BC Law v. Notre Dame Law Forum

[applejack]

I am a Boston College graduate, accepted at BC and ND Law, with comparable $ (20,000/yr.) I want to practice in Boston, but find myself drawn to ND. I want to go to ND, but will this screw my chances at working in Boston? Am I an idiot for even considering ND?

[JusticeHarlan]

I did a little digging about this in another thread, and concluded that I couldn't find a single ND Law alum in the three largest Boston firms, nor could I identify a Boston firm that recruited at Notre Dame.

Now, it's possible you could maybe get something through your own devices if you have strong ties to the city (BC undergrad certainly helps), and there are more than 3 firms in the city (so look through the websites for those). But it'll be an uphill battle, compared to going to a school that major Boston firms recruits at and coming out with that double eagle. You gotta weight that against how much you'd rather spend 3 years at Notre Dame.

[dakatz]

You would be a complete fool to go to ND with comparable money if practicing in Boston is your goal.

[ndirish2010]

You would be pretty dumb to turn down BC in this situation.

[ndirish2010]

I did a little digging about this in another thread, and concluded that I couldn't find a single ND Law alum in the three largest Boston firms, nor could I identify a Boston firm that recruited at Notre Dame.

Now, it's possible you could maybe get something through your own devices if you have strong ties to the city (BC undergrad certainly helps), and there are more than 3 firms in the city (so look through the websites for those). But it'll be an uphill battle, compared to going to a school that major Boston firms recruits at and coming out with that double eagle. You gotta weight that against how much you'd rather spend 3 years at Notre Dame.

There aren't any Boston firms at our OCI and very few people from New England are in my class, so you would really be on your own trying to get to Boston. I love Notre Dame (I actually transferred out of BC undergrad after freshman year to go to ND and now am at NDLS), but there is just no reason here to not go to BC.

[Slevin Kelevra 2011]

BC is the safety school of ND for undergrad.
ND is the safety school of BC for law school.

[applejack]

Ok, so the consensus seems to be if I want to stay in Boston and go biglaw, go to BC. Just out of curiosity, what about medium to small firms and/or non-profits. Also, just to throw it out there, what about clerking? If we leave biglaw out of the equation (which may be hard to do on this site), does it still shake out the same way?

[northwood]

if you want to practice in boston- go to law school in boston.
you will have more opportunities to network with boston firms and lawyers from the area. Plus- you allready know where to live and who to rent from- so thats one less thing to worry about ( as well as moving costs)

[fetalposition]

BC is the safety school of ND for undergrad.
ND is the safety school of BC for law school.

Yeah, not really. ND has higher admission statistics (albeit slightly) for both undergrad and law school. At the same time, it's not really fair to call BC "ND's safety school" since both universities are very similar to each other admissions-wise.

Back to the original topic, OP should go to Boston College. I understand the urge to experience a different school and even "diversify" one's degrees, but ND Law won't open half the doors in Boston that BC Law will.

[whereto4law]

BC is a great school, but ND also shares a wonderful reputation. If you have always wanted to go to ND, go to ND.

[bernaldiaz]

BC is the safety school of ND for undergrad.
ND is the safety school of BC for law school.

Yeah, not really. ND has higher admission statistics (albeit slightly) for both undergrad and law school. At the same time, it's not really fair to call BC "ND's safety school" since both universities are very similar to each other admissions-wise.

Back to the original topic, OP should go to Boston College. I understand the urge to experience a different school and even "diversify" one's degrees, but ND Law won't open half the doors in Boston that BC Law will.

Obviously anecdotal evidence is far from proof, but I am at Notre
Dame undergrad and BC was in fact my safety school. We have a huge basketball tournament where faculty, students, and employees can all play. The admissions staff is typically named "Sending kids to BC since 1848". Am I just trying to stir up controversy? Probably.

[tea_drinker]

BC is a great school, but ND also shares a wonderful reputation. If you have always wanted to go to ND, but would like to work in Boston, then go to ND BC.

FTFY