Rankings whores.

[Stephon Devante]

I feel like a whore... I wish Cornell would accept me so I can say I turned down a higher ranked school to go to Vandy. Lol.

[SanchoPanzo]

Ok. So I’m not arguing either side. However, I want to point out something that may have been overlooked… summer positions.

A few months ago while discussing transferring to a higher ranked school Googler (http://www.lawschooldiscussion.org/prelaw/index.php/topic,51296.0.html) provided an example of a friend who has applied for positions in the NYC area but got no call backs. After the friend transferred to Cornell in July and reapplied for the same positions, they received some positive responses. Now keep in mind that well paying summer positions can net you tens of thousands.

[Erapitt]

The thing is, UVA will provide more opportunities for public interest than Tulane.  Public Interest positions where you have the ability to make a real impact are just as competitive as BIGLAW jobs.

[Pancho]

The thing is, UVA will provide more opportunities for public interest than Tulane.  Public Interest positions where you have the ability to make a real impact are just as competitive as BIGLAW jobs.

...if not moreso.

[Reaching]

Ok. So I’m not arguing either side. However, I want to point out something that may have been overlooked… summer positions.

A few months ago while discussing transferring to a higher ranked school Googler (http://www.lawschooldiscussion.org/prelaw/index.php/topic,51296.0.html) provided an example of a friend who has applied for positions in the NYC area but got no call backs. After the friend transferred to Cornell in July and reapplied for the same positions, they received some positive responses. Now keep in mind that well paying summer positions can net you tens of thousands.

A lot of that might have to do with the friend being a 1L when first applying and a 2L, when finding a position is easier in general, when appling from Cornell.

[whitearbiter]

I applied to my schools partially because of rankings, but more on the feasibility of where I would be most competitive with my UGPA/LSATs. As much as I would have loved to somehow get into a T14 school, I only applied to UVA (okay... Duke as an afterthought but we'll ignore that...) because it was my alma mater (big mistake since I wasted $70 and they're literally hanging me with a noose and not giving me a decision).

I had the rather pleasant time deciding between GW, W&L, and W&M, since reality has to set in and in all likelihood, I'm not getting into UVA. GW would be my best hope of landing a lucrative job in the Washington DC Metro area (preferably so I can live close to home in N. Va) and has a much stronger reputation as a law school than W&M.

W&L fell out pretty quickly, since they 'ran out' of funds to give me. That's fine. I didn't want to go to Lexington where there's only one Chinese restaurant.

So at first, considering W&M is a lowly 27th (I can't even say I'm in the 'Top 25' Law schools in the country!) I was really depressed to no end. My entire life had been based on rankings, both personal and academic institution-wise, and as a Korean-American, I live in a rather number-oriented, rank-oriented household. But in the end, I've decided to go to W&M (and wait for UVA to reject me) because they're offering me $8,000, and a lot of non-ranking factors come into play...

While I hate the idea of living in Williamsburg, between the absence of a social life and allergies, I think that I'd hate living in the middle of DC and commuting even more. While I want to work out there... living in DC is a horrific experience, and I'm simply not ready to tackle the commute. Furthermore, in terms of finances, my tuition+living costs for UVA would be $43k, GW would be $50k, and W&M would be $28k-$8k per year. That would mean, even if my parents paid $10k of it a year, I would be assuming a whopping $120k debt for GW, a $90k debt for UVA, and a $30k debt for W&M.

That being said, I think if I got into UVA, there would be a high probability I'd be willing to swallow that debt. But in all honesty, as a Va resident, I'm not convinced my education will be adversely affected if I declined GW and went to W&M. Sure, my chances of landing a top-level job in DC will be more difficult, but going to W&M doesn't adversely keep me from my ideal job market... and I just don't think I would be able to sleep at night accumulating $120k of debt for all three years of LS...

For marginal differences in my opinion in terms of standards of education, paying four times as much seems to be a huge sacrifice for very little benefit. Not to mention the likelihood I will be run over by a car in DC.

Am I a ranking whore? Yes I am. It still bothers me sometimes that I'm headed only to W&M rather than GW or even W&L... but last I heard, sleep is pretty important for learning. $30k of debt, regardless of how low W&M grad starting salaries are, is going to be cinch to wipe out. $120k... less so.

[westward]

My recommenders were two attornies that I have worked with for some time- one attended UVA, the other attended the U of Chicago.  They've both told me that if you can get into the T14 to go- that additional prestige is invaluable.  However, they've also told me that anything out of the very top is a local degree until you establish some expertise in a particular area.  Their advice to me was either to go big, or just get a JD from where you either want to live for awhile, or can get in.  Worrying about #70 vs. Tier 3 or even #35 vs. Tier 3 is splitting hairs to them.  Their opinions may not be representative, but just thought I'd share!

[JamesD]

Yeah, one of my recommenders is old-school academia... Harvard all the way type... he obviously thinks I should go to UVA.  Actually, one of my recommeders went to Harvard for both undergrad and grad school.  The other went there for grad school.  They are deffinitly in the UVA camp.   

[tcs5384]

My recommender (undergrad advisor), um, has a BA, MA and PhD from Alabama.

[tcs5384]

I'm a rankings whore on the inside, but I don't let it make my decisions for me.

I'll be at Wash U next year on a full scholarship (yay for the Olin Fellowship!) although I probably could have gone to a better ranked school with 3.65/169/very strong ECs.

(I planned to apply to Fordham, Duke, Penn, Harvard, Yale, NYU, Columbia, and BU as well, but after finding out about my $25/year SOL award in October I only ended up applying to Wash U, NYU and Columbia)

I honestly applied to NYU and Columbia because of their rank/prestige and location, not because I thought they were a good fit. I think deep down I was just hoping I'd be able to say I turned one of them down, because I figured I'd end up at Wash U either way. (At the moment I haven't heard from either, so probably bad news. However, doesn't really bug me)

Sometimes it bugs me when people trash Wash U because it really is a great school, but who cares what others think?

Well, WashU is #19 in the new USNWR rankings, so why would anybody trash it?  It's top 20.

I got a $26,000/year scholarship from Wash U but turned it down for less money at Vandy, primarily because I wanted to stay in the South... I can't really deal with cold weather, LOL.