Top Law Schools

I have read a ton on this site and there have been a lot of great incites and the general rules I have seen for making a decision seem to be.

1. Choose the best school you get into
2. if outside top 14 or so consider the region you want to practice in.
3. Within your top choices consider you debt load.


I have been accepted into the US Marine Corps Law program. For this reason I really don't have a region I will be working in and it is hard for me to consider what kind of law I will want to practice after 4 years in the corps. What other things should I be considering in this decision?

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cheapest for me would be syracuse where i got 33k but i applied to a bunch of places just for this reasons...

miami 23k
PSU 20k
case 25k
villanova 20k
baylor 15k
SDU 21k

FSU
Arizona
American
OSU
Utah

W/L
Notre Dame
Wake
Cardozo

i am all over the place

I would consider quality of life. I'd personally much rather go to USD over Seton Hall or Cincinnati for example.

If you're interested in a particular area of law you might want to make sure the school you are considering offers a solid range of classes in that area. As a JAG you're going to be mainly involved in criminal law, and all law schools will have that covered. You might be doing some litigation as a JAG as well, you might look into oral advocacy skills training at each school. This is equivalent to a "soft" factor for a law school application though; it should not make or break your decision.

Are you already military? If not, you might consider going to a school with an ROTC program so you can get your feet wet. Although, this is not necessary.

If I were you based on these choices, I'd go to ND if I got accepted. <-- I currently attend NDLS and I love it.

Otherwise, I'd go to USD.

I was ND undergrad so I am not sure if I can double dome it... 4 years of terrible football was real rough

Haha. Well things are looking up with Brian Kelly being there!

Because your not sure what region you'll be working in, and all of the schools on your list (aside from ND to an extent) are regional schools, I would pick the school that gives you the most money and where you think you'll be the happiest.

I personally like the sun so I'd go to USD or Miami.

hokie wrote:

trayball23 wrote:I have read a ton on this site and there have been a lot of great incites and the general rules I have seen for making a decision seem to be.

1. Choose the best school you get into
2. if outside top 14 or so consider the region you want to practice in.
3. Within your top choices consider you debt load.


I have been accepted into the US Marine Corps Law program. For this reason I really don't have a region I will be working in and it is hard for me to consider what kind of law I will want to practice after 4 years in the corps. What other things should I be considering in this decision?

you pretty much have it covered; the only other thing you may want to consider if the school atmosphere (very different between say NYC and Lexington). If you have already been accepted to the Marine Corp Law program and am considering a military career, then I would place cheapest COA at the top of my list unless the school is unaccredited or has a bad rep.

Yeah, if you're already into the program, then I don't see much advantage in paying the premium for a more prestigious school. The education is going to be very similar across most schools you consider. The only reason prestige is prized is because its on that basis that you get your first job, and your first job is a lot of what determines your career trajectory.

But if you're spending most of your early career doing jag, by time you're through your experience will be at the forefront, and what you've done with your career up to that point will be what determines your options. Just pick the cheapest school you feel comfortable having on the resume for life, because for you I don't think it'll have nearly the effect it will for most people.

Edit: In general, none of your accepts are drastically different. OSU, Arizona and American maybe a bit better... but not dramatically. Certainly not for the money, and definitely not in your situation.

very helpful ... nice to have responses that are not sarcastic for once

Cal4future wrote:Haha. Well things are looking up with Brian Kelly being there!

Because your not sure what region you'll be working in, and all of the schools on your list (aside from ND to an extent) are regional schools, I would pick the school that gives you the most money and where you think you'll be the happiest.

I personally like the sun so I'd go to USD or Miami.

Since it looks equal cost wise, I think most people would take Miami. It's got a slightly better rep, a much bigger brand name and in arguably a more dynamic city.

Though personally, I think it's hard to beat San Diego's weather.

be nice to be near that huge military base in SD as well

[quote="trayball23"]be nice to be near that huge military base in SD as well[/quote]

You can try to make some connections over at Pendleton and get some courtroom experience before you grad.

Thanks in advance for your service.

Cal4future wrote:

trayball23 wrote:be nice to be near that huge military base in SD as well

You can try to make some connections over at Pendleton and get some courtroom experience before you grad.

Thanks in advance for your service.

Forgot about that. That a Naval base too. Probably makes this a no brainer.

is there a big base near Miami or Ohio state? I know JAG headquarters is not to far from DC too so american mite not be terrible? Idk any other perspectives would be great?

any clue where the majority of JAGS are stationed? Does every milt base have JAGS present?

Every decently sized USMC base is going to have some sort of JAG contingent. Most JAGs however, are going to be concentrated in the big four USMC bases; Camp Pendleton CA, Camp Lejuene NC, Marine Corps Base HI and Marine Corps Base Butler, Okinawa.

I'm not sure it will help with your LS decision, but still a lot of info in here: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... =3&t=31543

maybe you've seen it, but I thought I'd post it in case you haven't

definitely minimize debt and pick a school where you will be happy. those are the two most important things for you now. no one can really choose your preferences though.

miami 23k
PSU 20k
case 25k
villanova 20k
baylor 15k
SDU 21k
syracuse 33k
albany 35k
arizona 14k

FSU
American
OSU
Utah

W/L
Notre Dame
Wake
Cardozo
Emory

i am all over the place