#6 Is there really a difference? I read an article last year which can't find right not that displayed the hiring data from every school in the country. To briefly paraphrase, there is a 3% chance of V200 at my T3 and as of last yr a 7% chance of V200 at the the school ranked in the 70's which was my other choice. Basically, the article showed that outside of T20 nearly all schools are regional and only the cream of the crop get the offers and make the big bucks. So you should take into consideration more then just the Higher rank = More $ calculus. Think about where you want to live, where you want to work, the chances of keeping your scholarship and the name which you want more on your J.D.
I'm no math geek, but you'll see most T3/T4 scholarships have statistical odds stacked against them. Schools just can't hand out that free money to that many people. Best of luck in your decisions.
Quote from: TJ Troll on February 09, 2009, 11:45:17 PMI'm sure you guys considered this... but I'll tell you a story. I had a full ride to a T4 and acceptances from a T1 and some T2s. I had savings, no debt, and loved the idea of not borrowing. I have since transferred and am paying full tuition at a T2.1. Having experienced OCI, networking, career services, and local job markets at 2 law schools. I can tell you a few things... It is true the average lawyer could care less (outside of the T-10) where you graduated from. The problem is the average lawyer isn't out recruiting or hiring in their market. Also, hiring partners often have resumes screened, it is not unusual for lower ranked schools resumes to never make it to his/her desk after they are picked through. Finally, initial job prospects, employers that recruit on campus...overall opportunity is far lower at the lower ranked schools, the experience is vastly different.2. People lose scholarships at these lower ranked schools all the time. My school's were randomly pegged at 2.9 or 3.0 gpa. The school awarded scholarships to half the entering class and then artificially deflated the curve by sections. Essentially the curve was kept at a 2.7 and all of the students with at least half scholarships are put in an "honors" section.... competing against each other. End result 60% of those scholarship recipients were full paying tuition students for their final 2 years. My gpa was 2.96, guess what my scholarship was pegged to? ***I know what the obvious rebuttal is..".won't happen to me, I have never gotten grades lower than B's etc. Stuff happens though, like getting a 95% in Legal Writing and finding out after grades are given that a last minute change to the section curve makes it a B+. Instead of a 3.03, you have a 2.96. I'm no math geek, but you'll see most T3/T4 scholarships have statistical odds stacked against them. Schools just can't hand out that free money to that many people. Best of luck in your decisions.I think you're spot on. Although many lawyers will say that it doesn't matter where you get your JD, the fact is that for those that actually do the hiring, it does. A quick glance at NALP will confirm this. I personally know of one student, very likeable, who finished number 1 at a ttt and could not find employment. And I stress that there was nothing socially awkward about him that would have prevented him from getting hired.
I'm sure you guys considered this... but I'll tell you a story. I had a full ride to a T4 and acceptances from a T1 and some T2s. I had savings, no debt, and loved the idea of not borrowing. I have since transferred and am paying full tuition at a T2.1. Having experienced OCI, networking, career services, and local job markets at 2 law schools. I can tell you a few things... It is true the average lawyer could care less (outside of the T-10) where you graduated from. The problem is the average lawyer isn't out recruiting or hiring in their market. Also, hiring partners often have resumes screened, it is not unusual for lower ranked schools resumes to never make it to his/her desk after they are picked through. Finally, initial job prospects, employers that recruit on campus...overall opportunity is far lower at the lower ranked schools, the experience is vastly different.2. People lose scholarships at these lower ranked schools all the time. My school's were randomly pegged at 2.9 or 3.0 gpa. The school awarded scholarships to half the entering class and then artificially deflated the curve by sections. Essentially the curve was kept at a 2.7 and all of the students with at least half scholarships are put in an "honors" section.... competing against each other. End result 60% of those scholarship recipients were full paying tuition students for their final 2 years. My gpa was 2.96, guess what my scholarship was pegged to? ***I know what the obvious rebuttal is..".won't happen to me, I have never gotten grades lower than B's etc. Stuff happens though, like getting a 95% in Legal Writing and finding out after grades are given that a last minute change to the section curve makes it a B+. Instead of a 3.03, you have a 2.96. I'm no math geek, but you'll see most T3/T4 scholarships have statistical odds stacked against them. Schools just can't hand out that free money to that many people. Best of luck in your decisions.
Concur. I received full tuition to Akron--with a 3.3 GPA requirement (pegged at top 10%). In the face of that, I will take the half-tuition to Notre Dame (which I retain as long as I stay off probation) any day.As others have said, it's an investment. Although the idea of attending a law school for free is very tempting, I can almost guarantee that you will be less than satisfied with the end result.
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