Top Law Schools

Amidst all of the loud, clear warnings about law school, I'm wondering if there is anyone who can go on (TLS) record and say that law school was a definitely a mistake that they would absolutely not do again and that they feel that they are worse off in the long-term for having attended.
If so, please describe your situation.
I have a feeling that not too many people would make such a definite claim.

For the record, TLS is typical of neither the average law school applicant nor the average law school student.

I'm not in LS yet, but I'd be willing to bet most people below the median outside the T14 who are paying sticker really regret it. And from what I've read, that applies to many inside T6 below the median.

bk187 wrote:For the record, TLS is typical of neither the average law school applicant nor the average law school student.

If I'm on TLS, and am like the non-typical students on TLS, then I believe the experiences of TLS folks would be more relevant to me than the experiences of "average" students. Agree?

AP-375 wrote:

bk187 wrote:For the record, TLS is typical of neither the average law school applicant nor the average law school student.

If I'm on TLS, and am like the non-typical students on TLS, then I believe the experiences of TLS folks would be more relevant to me than the experiences of "average" students. Agree?

No. You're assuming that because TLS self-selects towards the higher end of the law school spectrum that you are towards the higher end of the law school spectrum. This is not necessarily the case.

0LNewbie wrote:I'm not in LS yet, but I'd be willing to bet most people below the median outside the T14 who are paying sticker really regret it. And from what I've read, that applies to many inside T6 below the median.

I think its pretty easy to speculate about whether other people regret getting screwed by law school, and it happens a lot on TLS, which is why I'm wondering if anyone can say that they regret it personally.

bk187 wrote:

AP-375 wrote:

bk187 wrote:For the record, TLS is typical of neither the average law school applicant nor the average law school student.

If I'm on TLS, and am like the non-typical students on TLS, then I believe the experiences of TLS folks would be more relevant to me than the experiences of "average" students. Agree?

No. You're assuming that because TLS self-selects towards the higher end of the law school spectrum that you are towards the higher end of the law school spectrum. This is not necessarily the case.

Sure, not necessarily the case. But this isn't an LSAT question. I'm just inquiring about the experiences of my "assumed" peers.

bk187 wrote:

AP-375 wrote:

bk187 wrote:For the record, TLS is typical of neither the average law school applicant nor the average law school student.

If I'm on TLS, and am like the non-typical students on TLS, then I believe the experiences of TLS folks would be more relevant to me than the experiences of "average" students. Agree?

No. You're assuming that because TLS self-selects towards the higher end of the law school spectrum that you are towards the higher end of the law school spectrum. This is not necessarily the case.

It is not necessarily the case but it is more likely the case than not.

AreJay711 wrote:It is not necessarily the case but it is more likely the case than not.

AP-375 wrote:Sure, not necessarily the case. But this isn't an LSAT question. I'm just inquiring about the experiences of my "assumed" peers.

To be an LSAT logic jerk is not how I intended it at all. My point was more about whatever your numbers are. If you are a 3.2/160 then a bunch of people who went to way better schools then you aren't giving you an accurate representation of what your reality will be like.

I'm not saying that you have bad numbers or assuming such, but rather that I can imagine some people who seek validation for going to a bad school by asking a question in the manner that you asked it.

I'm above median at t-14, but I regret not taking a full ride at a TTT in order to minimize my debt load.

johnnyutah wrote:I'm above median at t-14, but I regret not taking a full ride at a TTT in order to minimize my debt load.

That's a useful reply. Thanks

Everyone is smart at my T13. 40% of us will be totally fucking owned by debt with terrible job prospects.

Winning is 65 hour work weeks to pay off all the debt.

It's not a good bet.

Desert Fox wrote:Everyone is smart at my T13. 40% of us will be totally fucking owned by debt with terrible job prospects.

Winning is 65 hour work weeks to pay off all the debt.

It's not a good bet.

What a troll.

Desert Fox wrote:Everyone is smart at my T13. 40% of us will be totally fucking owned by debt with terrible job prospects.

Winning is 65 hour work weeks to pay off all the debt.

It's not a good bet.

Having a bad day DF?

homestyle28 wrote:

Desert Fox wrote:Everyone is smart at my T13. 40% of us will be totally fucking owned by debt with terrible job prospects.

Winning is 65 hour work weeks to pay off all the debt.

It's not a good bet.

Having a bad day DF?

Waiting for grades makes you think about what happens to bottom third people.

Desert Fox wrote:

homestyle28 wrote:

Desert Fox wrote:Everyone is smart at my T13. 40% of us will be totally fucking owned by debt with terrible job prospects.

Winning is 65 hour work weeks to pay off all the debt.

It's not a good bet.

Having a bad day DF?

Waiting for grades makes you think about what happens to bottom third people.

8 months from matriculation means I can still blindly assume that won't be me

No, but only because I decided to stop being wishy-washy and tightly embrace IP. If I was trying to get a job doing anything else, I would be wishing I had stayed got a job doing something with my EE degree.

No. But only recently did this sentiment become true. SA + grades confirmed it. If I was jobless/ in the bottom half I might regret it regardless of whether I "wanted to be a lawyer."

AreJay711 wrote:

bk187 wrote:

AP-375 wrote:

bk187 wrote:For the record, TLS is typical of neither the average law school applicant nor the average law school student.

If I'm on TLS, and am like the non-typical students on TLS, then I believe the experiences of TLS folks would be more relevant to me than the experiences of "average" students. Agree?

No. You're assuming that because TLS self-selects towards the higher end of the law school spectrum that you are towards the higher end of the law school spectrum. This is not necessarily the case.

It is not necessarily the case but it is more likely the case than not.

Holy shit... do the people on TLS suck so much that this argument is actually going on?

No regrets. Took $$$ at T50 over two much higher schools at sticker. Graduating in May with no debt and a job accepted at a mid-size firm.

I don't regret it, but I nearly struck out at OCI, and I would have regretted LS very much if OCI hadn't panned out for me. In retrospect, law school was a pretty dumb gamble. I got a full scholarship, and it was still a dumb gamble.

No significant regrets. Kind of wish I could be doing something different, but I don't really know what else I would want to be doing. The good thing is that I don't have any huge debt. I'm eight months out of law school, and I've already paid off half my student loans (they were small to begin with). So even if I decide to drop the attorney thing altogether someday, it's not going to be a huge loss. But I really wouldn't recommend law school to anyone unless (1) they don't mind working all day everyday and (2) they don't have to go into a huge amount of debt to attend.

johnnyutah wrote:I'm above median at t-14, but I regret not taking a full ride at a TTT in order to minimize my debt load.

And by TTT do you mean not T14 or do you seriously mean TTT?

I just want to say that I think for many people, law is a default career. Many attorneys I've talked to, particularly in big law, went into law because they didn't know what else they wanted to do and figured law was a good way to make a living. Most of them have told me if they had a choice, they would have taken that $100,000 and done something else.

I do think that some of the right questions to ask when thinking of a career in law are the following:
(1) Why do I want to go to law school?
(2) If it's to get a big law job, why the hell do I want a big law job? Wouldn't I-banking be a better way to make it rain?
(3) Do I really understand what it feels like to be a big law attorney?

This is why I like Northwestern so much. I think LS admissions should be more like b-school admissions and require work experience. I've always wondered how many people would still want to go into biglaw after working as a paralegal for an equity partner for at least a year.

I don't regret it at all. I would, however, advise against it in most circumstances.