Top Law Schools

Where should I apply for $$-$$$? Any chance at a T14? Thank you.

What are your career goals? What regions are you interested in working in?

Wingtip88 wrote:What are your career goals? What regions are you interested in working in?

Hi, I'm not interested in Big Law so I would like to have the least amount of debt. I also would like to work somewhere in the East Cost.

orab wrote:

Wingtip88 wrote:What are your career goals? What regions are you interested in working in?

Hi, I'm not interested in Big Law so I would like to have the least amount of debt. I also would like to work somewhere in the East Cost.

Particularly if you don't want big law, apply to lower T14 along with schools in the T50 within the region where you want to practice. You will have some full ride offers and other schools with a big discount. I think you will be competitive for Georgetown and Cornell, although you would be looking at massive debt.

Go to Law School Transparency. Research which schools have strong job placement on the East Coast. Then go to Law School Numbers. Look at what kind of money folks are getting with your numbers.

For areas of legal practice outside of Biglaw, starting salaries between $40-60k are common, though things might be different in cities like Boston or New York City. I'd research the available salary data from the NALP reports of various schools, with the understanding that the information on such reports doesn't account for every single graduate for that year's class and has to be taken with a grain of salt.

To pick a school, I'd suggest having a rough idea of what kind of job accessibility, expectant income, and debt load you'll have upon graduation. Run the numbers, perhaps do some hypothetical budgeting that factors in cost of living, and make your choice based on the school that seems the most palatable.

You should retake if you want a solid shot at biglaw without a massive amount of debt.

I'm not interested in biglaw.