Total Litigator wrote:It is a soft. I don't think people are correct with a blanket "no it doesn't matter." However, it is true that the vast majority of schools are thought of by law schools in the same category. There are only a few schools on the top end and a lot of random schools on the low end which do affect your chances (albeight only by a small amount).
I have known people with great GPA's from regional colleges who did not receive the cycles one would have expected.
This is the credited response. I'm not at a T14, but Fordham is filled with Ivy grads, and I am fairly certain my UG was something I had to overcome in the course of my own cycle. Not only that, but it made hiring more difficult in certain situations. An insurmountable obstacle? Definitely not, but I would be remiss not to note that it made a difference and the school itself told me different UGs are viewed differently, depending on perceived rigor. The LSAT is "the great equalizer" for a reason. My score was far from amazing, but it was enough to show my school that I could do the work even though I had been a fashion student before law school.
In short, law schools tend to be familiar with certain UG curves. If you attend a well known UG, adcomms know what your GPA means, and I am aware that my school gives small boosts for rigorous UGs well outside the traditional HYP trifecta.
A non-famous state school will not hurt you, per se, but in a tie breaking situation, you will be at a competitive disadvantage with someone who went to, say, Dartmouth. I am not certain if all schools do this, or the rationale, but from what I have seen, many firms love prestigious UGs, so the schools may be maximizing their students' chances at OCI.
