Interesting Forum

[cool of law]

http://www.lawschoolpodcaster.com/2011/ ... -get-into/

[ran12]

http://www.lawschoolpodcaster.com/2011/ ... -get-into/

I guess it's interesting but for people who actually know about job process, this is old news. Most lawyers will tell you the same thing unless they're pretentious dicks.

[FuManChusco]

not interesting. absolutely asinine.

[cool of law]

not interesting. absolutely asinine.

how asinine? not poking fun, but is the argument completely bunk?

[Alex-Trof]

Search the forum. This has been discussed before. The overwhelming consensus was that you should balance scholarship $$$/rank/geographical preference/career interests when deciding. To go to lower ranked school just because you think you will do much better there is stupid. There are also fewer firms recruiting.

[MrPapagiorgio]

"And if you get a 4.0 GPA at that local school, you are a shoo-in for a high-paying law firm associate position–as long as you don’t screw up the interview."

Oh really? All I have to do is get a 4.0 GPA and I'll get that top associate job? Why didn't I think of that sooner?!?!

[cool of law]

Good points. I also feel like assuming you would do worse at a better school seems like a pretty huge leap.

[FuManChusco]

not interesting. absolutely asinine.

how asinine? not poking fun, but is the argument completely bunk?

As an illustrative hypothetical, imagine an average student (GPA 3.25‐3.5) at 47th ranked University of Florida. Using the fifth column from Table 11 (AJD regressions on salary), we can predict how her earnings would be affected under various counterfactuals. If she had attended 20th ranked George Washington University, her grades likely would have slipped to the 2.75‐3.0 range, and her salary would drop considerably (by 22%, all other factors held constant.) Even if she had managed to get a spot at 7th ranked UC Berkeley, where the tier premiums are highest, her grades likely would have fallen into the 2.5‐2.75 range, and her salary would be 7% lower. On the other hand, if she had attended 80th ranked Rutgers, she probably could have improved her grades to land in the 3.5‐3.75 range, and earned a 13% higher salary.

This entire paragraph is rubbish. assuming you can finish with a better class rank because you are attending a lower ranked school is a dangerous game. better off assuming you'll finish median wherever you go and I would much rather be median at Boalt than median at Rutgers.

[ran12]

It's hard to believe that people would automatically do worse at a better school or automatically get an awesome job with a 4.0 from a local school that's ranked lower. However, it is true that how well you do at your school will often outweigh prestige.