Top Law Schools

Now that Yale, Stanford, and Harvard have all started releasing decisions, this is a place to discuss pros and cons of each school for cross-admits. In order to make this as accessible as possible, ignore factors such as proximity to home, etc.

hdivine wrote:Now that Yale, Stanford, and Harvard have all started releasing decisions, this is a place to discuss pros and cons of each school for cross-admits. In order to make this as accessible as possible, ignore factors such as proximity to home, etc.

Stanny in a run away. Strictly because palo alto >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> new haven

You can't answer this question in a vacuum (although if you did, it would be Yale everytime). Factors like proximity to home can be huge factors, actually, and are good reasons to choose between the 3.

Stanford bro
Nice weather, good sports, chill environment, make a lot of money, cali girls

What about a Hamilton?

ph14 wrote:You can't answer this question in a vacuum (although if you did, it would be Yale everytime). Factors like proximity to home can be huge factors, actually, and are good reasons to choose between the 3.

Factors such as proximity to home are so individualized as to not really affect anybody else. Plus that's an obvious and pretty subjective consideration.

Here are my initial thoughts:

Yale:
Pros:
-Best overall LRAP
-Lowest Cost of Living
-Best SCOTUS clerkship rate (4.2% of the class vs. 1.8 at Harvard and 1.6 at Stanford, according to Leiter)
-Small class size

Cons:
-New Haven

Harvard:
Pros:
-Best place to get a JD/MBA
-Big alumni network
-Boston metro area

Cons:
-High cost of living
-Worse student-faculty ratio

Stanford:
Pros:
-Palo Alto
-Small class size
-Supposedly the professors are extremely accessible
-Actually has good sports programs
-Great LRAP for public interest

Cons:
-Harder to get into the NY/DC job markets
-Lower clerkship rates


These are just a few immediate impressions.

Where's Cooley?

TripTrip wrote:What about a Hamilton?

There may be reasons to take a full-ride over YSH, especially if your parents are loaded, aren't paying for your school, and you're under 29. If you're on the opposite end, you might get enough grant aid from YSH to warrant choosing one of those, in which case this thread becomes appropriate.

It is impossible to overstate my love for Stanford, but Yale wins this going away. Pipeline to academia, easier to get the most prestigious biglaw jobs (W&C), no grades first semester, no legal writing class, best clerkship stats, best LRAP... what more do you want from a law school?

Any thoughts on how far Stanford is behind YH as a pipeline to academia?

John_rizzy_rawls wrote:Any thoughts on how far Stanford Harvard is behind YH YS as a pipeline to academia?

FTFY

TripTrip wrote:

John_rizzy_rawls wrote:Any thoughts on how far Stanford Harvard is behind YH YS as a pipeline to academia?

FTFY

What? You don't know what you're talking about.

Choice will entirely depend on fit/preference. You can't go wrong with any of these schools.

ph14 wrote:

TripTrip wrote:

John_rizzy_rawls wrote:Any thoughts on how far Stanford Harvard is behind YH YS as a pipeline to academia?

FTFY

What? You don't know what you're talking about.

So H > S for academia? I don't care either way I'm just curious how this works. I figured S's tiny class size would be an advantage, but I know H still has a good faculty:student ratio.

Edit: Question marks are important.

Yukos wrote:

ph14 wrote:

TripTrip wrote:

John_rizzy_rawls wrote:Any thoughts on how far Stanford Harvard is behind YH YS as a pipeline to academia?

FTFY

What? You don't know what you're talking about.

So H > S for academia. I don't care either way I'm just curious how this works. I figured S's tiny class size would be an advantage, but I know H still has a good faculty:student ratio.

I think you're splitting hairs too fine when you make these distinctions. At either school it depends much more on the individual.

ph14 wrote:

Yukos wrote:

ph14 wrote:
What? You don't know what you're talking about.

So H > S for academia. I don't care either way I'm just curious how this works. I figured S's tiny class size would be an advantage, but I know H still has a good faculty:student ratio.

I think you're splitting hairs too fine when you make these distinctions. At either school it depends much more on the individual.

Gotcha.

ph14 wrote:

TripTrip wrote:

John_rizzy_rawls wrote:Any thoughts on how far Stanford Harvard is behind YH YS as a pipeline to academia?

FTFY

What? You don't know what you're talking about.

Yeah, wtf? Anyway, as said, academia depends largely on the individual. Go to any of these schools and you can get into academia if you get great grades, do a great clerkship, and most importantly publish a lot.