Does applying to your UG law school give you a boost?

[raferna3]

Aside from many public university's caps on out of state students, does applying to your undergraduate college's law school give you any kind of boost?

My UG college has a top-50 law school in one of the country's largest legal markets, so it is an appealing option for me, and my numbers are borderline/median, so I was wondering if having graduated from that school would give me any kind of preference or boost?


Apologize if this has been answered before. I am sure it has but am new to TLS and still learning how to best navigate the site.

[Vincent]

It can help - especially if you have a professor or two (who know you well) from that law school writing you recommendations.

[KD35]

I'd argue that in terms of getting in, it will play a small role. Getting in is about GPA/LSAT. Now, where I could see some influence is in $$$ , especially if you were involved at your school in prominent roles. This comes from personal experience, I received more money at my UGs law school than similarly ranked schools. Additionally, I received more $ than others with similar numbers who did not attend my UG.

[t-14orbust]

If you go to Harvard or Yale then yes lol

[raferna3]

If you go to Harvard or Yale then yes lol

Lol.


To the others, yeah, I figured it would give you at least a small boost. A school has to look out for its alumni to some degree, after all... I would think...

[laotze]

If you go to Harvard or Yale then yes lol

Lol.


To the others, yeah, I figured it would give you at least a small boost. A school has to look out for its alumni to some degree, after all... I would think...

Michigan Dean of Admissions Sarah Zearfoss claimed (IRL) that alumni applicants are frowned upon and tend to be at a disadvantage. So I would say no for UMich, maybe not for other T14s?

[francesfarmer]

People always say it hurts but I think it helped me a bit. /anecdotal evidence

[dr123]

If you go to Harvard or Yale then yes lol

Lol.


To the others, yeah, I figured it would give you at least a small boost. A school has to look out for its alumni to some degree, after all... I would think...

Michigan Dean of Admissions Sarah Zearfoss claimed (IRL) that alumni applicants are frowned upon and tend to be at a disadvantage. So I would say no for UMich, maybe not for other T14s?

That's interesting, I know a dude who was an UG at Michigan and got into their Law school with numbers well below the median. He was a scholarship athlete (football), though so that might change things.

[raferna3]

People always say it hurts but I think it helped me a bit. /anecdotal evidence

I have always heard it hurts in reference to employers, particularly in regard to MBA students, but I have not heard one way or the other in regards to law... Thus, this thread...

[francesfarmer]

People always say it hurts but I think it helped me a bit. /anecdotal evidence

I have always heard it hurts in reference to employers, particularly in regard to MBA students, but I have not heard one way or the other in regards to law... Thus, this thread...

I don't know why it should hurt, unless you go to a super podunk/insular school in the middle of nowhere for 6-7 years.

[simplycatalina]

I've heard it hurts you at Berkeley. Anecdotal evidence--friend got into Harvard, Penn, Michigan, and Columbia, and got rejected from Berkeley. And other people have told me that Berkeley is not a huge fan of its own undergrads. I mean, not necessarily the case because Berkeley is kinda a black box anyway, but just what people have told me.

[livefromannarbor]

Regarding Michigan specifically: I'm UG here, and they've done a lot of work to convince us that the "Mich UGs don't get in to MLaw" thing is a myth. They had a "Double Wolverine" panel not that long ago, where they went over the statistics of Michigan UGs versus other UGs getting in. I don't remember specific numbers, but the moral of the story was that Mich UGs had a higher chance of getting in than non-Mich UGs with an identical application. I want to say that it was something like 16% higher or something insane, but that could totally be a shot in the dark.

Granted, it could be total bull that they tell us to get us to apply but it seemed legit to me. It was an hour/hour and a half of a lot of anecdotal evidence and statistics. Dean Z was there giving these numbers, so I don't know what to make of the claim that she said the exact opposite as well. Grain of salt, I guess.

ETA: This claims that a good chunk of each entering class has been made up of Mich UGs. Just wanted to share.