Law Schools - Where and Why?

[randomkoreandude]



True. You will probably have to finish in top 10-15% of each class to get an A. That would typically mean getting no worse than the 10th or so highest score in the class, in every class. Unlike undergrad, there are limits to how many A's a professor can give out. In undergrad, if everybody got 95%, everybody gets an A. In law school, if everybody gets 95%, 80% of them still get lower than an A .

not every prof follows the strict curve but in general this is correct

 

[El Argentino]



BYU is a killer deal for education, as long as you're LDS (which you are, IIRC). That's why I'll probably wind up sending both of my kids there, even though I went undergrad to the U of Utah.

Oh, you're one of those people... Kidding. Know a lot of good people at the U.

 

[sns23]



not every prof follows the strict curve but in general this is correct

normally you don't have a choice.

 

[randomkoreandude]

the baller, more famous profs that write the text books poo poo on the curve but this obviously depends on the rep of the school and the status of the prof

 

[mexicutioner]

the fact that you didn't do so well on the LSAT should be a huge, pulsating, blood-stained red flag that law school is a very risky choice for you, no matter how well you did at your presumably low-ranked UG. however, you seem dead-set on ignoring a lot of very solid advice in this thread and will likely attend law school no matter what, so please keep this in mind:

only three sensible choices:

• don't go to law school
• T14 (or UCLA/UTAustin if you plan on practicing in LA or Austin respectively) and then work your ass off to be in the top X percentile needed to get an actual job as an attorney (percentile varies by school) + you drop out IMMEDIATELY first semester (or any semester, for that matter) if you aren't in that percentile
• full ride scholarship at a lower-ranked school + you plan on practicing in that city + you drop out IMMEDIATELY if you lose your scholarship money due to low grades. even better if you go to law school at night and keep working your FT job to avoid racking up loans for living expenses

 

[munchausen]

I don't want to talk you out of law school. Well, I do sort of, because the profession is already overcrowded to say the least. But I love being a lawyer. Not the prestige or the money, because there's not that much these days. And I should note that I work for myself. If I were still working for a firm then I might be miserable.

If practicing law is definitely what you want to do, then you will do it for cheap and the struggle at every level won't bother you. If you are the type of person who knows that he wants to practice and will do anything to get there, then law school is really your only choice. If you are looking for "success" or money or anything like that there are MUCH better things you could do with your time and money.

 

[Kid Nickels]

damnit... quote f'd up...sorry double post

 

[Kid Nickels]



]the fact that you didn't do so well on the LSAT should be a huge, pulsating, blood-stained red flag that law school is a very risky choice for you[/B], no matter how well you did at your presumably low-ranked UG. however, you seem dead-set on ignoring a lot of very solid advice in this thread and will likely attend law school no matter what, so please keep this in mind:

mexicutioner has an extremely valid point here... and if BYU is your top choice, but you have applied to the other schools you mentioned seems like a bit of a reach. You've acknowledged your LSAT needs improvement to apply to UT-Austin then you've got what LB termed "a bunch of mediocre schools". Even raising your LSAT significantly this late in the cycle won't necessarily save you. We have Pepperdine in common, but in my case it's probably the lowest ranked school as a safety, auto admit + $$$$ I've already been offered. Even for my targets UCLA and USC where my GPA is solid upper-mid and my LSAT is 6 or 7 points above their 75%, it is still very competitive. Altho' if it costs me a little extra scratch to go to UCLA it's still worth it. Some schools you must consider, even with a full-scholarship, what job prospects are available and what kind of income you'll realistically be able to make. SNS makes a good point that everyone there is just as talented as you are... and you'll have to be in the top 10% minimum I'd believe at some of those schools to even have a chance. That said good luck with the test next weekend and good luck in general.

@ Skitlets... UCI is not yet fully accredited and has no alumni network really to speak of... 150K seems like a lot. Unfortunately we've missed out on the free tuition largesse so good luck with Hastings!

 

[skitlets]

If UCI's administration and faculty continue to work as hard as they have for the first couple of classes, the lack of an alumni network doesn't bother me. Firms in the area have committed to working with the school and hiring from them. Without a crystal ball, I don't know if they will continue to do so 3-4 years down the line. I also don't know if I'd want to stay around Irvine for a minimum of 5 years, unless I lived in a livelier city like Newport and didn't have to deal with brutal traffic.

They'll get accredited, already provisional so you can take the bar. I'm sure it'll be fully accredited by 2014.

Sounds like you have great numbers, probably good enough for a T14 somewhere. Hope you get in where you want.

 

[Kid Nickels]



If UCI's administration and faculty continue to work as hard as they have for the first couple of classes, the lack of an alumni network doesn't bother me. Firms in the area have committed to working with the school and hiring from them. Without a crystal ball, I don't know if they will continue to do so 3-4 years down the line. I also don't know if I'd want to stay around Irvine for a minimum of 5 years, unless I lived in a livelier city like Newport and didn't have to deal with brutal traffic.
They'll get accredited, already provisional so you can take the bar. I'm sure it'll be fully accredited by 2014.
Sounds like you have great numbers, probably good enough for a T14 somewhere. Hope you get in where you want.

thx... I'm not dissin' UCI in any way... they HAVE been bustin' ass for the start up and for sure they will be fully accredited. My only concern was just not having that network of connections to fall back on but that may be more b/c of my particular focus than anything. I've gotten some good acceptances and offers so far but UCLA (1st choice) is still in holding pattern! I SHOULD get in but still waiting Good luck to you as well Skits!

 

[skitlets]

^ For sure, no alumni can be a serious problem and one I'll be keeping in mind. They're trying to offset it but it looks like the majority of support is coming from OC (understandably) and I'd want to practice in the Bay Area.

I just got wait listed at UCLA, I'm positive you'll have better luck!

 

[overdog]



the baller, more famous profs that write the text books poo poo on the curve but this obviously depends on the rep of the school and the status of the prof

Late to the discussion here...

What's the curve at nowadays? Back when I was in law school from 05-08, we were on an B+ curve, meaning the median grade point was a 3.3.

 

[deepitm]

It really sounds like you should just go to BYU. It really maximizes quality versus price. It is super cheap and it seems like the top 25% have no problem getting jobs. I am in Chicago and there are quite a few people that start out in big law here every year that went to BYU for law school. So they are making the same money that the Northwestern and UChicago kids are making, despite spending 1/5 as much. However, I know you don't want to do big law, but the point to take away from that is that BYU has a national reputation for being a good law school to the degree that it will not limit you geographically should you decide that one day you want to live in NYC, CA, Chicago, DC, etc. You really can't say the same about U of U, UNLV, etc. The limiting factor with BYU is, however, that there are some people that will look down on you for it because they aren't fond of LDS. If that's the case, it's probably not the kind of person / kind of firm you want to work for anyway. All in all, I think BYU gives you the most options for the least money.

My opinion ex-BYU is that if you don't go to a top 15 law school, it's not worth it unless you're going for next to nothing. But even then, opportunity cost needs to be factored in. And if you go to a great law school you still need to crush it once you're there.

 

[Kid Nickels]



Late to the discussion here...
What's the curve at nowadays? Back when I was in law school from 05-08, we were on an B+ curve, meaning the median grade point was a 3.3.

I think it depends on the school and as RKD stated the prof as well.... where did you go?

 

[overdog]

Texas. Attorneys would tell me that a B+ curve was inflated, and back in the day, the median grade used to be a B.