Top Law Schools

I am accepted at MN and several T1 schools in the high 30 and low 40 range (Wake, GMU, SMU and several holds that may pay off). Am I better off choosing a much lower ranked school in a location that is NOT cold as Stalin's heart or following the traditional "go to the best school you get into" wisdom? I understand that we shouldn't get too concerned about a ten place difference in ranking, but when you get into a 15-30 place difference, it is perhaps a bit more meaningful. I am OK with starting a practice up north (my wife is from the upper Midwest), but eventually we would likely want to move to somewhere with a more moderate climate. Thoughts?

Where do you want to end up? If you are targeting the state of Minnesota or Chicago, then take Minnesota. Otherwise, GMU, SMU, and Wake are all good schools, but place much more regionally. Also, are there any big differences in terms of scholarships?

xanderdellus wrote:I am accepted at MN and several T1 schools in the high 30 and low 40 range (Wake, GMU, SMU and several holds that may pay off). Am I better off choosing a much lower ranked school in a location that is NOT cold as Stalin's heart or following the traditional "go to the best school you get into" wisdom? I understand that we shouldn't get too concerned about a ten place difference in ranking, but when you get into a 15-30 place difference, it is perhaps a bit more meaningful. I am OK with starting a practice up north (my wife is from the upper Midwest), but eventually we would likely want to move to somewhere with a more moderate climate. Thoughts?

Well...just decide where you would want to work.

I wouldn't attend MN with the expectation of working in Chicago though (If you can't swing U of Chicago, Northwestern U, or U of Michigan the next 3 would be U of Notre Dame, Washington U, and U of Illinois for Chicago).

It's an interesting decision because in 2005, SMU placed 2x as many people in big law as MN (I presume that difference is still the same today given neither school has moved rank much - if at all).

I don't know much about Wake or GMU though.

If you are chasing warmer weather and big law placement, SMU seems to be the answer to those two stipulations.

Where did you get the statistic about SMU placing 2x as more students as MN? Is SMU big law placement statistic double numerically or proportionally?

the 2005 shortened chart that everyone has and the 2005 chart that has every legal market (sorry I don't have the links, but I thought everyone had these charts).

Oh and proportional.

I'm also facing a similar dilemma here, Minnesota/Iowa versus San Diego. Being from the west coast, I'm rather hesitant about the midwest weather. I eventually want to be in a warmer climate. I'm still leaning towards MN though, as the clinical offerings are appealing to me. As I understand it, degrees are more portable when it comes to PI careers, so it seems like I'll have some chance of relocating back to the west. Or am I completely off base here? Either way, I'll be visiting for the Campus Preview before making a final decision .

it is tough to figure out exactly what the high USN ranking translates into in real world terms.

So SMU just came in with a fatty scholarship, evening out the costs (cheaper if I can't pull in-state for 2L and 3L). So why is SMU ranked so low?

xanderdellus wrote:I am accepted at MN and several T1 schools in the high 30 and low 40 range (Wake, GMU, SMU and several holds that may pay off). Am I better off choosing a much lower ranked school in a location that is NOT cold as Stalin's heart or following the traditional "go to the best school you get into" wisdom? I understand that we shouldn't get too concerned about a ten place difference in ranking, but when you get into a 15-30 place difference, it is perhaps a bit more meaningful. I am OK with starting a practice up north (my wife is from the upper Midwest), but eventually we would likely want to move to somewhere with a more moderate climate. Thoughts?

I think it also comes down to what you want to do. If you want BigLaw, there's plenty of data on that and you should probably go where you optimize such opportunities for yourself. Same if you want to clerk. I think money becomes much more of a consideration here as well. It's hard to tell exactly without all the scholarship and personal preference info on the table.

FWIW, I'm considering UMN and GMU, among others, and I would take UMN, but I got a partial scholly from UMN and have yet to hear about $$$ from GMU, so that could change.