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So I could not care less if I made 150k at age 26. My focus is civil rights/public interest (YES I KNOW I WONT MAKE ANY MONEY!). So my question is, do I go to a higher ranked school not in the market I'm looking at (i.e. IU UofI Minnesota) or do I go to a lower ranked school like Cardozo or Brooklyn if they throw a lot of money at me? I currently work as a legal assistant (while still in undergrad) at a civil rights firm in Chicago. I KNOW this is what I want to do, but at the same time I want to get the best education. Thoughts?

Since you are conceding that you wont make a lot of money, you should probably focus on attending LS for borderline free. It wont be easy to pay off 200k making 8,000/yr.

Also, regional focus is likely key in your case, so that you can be involved in the community while in LS.

So my non-expert advice is to attend the best school that you can in the region in which you want to work at the lowest cost possible. ...that seems like good advice for every applicant, though. Weird

Where did the attorneys in your firm go to school?

Either go cheap, or retake the LSAT and go to a school that has a good LRAP program, in which case you debt will be a non-issue if you do public interest.

5ky wrote:Where did the attorneys in your firm go to school?

Boss went to Kent (some 40 years ago) and at counsel are all DePaul w/one random BLS grad. Would really like to go somewhere a bit more intellectually stimulating than those two if I am honest. Have friends at both, both say its like undergrad all over again. My adviser said DePaul accepted someone with a 148 one year. Like...seriously? If you can't 160+ should you be a lawyer?

northside wrote:

5ky wrote:Where did the attorneys in your firm go to school?

Boss went to Kent (some 40 years ago) and at counsel are all DePaul w/one random BLS grad. Would really like to go somewhere a bit more intellectually stimulating than those two if I am honest. Have friends at both, both say its like undergrad all over again. My adviser said DePaul accepted someone with a 148 one year. Like...seriously? If you can't 160+ should you be a lawyer?

'kay

considering they have your dream job, perhaps you should drop the attitude

northside wrote:So I could not care less if I made 150k at age 26. My focus is civil rights/public interest (YES I KNOW I WONT MAKE ANY MONEY!). So my question is, do I go to a higher ranked school not in the market I'm looking at (i.e. IU UofI Minnesota) or do I go to a lower ranked school like Cardozo or Brooklyn if they throw a lot of money at me? I currently work as a legal assistant (while still in undergrad) at a civil rights firm in Chicago. I KNOW this is what I want to do, but at the same time I want to get the best education. Thoughts?

Definitely go regional. If you're going to work civil rights, you need to have community context.

If you're serious about working in NYC, Fordham is not out of reach, but will be expensive and you're unlikely to get $$. You might want to consider CUNY. The school's mission is public interest law and is known for (a)affordable tuition and (b) hands-on law training. That said, it is significantly below where you could apply, so make sure you're set on civil rights litigation.

northside wrote:

5ky wrote:Where did the attorneys in your firm go to school?

Boss went to Kent (some 40 years ago) and at counsel are all DePaul w/one random BLS grad. Would really like to go somewhere a bit more intellectually stimulating than those two if I am honest. Have friends at both, both say its like undergrad all over again. My adviser said DePaul accepted someone with a 148 one year. Like...seriously? If you can't 160+ should you be a lawyer?

I don't know - I have attended a school ranked lower than DePaul and Kent, and another in the T14. I have found the difference in "intellectual stimulation" to be marginal at best. And don't you think all the people with 169s are questioning if you should be allowed to be a lawyer without a 165+? There is always someone ahead of you in the food chain. I'd hesitate to be so dismissive.