Would love to hear some advice please! Forum

[Schang1]

I am an international applicant and want to work in corporate law after I graduate and I don't know which school among the ones that I got accepted into I should choose. I've gathered several opinions but am more confused now....

I currently got accepted into: WUSTL, BU, BC, GW, Fordham, Emory, William and Mary, Notre Dame, U of Minnesota, UIUC and am scheduled for an interview with GULC (applied ED binding).

Person 1 says: "withdraw from GULC and GW because DC is not the best place to go for an international applicant. If you are interested in politics and are trying to work for the US government, then go. But since you are not a US citizen, nor interested in working for the US government, DC isn't the best place for you to go. Ranking isn't everything! You need to look at the school's history. William and Mary is an AMAZING law school. Look at the people who go there. Boston is ranked #1 as the education home, then #2 is NYC, THEN #3 is DC. Search everywhere. All the big corporations and big law firms are located in Boston and NY."

Person 2 says: "wtf are you talking about? Screw BU and BC wherever that is, and go to GW if not GULC. Ranking is EVERYTHING. Law school is all about the brand name! The big legal market is in NY and DC."

...I would love to gather more opinions and hopefully some advice as to how I should choose a school

[Tadatsune]

Where do you want to work? In the US? Outside the US? Any particular region or city?

[asdflawyer]

Go to the school in the location you want to work after you graduate. Any veteran TLS poster will agree with that.

[Lady in Red]

Ranking is definitely not everything. That being said, the conventional wisdom on TLS is that schools below the top 14 (I know, I know) are "regional schools." In other words, unless you're sure you want to live in the area, it doesn't make sense to choose a lower ranked school over Georgetown based on anything anyone says on TLS. It does make sense to choose a lower ranked school if you visit the schools yourself and make a decision based on that -- or even on your own online research -- if you feel like the school will be a better fit for you. It's such a personal decision.

All the schools you listed are great schools. If you want to know how well they place for Big Law, that data is out there (too lazy to go look for it now).

FWIW, looking at your list, I'd choose Boston U from the list of schools that have already accepted you. Since they're all regional, I'd pick the school in the most appealing area, which again comes down to personal opinion.

Take everything said on TLS with a grain of salt.

[Schang1]

Ranking is definitely not everything. That being said, the conventional wisdom on TLS is that schools below the top 14 (I know, I know) are "regional schools." In other words, unless you're sure you want to live in the area, it doesn't make sense to choose a lower ranked school over Georgetown based on anything anyone says on TLS. It does make sense to choose a lower ranked school if you visit the schools yourself and make a decision based on that -- or even on your own online research -- if you feel like the school will be a better fit for you. It's such a personal decision.

All the schools you listed are great schools. If you want to know how well they place for Big Law, that data is out there (too lazy to go look for it now).

FWIW, looking at your list, I'd choose Boston U from the list of schools that have already accepted you. Since they're all regional, I'd pick the school in the most appealing area, which again comes down to personal opinion.

Take everything said on TLS with a grain of salt.

Thanks so much for the great great great advice. I'm seriously considering BU or BC but just that T14 is hindering my decision.

[Tadatsune]

Isn't Boston a fairly insular market? Someone more informed than myself might offer you some advice as to whether BU/BC might be better for that market than GULC - especially if you don't have any ties there...

[20130312]

Go to the school in the location you want to work after you graduate. Any veteran TLS poster will agree with that.

Except the ones that tell you don't go to any of these.

[thelawschoolproject]

Go to the school in the location you want to work after you graduate. Any veteran TLS poster will agree with that.

Except the ones that tell you don't go to any of these.

I lol'd.

Person 1 is confused. I would never take William and Mary over GULC, which I understand you don't have right now...but srsly. I'd take three of the schools you listed over WM.

Person 2 is also confused. If ranking is everything then why in the hell would you pick GW over BU or WUSTL? They're both ranked higher.

This shit is stupid.

Without GULC, your choice should be based on what market you want to work in. The end. Do you have schollys to any of these places? If so, that might be a factor to consider.

[Tadatsune]

Go to the school in the location you want to work after you graduate. Any veteran TLS poster will agree with that.

Except the ones that tell you don't go to any of these.

I lol'd.

Person 1 is confused. I would never take William and Mary over GULC, which I understand you don't have right now...but srsly. I'd take three of the schools you listed over WM.

Person 2 is also confused. If ranking is everything then why in the hell would you pick GW over BU or WUSTL? They're both ranked higher.

This shit is stupid.

Without GULC, your choice should be based on what market you want to work in. The end. Do you have schollys to any of these places? If so, that might be a factor to consider.

WUSTL #18, GW #20, BU #22

...not that any of that matters in the slightest.

[thelawschoolproject]

WUSTL #18, GW #20, BU #22

...not that any of that matters in the slightest.

You right. My bad about BU.


But still...My opinion stands.

[dingbat]

Go to the school in the location you want to work after you graduate. Any veteran TLS poster will agree with that.

Except the ones that tell you don't go to any of these.

I lol'd.

Person 1 is confused. I would never take William and Mary over GULC, which I understand you don't have right now...but srsly. I'd take three of the schools you listed over WM.

Person 2 is also confused. If ranking is everything then why in the hell would you pick GW over BU or WUSTL? They're both ranked higher.

This shit is stupid.

Without GULC, your choice should be based on what market you want to work in. The end. Do you have schollys to any of these places? If so, that might be a factor to consider.

WUSTL #18, GW #20, BU #22

...not that any of that matters in the slightest.

A lot of people are overly focussed on rankings. I'ts more a matter of tiers.
Generally, you should choose HYS over T14.
T14 over anything 15-30. (some are a little less favorable of GULC)
T30 over anything below.
Don't go to TTT or TTTT

Outside of the T14, you should only choose a school in the geographic area where you want to end up.
For example, even though UCLA and Vanderbilt are ranked T16, Fordham at 30 places better in the NY market and BC/BU are better for New England.
To some extent, this also applies to the T14, particularly the lower twothirds (e.g. Berkeley is predominantly California, while UVA places more in DC)
I'd pick UCLA or USC over half the T-14 if I was aiming for Los Angeles; same for UT in texas or Vanderbilt in Tennessee or Kentucky.

a few spots up or down in the rankings don't mean nearly as much as geography does.

To see how schools place for biglaw:
http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNL ... slreturn=1

For salary information:
http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 1&t=150681

[handsonthewheel]

A lot of people are overly focussed on rankings. I'ts more a matter of tiers.
Generally, you should choose HYS over T14.
T14 over anything 15-30. (some are a little less favorable of GULC)
T30 over anything below.
Don't go to TTT or TTTT

Outside of the T14, you should only choose a school in the geographic area where you want to end up.
For example, even though UCLA and Vanderbilt are ranked T16, Fordham at 30 places better in the NY market and BC/BU are better for New England.
To some extent, this also applies to the T14, particularly the lower twothirds (e.g. Berkeley is predominantly California, while UVA places more in DC)
I'd pick UCLA or USC over half the T-14 if I was aiming for Los Angeles; same for UT in texas or Vanderbilt in Tennessee or Kentucky.

a few spots up or down in the rankings don't mean nearly as much as geography does.

To see how schools place for biglaw:
http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNL ... slreturn=1

For salary information:
http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 1&t=150681

This is a post full of correctness.

[thelawschoolproject]

Without GULC, your choice should be based on what market you want to work in. The end.