Top Law Schools

M. Yass wrote:I want to end up in big law, and have figured either BU or Duke will give me the best chance of getting there.

M. Yass wrote:I plan on working for a year after I finish undergrad (graduating this Spring) since I have something lined up that pays pretty well, but want to know what my chances are with a 161 LSAT.

M. Yass wrote:Will it help that I am on my school's student run investment fund or that I'll be working in banking or that I'm hispanic?

cavalier1138 wrote:Ok, so a lot to unpack here.

M. Yass wrote:I want to end up in big law, and have figured either BU or Duke will give me the best chance of getting there.

I understand how Duke would make your list, but how the hell did BU end up as your top choice for biglaw placement? If your goal is biglaw, you should be T13-or-bust, which is completely reasonable with your GPA.

M. Yass wrote:I plan on working for a year after I finish undergrad (graduating this Spring) since I have something lined up that pays pretty well, but want to know what my chances are with a 161 LSAT.

Good. Take some time to work and study up for the LSAT. You have about a 0% chance of getting in to a school that gets you biglaw with your current numbers, unless you're a URM. Speaking of which...

M. Yass wrote:Will it help that I am on my school's student run investment fund or that I'll be working in banking or that I'm hispanic?

What kind of Hispanic?

Bumblefly94 wrote:

cavalier1138 wrote:Ok, so a lot to unpack here.

I understand how Duke would make your list, but how the hell did BU end up as your top choice for biglaw placement? If your goal is biglaw, you should be T13-or-bust, which is completely reasonable with your GPA.

This is wrong. Obviously, the higher ranked the school the better, but it also depends a lot on how well you do. If you go to Harvard and are 100th in your class and don't make law review, then firms may be more impressed by someone who is top 10% at BU and is on law review. I work at a firm that's is rightfully considered "big law" (top 20 Vault rankings), and our head of recruiting says they'll look at anyone who is at the top of their class. If you want to go do big law, then just do well at whatever school you end up at.

jazzy24 wrote:"T-13 or bust" is not exactly true. I know L3s from Fordham and Emory who were offered Associate jobs with top 5 Big Law Firms. I believe that Bumblefly94 has a point. If you are a top student at a non T-13 law school, you are not precluded from a job in Big Law. Obviously being a top student at a T13 is better, but people have different reasons for picking where they go to law school. So let's all be supportive of each other.