William Mitchell or St. Thomas (Minnesota)

[jvan2619]

First off, I know both are Tier 4 schools before you say anything...BUT, between these two, what have you all heard about which one would you go to?  They are extremely different, but I wanted to see if either had advantages that I was not aware of.

A little background....I did not get scholarships at either, so that evens the playing field a bit.  Also, I was accepted at Hamline in Minneapolis/St. Paul as well with $$$.

Thank you in advance for any insights you have.
 

[odaiko]

First off, I know both are Tier 4 schools before you say anything...BUT, between these two, what have you all heard about which one would you go to?  They are extremely different, but I wanted to see if either had advantages that I was not aware of.

A little background....I did not get scholarships at either, so that evens the playing field a bit.  Also, I was accepted at Hamline in Minneapolis/St. Paul as well with $$$.

Thank you in advance for any insights you have.
 

St. Thomas is a Catholic school, and their tagline for the law school is something about bridging the gap between law and faith (which to me seem unbridgeable). I've also been told that when you walk into the law school building, the first thing you see is a chapel! It's a diverse school and they don't advocate Catholicism necessarily (so I'm told), but "faith" is important in their studies.

I could care less about religion so I definitely wouldn't want to learn the law with a religious slant. That might be your thing, but it's enough to make my blood run cold.

[westlico]

If you are able to look past the religion thing St. Thomas is a good school. They have a mentorship program beginning either your first or second year and put you with a practicing attorney. They really like the poor community and dedicating your time aspect of law.

However, William Mitchell is the driving force in the Twin Cities. Its alumni are everywhere. This school is more for working within the city businesses and such.

[dodo97]

I got a fairly-decent money offer from William Mitchell, and that has me giving that school a long look. It's a moot point if I were to get into Wisconsin, but if I don't it is a lot of debt to not have to worry about after graduation.

From everything that I've heard, WM has no national pull, but is decent in Wisconsin and very strong in the Twin Cities. That's OK for me since I have a lot of ties to the area. I really don't know much about St. Thomas since it is new, other than the religious aspect. I chose not to apply there because of that.

On a similar line, what are the differences between WM and Hamline? I know one guy who went to William Mitchell, and he's now a named partner at a firm in Wisconsin, but he graduated in the late 70s. I've heard that William Mitchell is best for IP and litigation. Not sure about Hamline. I was curious how accurate that is, and what the strengths of Hamline are?

Sorry I couldn't help more on St. Thomas...

[awdisch]

Jivan- I too, am considering both schools, as I have been accepted to William Mitchell and waitlisted at St. Thomas.  Personally, St. Thomas gets the nod over William Mitchell for me.  St. Thomas will be accredited later this year, and the provisional accreditation has been somehwat of an albatross, as now i look for the law school to 'take off.'  For a school being provisionally accredited it has still maintained admission standards similar to some Tier 3 schools, and that says something.  Also St. Thomas as an institution as a whole has a huge endowment, and is very respected especially in MN, and they have defintley been investing heavily in the law school, case in point the new building in downtown MPLS.  If i was a speculater I would say that St. Thomas is a hot investment because right now its stock is low, and in 20 years St. Thomas will be knocking on the tier 1 door.  William Mitchell on the other hand is more known and respected by older generations, mainly because an alum served on the US supreme court.  But i just dont think it has the capital to make a surge in the rankings like St. Thomas does.  Also, from a social standpoint I prefer MPLS to St. Paul, and i think most young people would.  However, as other posts have mentioned I am nervous that the student body will be a bunch of stiff holy rollers. Just my $.02

[jvan2619]

Hey all!  Thank you so much for the great thoughts

The two schools both have great qualities, but are so different.  I plan on attending WMs Admitted Students day in March which I think will help.  Any of you going?

From what I understand from people in the area, WM is more highly regarded, but St. Thomas is definitely on the way up the rankings.  The real question for me is will it gain enough momentum by the time I graduate?  I was looking at the Martindale Website and saw that 26 employers recruit at WM whereas only one recruited at St. Thomas last year.  Hmmmmmm.  Tough choices!

The religous side of S.T. doesn't bother me that much.  I went to their open house in November and even the current students (when asked) were not Catholic and said that it hadn't affected them. 

Lots to think about!

To the question on Hamline v WM...I found that the two were pretty even as far as stats, flexibility of programs, etc., but that WM definitely had the lead in reputation.  Any thoughts from the rest of you on that?

Thanks again for the input 

[ACK!]

Hey all!  Thank you so much for the great thoughts

The two schools both have great qualities, but are so different.  I plan on attending WMs Admitted Students day in March which I think will help.  Any of you going?

From what I understand from people in the area, WM is more highly regarded, but St. Thomas is definitely on the way up the rankings.  The real question for me is will it gain enough momentum by the time I graduate?  I was looking at the Martindale Website and saw that 26 employers recruit at WM whereas only one recruited at St. Thomas last year.  Hmmmmmm.  Tough choices!

The religous side of S.T. doesn't bother me that much.  I went to their open house in November and even the current students (when asked) were not Catholic and said that it hadn't affected them. 

Lots to think about!

To the question on Hamline v WM...I found that the two were pretty even as far as stats, flexibility of programs, etc., but that WM definitely had the lead in reputation.  Any thoughts from the rest of you on that?

Thanks again for the input 

From what I know of the Twin Cities legal market from talking to lawyers there, I think you’ve got it right on. William Mitchell is pretty regional, but highly respected in Minnesota. I think that it would be the best bet. Certainly has the edge over Hamline. It’s easy to speculate on the rosy prospects for St. Thomas, but law school is a big investment, and the future is a rather uncertain place. It just doesn’t seem like going to St. Thomas would confer sufficient advantage to offset the risk.

[squilla]

Hey all!  Thank you so much for the great thoughts

The two schools both have great qualities, but are so different.  I plan on attending WMs Admitted Students day in March which I think will help.  Any of you going?

From what I understand from people in the area, WM is more highly regarded, but St. Thomas is definitely on the way up the rankings.  The real question for me is will it gain enough momentum by the time I graduate?  I was looking at the Martindale Website and saw that 26 employers recruit at WM whereas only one recruited at St. Thomas last year.  Hmmmmmm.  Tough choices!

The religous side of S.T. doesn't bother me that much.  I went to their open house in November and even the current students (when asked) were not Catholic and said that it hadn't affected them. 

Lots to think about!

To the question on Hamline v WM...I found that the two were pretty even as far as stats, flexibility of programs, etc., but that WM definitely had the lead in reputation.  Any thoughts from the rest of you on that?

Thanks again for the input 

WM is also located in a *much* nicer area of St. Paul

[Vainglory]

Interestingly enough, my dad went to St. Thomas undergrad and William Mitchell law.  He's done very well for himself, but when he went STT didn't have a law school.

Interesting fact - William Mitchell has actually produced a Supreme Court Chief Justice! (Burger)

[cultural_vacuum]

I would take WM over Hamline or St. Thomas any day. The only exception would be if you were offerred a full-ride from one of the other schools and *KNEW* you wanted to seek a  low-paying public interest job after graduation. Like a public defender position, or a legal aid clinic job, for example.

WM has been around a lot longer than either of the other schools, it's alumni network is more extensive, and more local employers recruit from the school.

Forget about what you think any given school's ranking will be in 5, 10, or 20 years. Look at what the school's regional reputation is now.

For more info, look at martindale.com, nalpdirectory.com, and the US News and ABA employment stats.