Top Law Schools

Which T14 school would you say is the most competitive? Georgetown? Chicago?

It's going to be competitive everywhere, but my guess is Georgetown simply because people know they have to be higher in the class to get biglaw.

Your comfort level also depends on what method of testing you excel at. I know that Chicago 1L exams are all writing-based. Some other T-14s use part-multiple choice final exams. If you're a good test taker but a slow typist, you may feel more comfortable elsewhere.

Besides Yale, which T14 is the least cutthroat? Obviously, they're all competitive, but some have got to be nicer about it than others.

Virginia? Penn? Maybe Duke?

irishman86 wrote:It's going to be competitive everywhere, but my guess is Georgetown simply because people know they have to be higher in the class to get biglaw.

Your comfort level also depends on what method of testing you excel at. I know that Chicago 1L exams are all writing-based. Some other T-14s use part-multiple choice final exams. If you're a good test taker but a slow typist, you may feel more comfortable elsewhere.

I'm a 1L at Georgetown. There seems to be a reputation, at least on TLS, that GULC is cutthroat and ultra-competitive. I really haven't experienced that, though. People are friendly, willing to share their notes, etc. In fact, when I missed class one day I had a friend e-mail me his notes when I hadn't even asked.

irishman86 wrote:It's going to be competitive everywhere, but my guess is Georgetown simply because people know they have to be higher in the class to get biglaw.

Your comfort level also depends on what method of testing you excel at. I know that Chicago 1L exams are all writing-based. Some other T-14s use part-multiple choice final exams. If you're a good test taker but a slow typist, you may feel more comfortable elsewhere.

Many of the contracts profs have some multiple choice.

The professor determines the exam format, not the school. That is the only universal truth about exam formats.

From my take, NU isn't terribly competitive. The school has fostered a culture of sharing notes and outlines and I think that the age difference helps. Also, our placement in big law continues to be strong (i.e. 60-65%) of the c/o 2012 appear to be heading to V100 firms for the summer.

Michigan doesn't seem that competitive. (Or maybe my friends are just slackers?) Last year, one really good outline for a 1L course was distributed so widely among my classmates to the point where pretty much everyone had it.

We all seem to get along pretty well here at Duke. Honestly, even with the economy being in suck mode, I think the whole cutthroat thing is not that true of law schools in general these days. Chicago has a reputation for being "intense" but I don't think that's because students are all being super competitive with one another.

It's going to be competitive everywhere, but my guess is Georgetown simply because people know they have to be higher in the class to get biglaw.

I went to GULC. People work hard, but nobody is cutthroat about it.

i think law schools, in general, tend to be as competitive as the people you hang out with

DoubleChecks wrote:i think law schools, in general, tend to be as competitive as the people you hang out with

This. I'm at Cornell and I haven't felt any competitive vibes.

Yup, nothing cutthroat happening in my line of sight at NYU.

I cut throats DAILY. This way I have less competition come OCI.

Raver wrote:I cut throats DAILY. This way I have less competition come OCI.

Only if the throats you cut have higher GPAs.

irishman86 wrote:It's going to be competitive everywhere, but my guess is Georgetown simply because people know they have to be higher in the class to get biglaw.

Your comfort level also depends on what method of testing you excel at. I know that Chicago 1L exams are all writing-based. Some other T-14s use part-multiple choice final exams. If you're a good test taker but a slow typist, you may feel more comfortable elsewhere.

I really haven't seen anything approaching cutthroat behavior at Chicago yet.

Also some of the 1L exams have a multiple-choice component and some are 8 hour take homes with word limits. Not everything is a typing contest.

Reedie wrote:

Raver wrote:I cut throats DAILY. This way I have less competition come OCI.

Only if the throats you cut have higher GPAs.

Not only should you cut their throats, but you should eat them as well. This will strike fear into the hearts and minds of your enemy.

Reedie wrote:

Raver wrote:I cut throats DAILY. This way I have less competition come OCI.

Only if the throats you cut have higher GPAs.

Well, of course. I do have standards.

From what I can gather, I definitely get the impression that the west coast schools (Stanford and Berkeley) are much less competetive than the east coast schools. I assume this has something to do with a mix of west coast culture and unique grading systems.

However I am a 0L, so I clearly don't have direct experience.

Reedie wrote:

Raver wrote:I cut throats DAILY. This way I have less competition come OCI.

Only if the throats you cut have higher GPAs.

And people with W/E. And gunners, just cause.

chadwick218 wrote:From my take, NU isn't terribly competitive. The school has fostered a culture of sharing notes and outlines and I think that the age difference helps. Also, our placement in big law continues to be strong (i.e. 60-65%) of the c/o 2012 appear to be heading to V100 firms for the summer.

For the most part, I've found this to be true. It was less true this summer in my program, but as far as I can tell, our group seems to be mostly recovered from any bad feelings there may or may not have been.

is there an unwritten rule: the lower the bracket is (HYS, CCN etc), the more cutthroatness required to get BigLaw and OCI interviews?

bmwhype2 wrote:is there an unwritten rule: the lower the bracket is (HYS, CCN etc), the more cutthroatness required to get BigLaw and OCI interviews?

not necessarily? but i imagine the amount of 'cutthroatness' at HYS is lessened by the fact that the grading systems there are much more forgiving

Don't cut throats, cut fingers. Like, paper cut depth. Just enough to make typing really annoying.

Also, I would guess Michigan, where placement strength ignorance seems the most rampant.

romothesavior wrote:

Reedie wrote:

Raver wrote:I cut throats DAILY. This way I have less competition come OCI.

Only if the throats you cut have higher GPAs.

And people with W/E. And gunners, just cause.

Wouldn't you rather keep the stupid gunners alive and bask in their misery? Schadenfreude = law school's greatest reward.

Boalt has a great, non-competitive vibe.