Top Law Schools

I know UNC is ranked the highest but will I be stuck in North Carolina? Will attending a lower ranked school in a larger market improve my job prospects? In addition to these schools I have been accepted to University of Miami and University of South Carolina but I figured those are no good. I'm still waiting on a decision from Wake Forest, William & Mary and Emory.

where do you want to practice? if you don't want to stay in NC then don't go to UNC. but the same will be true of all these schools. portability isn't really something that should factor into your decision; none of these schools will do well outside of their markets. i'm voting for temple, big market, good school, good alumni base

U can join UNC its one of the best i have heard.........

I think UNC will leave you with the best job prospects, and with all else being equal I would go there. Bigger markets obviously have more jobs, but there is also significantly more competition, and that competition normally comes from some of the top ranked schools. From what I have heard UNC dominates North Carolina, and has at least a little portability throughout the rest of the south.

I would choose UNC. Less competition for jobs in North Carolina and a devoted alumni network.

Thanks for your help. It looks like UNC is my best option. However I really wanted to experience a larger city for law school. All I can do now is hope I get into Emory.

UNC, but Emory if you get in. UNC has a limited amount of portability in the south.

justme13 wrote:Thanks for your help. It looks like UNC is my best option. However I really wanted to experience a larger city for law school. All I can do now is hope I get into Emory.

Do you want to experience a large city for law school, or forever.
Because Temple & George Mason would restrict you regionally.

If you want to practice in a certain area then that should be a big consideration. But other than that, go to the school that will cost you the least amount of money. Any difference in rankings between 30th and 65th is not very meaningful, and certainly not meaningful enough to pay thousands and thousands of dollars for.

tikitavi wrote:If you want to practice in a certain area then that should be a big consideration. But other than that, go to the school that will cost you the least amount of money. Any difference in rankings between 30th and 65th is not very meaningful, and certainly not meaningful enough to pay thousands and thousands of dollars for.

I'll add to this be saying that if you want to practice in a certain region (with these schools), then that should be the primary consideration.
However, if you are uncertain to where you want to practice or impartial to where you want to practice, then go to UNC. It is much more highly regarded than the other 3, the tuition is cheaper ($29,332 OOS, $16,014 IS), and you'll still have a small handful of NYC firms at OCI. I think the decision is pretty clear on what to do.

Temple has the best prospects in Phila, so if you want to live/work in the Phila/NJ, ten Temple would be your best bet.

superflush wrote:

tikitavi wrote:If you want to practice in a certain area then that should be a big consideration. But other than that, go to the school that will cost you the least amount of money. Any difference in rankings between 30th and 65th is not very meaningful, and certainly not meaningful enough to pay thousands and thousands of dollars for.

I'll add to this be saying that if you want to practice in a certain region (with these schools), then that should be the primary consideration.
However, if you are uncertain to where you want to practice or impartial to where you want to practice, then go to UNC. It is much more highly regarded than the other 3, the tuition is cheaper ($29,332 OOS, $16,014 IS), and you'll still have a small handful of NYC firms at OCI. I think the decision is pretty clear on what to do.

If you've got stats that suggest that UNC is much better regarded than Mason, I'd like to see them. Not being strident -- I'm genuinely curious.

superflush wrote:

tikitavi wrote:If you want to practice in a certain area then that should be a big consideration. But other than that, go to the school that will cost you the least amount of money. Any difference in rankings between 30th and 65th is not very meaningful, and certainly not meaningful enough to pay thousands and thousands of dollars for.

I'll add to this be saying that if you want to practice in a certain region (with these schools), then that should be the primary consideration.
However, if you are uncertain to where you want to practice or impartial to where you want to practice, then go to UNC. It is much more highly regarded than the other 3, the tuition is cheaper ($29,332 OOS, $16,014 IS), and you'll still have a small handful of NYC firms at OCI. I think the decision is pretty clear on what to do.

Don't disagree, I just figured that OP probably got some kind of $ from some of the schools. I just think that in terms of rankings - once you get out of the T14 or so - it doesn't matter enough to justify paying more money to go to a higher ranked school. Because when it comes down to it - if you are shooting for big law - then the difference between #65 and #30 might only be that you need to be top 12% of your class at #30, but top 7% of your class at #65(I'm totally making those numbers up just to illustrate but they probably aren't crazy). So the question you need to ask yourself is "How much money am I willing to pay for for that small benefit?" I wouldn't be willing to pay very much. I'm sure there are some people out there who spent an extra $100k to go to a school in the 30's instead of a school in the 70s or 80s and I think that is crazy and I want the OP to be able to put things in perspective.

tikitavi wrote: Don't disagree, I just figured that OP probably got some kind of $ from some of the schools.

Yea, if he or she got money from the other schools, we didn't hear that.
Also, it might be important to know if he or she has in-state status anywhere.

I'd choose UNC in a heartbeat.

traehekat wrote:I'd choose UNC in a heartbeat.

Yea, I agree. I'd keep the outstanding 3 schools around, but UNC looks good.
The tuition for UNC is nice.

I'd chose Temple, no way I could live in North Carolina for 3 years. These schools are all regional schools so where you want to live and practice is an important consideration. Think about which of these areas you could see yourself settling in. Also Temple has better big law prospects than Penn State if that's what field you're looking to get in to.

George Mason has a very good regional reputation in the DC/NOVA area. If you want to practice here, I would highly recommend it. The campus is just over the bridge from DC, and they have been moving up in the rankings. Also, for in-state students the tuition is relatively inexpensive.