Top Law Schools

3.63; 161

This is my final list:

George Mason
Penn State
Pitt
Rutgers-Camden
University of San Diego
Seton Hall
Temple
William & Mary
Villanova
University of Wisconsin

Is this a good enough list, do you all think?

OP: Those are all over the map. Where do you want to practice? Where are you from? What are your career aspiration?

Well, I'd liek to stay in the Phila area, or Virginia or something like that would be okay.

I realized UW and USD are a little outlandish... but, I took a shot...

JDHopeful wrote:Well, I'd liek to stay in the Phila area, or Virginia or something like that would be okay.

I realized UW and USD are a little outlandish... but, I took a shot...

I'm personally of the school that you should focus your applications market-first, then by rank. For instance, with your stats, if you want to stay in Philadelphia, I would suggest you apply to Penn State, Rutgers-Camden, Temple, & 'Nova. If you want Virginia, I'd suggest GMU, American, and maybe one or both of W&L, W&M if you've got some spare cash and time to devote to the application process.

For either of those markets though, I hope you have significant ties to the area. No idea about the non-DC Virginia market, but Philadelphia is tough to break into.

Don't go to UW or USD solely because they're higher ranked. They're expensive, located in insulated markets and still regional schools.

Further stock answer: you can (statistically) forget about landing biglaw from most of those schools. That may be fine with you, but you should know that going in. I'd try to minimize debt and/or retake if that's a realistic option.

patrickd139 wrote:OP: Those are all over the map. Where do you want to practice? Where are you from? What are your career aspiration?

All over the geographical and proverbial maps is a good thing. Don't get me wrong, when constructing a list there must be some method to the madness. But OP shouldn't put all of his eggs in one basket. I like the fact that OP is applying on both coasts. There are some other schools that might be added. There are diversity reasons to apply out-of-market. One is automatically a rare bird where he does not live, so he provides the geographical diversity schools covet.

As far as rank goes, apply to at least one school where you have almost no chance of getting in...you never know. You should concentrate on "range schools", as you have done. Resources such as the Boston Range Finder can help you pick your list, but don't rely solely on them. They don't predict with much accuracy where you will actually be admitted. However, they are useful guides to help you target applications based on numbers. I say, the more flexible you are geographically, the better your chances. If you are willing to go to any of the four corners of the country, your options are that much better. IMO, the less competitive your numbers, the more geographically flexible you want to be.

Try picking one or two specific markets you really like, apply wide and deep within those markets (it looks like Philly and the D.C./VA area for OP), then pick at least one or two schools from the other regions of the country (NW, SW, MW, S/SE, NE). If OP is willing to apply to USD, why not Arizona State, Loyola, UC Davis, Hastings, Santa Clara, or USF? Why not UW-Seattle, L & C or U-Oregon?. Why not Florida, Florida State or Miami? Baylor, Tulane or Houston?

If OP applied to UW-Madison, why not Marquette or Chicago-Kent? Why not take a crack at Indiana? The numbers may be low for a few of these schools, but a well-tailored application and geographic diversity may help. I also think schools like Suffolk and American should be on OP's list.

PDaddy wrote:

patrickd139 wrote:OP: Those are all over the map. Where do you want to practice? Where are you from? What are your career aspiration?

All over the geographical and proverbial maps is a good thing. Don't get me wrong, when constructing a list there must be some method to the madness. But OP shouldn't put all of his eggs in one basket. I like the fact that OP is applying on both coasts. There are some other schools that might be added. There are diversity reasons to apply out-of-market. One is automatically a rare bird where he does not live, so he provides the geographical diversity schools covet.

I sincerely mean this with all due respect, but have you been through the recruiting process at a T2? The bolded makes me think not.

For most, law school is a professional school: it's all about getting a job. The burdens are increased exponentially when your school is out of market. Personally, I think the crappy economy makes this hard enough. Employers, when deciding whether to dump $15-30k into training you for a summer, are looking for someone they think will stick around so they can try and recoup some of that investment. When you're trying to get a job away from all your personal ties, employers will doubt your commitment to the area. When you're trying to get a job in the market where you're from, with an out-of-market law degree, employers want to know why you didn't just go to law school there. It's a tough position to be in.