third tier toilet Ranking

[ccorsi]

My $.02 on this ...

You should be going to law school because it is your passion/desire and what others think of where you are going should not even be a factor. 

If they want to call it a toilet or say you are dumb for going there - who frigging cares?

Do you think the great figures in our world's history cared about such things?  Did Lincoln?  Did Martin Luther King? 

Thurgood Marshall went to Howard NOT Harvard - was he any good?

Believe in your dream and grasp it, don't worry about the Joneses because if you do - you have already lost.

To butress some of what others said.  I graduated from Wharton - which I am extremely proud of.  My boss went to St. Joe's and my closest peer went to Rutger's and I think the world of them.  I don't think any less of them because their school isn't ranked as high - I judge them on their merits as we all will be judged.

C2

[NJHandyGirl]

You should be going to law school because it is your passion/desire and what others think of where you are going should not even be a factor. 

If they want to call it a toilet or say you are dumb for going there - who frigging cares?

Amen!

Thurgood Marshall went to Howard NOT Harvard - was he any good?

Cochran went to Loyola - New Orleans...this didn't make him any less a great legal mind.

Believe in your dream and grasp it, don't worry about the Jones's because if you do - you have already lost.

Despite what those "Joneses" say, it is an honor to get accepted to an ABA approved law school. Not everyone can...not everyone will. If you have a strong passion for the law, you will excel no matter where you go.

[mxpocc]

Cochran went to Loyola - New Orleans...this didn't make him any less a great legal mind.

He (that is if you mean J.C. of OJ Simpson fame) went to Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles; immediately after graduating he joined the LA District Attorney's Office--Lance Ito was a subordinate of his while he was there.

[NJHandyGirl]

Cochran went to Loyola - New Orleans...this didn't make him any less a great legal mind.

He (that is if you mean J.C. of OJ Simpson fame) went to Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles; immediately after graduating he joined the LA District Attorney's Office--Lance Ito was a subordinate of his while he was there.

Um...sorry, wrong Loyola...still wasn't Harvard 

[Happy_Weasel]

Well, I am just concerned of the closed doors a T3 or T4 may cause.

[mxpocc]

Cochran went to Loyola - New Orleans...this didn't make him any less a great legal mind.

He (that is if you mean J.C. of OJ Simpson fame) went to Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles; immediately after graduating he joined the LA District Attorney's Office--Lance Ito was a subordinate of his while he was there.

Um...sorry, wrong Loyola...still wasn't Harvard 

Totally; you'd have to be a jack-ass of monumental proportions to believe that no skilled lawyers come from third tier schools; ironically, I think more famed and successful lawyers have come out of third tier than the top schools (undoubtedly because of their sheer number, but still). Yet, like a higher education in general is supposed to do, an Ivy or top-tier law school education is an insurance policy--one insuring that you'll at least have great opportunities (financial, if nothing else). What you make of those opportunities, is of course, an individual endeavor.

[NJHandyGirl]

Totally; you'd have to be a jack-ass of monumental proportions to believe that no skilled lawyers come from third tier schools; ironically, I think more famed and successful lawyers have come out of third tier than the top schools (undoubtedly because of their sheer number, but still). Yet, like a higher education in general is supposed to do, an Ivy or top-tier law school education is an insurance policy--one insuring that you'll at least have great opportunities (financial, if nothing else). What you make of those opportunities, is of course, an individual endeavor.

I agree.
Without the USNWR ratings, how would you choose your school?
Sure, you may get more national opportunities coming from HYS...but, you still have to do well in school, it's not a free pass. Also, I believe where (and what) you want to practice makes a HUGE difference. I think a judge from Mississippi is going to trust an Ole Miss grad far before he trusts some "big city suit" from Harvard.

In addition, not all states have a Tier 1 school...I live in NJ and would like to practice in NJ. My choices are Seton Hall and the two Rutgers. According to USNWR, neither school is Tier 1--does that mean I try to get in someplace else just because it is more prestigious? Or, do I perform a little research and find that most of the big employers in NJ are graduates of those schools?

All arguments aside, if just any school could get ABA approval, there are alot of schools in California which would be included in the LSAC database. It is an accomplishment to be accepted into any ABA law school program. The fact that some schools give a wider range of opportunities than others, shouldn't reflect negatively on the school. The reason most of those schools have a high attrition rate is probably because they gave chances and the person couldn't cut it.

Same as any team sport which gives all of its members a chance at bat--you hit the ball, or you don't. Whether you hit a homerun at Harvard or Cooley shouldn't be the issue.

Oh...and mxpocc...I love that "jackass" line...may I use it at some point in the future in a different post? 

[mxpocc]

Oh...and mxpocc...I love that "jackass" line...may I use it at some point in the future in a different post? 

Go right ahead; I actually lifted it from a conference where Mark Spragg (novelist and screenwriter) used it to describe would-be Hollywood hot-shots.

[NJHandyGirl]

Well, I am just concerned of the closed doors a T3 or T4 may cause.

Aaaah...you should be concerned about the wonderful doors a law degree will open!

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

I retract my previous post. Compared to Peoples College of Laws the PR schools look like HYS! Seriously, all of the students at Peoples College of Law look like illegal immigrants. Not to mention they freely admit they're communist. Also has anyone seen that picture on their site ofthe school logo? It looks like a Soviet propaganda poster done in a southwestern motif. The best part is that if you look closely at it, it appears to be an old poster that has been crumpled, torn, taped back together and mounted in a 50 cent frame!
http://peoplescollegeoflaw.edu/photos/pages/2004_0331_165338AA_JPG.htm

I laughed so hard when i saw these pics, my mother got scared. This is too much. I can't say much about TTTs as i will almost certainly be attending one myself, but i don't think i could ever quite bring myself to attend the PCL.