Minnesota vs. Emory vs. W&L (Money is no object!) Forum

[kithly]

All with ~75% scholly, parents are paying the rest.

I’m Canadian, so I literally don’t care where I want to practice and live (just maybe not somewhere cold (I live in Montreal and I’m sick of being depressed every winter) but I’d consider Minnesota if it’s that much of a better school than my other offers).

What I’m looking for:

Good employment prospects, big law (I don’t care SO much about big law more than I care about just making a 100k+ salary out of law school), good nice place to live (Idk anything about the different US states and what it'd be like to live there), school reputation (again, I’m Canadian and never even heard of half the law schools I applied to before I applied to them - so it’d be nice to have some insight from Americans on which is the best school to attend).

If you guys were in my situation, what school would you pick? Thanks!

[QContinuum]

First, congrats on your offers! That said, a few questions:

All with ~75% scholly, parents are paying the rest.

Are Minnesota/Emory/W&L's tuition similar, such that your parents would be paying a similar amount at each school? If not, are your parents wealthy to the point that, say, a difference in the tens of thousands of dollars is effectively meaningless to them? Otherwise it seems to me that cost should be a consideration.

I’m Canadian, so I literally don’t care where I want to practice and live

I don't understand this. All three of the schools you list are good but regional, and there is a profound difference between living in Minnesota vs. Georgia vs. Virginia/D.C. Maybe Canada is relatively homogeneous (though even there I think Quebec is pretty different from the other provinces) but the U.S. certainly is not. Do you really have no preference between living in the Deep South vs. Minnesota?

What I’m looking for:

Good employment prospects, big law (I don’t care SO much about big law more than I care about just making a 100k+ salary out of law school), good nice place to live (Idk anything about the different US states and what it'd be like to live there), school reputation (again, I’m Canadian and never even heard of half the law schools I applied to before I applied to them - so it’d be nice to have some insight from Americans on which is the best school to attend).

If you guys were in my situation, what school would you pick? Thanks!

The other part I don't get is why, given your lack of knowledge about life in the U.S. (not an attack on you, just stating a fact; there's no reason why you, as a Canadian, should be familiar with life in the U.S.), you're so sure you want to permanently relocate to the U.S. What if you find you don't like living in the U.S.? The U.S. is really a very different country, in terms of climate, in terms of culture, in terms of politics. Maybe you've visited the U.S. before on vacation - visiting Times Square and seeing the Statue of Liberty really isn't going to give you much of a glimpse of what it's actually like living and working here. Do U.S. J.D.s from regional schools (i.e., not a school like Yale or Harvard) have decent employment prospects in Canada? Are they even eligible to take the bar exam (or whatever Canada's equivalent is) without further training? I don't know about how U.S. J.D.s fare in Canada, but what I can say is that schools like Minnesota, Emory, and W&L place regionally even within the U.S. So it's hard for me to predict/believe that these schools would place well in a different country.

Also, do you realize that legal salaries in the U.S. (again, not sure about Canada) are largely bimodal? There's a cluster at ~$145-190k - that's BigLaw. Then there's a (much bigger) cluster in the mid-five figures, generally with limited (if any) salary growth potential. There aren't really many jobs that pay around $100k.

[cavalier1138]

(I don’t care SO much about big law more than I care about just making a 100k+ salary out of law school)

'

I suggest doing your homework on legal hiring and salaries.

And I echo everything Q said. The issue here isn't whether one of these schools is a "better" law school. The issue is that they're regional schools that service very different regions and give you, at best, a 30% shot at the career you want.

[Ohiobumpkin]

Why not apply to Miami or Pepperdine or some other school located in a warm climate? Minnesota makes no sense, and the other two are pretty subpar on employment prospects outside their region. If you wish to relocate to parts of U.S. for better climate, there are definitely better “lifestyle” schools than the ones you listed. If I had to choose, I guess Emory since Atlanta is a cool enough city.

[QContinuum]

Why not apply to Miami or Pepperdine or some other school located in a warm climate? Minnesota makes no sense, and the other two are pretty subpar on employment prospects outside their region. If you wish to relocate to parts of U.S. for better climate, there are definitely better “lifestyle” schools than the ones you listed. If I had to choose, I guess Emory since Atlanta is a cool enough city.

I'm not sure I follow your logic. Any law schools outside the T13/T20 are largely regional (or in other words, "pretty subpar on employment prospects outside their region"). That's not a particular reason to discount Emory or W&L. Minnesota's regional too! The three schools simply feed into three different legal markets (Minneapolis vs. Atlanta vs. Virginia/D.C.).

I also don't think there's such a thing as a "lifestyle" law school. Outside the T13/T20, grades are critical and determinative of what one's post-law school career looks like. Going to any non-T13/T20 law school with the idea of "taking it easy" is a terrible idea. If OP wants to take it easy for a few years, they should not go to law school. They could try simply living and working in the U.S. for a year or two, in a low-stress job. They could travel the world. If they're dead set on doing something academically-related, they could pursue a cheaper educational program than law school, and one where grades are less critical. Maybe a Master's program or b-school.

I'm very hesitant to plump Atlanta based on the weather because the Deep South is simply so different culturally from Canada. Maybe OP's a right-wing, Trump-supporting Canadian - I dunno. But I have to think the average Canadian would find it challenging adapting to life in Georgia (or any other ruby-red Southern state).

[Ohiobumpkin]

Why not apply to Miami or Pepperdine or some other school located in a warm climate? Minnesota makes no sense, and the other two are pretty subpar on employment prospects outside their region. If you wish to relocate to parts of U.S. for better climate, there are definitely better “lifestyle” schools than the ones you listed. If I had to choose, I guess Emory since Atlanta is a cool enough city.

I'm not sure I follow your logic. Any law schools outside the T13/T20 are largely regional (or in other words, "pretty subpar on employment prospects outside their region"). That's not a particular reason to discount Emory or W&L. Minnesota's regional too! The three schools simply feed into three different legal markets (Minneapolis vs. Atlanta vs. Virginia/D.C.).

I also don't think there's such a thing as a "lifestyle" law school. Outside the T13/T20, grades are critical and determinative of what one's post-law school career looks like. Going to any non-T13/T20 law school with the idea of "taking it easy" is a terrible idea. If OP wants to take it easy for a few years, they should not go to law school. They could try simply living and working in the U.S. for a year or two, in a low-stress job. They could travel the world. If they're dead set on doing something academically-related, they could pursue a cheaper educational program than law school, and one where grades are less critical. Maybe a Master's program or b-school.

I'm very hesitant to plump Atlanta based on the weather because the Deep South is simply so different culturally from Canada. Maybe OP's a right-wing, Trump-supporting Canadian - I dunno. But I have to think the average Canadian would find it challenging adapting to life in Georgia (or any other ruby-red Southern state).

My point with regional is that if OP is looking to go to law school in an area where he can take it easy and enjoy the weather, there are other regional schools in more desirable locales. I presume that the OP does not have the numbers for t-13 admission, so only regional schools are an option. The schools he mentioned are not necessarily known as law schools where lifestyle is going to be great (i.e., warm weather, beaches, large cities with night life, etc.) The fact he also mentions a desire to make $100K+ is unrealistic, but it does not appear he is likely to get into a t-13 where getting a job making that kind of salary is more reasonable. That leaves only the "lifestyle" factor. Hence my recommendations.

My actual recommendation would be for him not to go to law school with such ill defined career goals, and perhaps travel the U.S. to learn more about where he might want to relocate. Once he clearly knows what he wants to do, do a retake to get a higher score so he can get into a great school, in a great locale, and with realistic prospect of making $100K+.

[Dcc617]

You seem young, based on how you describe your career goals and priorities. Why do you want big law? Why do you think law is your ticket to a comfortable lifestyle? What makes you think you’ll be indifferent to living in these regions?

I’d say you should think this through a lot more, take some time off, retake and reapply. Your goals don’t really match your options, and your goals aren’t very clear.

[kithly]

First, congrats on your offers! That said, a few questions:

All with ~75% scholly, parents are paying the rest.

Are Minnesota/Emory/W&L's tuition similar, such that your parents would be paying a similar amount at each school? If not, are your parents wealthy to the point that, say, a difference in the tens of thousands of dollars is effectively meaningless to them? Otherwise it seems to me that cost should be a consideration.

I’m Canadian, so I literally don’t care where I want to practice and live

I don't understand this. All three of the schools you list are good but regional, and there is a profound difference between living in Minnesota vs. Georgia vs. Virginia/D.C. Maybe Canada is relatively homogeneous (though even there I think Quebec is pretty different from the other provinces) but the U.S. certainly is not. Do you really have no preference between living in the Deep South vs. Minnesota?

What I’m looking for:

Good employment prospects, big law (I don’t care SO much about big law more than I care about just making a 100k+ salary out of law school), good nice place to live (Idk anything about the different US states and what it'd be like to live there), school reputation (again, I’m Canadian and never even heard of half the law schools I applied to before I applied to them - so it’d be nice to have some insight from Americans on which is the best school to attend).

If you guys were in my situation, what school would you pick? Thanks!

The other part I don't get is why, given your lack of knowledge about life in the U.S. (not an attack on you, just stating a fact; there's no reason why you, as a Canadian, should be familiar with life in the U.S.), you're so sure you want to permanently relocate to the U.S. What if you find you don't like living in the U.S.? The U.S. is really a very different country, in terms of climate, in terms of culture, in terms of politics. Maybe you've visited the U.S. before on vacation - visiting Times Square and seeing the Statue of Liberty really isn't going to give you much of a glimpse of what it's actually like living and working here. Do U.S. J.D.s from regional schools (i.e., not a school like Yale or Harvard) have decent employment prospects in Canada? Are they even eligible to take the bar exam (or whatever Canada's equivalent is) without further training? I don't know about how U.S. J.D.s fare in Canada, but what I can say is that schools like Minnesota, Emory, and W&L place regionally even within the U.S. So it's hard for me to predict/believe that these schools would place well in a different country.

Also, do you realize that legal salaries in the U.S. (again, not sure about Canada) are largely bimodal? There's a cluster at ~$145-190k - that's BigLaw. Then there's a (much bigger) cluster in the mid-five figures, generally with limited (if any) salary growth potential. There aren't really many jobs that pay around $100k.

Hey! Thanks for your response. I totally forgot I posted here so it's nice to see some opinions lol. The tuition is relatively similar after scholarship money (only COL would be different) but it doesn't matter to my parents anyway.

Yea I know (about the schools being regional)! I really have no preference except I would rather not be somewhere cold (although I'm not totally, totally opposed to it). I'm a POC and I've heard some stuff about the South being super racist, but I thought Atlanta is a pretty chill city? Again, any insight from Americans is helpful!

And, yea - I know the US is different, and that's okay. I'm not planning on using my JD from Emory or wherever to practice in Canada. I've moved around a bunch all my life and have lived in different countries before, and I'm pretty adaptable. I'm not really that attached to Canada regardless.

Haha yea, I know about the whole salaries being bimodal sorta thing - I just said "100k" because I read that the BigLaw market in places like Minnesota has less of a presence and so what would be a biglaw starting salary in New York is different from biglaw starting salary in Minnesota. So I just said "100k" to be ~flexible~. Thanks for responding - hope this clarifies my points!

[kithly]

Why not apply to Miami or Pepperdine or some other school located in a warm climate? Minnesota makes no sense, and the other two are pretty subpar on employment prospects outside their region. If you wish to relocate to parts of U.S. for better climate, there are definitely better “lifestyle” schools than the ones you listed. If I had to choose, I guess Emory since Atlanta is a cool enough city.

I'm not sure I follow your logic. Any law schools outside the T13/T20 are largely regional (or in other words, "pretty subpar on employment prospects outside their region"). That's not a particular reason to discount Emory or W&L. Minnesota's regional too! The three schools simply feed into three different legal markets (Minneapolis vs. Atlanta vs. Virginia/D.C.).

I also don't think there's such a thing as a "lifestyle" law school. Outside the T13/T20, grades are critical and determinative of what one's post-law school career looks like. Going to any non-T13/T20 law school with the idea of "taking it easy" is a terrible idea. If OP wants to take it easy for a few years, they should not go to law school. They could try simply living and working in the U.S. for a year or two, in a low-stress job. They could travel the world. If they're dead set on doing something academically-related, they could pursue a cheaper educational program than law school, and one where grades are less critical. Maybe a Master's program or b-school.

I'm very hesitant to plump Atlanta based on the weather because the Deep South is simply so different culturally from Canada. Maybe OP's a right-wing, Trump-supporting Canadian - I dunno. But I have to think the average Canadian would find it challenging adapting to life in Georgia (or any other ruby-red Southern state).

Hey! Thanks for your response. I'm definitely not looking to take it easy for a few years or anything - I'd love to be top of the class, but I know that isn't realistic. I'm also very fortunate that I would be able to graduate from a T30 with no debt. I just want to go to a school where the employment prospects are solid (I know salaries are pretty bimodal in the US so you're either making 160k or 45k your first year - and I really would not like to make 45k).

I thought Atlanta was a pretty chill place and has a high % of POC? I'm POC myself and have heard horror stories about the South lol

[The Lsat Airbender]

I thought Atlanta was a pretty chill place and has a high % of POC? I'm POC myself and have heard horror stories about the South lol

I don't think "POC %" is the best way to look at this kind of thing. That's sorta useful as a litmus test for racial tolerance in Canada (Vancouver/Toronto vs. Calgary/Halifax, I guess?) but the correlation really isn't there for American cities.

[Sls17]

Ultimately is this just a thread about which of these cities/regions is a preferable place to live? As identified, these schools have reasonably comparable but region-specific employment outcomes. I’d choose Virginia/DC area over either Atlanta (I’m adverse to aspects of southern culture) or Minnesota (cold!), but that seems like a very personal analysis. Moreover, if you’re just hoping to launch yourself from Canada into a maximally enjoyable city/region in the US, why not UCLA/USC, BU, Fordham, etc.? Again personal preference is at play but the three schools you identify seem so randomly selected given your (lack of) parameters.

[Gilamath]

I am legitimately confused by the list of goals that OP put down. They seem to understand that their listed schools are regional, and T30, but still lists school reputation as a priority? OP wants a $100K salary, and understands that they'd have to be on the BigLaw side of the bimodal salary distribution to get anything at or above that number, but seems to almost flippant about what that entails? This is especially confusing when none of the law schools are particularly well-suited to sending OP on a BL track. Not trying to attack or berate, but it seems like the best thing for OP to do for now is to bracket the question of which law school they should go to and focus on fleshing out why they want to spend three years of their life and their parents' money on law school in particular. Is BigLaw REALLY something they want to pursue? Is OP just seeing law school as a path to a six-figure salary? If that's the case, OP should seriously consider doing something else, because going to law school is a silly way to try to get rich, especially if you don't know what you're doing.

[kithly]

I am legitimately confused by the list of goals that OP put down. They seem to understand that their listed schools are regional, and T30, but still lists school reputation as a priority? OP wants a $100K salary, and understands that they'd have to be on the BigLaw side of the bimodal salary distribution to get anything at or above that number, but seems to almost flippant about what that entails? This is especially confusing when none of the law schools are particularly well-suited to sending OP on a BL track. Not trying to attack or berate, but it seems like the best thing for OP to do for now is to bracket the question of which law school they should go to and focus on fleshing out why they want to spend three years of their life and their parents' money on law school in particular. Is BigLaw REALLY something they want to pursue? Is OP just seeing law school as a path to a six-figure salary? If that's the case, OP should seriously consider doing something else, because going to law school is a silly way to try to get rich, especially if you don't know what you're doing.

By school reputation, I don't mean where they rank on USNWR or whatever - I just mean opinions about the school based on what other people know/have heard, since I'd be going to a school with 0 inside-knowledge about it or about the city. Reputation for well known professors/community atmosphere/quality of life living in the city or state/personal anecdotes from people who went to Minnesota and also hate the cold etc.

And I mean...these are the only 3 schools I've been accepted into. My question was "which school should I go to, of these 3 schools". I already know that none of them are as great as T14 for getting into BL, but I haven't been accepted into any of the T14...so what exactly would your advice be beyond "your goals are confusing because you want BL but your schools aren't great for doing BL"?

[kithly]

Ultimately is this just a thread about which of these cities/regions is a preferable place to live? As identified, these schools have reasonably comparable but region-specific employment outcomes. I’d choose Virginia/DC area over either Atlanta (I’m adverse to aspects of southern culture) or Minnesota (cold!), but that seems like a very personal analysis. Moreover, if you’re just hoping to launch yourself from Canada into a maximally enjoyable city/region in the US, why not UCLA/USC, BU, Fordham, etc.? Again personal preference is at play but the three schools you identify seem so randomly selected given your (lack of) parameters.

Lol I guess! I know the three of them are regional schools with similar employment outcomes, I'm just looking for opinions on what people would choose in my situation based on other factors (quality of life in city, the community, what that state is like etc). I didn't apply to UCLA and USC because it would be too far away from my family in Canada. I did apply to BU, but I was rejected. And I didn't apply to Fordham because I didn't want to live in NYC so much. Other than those, I looked at my stats and went down the rankings list and applied to 7ish schools I thought I'd have a reasonable chance of getting into, and these are my 3 outcomes!

[cavalier1138]

I'm just looking for opinions on what people would choose in my situation based on other factors (quality of life in city, the community, what that state is like etc).

You're getting those opinions. The issue is that you haven't figured out that you aren't bound to go to law school next year, so you think no one's answering your question.

If you want biglaw (and that's what you want if your only goal in life is a $100k+ salary right after graduation), you should retake the LSAT and reapply next cycle for a chance at a T13 school. Now, I don't think that it's a very good idea to go to law school at all if your only reason for going is the potential salary, but that's just because I don't like the idea of spending three years earning a degree I don't really want only to earn $190k for a year, burn out, and become a cautionary tale to 0Ls about why law school is only a good idea for people who want to practice law.

[kithly]

I'm just looking for opinions on what people would choose in my situation based on other factors (quality of life in city, the community, what that state is like etc).

You're getting those opinions. The issue is that you haven't figured out that you aren't bound to go to law school next year, so you think no one's answering your question.

If you want biglaw (and that's what you want if your only goal in life is a $100k+ salary right after graduation), you should retake the LSAT and reapply next cycle for a chance at a T13 school. Now, I don't think that it's a very good idea to go to law school at all if your only reason for going is the potential salary, but that's just because I don't like the idea of spending three years earning a degree I don't really want only to earn $190k for a year, burn out, and become a cautionary tale to 0Ls about why law school is only a good idea for people who want to practice law.

I fully understand I am getting those opinions/that people are answering my question and I've appreciated people's thoughts on the matter... I was just responding to that particular poster clarifying what I mean when I said I cared about school reputation. I'm saying I don't think my question was answered by that particular poster, because they mainly expressed confusion about my goals and then recommended I rethink being a lawyer entirely, just based on the fact that I sounded flippant about BL in my 3 posts and because I haven't talked much about my motivations for wanting to go to LS beyond $$ in those same 3 posts. Wouldn't a valid response to the question "Here are 3 schools, here are criteria I value, which would you pick" be "Based on your criteria, I'd go to X due to A, B, C reasons", and not "you sound like you're flippant about BL, your 3 choices aren't good for BL, you should seriously consider doing something else"?

Anyway, thanks for your response - I'm not just going for the salary, to be clear. And I'm going to retake the LSAT in June! Depending on my results, I might wait another cycle or use a slightly raised score to try to get off waitlists this cycle.

[QContinuum]

Ultimately is this just a thread about which of these cities/regions is a preferable place to live? As identified, these schools have reasonably comparable but region-specific employment outcomes. I’d choose Virginia/DC area over either Atlanta (I’m adverse to aspects of southern culture) or Minnesota (cold!), but that seems like a very personal analysis. Moreover, if you’re just hoping to launch yourself from Canada into a maximally enjoyable city/region in the US, why not UCLA/USC, BU, Fordham, etc.? Again personal preference is at play but the three schools you identify seem so randomly selected given your (lack of) parameters.

Lol I guess! I know the three of them are regional schools with similar employment outcomes, I'm just looking for opinions on what people would choose in my situation based on other factors (quality of life in city, the community, what that state is like etc). I didn't apply to UCLA and USC because it would be too far away from my family in Canada. I did apply to BU, but I was rejected. And I didn't apply to Fordham because I didn't want to live in NYC so much. Other than those, I looked at my stats and went down the rankings list and applied to 7ish schools I thought I'd have a reasonable chance of getting into, and these are my 3 outcomes!

UCLA/USC are too far away but Atlanta isn't? If your family lives in Toronto (to pick a random large city in eastern Canada), that's a 15-hour drive to Atlanta. Since no one can drive 15 hours straight without eating or resting, that works out to two days on the road. For all practical purposes you'll need to fly. The difference between a 2 hour, 15 minute flight (Toronto to Atlanta) or a 5 hour flight (Toronto to LA) is pretty marginal.

If staying close to family is your top concern, you should attend law school in Canada. I understand it's much cheaper than in the States.

As we have repeatedly tried to point out ITT, past the first 19 law schools, the rankings list is largely meaningless outside of broad T1/T2/T3/T4 "groups" because schools from #20 and down place only in their local region. So it doesn't really make much sense to try to compare a school that places only in Minnesota with a school that places only in Georgia. So what if the Georgia school is slightly better than the Minnesota school (or vice versa)? It doesn't make any practical difference because their graduates aren't going to compete with each other.

[The Lsat Airbender]

Wouldn't a valid response to the question "Here are 3 schools, here are criteria I value, which would you pick" be "Based on your criteria, I'd go to X due to A, B, C reasons", and not "you sound like you're flippant about BL, your 3 choices aren't good for BL, you should seriously consider doing something else"?

Wouldn't a valid response to the question "Here are three countries (Egypt, El Salvador, Laos), here are criteria I value (playing professional ice hockey), which would you pick" not be "Based on your criteria, I'd go to X due to A, B, C reasons", but instead "the only language you speak is English, none of those countries has professional ice hockey leagues, you should seriously consider doing something else"?

[kithly]

Wouldn't a valid response to the question "Here are 3 schools, here are criteria I value, which would you pick" be "Based on your criteria, I'd go to X due to A, B, C reasons", and not "you sound like you're flippant about BL, your 3 choices aren't good for BL, you should seriously consider doing something else"?

Wouldn't a valid response to the question "Here are three countries (Egypt, El Salvador, Laos), here are criteria I value (playing professional ice hockey), which would you pick" not be "Based on your criteria, I'd go to X due to A, B, C reasons", but instead "the only language you speak is English, none of those countries has professional ice hockey leagues, you should seriously consider doing something else"?

What... how is this comparison even remotely the same omg

That would be like saying "If you go to Minn/Emory/W&L, you have 0 chance of having 'good employment prospects, big law chance, nice place to live'" where those 3 things were my criteria. I really do not think my criteria are outlandish things (as a criteria of playing professional ice hockey in Egypt is).

Anyway, anyone is very welcome to come into this thread and ask those questions ("are you sure you want to be a lawyer" "are you sure you want to live in the US" etc) as I don't think those questions are TOTALLY outside of the scope of this discussion (I'm new to this forum so I don't know - maybe thousands of people post here every day with 0 understanding of what they want to do/truly aren't meant to go to law school, so those responding need to give them a wake up call), but I'm also allowed to use my discretion on which comments I find more helpful/valid than others, since I have a more thorough understanding of my situation than other people, and don't need to qualify my motivations to everyone who asks, right?

[kithly]

Ultimately is this just a thread about which of these cities/regions is a preferable place to live? As identified, these schools have reasonably comparable but region-specific employment outcomes. I’d choose Virginia/DC area over either Atlanta (I’m adverse to aspects of southern culture) or Minnesota (cold!), but that seems like a very personal analysis. Moreover, if you’re just hoping to launch yourself from Canada into a maximally enjoyable city/region in the US, why not UCLA/USC, BU, Fordham, etc.? Again personal preference is at play but the three schools you identify seem so randomly selected given your (lack of) parameters.

Lol I guess! I know the three of them are regional schools with similar employment outcomes, I'm just looking for opinions on what people would choose in my situation based on other factors (quality of life in city, the community, what that state is like etc). I didn't apply to UCLA and USC because it would be too far away from my family in Canada. I did apply to BU, but I was rejected. And I didn't apply to Fordham because I didn't want to live in NYC so much. Other than those, I looked at my stats and went down the rankings list and applied to 7ish schools I thought I'd have a reasonable chance of getting into, and these are my 3 outcomes!

UCLA/USC are too far away but Atlanta isn't? If your family lives in Toronto (to pick a random large city in eastern Canada), that's a 15-hour drive to Atlanta. Since no one can drive 15 hours straight without eating or resting, that works out to two days on the road. For all practical purposes you'll need to fly. The difference between a 2 hour, 15 minute flight (Toronto to Atlanta) or a 5 hour flight (Toronto to LA) is pretty marginal.

If staying close to family is your top concern, you should attend law school in Canada. I understand it's much cheaper than in the States.

As we have repeatedly tried to point out ITT, past the first 19 law schools, the rankings list is largely meaningless outside of broad T1/T2/T3/T4 "groups" because schools from #20 and down place only in their local region. So it doesn't really make much sense to try to compare a school that places only in Minnesota with a school that places only in Georgia. So what if the Georgia school is slightly better than the Minnesota school (or vice versa)? It doesn't make any practical difference because their graduates aren't going to compete with each other.

They live in Windsor. I went to school in Montreal and always drove home for visits (10 hours), so I also wanted to go to a law school similar to that driving distance. Minnesota was the furthest school I applied to (13 hour drive) (Atlanta is 11) and for Minn, I'd probably fly, but I'm also averse to Minn (cold). I have never stated that staying close to my family is my top concern. It is one of my concerns, and so that is why I applied to the schools I did.

And as I have repeatedly stated ITT, I don't care about the rankings. I literally stated in my answer, which you quoted, that I'm looking for what people would choose in my situation based on other factors (quality of life in city, the community, what that state is like etc) since I understand the employment prospects are similar and that the schools are regional.

[albanach]

And as I have repeatedly stated ITT, I don't care about the rankings. I literally stated in my answer, which you quoted, that I'm looking for what people would choose in my situation based on other factors (quality of life in city, the community, what that state is like etc) since I understand the employment prospects are similar and that the schools are regional.

But you do care about outcomes, and the schools you list aren't necessarily going to deliver them for you.

You're talking about trying to enter a regional employment market at graduation with no ties and foreign citizenship. Like it or not, many employees will run a mile, fearing that you'll up and leave just as you get productive.

As to the question of what life is like in those cities, this is not a travel forum. If you want guidance on which school to pick to driver your goals, or above on whether law school even makes sense, this is the place. If, on the other hand, you want folk to ignore the downsides, that doesn't come easily toa bunch of lawyers and law students.

[kithly]

And as I have repeatedly stated ITT, I don't care about the rankings. I literally stated in my answer, which you quoted, that I'm looking for what people would choose in my situation based on other factors (quality of life in city, the community, what that state is like etc) since I understand the employment prospects are similar and that the schools are regional.

But you do care about outcomes, and the schools you list aren't necessarily going to deliver them for you.

You're talking about trying to enter a regional employment market at graduation with no ties and foreign citizenship. Like it or not, many employees will run a mile, fearing that you'll up and leave just as you get productive.

As to the question of what life is like in those cities, this is not a travel forum. If you want guidance on which school to pick to driver your goals, or above on whether law school even makes sense, this is the place. If, on the other hand, you want folk to ignore the downsides, that doesn't come easily toa bunch of lawyers and law students.

That's fine, I appreciate your input! That's literally why I came to this forum - to ask about employment prospects from these schools, and if you say I'm going to have a hard time as an international student, I believe you and I think that's a valid concern and will take that into consideration. I'm not trying to ignore the downsides - I just don't think comments like "your goals are confusing, reconsider going to law school" is a "downside" more than just...kind of...not a useful comment for me.

As for the travel forum comment - is my question still not relevant to this forum though? In my asking "which school should I pick, I don't care where I want to go", it would be useful to know things like which cities have a great legal market/which cities are known for specific law areas/which cities I'll have a particularly hard time finding work as a Canadian/your comment about international people having it harder or whatever etc etc. I'm not JUST asking "hey I love the sun recommend me a place to live".

[The Lsat Airbender]

That would be like saying "If you go to Minn/Emory/W&L, you have 0 chance of having 'good employment prospects, big law chance, nice place to live'" where those 3 things were my criteria. I really do not think my criteria are outlandish things (as a criteria of playing professional ice hockey in Egypt is).

Making $100k (the definition of "good employment prospects" you offered in the OP) is outlandish: any school outside the T20 gives you well under a coin-flip's chance at that kind of career. Your chances are especially bad because you lack ties or a network in Minnesota/Atlanta/Virginia, and also because you don't have American citizenship and will need to get a green card somehow.

Big law chances: outlandish, for the same reasons.

Nice place to live: they are all nice places to live, except that you apparently don't like the continental winters of a place like Minnesota and are a foreign-born person of color who has no idea what living in the American South would be like. I'll rate this as not outlandish but I still have major reservations here.

[Sls17]

Do you have the budget and time to visit these three cities? I’d do so in your shoes if at all possible. As discussed, you’re choosing a place to live for probably many more years than three, and these are dramatically different cities/regions. You express flexibility and love of travel which is great, but you aren’t choosing a place to have an adventure; you’re choosing a place to build a whole career/life. I’m not sure anyone ITT can provide much help as the core question here is deeply subjective.

[QContinuum]

Do you have the budget and time to visit these three cities? I’d do so in your shoes if at all possible. As discussed, you’re choosing a place to live for probably many more years than three, and these are dramatically different cities/regions. You express flexibility and love of travel which is great, but you aren’t choosing a place to have an adventure; you’re choosing a place to build a whole career/life. I’m not sure anyone ITT can provide much help as the core question here is deeply subjective.

I'm not even sure visiting would be all that helpful. One, OP would only be visiting during (presumably) spring. He wouldn't get to experience the full effect of the shocking summer heat in Atlanta or Virginia. Two, it's one thing to visit a place as a tourist. It's not necessarily informative of what it'd be like to live & work there. I've toured extensively through the Deep South and had a grand old time. Visiting historic plantations is fun! Of course, that doesn't remotely mean I'm cut out to live there.