Top Law Schools

Pitt with 14k or Villanova with 15k?

not sure which area of law i want to get into but (biglaw is cool too..)

or..PSU with 10k?

i want to work in DC but Philly is cool too.

should i try negotiating with Pitt for more money?

This has to stop at some point, right?

not until april 1st baby! so give me some input!

love ya TLS!

The good news is that although you don't know which area of law you want to practice, you have one you can cross off if you attend any of your three choices...biglaw.

Go where it is cheapest. Less loans=less regret if you don't get a high-paying job.

psu is t14

jmaan wrote:psu is t14

No, UPenn is T14, PSU is a T2 ranked 65th.

blackmamba76 wrote:

jmaan wrote:psu is t14

No, UPenn is T14, PSU is a T2 ranked 65th.

oh man, I bet jmaan will be super embarrassed he messed that up!

the PSU result is mistaken right? LoL PSU is not Penn.

You can take classes at Wharton if you go to PSU, so I'd go there.

I don't know why you'd even consider Nova or Pitt over a T14 school. Go to Penn State.

Go to Penn State. Be a Nittany Lion!!!

As for the poster that said you can cross Biglaw off your list, nonsense.

Work hard, be at the top of your class and you have a shot at Biglaw if you want.

The whole "If you dont go t14 you cant work in Biglaw" argument is garbage. Go to one of the "Biglaw" directory's and you'll see that a lot of their associates, recently hired ones too, are NOT from T14. You find lots of bright, talented people from all different schools. So Biglaw is more than possible if you go to Penn State.

gdane5 wrote:Go to Penn State. Be a Nittany Lion!!!

As for the poster that said you can cross Biglaw off your list, nonsense.

Work hard, be at the top of your class and you have a shot at Biglaw if you want.

The whole "If you dont go t14 you cant work in Biglaw" argument is garbage. Go to one of the "Biglaw" directory's and you'll see that a lot of their associates, recently hired ones too, are NOT from T14. You find lots of bright, talented people from all different schools. So Biglaw is more than possible if you go to Penn State.

Define "a lot"

I was kidding, of course you can work biglaw if you go to Penn State. You can work biglaw if you go to Cooley. Is it probable? No. Should anyone bet thousands of dollars that they will end up beating the curve? No. My point was that if you are going to go to a school that doesn't give you a high probability of making a biglaw salary (i.e. outside the top 25-being really generous here) and the ability to ACTUALLY pay back the loans, you should go where it is cheapest.

Agree with trying to keep your loans and debts as low as possible.

But the "No T14-No Big law" argument really bugs me. Its just not true.

Its a slow day, so I've been toying around on some "Biglaw" websites and I've found that a good amount of people that have been hired in 2008 and 2009 are not T14 grads.

What I will concede is that it does appear that getting a biglaw jobs is easier if you go to a T14 school. There also seems to be a lot of leeway as far as grades go. Many of the non T14 associates are Magna Cum Laude, law review members, etc etc, while the Harvard, Penn, Cornell associates have few honors.

gdane5 wrote:Agree with trying to keep your loans and debts as low as possible.

But the "No T14-No Big law" argument really bugs me. Its just not true.

Its a slow day, so I've been toying around on some "Biglaw" websites and I've found that a good amount of people that have been hired in 2008 and 2009 are not T14 grads.

What I will concede is that it does appear that getting a biglaw jobs is easier if you go to a T14 school. There also seems to be a lot of leeway as far as grades go. Many of the non T14 associates are Magna Cum Laude, law review members, etc etc, while the Harvard, Penn, Cornell associates have few honors.

No one will argue that you can't get a big law job coming out of a non-Top 14, however, it is a lot less probable. Personally, I don't feel comfortable gambling thousands (or hundreds of thousands) of dollars on a 1 in 6 chance of getting a job that I'm not even guaranteed to like if I do get.

Yea. Agreed. There are a lot of us that dont want Biglaw though. I am one of those. I say that now though, but when I have $150k in debt, will I change my mind? Who the hell knows. Ha!

The cost of a legal education is great and everytime I think about how much debt I will have it makes me not want to go. I do it though because I want to. There are a lot of things about law that fascinate me. So, worst case scenario it takes me 50 years to pay my loans, but Ill be doing stuff I like.

BenJ wrote:I don't know why you'd even consider Nova or Pitt over a T14 school. Go to Penn State.

Penn State is NOT t-14. Upenn is top t-14, and t-10 at that.

Villanova is the highest ranked school there, and they're giving you the most $. Being they're all in Pennsylvania, and the highest ranked one is paying you the most, is it even a question?

gdane5 wrote:Yea. Agreed. There are a lot of us that dont want Biglaw though. I am one of those. I say that now though, but when I have $150k in debt, will I change my mind? Who the hell knows. Ha!

The cost of a legal education is great and everytime I think about how much debt I will have it makes me not want to go. I do it though because I want to. There are a lot of things about law that fascinate me. So, worst case scenario it takes me 50 years to pay my loans, but Ill be doing stuff I like.

Everyone says law school is so expensive, and it is... but so are most masters' program. If you want a higher education, it is going to cost $. But unless you are a great businessman, and have a strong idea for a business, it is a relatively safer bet to make over 100k in 5 years than any other field you'd be going into with a BA. If you do not go to law school, are not well connected and stick with your bachelors, the odds of you ever making 100k a year are slim to none. Law school is a risk, sure, but if you work hard at it and are good at what you do, there will always be a lot of $ to be made. What's more is even if you don't wind up going into law, you will be helped greatly in any field you are in with a JD. If you are applying to

logicman86 wrote:

BenJ wrote:I don't know why you'd even consider Nova or Pitt over a T14 school. Go to Penn State.

Penn State is NOT t-14. Upenn is top t-14, and t-10 at that.

Villanova is the highest ranked school there, and they're giving you the most $. Being they're all in Pennsylvania, and the highest ranked one is paying you the most, is it even a question?

Wait for it, it will come to you, I promise...

[/quote]

Wait for it, it will come to you, I promise...[/quote]

I don't follow...

logicman86 wrote:I don't follow...

In a rare act of TLS kindness towards a new member, I'll help you out.

Everyone in this thread (except perhaps the guy who is upset people say you can't get big law if you don't go T14) is joking.

The OP has made this exact same thread quite a few times, so people aren't taking this seriously.

bees wrote:

logicman86 wrote:I don't follow...

In a rare act of TLS kindness towards a new member, I'll help you out.

Everyone in this thread (except perhaps the guy who is upset people say you can't get big law if you don't go T14) is joking.

The OP has made this exact same thread quite a few times, so people aren't taking this seriously.

Can you really not get into big law without coming from a t-14? I want to do big law, but my numbers place me at Cornell (maybe, if I'm lucky) through Fordham (safety). I know Cornell is t-14, but I'd rather get a full ride to Fordham... but not if I can't do big law.

logicman86 wrote:

bees wrote:

logicman86 wrote:I don't follow...

In a rare act of TLS kindness towards a new member, I'll help you out.

Everyone in this thread (except perhaps the guy who is upset people say you can't get big law if you don't go T14) is joking.

The OP has made this exact same thread quite a few times, so people aren't taking this seriously.

Can you really not get into big law without coming from a t-14? I want to do big law, but my numbers place me at Cornell (maybe, if I'm lucky) through Fordham (safety).

Yes, you can get biglaw if you don't go t-13 (screw you Georgetown ), but your chances drop significantly.

TTTennis wrote:

logicman86 wrote:

bees wrote:

logicman86 wrote:I don't follow...

In a rare act of TLS kindness towards a new member, I'll help you out.

Everyone in this thread (except perhaps the guy who is upset people say you can't get big law if you don't go T14) is joking.

The OP has made this exact same thread quite a few times, so people aren't taking this seriously.

Can you really not get into big law without coming from a t-14? I want to do big law, but my numbers place me at Cornell (maybe, if I'm lucky) through Fordham (safety).

Yes, you can get biglaw if you don't go t-13 (screw you Georgetown ), but your chances drop significantly.

Why is 13 the cut off? UCLA, USC and TEXAS would put me in significantly worse shape than Cornell?

bees wrote:

logicman86 wrote:I don't follow...

In a rare act of TLS kindness towards a new member, I'll help you out.

Everyone in this thread (except perhaps the guy who is upset people say you can't get big law if you don't go T14) is joking.

The OP has made this exact same thread quite a few times, so people aren't taking this seriously.

TEE HEE