feel better about attending left leaning law schools because his political beliefs and the law share conservative roots.

[wanderlust10]

Thank you for all the replies-- I do not plan on writing about my political affiliation in my personal statement, and am quite open minded to alternate political ideology (unlike many of the posters). However, it is inevitable that law admissions would be unaware due to my post college work. I was also curious to see if it help,hurt, or had 0 effect at all.

[d34d9823]

Thank you for all the replies-- I do not plan on writing about my political affiliation in my personal statement, and am quite open minded to alternate political ideology (unlike many of the posters). However, it is inevitable that law admissions would be unaware due to my post college work. I was also curious to see if it help,hurt, or had 0 effect at all.

Pat Robertson went to Yale. They want to see if you're bright and analytical, not if you will be a good little boy and think exactly like they do.

[ebo]

Thank you for all the replies-- I do not plan on writing about my political affiliation in my personal statement, and am quite open minded to alternate political ideology (unlike many of the posters). However, it is inevitable that law admissions would be unaware due to my post college work. I was also curious to see if it help,hurt, or had 0 effect at all.

I seriously doubt your conservative work experience would have any effect on admissions chances, unless you're making signs for the Westboro Baptist Church or something. Work experience is weighted much less when compared to LSAT and GPA anyways, unless you're applying to Northwestern, from what I've read here on TLS

[rman1201]

Thank you for all the replies-- I do not plan on writing about my political affiliation in my personal statement, and am quite open minded to alternate political ideology (unlike many of the posters). However, it is inevitable that law admissions would be unaware due to my post college work. I was also curious to see if it help,hurt, or had 0 effect at all.

It wont hurt unless it's really out there (abortion clinic bomber, designated town hall crier, etc). It either wont matter or will count as a slightly positive soft factor. If it's something major it could help more (some sort of position on a major think tank or PAC involving research). This really goes for any ideology - just don't make yourself out to be batshit.

[aspire2more]

Thank you for all the replies-- I do not plan on writing about my political affiliation in my personal statement, and am quite open minded to alternate political ideology (unlike many of the posters). However, it is inevitable that law admissions would be unaware due to my post college work. I was also curious to see if it help,hurt, or had 0 effect at all.

Short of blowing up Planned Parenthood clinics, I do not see how doing ideologically based work in college (i.e. leadership role in College Republicans, working on a campaign, etc.) would affect your application negatively. I say this, of course, without knowing specifically what kind of work you did, but I'm pretty sure you're fine.

[Cade McNown]

Short of blowing up Planned Parenthood clinics, I do not see how doing ideologically based work in college (i.e. leadership role in College Republicans, working on a campaign, etc.) would affect your application negatively. I say this, of course, without knowing specifically what kind of work you did, but I'm pretty sure you're fine.

LoL.

[MrPapagiorgio]

All law schools are harder for conservatives because you all lack the ability to think at a high level.

And life is harder for liberals because you can't see in front of you with your nose in the air and your head in the clouds...

[TheFactor]

Have you considered Reagent or Liberty?

OP got a 168 on the LSAT; he/she should be shooting much, much higher than this. The aforementioned schools have awful prospects, being TTTT institutions in a state crowded with far superior schools (UVA, W&M, W&L, George Mason, URichmond, etc.)

Oh, really? You mean these aren't good lawl schools?

[mettasutta]

Have you considered Reagent or Liberty?

OP got a 168 on the LSAT; he/she should be shooting much, much higher than this. The aforementioned schools have awful prospects, being TTTT institutions in a state crowded with far superior schools (UVA, W&M, W&L, George Mason, URichmond, etc.)

Oh, really? You mean these aren't good lawl schools?

Haha, I wasn't sure if you were serious or not about asking OP to consider said schools.

[bigben]

I've wondered this myself (out of curiosity, since I am extremely liberal) but it might even help you a little, based purely on the following speculation: maybe you would even contribute some intellectual diversity in their view. I think that making yourself stand out is generally much more important than pandering to what you suppose the school's expectations are. If you have good softs that show you're a conservative, play it up.

This may not extend to explicitly or implicitly embracing policy positions likely to be at odds with the Adcomm's politics, such as opposing rights to same-sex marriage, etc.

Correct.

[bigben]

What institution of higher learning doesn't lean left? You'll be fine.

The right leaning ones. Also, law is a conservative profession...You aren't going to get your Masters in Social Work.

For law being a 'conservative profession', they sure do donate a lot of money to democrats...
http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/indus.php?ind=K01

Meh. Law firms stand to profit more from Democrats' policies.

[ClosetStateSchooler]

Thank you for all the replies-- I do not plan on writing about my political affiliation in my personal statement, and am quite open minded to alternate political ideology (unlike many of the posters). However, it is inevitable that law admissions would be unaware due to my post college work. I was also curious to see if it help,hurt, or had 0 effect at all.

I seriously doubt your conservative work experience would have any effect on admissions chances, unless you're making signs for the Westboro Baptist Church or something. Work experience is weighted much less when compared to LSAT and GPA anyways, unless you're applying to Northwestern, from what I've read here on TLS

LOL

[eminem]

An alarming number of the Phelps (Westboro) have law degrees from Washburn University, for whatever that's worth.

[studebaker07]

Not Arizona State University. Being in Con Law today made me realize a point that I kind of suspected all along: ASU is, while not a bastion of liberalism, definitely left-leaning. Besides, the whole SB1070 debate has seemed to bring more closeted-liberals out in public and now it is easy to see that ASU really is a blueberry in the proverbial tomato soup that is Arizona.

[WhatSarahSaid]

http://blogs.law.yale.edu/blogs/admissi ... doves.aspx

For example, it's important to us as an institution to have a variety of viewpoints represented in order to foster robust and challenging classroom discussion -- to this end, we're very interested in having ideological diversity in each class. Law students, and by extension law schools, are on the whole liberal-leaning, so it's up to admissions officers like me to make sure we identify and attract those students who might be more right-of-center. Now, it's harder to surgically target these students, since political affiliations aren't something that LSAC asks you to check on your profile.

[ahduth]

Thank you for all the replies-- I do not plan on writing about my political affiliation in my personal statement, and am quite open minded to alternate political ideology (unlike many of the posters). However, it is inevitable that law admissions would be unaware due to my post college work. I was also curious to see if it help,hurt, or had 0 effect at all.

I seriously doubt your conservative work experience would have any effect on admissions chances, unless you're making signs for the Westboro Baptist Church or something. Work experience is weighted much less when compared to LSAT and GPA anyways, unless you're applying to Northwestern, from what I've read here on TLS

LOL

Didn't Westboro just pwn the Supreme Court? I'm thinking Westboro Baptist membership is a major soft on any app.

[zanda]

Don't worry about it. Most professors are decent at giving somewhat of a fair articulation of the various sides of an argument, and there are bound to be a lot of libertarians, if not conservatives, at any elite law school. When all else fails I write things like "liberals are dumber than shit" in my class notes. (NOTE- I do not actually believe that all liberals are dumber than shit, nor do I believe that the average liberal is necessarily dumber than the average conservative or the average classical liberal.)

[3ThrowAway99]

Also, law is a conservative profession

no

Actually, yes, it is. Many lawyers probably tend to have very 'liberal' personal viewpoints, and some probably bring this into what they do professionally, but the legal profession (as a social phenomenon) is extremely conservative insofar as it is very much about following tradition, being politically correct, and fitting in with the status quo. That is a bit different than political conservatism per se though.

[3ThrowAway99]

Not Arizona State University. Being in Con Law today made me realize a point that I kind of suspected all along: ASU is, while not a bastion of liberalism, definitely left-leaning. Besides, the whole SB1070 debate has seemed to bring more closeted-liberals out in public and now it is easy to see that ASU really is a blueberry in the proverbial tomato soup that is Arizona.

Yeah; i think it is a reactive thing.. I heard before that U of AZ is the most liberal law school (and it was voted number one party law school recently lol). I actually think most of the professors at U of AZ have a very strong liberal bias, partly as a reaction to the conservative politics of the state.

[Stonewall]

Also, law is a conservative profession

no

Actually, yes, it is. Many lawyers probably tend to have very 'liberal' personal viewpoints, and some probably bring this into what they do professionally, but the legal profession (as a social phenonmenon) is extremely conservative insofar as it is very much about following tradition, being politically correct, and fitting in with the status quo. That is a bit different than political conservatism per se though.

status quo you say? Hmmm.. 160K jerbs for everyone!

[RPK34]

Also, law is a conservative profession

no

Actually, yes, it is. Many lawyers probably tend to have very 'liberal' personal viewpoints, and some probably bring this into what they do professionally, but the legal profession (as a social phenomenon) is extremely conservative insofar as it is very much about following tradition, being politically correct, and fitting in with the status quo. That is a bit different completely and totally different than political conservatism per se though.

FTFY.

[aliarrow]

Why does conservatism in the sense of job traditionalism keep coming up even though it clearly has nothing to do with the topic at hand? This whole thread is like a very easy LSAT problem

[alexanderhamilton]

.