Top Law Schools

First post here, and I don't want to seem like an ingrate right out the gate.

EDIT:
Already got a deserved bashing... so I'm trimming this down. THANK YOU for your opinions!

To put this in perspective: never even heard of Stanford until 8th grade or so... was always raised with East Coast Ivy-worship, and never got to attend one for various reasons.

I tell my friends I'm into SLS: "uh... why go out west for school?"

I don't have much to gauge this wonderful opportunity. No lawyers in the family or friends' families. I'm coming from small-town mentality I guess. Anyway, time to send the deposit soon.

Either this is a flame or you need to get your head checked. Possibly both.

soundgardener wrote:Either this is a flame or you need to get your head checked. Possibly both.

Not a flame. Can't speak to your second point.

I don't have ANY friends/family in law, so it's hard for me to size up these issues.

Seems like you are trying to "screw up" again. Consistent pattern? I wonder if Yale had accepted you early in the cycle & you were rejected by Stanford & Harvard, would you be starting a similiar thread. Nobody likes rejection, but it is a fact of life that we all have to learn to live with if we want to grow.

Slap yourself *pause
Now go to Standford.

LOL. Go to Stanford.

I'll refrain from commenting at all about your decision, but just for data about transferring, there were a grand total of 0 transfers out of SLS this past year (according to admissions and Dean Kramer).

Doesn't mean it doesn't happen, it just means there are few who end up making that decision after being at SLS for a year.

goooooooooood lord

go to stanford

Your survey format raises concerns. The first choice in your survey suggests declining Stanford this year & reapplying next year to Harvard, Yale and Stanford. Why would you apply again to Stanford after rejecting them? This is a maturity & committment type issue. In short, your expectations are unreasonable & your current reasoning/thinking is not mature, in my opinion.

CalamityZane wrote: I screwed up a bit by not coming out of college with a clear career direction.

Really? Really???

leftofthedial wrote:

CalamityZane wrote: I screwed up a bit by not coming out of college with a clear career direction.

Really? Really???

Don't most Lib Arts folks have this dilemma? I've never had any real guidance in this department. I'm one of those kids whose parents had the hippy philosophy - do what you want, follow your bliss, etc. Except I didn't find much bliss anywhere

Law is my commitment to commit to something.

You will have the option of working wherever you want out of Stanford. Unless you are absolutely dead set on the slim chance of getting a SCOTUS clerkship out of Yale, this is a no-brainer. GO TO STANFORD, ENJOY LIFE, AND THEN DO WHATEVER YOU WANT! Holy crap...prestige whore doesn't even begin to describe your post.

.

wow. just wow.

Ok, I think you should defer a year at Stanford and work/explore/do something law-related. See if law is right for you. If it is, go to a fantastic law school that is the second most difficult law school to get into. Stanford looks amazing on a resume. If you don't want to be a lawyer, do something else with that 3.9 GPA.

Also, I don't know where you get the idea that Stanford students are "second rate" to Harvard and Yale students. That is crazy talk. Yes, Stanford is ranked #3. But it's not like Harvard and Yale are Tier 1 schools compared to that TTT Stanford. Gain some perspective in that year off and realize the magnitude of great opportunities you have within your reach.

And, most importantly, congratulations!

CalamityZane wrote:
Here are some worries/concerns: I'm not sure law is right for me, but it definitely seems the "most right" given my current life path and absence of clear career opportunities.

This is a HUGE red flag to me. I visited Harvard and Stanford, and the one thing that is most common among those who don't like it is having gone, essentially, because there wasn't anything better to do.

Just something to think about...

lol. crackberry's head probably exploded.

SLS is absolutely not second rate to HY in the legal world. I do concede though, that if you were to move into non-legal fields, that no other university quite matches the cachet of Harvard. I really doubt, though, that a SLS degree will somehow impair your career flexibility.

Go to Stanford. The Bay Area is awesome.


Edit: Also, what makes you think you can get into HLS/YLS next year? Both are tossups with your #s.

Voted for the OP to turn down SLS because he's such an idiot that he doesn't deserve it.

Boo fucking hoo. Honestly. But yes, congratulations!

Being a self-proclaimed "prestige-whore", I am assuming you are a graduate of an ivy undergraduate school.

Stanford Law School will most certainly be a blight upon your resume and hamper your life aspirations. Let's remember, third best in the country is a nice way of saying "worse than at least a couple schools".

Turn down Stanford, and only apply to Harvard and Yale next year. If you don't get in, apply for some other graduate degree at the prestigious ivy schools.

Because, in the end, I think we all have to agree that where you went to school for three years matters, not the generative years of life you spend pursuing a career.

If it helps, Stanford was & is the number one law school in my combined USNews & National Law Journal rankings; Harvard was/is third & Yale fifth. In short, you won!

I genuinely dislike you. You are the epitome of a prestige whore. If SLS isn't good enough for you, then you're going to law school for all the wrong reasons.

Reapply bro!

You could go to Yale

Yale, bro

Keep trying, and never give up until you finally get in

If it takes 10 years, so be it

I want to read the original of the OP really badly.

DerrickRose wrote:I want to read the original of the OP really badly.

Stanford Law grads are second rate