Top Law Schools

Short Version: I'm looking to get insight regarding whether it would likely be more beneficial for me to graduate from a higher ranked school with average gpa/ranking or a lower ranked school with a better GPA/ranking. By more beneficial I mean in terms of exit opportunities and networking opportunities.

Long version: Hey everyone, I just finished my first semester in an unranked law school in Puerto Rico, Inter American University. The schools is ABA accredited and follows a pretty standard first year schedule. I moved to Puerto Rico hoping to give myself the opportunity to go to law school and graduate prepared to practice in both English and Spanish. I already speak Spanish fluently and have for years but, as in English, the law is another ball game so I thought this experience would be beneficial. I finished my first semester with a 3.91 GPA, putting me in the top 5% of my class, and got pretty involved on campus. I've spoken with several law schools ranked in the top 50 (and a few lower) and explained them my situation and they've given me hope that despite coming from an unranked school, the profile that I'll be applying with is competitive enough to have a chance of being accepted. The help that I am seeking is trying to determine what you all think is the more important factor in choosing to transfer. Money and cost of living will not be an issue and I'm not against any particular geographical region. The aspects I am struggling to weigh are choosing a more highly ranked school where maybe I won't come out at the top of my class but I'll still graduate with those connections and the name recognition, or choosing a school that is "lower" in the rankings but may give more to my personal life and/or allow me to graduate closer to the top of my class. What I am looking at in the end is the prospect to find a solid job after. I come from an engineering and business background having worked as a consultant in the corporate world before choosing to go to law school. If this helps, here are a few of the schools that I have been talking with- University of Miami, Tulane University, George Washington, Dedman (SMU), American, UC Hastings and my three reach schools Georgetown, UT Austin, and Vanderbilt. I chose these schools based on my communications with them (some schools basically told me I have no chance, those schools didn't make the list), and based on their ABA 509 General Info reports. According to the 509 reports, I'm well within the range of previously accepted transfer students for all schools I listed (in terms of GPA and whether the school has accepted transfers from unranked schools). Thanks in advanced for any insight, feedback, opinions, etc.

First, congrats on your first-semester success!

A few thoughts:

• First and foremost, the most important thing affecting your ability to transfer will be your 1L grades (both semesters). Keep your foot on the gas; take nothing for granted. I'm not trying to be pessimistic but there's no guarantee that you'll still be in the top 5% at the end of 1L. If you're not, that will significantly affect your transfer prospects.
• Your current "target" schools (excluding your "reach" T20s, Georgetown/UT/Vandy) are all regional schools. Really figure out if you're sure you want to practice in their respective markets before applying/transferring. Your lifestyle will be very different between south Florida, D.C., Dallas, and Louisiana. I recognize you're geographically flexible, but most people would have some preference between those cities. Most people who'd love practicing law in Louisiana would be miserable practicing in D.C., and vice versa. Really think about what you want, where you want to live, and what kind(s) of law you want to practice.
• Of your "target" schools, GWU and SMU are probably the best, in placement power (though obviously, they'd place you in D.C. or Dallas, respectively; so figure out where you want to live). I'd be especially leery of American, because the D.C. legal market is cornered by T13 grads and Georgetown, with GWU capturing most of what remains. Same goes for Hastings, between T13 grads targeting the Bay Area and the other/stronger CA schools (UCLA, USC, Irvine, and even Davis). Tulane and Miami at least have the advantage of being relatively strong in their respective local markets (though neither would give you a realistic chance at BigLaw).
• In any case, I'd recommend transferring. Any of your schools would give you better prospects than an unranked PR law school. I can't imagine you'd have great prospects in PR, given the island's economy. And a PR law degree won't position you well to practice Stateside. Most legal markets are incredibly insular, strongly preferring grads from the local law school.
• Of course, if you get into Georgetown, UT, or Vandy, absolutely attend any of them over any of your "target" schools. They're leaps and bounds better in placement power.

QContinuum wrote:First, congrats on your first-semester success!

A few thoughts:

• First and foremost, the most important thing affecting your ability to transfer will be your 1L grades (both semesters). Keep your foot on the gas; take nothing for granted. I'm not trying to be pessimistic but there's no guarantee that you'll still be in the top 5% at the end of 1L. If you're not, that will significantly affect your transfer prospects.
• Your current "target" schools (excluding your "reach" T20s, Georgetown/UT/Vandy) are all regional schools. Really figure out if you're sure you want to practice in their respective markets before applying/transferring. Your lifestyle will be very different between south Florida, D.C., Dallas, and Louisiana. I recognize you're geographically flexible, but most people would have some preference between those cities. Most people who'd love practicing law in Louisiana would be miserable practicing in D.C., and vice versa. Really think about what you want, where you want to live, and what kind(s) of law you want to practice.
• Of your "target" schools, GWU and SMU are probably the best, in placement power (though obviously, they'd place you in D.C. or Dallas, respectively; so figure out where you want to live). I'd be especially leery of American, because the D.C. legal market is cornered by T13 grads and Georgetown, with GWU capturing most of what remains. Same goes for Hastings, between T13 grads targeting the Bay Area and the other/stronger CA schools (UCLA, USC, Irvine, and even Davis). Tulane and Miami at least have the advantage of being relatively strong in their respective local markets (though neither would give you a realistic chance at BigLaw).
• In any case, I'd recommend transferring. Any of your schools would give you better prospects than an unranked PR law school. I can't imagine you'd have great prospects in PR, given the island's economy. And a PR law degree won't position you well to practice Stateside. Most legal markets are incredibly insular, strongly preferring grads from the local law school.
• Of course, if you get into Georgetown, UT, or Vandy, absolutely attend any of them over any of your "target" schools. They're leaps and bounds better in placement power.

Thanks so much QContinuum for all of that, I really appreciate it. Since I made the original post I have basically decided that I'm not going to attend Tulane, American, or UC Hastings. Your post has helped me to feel quite a bit more comfortable in that decision. I made those decisions because I realized (though not as clearly as you put it) that I don't want to practice in or near most of those places, Louisiana maybe being the exception because that's where I'm from but I don't see myself moving back there. The reason I mentioned that the geographical region aspect doesn't matter to me is because I don't care to live in the United States after law school, in fact I only moved back to the United States (after living in Mexico for about 2 years) to get my JD. I thought Miami being the "Capital of Latin America" could work to my advantage mostly for networking, so I added University of Miami to that list. I am hoping to work for an American firm either in Mexico, South America, or somewhere in Europe. I'm keeping my options open regarding that though. I think you helped me realize a really important point which is differentiating between the regional schools and the others. I'm going to continue working hard and trying to keep my GPA as close to that first semester as I can, and apply accordingly. Thanks again for your feedback and I look forward to any more insight you or any other members may have.