Top Law Schools

Why is Harvard considered a better school than Northwestern, when Northwestern has the highest career rating and has the largest % of graduates that go to biglaw? (this applies to any other school besides Harvard that ranks lower than NU)

I'm confused because it seems like all the high paying jobs are biglaw, and since that's pretty much where everyone wants to go, i would think the best chance is at northwestern.

Even if harvard has a better faculty:student ratio, academics, etc., isn't career placement the most important thing in the end?

I know this might sound stupid but I'm having trouble finding what factors they use to rank schools and such..

senorhosh wrote:Why is Harvard considered a better school than Northwestern, when Northwestern has the highest career rating and has the largest % of graduates that go to biglaw? (this applies to any other school besides Harvard that ranks lower than NU)

I'm confused because it seems like all the high paying jobs are biglaw, and since that's pretty much where everyone wants to go, i would think the best chance is at northwestern.

Even if harvard has a better faculty:student ratio, academics, etc., isn't career placement the most important thing in the end?

I know this might sound stupid but I'm having trouble finding what factors they use to rank schools and such..

Or Harvard grads are self-selecting a different career path. Just because NW is placing better doesn't mean that H grads are somehow at disadvantage when it comes to biglulz in comparison.

Northwestern doesn't send the highest % to biglaw. Almost every year Chicago or Columbia will send the highest % to biglaw.

you might want to include academia, clerkships and networks in your super-scientific study

kwais wrote:you might want to include academia, clerkships and networks in your super-scientific study

I was just about to post this. For academia. Harvard>>>>>>>Northwestern. I could go on and on, but better placement in big law does not mean that NW is better. This is of course not counting the fact, that many ppl at Harvard may self-select out of big law.

I read once that HYS and sometimes CCN pride themselves on their ability to send grads to academia, clerkships and prestigious public interest, while schools like Northwestern can't really compete there, so pride themselves on their biglaw placement. Just because biglaw pays the best doesn't mean it's the most highly-sought-after law job. In fact, when you get to LS, you'll find that the people who don't want corporate law are insufferably proud of it (less true at NU, where they're so starkly in the minority that they have to play nice).

ETA: for many people at HYS, biglaw isn't a goal, it's a back-up plan.

Also worth noting that NU's placement may be skewed up by their preference for WE. Someone with WE who went to a peer school could very well do just as well as if they'd gone to NU, while someone who went straight through to NU might underperform their GPA relative to their formerly working peers.

dailygrind wrote:Also worth noting that NU's placement may be skewed up by their preference for WE. Someone with WE who went to a peer school could very well do just as well as if they'd gone to NU, while someone who went straight through to NU might underperform their GPA relative to their formerly working peers.

We also get credited or punished for the state of the Chicago economy. The year NYC no-offered people or otherwise was hurting more, we topped the list. The next year, Chicago cut back in hiring and we ended up hurting. If the Chicago economy recovers as much as OCS seems to think it will, we'll be zomg biglaw powerhouse!!1! again. Not helpful info for the NYC-biglaw-bound.

While career prospects are important, when ranking law schools or any other type of schools for that matter, there are several additional factors that are taken into account. Rankings of career prospects are now available - see NLJ250. However, many top top students don't think biglaw is the ultimate goal, so the top schools actually under perform in comparison.

IAFG wrote:I read once that HYS and sometimes CCN pride themselves on their ability to send grads to academia, clerkships and prestigious public interest, while schools like Northwestern can't really compete there, so pride themselves on their biglaw placement. Just because biglaw pays the best doesn't mean it's the most highly-sought-after law job. In fact, when you get to LS, you'll find that the people who don't want corporate law are insufferably proud of it (less true at NU, where they're so starkly in the minority that they have to play nice).

ETA: for many people at HYS, biglaw isn't a goal, it's a back-up plan.

Thanks. This makes a lot more sense now.