Hardest Law Schools

[M_Slim_L]

Hey all

I know top Law Schools are harder to get into, but are they harder to graduate from as well?  I know the benefits of a top law school are the best professors, networking, libraries, quality of classes, and job opportunities.  But are these schools classes and exams actually harder to pass than lower ranking schools?

When I say lower ranking schools, I still mean in the top 100, 1 tier.

Thanks for the help

[MorningStar]

In short, no, once you're in, you're in.  It is practically impossible to fail an exam at a top law school.  There are, however, a number of tier 3/4 schools that fail students, or dismiss those falling below a certain GPA cutoff (equivalent to failing).  In this respect, it may be "easier" to fail a law school exam at Cooley than at HYC.  Although, the concept of "hard" and "easy" become rather nebulous in this context.   

[M_Slim_L]

Very interesting

Thanks for the reply

[MorningStar]

I was responding to OP's inquiry concerning difficulty of "passing."  I disagree with the implication that it's easier to get a good grade on a curve at Harvard because the students there are somehow more complacent than at a 100th ranked school.  The work ethic at Harvard, as an example, will be comparably intense, but with an objectively more talented (contextually) pool of students.

[,.,.,.;.,.,.]

Law students are intense everywhere, except maybe Yale.  That's just what happens when you foist competition on smart, driven people who have been told that they're special their whole lives.

[;;;;;]

Law students are intense everywhere, except maybe Yale.  That's just what happens when you foist competition on smart, driven people who have been told that they're special their whole lives.

you mean I'm not special.  I think my mother would disagree.

[nealric]

Frankly, I think that when we are talking top 100 schools, the difficulty to graduate remains the similar. It's only after you get past the T2 that graduation rates really start plummeting.

Contrary to popular belief, you CAN fail a T14 exam. My tax class had some failures- and property had a a few D's (which count as failures). Even so, the academic attrition rate is essentially 0.

[Matthies]

There is also the curve, the lower ranked the school is the lower the curve tends to be set (and the more likely all the classes are curved from 1-3L). So you have less chance to recover from a median curve grade than you do otherwise. If your school curves to a B+ and you have an A- average GPA you can recover pretty easily if you hit the B+ curve in a few classes. However if you have an A- GPA at a B- curve school hitting the curve once or twice may completely knock you out of the A- range and you will have to fight hard to get back up there again. And yes there are people at B- schools, even C- curve schools with A’s and A averages, they just have to be really A) smart, B) lucky, C) know how to work the system.

[M_Slim_L]

Law students are intense everywhere, except maybe Yale.  That's just what happens when you foist competition on smart, driven people who have been told that they're special their whole lives.

lol