Does it Matter Where you go to Law School?

[Special Agent Dana Scully]

Just about all undergraduate educations are equal.

Although we can all have only 1 undergraduate education, so we can never REALLY know, I'm gonna call shenanigans.  Personally, I think I would've gotten a very different education if I'd gone to Swarthmore as opposed to UVA, and those are recognized as somewhat comparable schools.  When you compare Yale to Southeast Podunk State, I don't think you get an equal education.

I went to a state school for undergrad and got a great job after graduation as well as being admitted to a T20 law school. 

I have met and spoken to Harvard grads. that are going to 2nd tier law schools.  It doesn't matter where you went, just your GPA and LSAT score.

One thing I have learned throughout my growth process as a person is I will do whatever it takes to get my children to go to a state school.  It simply does not make sense to end up $50-100K in debt for undergrad.

Hmm..I agree for the most part about UG not really mattering.  However, I don't think I would push my kid to go to state school.  It seems unfair to me, because I'm not rich (no where near it) yet my mom paid for me to go to school all my life (parochial school from k-12, and then ivy ug). Thus, I can't see myself telling my future kid, that they should attend a public school.  Plus, in my case, my state school gave me a ridiculous amount of loans, and that school system isn't even that good (NY)

However, if I lived in a state with a good public university system (CA, MI, VA, etc) then I would tell them to think about those schools. 

I'm with you on this one.  It pisses me off a lot, that instead of creating one flagship university (like UVA, Umich, Berkeley, etc.), New York chooses to have numerous crappy schools.  They market Binghamton as being the most selective in the system, but let's be honest, it's really not that good a school.  Plus it has by far the ugliest campus that I have ever seen. 

NY could definetely improve its college system.

Absolutely.  NY is one of the few states with a very large population that cannot manage to come up with one good state school.  If I lived in a state like VA, I would almost definitely go to UVA unless I got into HYP. 

I was under the impression that Cornell was New York's first land-grant University.

Cornell is...but not everyone wants to go to an agricultural school or hotel management school.  NY needs a great state school that encompasses a great liberal arts and science education for an instate price, a la UVa or UMich, etc...  The SUNY system is so crappy...even Binghamton is crap (like someone else mentioned). 

The hotel school is actually private.  The public schools are agricultural and life sciences, human ecology, and industrial and labor relations.  The rest are all private.  Personally, I think the state should buy up some more land around SUNY Purchase, and make that the flagship school.  A school with tough admissions standards, a suburban campus, and proximity to the city could easily become a top school. 

Thanks for the correction.  And I agree that there should be flagship school (dunno if it should be Purchase though...but that's because I don't know much about the system).

The problem is that our legislature is completely useless.  They spend more time implementing keg registration laws than they do worrying about why our public education system (both grade school and higher) sucks. 

Completely credited.  That's exactly the reason that I've never been in public school.  Most of them (elementary and hs) are $hit--that's why even though my mom could have defintiely used the money for her own debt, she sent me to parochial school k-12.  Not that parochial schools don't have their problems, because they do, but they are a step up from the public school system in NYC & NY.

[ibroadrunr]

Yep, definitely hijacked.   

It's been a strange year, and that's reflected in my cycle.

If Yale's still a no-go next year, I'll probably get an MA in Gender & Sexuality Studies or something similar.  Law school can wait.

Not to hijack this yet again.... but why on earth would you even apply to law school if you weren't actually planning on going?  You got into some great schools and yet aren't going because it is yale or bust for you.  Kinda funny actually.  Your parents must be paying for grad. school because coming from the real world, an MA in "Gender & Sexuality Studies" is completely and totally worthless.

I've prioritized some things differently since applying, actually.

At the end of the day, I'm the only one who needs to evaluate worth in making my decisions.  Neither the three years in law school nor two in a graduate program would be about the traditional use-value of a JD/MA for me.  (fwiw, no, my parents have not and will not fund my education.)

Anything else, start a new thread or PM.  This thread seems to be going elsewhere.

[jiggedyjared]

Neither the three years in law school nor two in a graduate program would be about the traditional use-value of a JD/MA for me.  (fwiw, no, my parents have not and will not fund my education.)

Hmm... I wonder what everyone's thoughts are on the goal of getting an education.  I kind of always thought that it was to get a job.  As intelligent people, it should darn near be an obligation to use your time wisely and work hard in life.  What do you guys think? 

[Alamo]

Neither the three years in law school nor two in a graduate program would be about the traditional use-value of a JD/MA for me.  (fwiw, no, my parents have not and will not fund my education.)

Hmm... I wonder what everyone's thoughts are on the goal of getting an education.  I kind of always thought that it was to get a job.  As intelligent people, it should darn near be an obligation to use your time wisely and work hard in life.  What do you guys think? 

Yes, preparing yourself for gainful employment is important, but unless you're a complete workaholic, work is only one facet of your life.  A good education teaches you to think about everything differently; if all it does is prepare you for work, it might as well be a trade school.  Perhaps engineering and business undergrad degrees are somewhat different, but there's still the wide range of extracurricular activities that people undertake in college.  Ask most people what their most valuable learning experiences were in college, and I daresay the majority will cite experiences outside the classroom.

[jiggedyjared]

I'd say that's not entirely true, though.  If you go to a trade school vs. getting an undergrad in liberal arts, then your career potential is completely different.  However, spending a couple of years and a lot of money to study something just to kill time seems... I don't know.

[trogdor]

education has intrinsic value for some, rather than simply a means to $$$.  sure, one important reason is to get a job, but there are other considerations that are unique to individuals and also important. 

[Mr. Pink]

Just about all undergraduate educations are equal.

Although we can all have only 1 undergraduate education, so we can never REALLY know, I'm gonna call shenanigans.  Personally, I think I would've gotten a very different education if I'd gone to Swarthmore as opposed to UVA, and those are recognized as somewhat comparable schools.  When you compare Yale to Southeast Podunk State, I don't think you get an equal education.

I went to a state school for undergrad and got a great job after graduation as well as being admitted to a T20 law school. 

I have met and spoken to Harvard grads. that are going to 2nd tier law schools.  It doesn't matter where you went, just your GPA and LSAT score.

One thing I have learned throughout my growth process as a person is I will do whatever it takes to get my children to go to a state school.  It simply does not make sense to end up $50-100K in debt for undergrad.

Hmm..I agree for the most part about UG not really mattering.  However, I don't think I would push my kid to go to state school.  It seems unfair to me, because I'm not rich (no where near it) yet my mom paid for me to go to school all my life (parochial school from k-12, and then ivy ug). Thus, I can't see myself telling my future kid, that they should attend a public school.  Plus, in my case, my state school gave me a ridiculous amount of loans, and that school system isn't even that good (NY)

However, if I lived in a state with a good public university system (CA, MI, VA, etc) then I would tell them to think about those schools. 

I'm with you on this one.  It pisses me off a lot, that instead of creating one flagship university (like UVA, Umich, Berkeley, etc.), New York chooses to have numerous crappy schools.  They market Binghamton as being the most selective in the system, but let's be honest, it's really not that good a school.  Plus it has by far the ugliest campus that I have ever seen. 

NY could definetely improve its college system.

Absolutely.  NY is one of the few states with a very large population that cannot manage to come up with one good state school.  If I lived in a state like VA, I would almost definitely go to UVA unless I got into HYP. 

I was under the impression that Cornell was New York's first land-grant University.

Cornell is...but not everyone wants to go to an agricultural school or hotel management school.  NY needs a great state school that encompasses a great liberal arts and science education for an instate price, a la UVa or UMich, etc...  The SUNY system is so crappy...even Binghamton is crap (like someone else mentioned). 

The hotel school is actually private.  The public schools are agricultural and life sciences, human ecology, and industrial and labor relations.  The rest are all private.  Personally, I think the state should buy up some more land around SUNY Purchase, and make that the flagship school.  A school with tough admissions standards, a suburban campus, and proximity to the city could easily become a top school. 

Thanks for the correction.  And I agree that there should be flagship school (dunno if it should be Purchase though...but that's because I don't know much about the system).

The problem is that our legislature is completely useless.  They spend more time implementing keg registration laws than they do worrying about why our public education system (both grade school and higher) sucks. 

Completely credited.  That's exactly the reason that I've never been in public school.  Most of them (elementary and hs) are $hit--that's why even though my mom could have defintiely used the money for her own debt, she sent me to parochial school k-12.  Not that parochial schools don't have their problems, because they do, but they are a step up from the public school system in NYC & NY.

Agreed.  While the public schools are fine in the suburbs, I wouldn't want to go to a public school in the city unless I could get into Stuy or Bx Science. 

And Brooklyn Tech, female dog.

[blocke123]

Neither the three years in law school nor two in a graduate program would be about the traditional use-value of a JD/MA for me.  (fwiw, no, my parents have not and will not fund my education.)

Hmm... I wonder what everyone's thoughts are on the goal of getting an education.  I kind of always thought that it was to get a job.  As intelligent people, it should darn near be an obligation to use your time wisely and work hard in life.  What do you guys think? 

Agree with both your previous comments, that getting a degree from a good school is important, which is exactly what I was saying earlier.  I also think that the point ofgoing to school is to get a good job.