Top Law Schools

I was admitted to both schools, and i need to make a decision in just two days!! ASU law or Arizona Law?? U of A is lower ranked, ranking in at number 40, and now accepting the gre (thinking that this may hurt its rank??). ASU is now ranked 25 which is quite impressive. However, i feel that maybe ASU is overrated, but maybe not, their new campus is beautiful. U of A is about 10k cheaper per year for me. Please help!!! Where would u go??

Isaacsn wrote:I was admitted to both schools, and i need to make a decision in just two days!! ASU law or Arizona Law?? U of A is lower ranked, ranking in at number 40, and now accepting the gre (thinking that this may hurt its rank??). ASU is now ranked 25 which is quite impressive. However, i feel that maybe ASU is overrated, but maybe not, their new campus is beautiful. U of A is about 10k cheaper per year for me. Please help!!! Where would u go??

What are your stats? Where do you want to work? What areas are you interested in (biglaw, PI etc.)?

Interested in biglaw or mid-size firm, preferably in phoenix. Would also like to attend a program that has some reach into california.

Biglaw from these schools will be hard to get, check LST. You will definitely need to be in the top 10% which you don't know if that will even happen. What are your numbers, and what is your total COA for each school?

If you want to work in Phoenix, ASU will help for the networking and local connections. UofA is well-respected around here too. ASU is overrated af and their new campus is in the middle of downtown which sucks for living and transportation.

Disclaimer: Lived in Tempe/Phoenix for 25years & will probably go to ASU if I don't get into a T14/UCLA

maraschino wrote:If you want to work in Phoenix, ASU will help for the networking and local connections. UofA is well-respected around here too. ASU is overrated af and their new campus is in the middle of downtown which sucks for living and transportation.

Disclaimer: Lived in Tempe/Phoenix for 25years & will probably go to ASU if I don't get into a T14/UCLA

ASU does appear to game the rankings harder than any other school.

I mean, taking ~50 transfers a year from Arizona Summit is just... wow. The practice is about at TTTT as it gets. It's like... Cooley bad.

Redfactor wrote:

maraschino wrote:If you want to work in Phoenix, ASU will help for the networking and local connections. UofA is well-respected around here too. ASU is overrated af and their new campus is in the middle of downtown which sucks for living and transportation.

Disclaimer: Lived in Tempe/Phoenix for 25years & will probably go to ASU if I don't get into a T14/UCLA

ASU does appear to game the rankings harder than any other school.

I mean, taking ~50 transfers a year from Arizona Summit is just... wow. The practice is about at TTTT as it gets. It's like... Cooley bad.

Also true! Their employment numbers are also inflated. Locally UofA is more well respected as a better school overall, not specificially law. If you ask someone in Phoenix, they would assume UofA is a higher ranked school. ASU is a party school for locals and Cali kids who couldn't get into UC. Law firms seem to hire from both though.

TheMikey wrote:Biglaw from these schools will be hard to get, check LST. You will definitely need to be in the top 10% which you don't know if that will even happen. What are your numbers, and what is your total COA for each school?

Ok. Well, either way its down to those schools. Initially was deciding between FSU, Houston Law Center, Arizona, and ASU. 10k off first year and 5k second year, at out-of-state tuition. At ASU nothing. First year at 42k and 27k after that on the contingency that I get residency.

Isaacsn wrote:

TheMikey wrote:Biglaw from these schools will be hard to get, check LST. You will definitely need to be in the top 10% which you don't know if that will even happen. What are your numbers, and what is your total COA for each school?

Ok. Well, either way its down to those schools. Initially was deciding between FSU, Houston Law Center, Arizona, and ASU. 10k off first year and 5k second year, at out-of-state tuition. At ASU nothing. First year at 42k and 27k after that on the contingency that I get residency.

Is Arizona where you want to practice law? The range of schools you listed (bolded) are all regional schools, which is why I ask. I saw that you mentioned wanting a school that has some type of reach into California, I'm not too confident that a regional Arizona school can do that for you. Not saying it's impossible, just very tough. If you plan on working in Arizona, go with the cheapest option.

Post what you end up deciding on and why please. I'll be making the same decision next cycle. Just remember, you end up in the dry sun either way so it's a win win (I'm obviously a Midwesterner).

Isaacsn wrote:I was admitted to both schools, and i need to make a decision in just two days!! ASU law or Arizona Law?? U of A is lower ranked, ranking in at number 40, and now accepting the gre (thinking that this may hurt its rank??). ASU is now ranked 25 which is quite impressive. However, i feel that maybe ASU is overrated, but maybe not, their new campus is beautiful. U of A is about 10k cheaper per year for me. Please help!!! Where would u go??

UltimateSplitter wrote:Post what you end up deciding on and why please. I'll be making the same decision next cycle. Just remember, you end up in the dry sun either way so it's a win win (I'm obviously a Midwesterner).

Haha. I decided to go with U of A. Im also a midwesterner, from Chicago, although I attended university of miami and have been living in miami for some time. First I had to make the decision on whether to stay in florida or move to arizona. It really just came down to cost for me and the fact that my dad leaves in Pheonix. UofA has the cheapest out of state tuition and has a pretty good reputation. The majority of people told me to go with the cheapest option, so i did. Also, although ASU was the nicest school I've seen, i like the idea of being on a campus. Also something rubbed me the wrong way with ASU with them accepting 50+ arizona summit students each year. I dont know i will let you know again 6-8 months down the road if i feel i made the right decision.

It sounds like you made the smart choice. Best of luck!

Not trying to be a jerk, but you're taking on a huge amount of debt for a small chance at the outcome you want. Please reconsider!

16/130 U of A grads got big law in the last ABA disclosures. You're taking on well over 100K in loans to give yourself less than a 15% chance at getting big law. This is an extremely ill advised decision since You will have little to no ability to pay off six figure debt without big law.


I would highly recommend reconsidering these options. You either need a school that places better in big law or you need to go to UA/ASU for much much less than six figures in case you don't land in the top 10% and snag big law

Poor choice. Should have sat out and retaken. Making a decision based on USNWR rankings instead of employment numbers is irrational. You ostensibly want to be a lawyer. You need to be able to figure this shit out.

Someone asked this question a a few months back and got a response from an attorney practicing in Tucson. For that perspective:

http://top-law-schools.com/forums/viewt ... e#p9196839

pancakes3 wrote:Poor choice. Should have sat out and retaken. Making a decision based on USNWR rankings instead of employment numbers is irrational. You ostensibly want to be a lawyer. You need to be able to figure this shit out.

Where do you go to law school? I have retaken and have not done well enough to get into one of the t14 schools. I also said that I would be fine with a mid-size firm.

Isaacsn wrote: Where do you go to law school? I have retaken and have not done well enough to get into one of the t14 schools. I also said that I would be fine with a mid-size firm.

You're more than likely to end up at a smaller firm or government, if anything.
http://www.lstscorereports.com/schools/ ... ends/2015/

Isaacsn wrote:

pancakes3 wrote:Poor choice. Should have sat out and retaken. Making a decision based on USNWR rankings instead of employment numbers is irrational. You ostensibly want to be a lawyer. You need to be able to figure this shit out.

Where do you go to law school? I have retaken and have not done well enough to get into one of the t14 schools. I also said that I would be fine with a mid-size firm.

It is highly unlikely you land in a mid size firm paying you enough to service 6 figure debt from ASU or UA. You have about a 10% chance at big law and if you don't get that you will likely be working for a small firm. Even government is tougher to get these days and if your resume has nothing to do with a commitment to public service you will have a hard time landing any government job.

The amount of debt you will likely have at these two schools are far too much. And also if you're goal is anything other than government, public interest, or working at a small firm then these two schools should have been crossed off your list before you even applied.

Isaacsn wrote:

pancakes3 wrote:Poor choice. Should have sat out and retaken. Making a decision based on USNWR rankings instead of employment numbers is irrational. You ostensibly want to be a lawyer. You need to be able to figure this shit out.

Where do you go to law school? I have retaken and have not done well enough to get into one of the t14 schools. I also said that I would be fine with a mid-size firm.

Does where I go affect your decision?

You don't have to be T14 or bust, but you can retake for more scholarship at ASU/UA, or other regionals. Perhaps a regional where you'd feel more comfortable practicing, and have a lower cost of attendance.

Legal hiring isn't pyramidal. There's no guarantee of getting midlaw. You need ties, fit, and be honest with yourself if you're willing to spend the rest of your life practicing midlaw in Arizona. A J.D. isn't very portable and even less so if you're not doing biglaw/bigfed (unless you solo).

You also have to consider whether midlaw will be able to service your debt. I know that in DC and NYC there aer "midlaw" firms that pay 110k-135k. I'm not sure that's the case in Phoenix. Even though the office has 50+ attorneys, you might start out at 60k. This is where retaking for scholarship is a smart idea.

Or you can be defensive and start ad-hom'ing people. That's cool too.

pancakes3 wrote:

Isaacsn wrote:

pancakes3 wrote:Poor choice. Should have sat out and retaken. Making a decision based on USNWR rankings instead of employment numbers is irrational. You ostensibly want to be a lawyer. You need to be able to figure this shit out.

Where do you go to law school? I have retaken and have not done well enough to get into one of the t14 schools. I also said that I would be fine with a mid-size firm.

Does where I go affect your decision?

You don't have to be T14 or bust, but you can retake for more scholarship at ASU/UA, or other regionals. Perhaps a regional where you'd feel more comfortable practicing, and have a lower cost of attendance.

Legal hiring isn't pyramidal. There's no guarantee of getting midlaw. You need ties, fit, and be honest with yourself if you're willing to spend the rest of your life practicing midlaw in Arizona. A J.D. isn't very portable and even less so if you're not doing biglaw/bigfed (unless you solo).

You also have to consider whether midlaw will be able to service your debt. I know that in DC and NYC there aer "midlaw" firms that pay 110k-135k. I'm not sure that's the case in Phoenix. Even though the office has 50+ attorneys, you might start out at 60k. This is where retaking for scholarship is a smart idea.

Or you can be defensive and start ad-hom'ing people. That's cool too.

Biglaw in Phx starts around $115k. Most smaller firms start around $60k that I know of and it goes up depending on the type of work.

The advice is good, though. ASU and UofA aren't really worth it unless you get a good scholly. That's even if you're local and paying in-state. And if you graduate from either the odds are you will be practicing in AZ.


e: OP, I'm happy to answer any questions you may have. You can post here or PM me if you'd like. ASU grad, big law offers etc. and I practice in AZ

Ok cool. Check your pm

pancakes3 wrote: Biglaw in Phx starts around $115k. Most smaller firms start around $60k that I know of and it goes up depending on the type of work.

The advice is good, though. ASU and UofA aren't really worth it unless you get a good scholly. That's even if you're local and paying in-state. And if you graduate from either the odds are you will be practicing in AZ.


e: OP, I'm happy to answer any questions you may have. You can post here or PM me if you'd like. ASU grad, big law offers etc. and I practice in AZ

Did ASU have a decent on campus interview line up? Also, did you do any of the clinics or externship programs?

UltimateSplitter wrote:

pancakes3 wrote: Biglaw in Phx starts around $115k. Most smaller firms start around $60k that I know of and it goes up depending on the type of work.

The advice is good, though. ASU and UofA aren't really worth it unless you get a good scholly. That's even if you're local and paying in-state. And if you graduate from either the odds are you will be practicing in AZ.


e: OP, I'm happy to answer any questions you may have. You can post here or PM me if you'd like. ASU grad, big law offers etc. and I practice in AZ

Did ASU have a decent on campus interview line up? Also, did you do any of the clinics or externship programs?

I'll shoot you a pm