Top Law Schools

I have been accepted to BYU with no money and Cal Western with a full ride. (I am also hoping to get into UofMichigan or UCLA with no money). My question is if there are instances when the school ranking really matters. I know that I would like to practice in San Diego but am concerned because I don't know what I want to do. That is to work for a big firm, small firm, government, non-profits, business, or get involved in politics. Thanks in advance for your help!

It matters when family members who know nothing about law schools ask, " Oh, what is it ranked?"

Outside of top-13/14 it really, really, doesn't matter. It is just a matter of where you want to be. BYU won't get you a job in Cleveland, and Case will not get you a job in the Mountain West. You certainly would not pick Iowa over Fordham if you want NYC because Iowa is 23 and Fordham is 30

It matters primarily on where you want to practice, and also the type of work you want to do. If you want to practice in a geographic location far away from the school, it will be more difficult if the school isn't highly ranked.

A higher ranked school helps long-term career wise if you are wanting biglaw, like some high profile highrise law firm in NYC.

It matters in tiers. HYS/CCN/T10/T14/T20/T30/Tier 1/Tier 2

Location starts to matter more IMO when you're outside of T20.

I would say BYU is kind of a special case because of the LDS thing. It has its own peculiar network.

It's also crazy cheap if you are LDS.