Thoughts on the following schools? Forum

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TACHLS2

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Thoughts on the following schools?

Post by TACHLS2 » Sat Sep 10, 2022 3:05 pm

I’m nearly done with my BA.( I’ll be taking the LSAT next year) My ultimate goal is either BigLaw ( though I’m open to midlaw as well) or working for the state/federal government. I know I won’t really have a clear picture of where I can get in until I take the LSAT. Nevertheless, I’d appreciate your thoughts on the following law schools( what the culture is like, what fields/careers grads generally go into, whether they’d be a good fit given my goals etc)

George Washington University
University of Richmond
William & Mary
George Mason
Regent ( yes, I know Regent is pretty conservative. I’m socially conservative but liberal on everything else- a Christian Socialist. Interestingly, I see that 1 Regent grad got BigLaw last year- according to the ABA report) I’ve heard Regent has gotten a lot better over the years

Thanks

talons2250

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Re: Thoughts on the following schools?

Post by talons2250 » Sat Sep 10, 2022 3:17 pm

GW Law grads who graduate in the top 5% can have quite good outcomes (federal clerkships, biglaw, etc.) Not familiar with the other schools but I assume that those who get high enough grades and network can do quite well professionally in the same geographic region that the school is in.

Wubbles

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Re: Thoughts on the following schools?

Post by Wubbles » Sun Sep 11, 2022 8:58 am

If you want biglaw or federal or high level state government work, none of these options.

Loftyre

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Re: Thoughts on the following schools?

Post by Loftyre » Sun Sep 11, 2022 10:05 am

Wubbles wrote:
Sun Sep 11, 2022 8:58 am
If you want biglaw or federal or high level state government work, none of these options.
This is a very strange take. Sure, big law would be hard if not impossible. But high level state government in the state one of these law schools are in happens all the time. Similarly the federal government is notorious for caring less about school and more about grades.

anymouseqwerty

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Re: Thoughts on the following schools?

Post by anymouseqwerty » Sun Sep 11, 2022 11:35 am

TACHLS2 wrote:
Sat Sep 10, 2022 3:05 pm
I’m nearly done with my BA.( I’ll be taking the LSAT next year) My ultimate goal is either BigLaw ( though I’m open to midlaw as well) or working for the state/federal government. I know I won’t really have a clear picture of where I can get in until I take the LSAT. Nevertheless, I’d appreciate your thoughts on the following law schools( what the culture is like, what fields/careers grads generally go into, whether they’d be a good fit given my goals etc)

George Washington University
University of Richmond
William & Mary
George Mason
Regent ( yes, I know Regent is pretty conservative. I’m socially conservative but liberal on everything else- a Christian Socialist. Interestingly, I see that 1 Regent grad got BigLaw last year- according to the ABA report) I’ve heard Regent has gotten a lot better over the years

Thanks
Continue to take a hard look at the aba reports. For example, for 2021 and GWU (class size ~517) and George Mason (class size ~161):

# into firms of 250+ lawyers (a proxy for market pay): GWU 156, GMU 18
# state and federal clerkships: GWU 54, GMU 28
# into gov positions (likely mostly fed): GWU 91, GMU 36

For better or worse, your school will determine your trajectory. You might have modest expectations for yourself at this point, but once you get into law school, you might be disappointed that you are blocked from job outcomes due to your school choice. And it is your choice. I recommend you keep taking the LSAT until you get the score you need to get into a school like GWU or Gtown. If this takes six months, one year, or even three years while working full-time, you can save yourself a decade of trouble trying to recover from an initial poor school choice (assuming you truly want to do biglaw).

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