Top Law Schools

Here's some background,

From the Des Moines area, and my family knows just about every other attorney in Des Moines in most of the "big" law firms here. From what I've read on TLS forums it seems that Iowa and Drake have nearly equal hiring prospects in Des Moines, although obviously Iowa has more reach throughout the midwest. However, I'd like to stay in DSM so I'm not so much concerned with reputation/midwest pull.

Iowa's full tuition is based off a top 1/3 stipulation, which if what I've heard about Iowa stips is true puts me in danger of losing my scholarship there, where I have to take out $10 large anyway to pay COL. On the other hand Drake's stips are a lot more forgiving; I only need to be in the top 1/3 in one of the two semesters every year to maintain the full scholarship. Dropping below the top 1/3 BOTH semesters will see my scholarship deteriorate little by little (I think it's renewed at half if I fall to the top 50%) so if I, by some odd reason, decide to fuck up royally I'm not totally out of luck, unlike Iowa where I need to be top 1/3 every semester to maintain my full ride.

Other relevant stuffs: Drake is widely known in the DSM area as being a more "practical" school- they prepare you for the daily grind as opposed to Iowa where they take a more theoretical approach. My family all lives in DSM, and my older brother might be buying a house soon which means I could live with him for cheap, making that $10k stretch fairly wide. However, I'm familiar with Iowa City and know they have a very fun town and good experience.

I've included a poll, but I'd really like to hear any opinions or thoughts about it all. Thanks!

both stips sound terrible and i would be very concerned about being stacked in a section with other scholarship recipients

Have to tried to negotiate the stipulations?

When I visited Iowa, their students stressed that the best schools to get a Midwest legal education were Northwestern, Michigan, and Chicago. Looking at your full scholarships to Iowa and Drake (but without your numbers), I'd bet on you getting into one of those and then, with your ties, breaking back into the Des Moines market.

IMO, if your numbers are low enough to not meet the stipulations, they aren't gong to be high enough to get any BigLaw position, despite your ties. So, if you are really debt-averse and want to avoid Michigan (or even Notre Dame), etc, then I was almost ignore the looser stipulations, go to Iowa (the place where you'll get the better education), and try to kill it there. But, to be honest, I'd aim a little bit higher.

You sound like you've made up your mind already.

Also, that Iowa stipulation is hilarious.

Iowa 2L on a full w/o stips.

Go to Drake with the extra 10K. Top of the class graduates are pretty much equal in the DSM market. Iowa won't give you a huge advantage if you're a home grown kid that wants to stay. You aren't going to have much luck leaving the state either way with degrees from either institution. So, go to DSM and make connections while you're there.

You're absolutely right about Iowa being theoretical and not being a practical school. They have tried to fix this a little bit in the last year with new programs. However, the western part of the state such as Sioux City and the other smaller areas won't take Iowa grads anymore because they come out with few transferable skills. If I had applied to drake and gotten that scholarship I would've taken it over Iowa knowing what I know now.

Also networking and connections > rank in DSM and small markets.

typ3 wrote:Iowa 2L on a full w/o stips.

Go to Drake with the extra 10K. Top of the class graduates are pretty much equal in the DSM market. Iowa won't give you a huge advantage if you're a home grown kid that wants to stay. You aren't going to have much luck leaving the state either way with degrees from either institution. So, go to DSM and make connections while you're there.

You're absolutely right about Iowa being theoretical and not being a practical school. They have tried to fix this a little bit in the last year with new programs. However, the western part of the state such as Sioux City and the other smaller areas won't take Iowa grads anymore because they come out with few transferable skills. If I had applied to drake and gotten that scholarship I would've taken it over Iowa knowing what I know now.

Also networking and connections > rank in DSM and small markets.

All of this.

I'm a 1L at Drake and I'm glad I took it over Iowa (Iowa offered me a full, I'm at just under full at Drake).

I have been working since January, and I'm only top 30%. Drake grads beat every other school when applying in Des Moines. There is only one firm that doesn't hire Drake Grads, that's Belin McCormick, and they don't hire very many people anyway. Many of my friends are working, and pretty much the whole top half get summer work (that's top half of 1Ls). One of my friends (who is in the top 5%) already got an offer from Nyemaster. You won't regret Drake over Iowa. Iowa isn't a bad school, but it is severely disserved by not having a home market. With class sizes shrinking, it is getting easier to get a job in Des Moines for Drake students.