Top Law Schools

If you are accepted to one of the top 5, does it then matter which one it is? I mean...would a law firm think- let's take this Harvard kid above the Columbia one because of the school? Or does it not matter at that level? Does Yale really have an advantage? (apart from academia)

Yes, it matters.

I think marginal differences in prestige will only be scrutinized in special cases.

All that really matters is that you have a Bichon 'tar.

I think it matters, but the extent will be incidental. Harvard vs. Columbia? Yes. Harvard vs. Yale? Columbia vs. NYU? I don't really think so.

What do you mean by "matter"?

chanchito wrote:If you are accepted to one of the top 5, does it then matter which one it is? I mean...would a law firm think- let's take this Harvard kid above the Columbia one because of the school? Or does it not matter at that level? Does Yale really have an advantage? (apart from academia)

It matters, but it matters less than the difference between any of those 5 and the 195 schools below them.

I think it matters to some degree. Think of it this way... if two equally qualified individuals were up for a job and you were hiring, and one went to NYU and the other went to Yale, don't you think you would give a slight edge to the Yale kid? This bias towards HY may be unreasonable and even subconscious, but I think human beings are naturally inclined towards valuing prestige. I think most people are usually when they meet an NYU or Columbia grad, but when they meet a Yale or Harvard grad (or at least I am). The boost is more psychological than anything and it probably isn't substantial, but I do think it is real.

Helmholtz wrote:Yes, it matters.

But what if it didn't. What. If. It. Didn't.

By whether it matters, I mean if you would receive a boost from it.

But maybe it's just a little point to look at, and they'd have to see all that you have on your resume.

Tangerine Gleam wrote:All that really matters is that you have a Bichon 'tar.

I think it matters, but the extent will be incidental. Harvard vs. Columbia? Yes. Harvard vs. Yale? Columbia vs. NYU? I don't really think so.

Or a Stella(r) 'tar.

Helmholtz wrote:Yes, it matters.

+1

D. H2Oman wrote:

Helmholtz wrote:Yes, it matters.

+1

TOTALLY matters.

Kronk wrote:

D. H2Oman wrote:

Helmholtz wrote:Yes, it matters.

+1

TOTALLY matters.

i am dying. this is surreal.

What do you mean by "boost"?

faceman9000 wrote:What do you mean by "boost"?

Which of the following best represents the authors intended use of the word "boost?"

A)
B) --ImageRemoved--
C)
D)

NUMB3RFIFTY wrote:I think marginal differences in prestige will only be scrutinized in special cases.

I think that's wrong.

Of course it matters. people pass up columbia for yale all the time because going to yale means better opportunities on average than columbia. people aren't choosing new haven over nyc, that's for sure.

Everything is relative, even at the top.

It matters, but your performance matters much more.

That is to say, median at Harvard vs. top quarter at Columbia is no contest, you want to be the guy who did well at Columbia. #1 in the class at H,Y,S,C,C, or most of the rest of the Top 14 are going to have similar options.

You have a wider margin at the top schools, and some unique opportunities - especially when it comes to clerkships, where judges are often HYS snobs.