What Schools Have Lay Prestige & Is It Important Forum

flexityflex86 · Post by **flexityflex86** » Sun Jul 31, 2011 4:51 pm

Many people assume that Cornell has more lay prestige than Michigan or that Notre Dame, WUSTL or Emory are top, top, top because of their undergrads so how important is lay prestige?

How much $ is it worth?

Why does anyone care about anything other than location, and employment? We live in a culture where wealth is respected, and lawyers are perceived as either successful lawyers or loser lawyers, which while ranking contributes to the odds of being successful, lay prestige does not.

duckmoney · Post by **duckmoney** » Sun Jul 31, 2011 4:56 pm

flexityflex86 wrote:Many people assume that Cornell has more lay prestige than Michigan or that Notre Dame, WUSTL or Emory are top, top, top because of their undergrads so how important is lay prestige?

How much $ is it worth?

Why does anyone care about anything other than location, and employment? We live in a culture where wealth is respected, and lawyers are perceived as either successful lawyers or loser lawyers, which while ranking contributes to the odds of being successful, lay prestige does not.

The only people that lay prestige means anything to are not lawyers. None of these people will ever hire you for a legal job.

The only time lay prestige will benefit you in any way is when you're at a cocktail party and tell everyone "I went to Georgetown Law" and everybody goes "oooooohhh." Meanwhile, the quiet guy in the back who went to Chicago has a biglaw job and you don't.

yngblkgifted · Post by **yngblkgifted** » Sun Jul 31, 2011 5:08 pm

Egregious anti-Michigan trolling??????

Bildungsroman · Post by **Bildungsroman** » Sun Jul 31, 2011 5:15 pm

Lay prestige isn't important. I'd rather get a job than be able to tell lades that I went to Georgetown when they won't sleep with me either way.

yngblkgifted wrote:Egregious anti-Michigan trolling??????

Michigan definitely has more lay prestige than the short bus of the ivy league.

TaipeiMort · Post by **TaipeiMort** » Sun Jul 31, 2011 5:15 pm

Two types of law prestige:

1) Lay prestige-- impressing your school teacher uncle at a barbecue-- Harvard, Yale, Georgetown, Stanford (on the west coast), Columbia (on the East Coast).

2) Business lay prestige-- Will your corporate client think your degree is valuable/prestigious? See: Whichever schools McKinsey conducts their APD recruitment program at: Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Columbia, Chicago. (I am not sure if they recruit at Northwestern or Penn, but it would make sense because of their elite MBA programs and placement in big business in general).

flexityflex86 · Post by **flexityflex86** » Sun Jul 31, 2011 5:18 pm

I agree. No anti-Michigan here.

I go to a top 10, but I was taught either through life experience or observational learning from the cooler cats from these places to not name drop at cocktail parties - that the suave confident guy sits back, and plays it cool. I congratulate the person who goes to Suffolk, and only name drop my top 10 if directly asked. Just saying, "You know I went to Georgetown" is like saying, "My shirt is Dior."

Bildungsroman · Post by **Bildungsroman** » Sun Jul 31, 2011 5:20 pm

"Top ten" is a term mostly used by secretly self-loathing MVPB students. That you use it (and mention it twice in a 5 sentence post) speaks volumes.

flexityflex86 · Post by **flexityflex86** » Sun Jul 31, 2011 5:21 pm

it's also a term to not reveal your identity on online forums.

i am very proud of my MVPB school - exceptionally proud, makes me smile to myself every day, but I also do not necessarily think my self in my private life is the person i work to be in the work force, and do not want to reveal to my work force who i am in my personal life, which is somebody that states his mind.

Transferthrowaway · Post by **Transferthrowaway** » Sun Jul 31, 2011 5:22 pm

Female acquaintance: "Oh you go to law school? University of Chicago? That's cool, is that a good school? My one friend just got into Notre Dame, he is like SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO smart."

NYC Law · Post by **NYC Law** » Sun Jul 31, 2011 5:23 pm

Must this thread be started again every 3 weeks?

Corwin · Post by **Corwin** » Sun Jul 31, 2011 5:24 pm

Transferthrowaway wrote:Female acquaintance: "Oh you go to law school? University of Chicago? That's cool, is that a good school? My one friend just got into Notre Dame, he is like SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO smart."

LOL, that sounds pretty standard

flexityflex86 · Post by **flexityflex86** » Sun Jul 31, 2011 5:25 pm

Transferthrowaway wrote:Female acquaintance: "Oh you go to law school? University of Chicago? That's cool! Is it good? My one friend just got into Notre Dame, he is like SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO smart."

I've gotten this before.

Girls have literally assumed because I go to a top 10 I didn't get into the local regional, nd have talked about their friend who is soooooo smart. I have literally been told by a girl that I'm a pretty boy, but this friend is more of a lawyer type because he was smart enough to get into the TT I know I would've gotten a ride to if I applied to.

bhan87 · Post by **bhan87** » Sun Jul 31, 2011 5:27 pm

It's funny how lay prestige can really be inconsistent with prestige in the legal world and overall quality. So many of my friends just don't realize that NYU, Chicago, UVA, Michigan, and Berkeley are better schools than Georgetown, which they assume should be in the T5.

fruitjuice · Post by **fruitjuice** » Sun Jul 31, 2011 5:28 pm

flexityflex86 wrote:
Transferthrowaway wrote:Female acquaintance: "Oh you go to law school? University of Chicago? That's cool! Is it good? My one friend just got into Notre Dame, he is like SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO smart."
I've gotten this before.

Girls have literally assumed because I go to a top 10 I didn't get into the local regional, nd have talked about their friend who is soooooo smart. I have literally been told by a girl that I'm a pretty boy, but this friend is more of a lawyer type because he was smart enough to get into the TT I know I would've gotten a ride to if I applied to.

this happens sometimes; much more often (at least in midwest, idk cali or east cost) girls know that uchicago is the shit. especially if they're worth talking to or impressing.

yngblkgifted · Post by **yngblkgifted** » Sun Jul 31, 2011 5:30 pm

flexityflex86 wrote:I agree. No anti-Michigan here.

I go to a top 10, but I was taught either through life experience or observational learning from the cooler cats from these places to not name drop at cocktail parties - that the suave confident guy sits back, and plays it cool. I congratulate the person who goes to Suffolk, and only name drop my top 10 if directly asked. Just saying, "You know I went to Georgetown" is like saying, "My shirt is Dior."

OK, cool. Yeah, sometimes I like the fact that my school has zero lay prestige. That way I don't have to gauge whether or not it would be appropriate to drop the name in causal conversation. Whether I drop the name or not, unless you live in the state of the school I attend, no one will probably even know or care that it is a top school ( that's the way it should be). If you were hoping that the name of your school will get you laid, you probably aren't getting laid.

Corwin · Post by **Corwin** » Sun Jul 31, 2011 5:31 pm

As a side note, this whole debate about lay prestige has always confused me. Why do people want it? You want people to be in awe of you when they meet you, even if you don't deserve it? If you're actually awe-worthy, you'll get tons of recognition within the circles of your profession. And there are also tons of easier ways to make people thank you're awesome than going to a law school with lay prestige.

flexityflex86 · Post by **flexityflex86** » Sun Jul 31, 2011 5:32 pm

the best is when someone trying to be nice responds to your top 10, oh that's okay. you can transfer to the TTT if you do well.

NYC Law · Post by **NYC Law** » Sun Jul 31, 2011 5:34 pm

flexityflex86 wrote:the best is when someone trying to be nice responds to your top 10, oh that's okay. you can transfer to the TTT if you do well.

Do you only associate with idiots?

redsoxfan2495 · Post by **redsoxfan2495** » Sun Jul 31, 2011 5:37 pm

Lay prestige does not matter. You will not be hired by a group of lawyers because you went to a school that sounds impressive to non-lawyers. (Also, you'd be amazed which schools impress/do not impress some people. As far as I can tell the only schools that consistently impress are HYS.)

yngblkgifted · Post by **yngblkgifted** » Sun Jul 31, 2011 5:38 pm

NYC Law wrote:
flexityflex86 wrote:the best is when someone trying to be nice responds to your top 10, oh that's okay. you can transfer to the TTT if you do well.
Do you only associate with idiots?

TBF, I've met an actual student at a top 10 school (MVP) who didn't know that Virginia was a top 10 school.

Edit: And the school that the student attended wasn't Virginia.

Blessedassurance · Post by **Blessedassurance** » Sun Jul 31, 2011 5:39 pm

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 6&t=159306

flexityflex86 wrote:I am not a URM, but run a tutoring company, and have consulted with several 1000 students over the past few years. We have had some URM students - 18 actual students, and phone calls from about 100.

That was last month.

This month:

flexityflex86 wrote:I go to a top 10, but I was taught either through life experience...etc

Aim for consistency. Decide what you want to be on the internet and stick with it. Oh wait, I see what you're doing with the "masking identity" thing.

flexityflex86 · Post by **flexityflex86** » Sun Jul 31, 2011 5:39 pm

NYC Law wrote:
flexityflex86 wrote:the best is when someone trying to be nice responds to your top 10, oh that's okay. you can transfer to the TTT if you do well.
Do you only associate with idiots?

i'm on planet earth - land of the idiots. the majority of the world is not TLS. most people in general couldn't get a 150 if they studied for the LSAT (151 is the median of wannabe attorneys). i have a lot of patience for stupidity. i come from stupidity, am surrounded by stupidity and am cool with it. my only issue is when stupidity thinks its smart - i.e. people saying "dude the universe is like...." or "c'mon i mean the media is lying." or "my boyfriend omg is so smart. he goes to fordham. he's like a genius."

Transferthrowaway · Post by **Transferthrowaway** » Sun Jul 31, 2011 5:43 pm

flexityflex86 wrote:
NYC Law wrote:
flexityflex86 wrote:the best is when someone trying to be nice responds to your top 10, oh that's okay. you can transfer to the TTT if you do well.
Do you only associate with idiots?
i'm on planet earth - land of the idiots. the majority of the world is not TLS. most people in general couldn't get a 150 if they studied for the LSAT (151 is the median of wannabe attorneys). i have a lot of patience for stupidity. i come from stupidity, am surrounded by stupidity and am cool with it. my only issue is when stupidity thinks its smart - i.e. people saying "dude the universe is like...." or "c'mon i mean the media is lying." or "my boyfriend omg is so smart. he goes to fordham. he's like a genius."

I was thinking TCR was: "Girls in bars looking to go home."

Bildungsroman · Post by **Bildungsroman** » Sun Jul 31, 2011 5:47 pm

OP, why do you keep saying "I go to a T10"; aren't you a 0L?

Perdevise · Post by **Perdevise** » Sun Jul 31, 2011 5:49 pm

Corwin wrote:
Transferthrowaway wrote:Female acquaintance: "Oh you go to law school? University of Chicago? That's cool, is that a good school? My one friend just got into Notre Dame, he is like SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO smart."
LOL, that sounds pretty standard

Sort of tangential, but I was asking this friend of mine who is from Chicago (the kind of friend who constantly mentions how superior everything in Chicago is to my town (which may be true)) what she thought of the University of Chicago, because I am super interested in its law school.
She kept saying, "You mean UI Chicago?"

"No, I mean the private school, you know, they practically invented modern economics? Its in Hyde Park?"

::blank stare::

She'd lived there her whole life and didn't know the school.

What Schools Have Lay Prestige & Is It Important Forum

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