Is Tier 3 and 4 a waste of money??

[StudentUVA]

Personally, i cant imagine why would anyone go to a T 3/4 school. You can probably make more money with your bachelors degree, especially if you consider the cost of attending law school. Hell, i think that if i dont get in a T14 i won't get a decent job. 

[queencruella]

Personally, i cant imagine why would anyone go to a T 3/4 school. You can probably make more money with your bachelors degree, especially if you consider the cost of attending law school. Hell, i think that if i dont get in a T14 i won't get a decent job. 

Doubtful for many bachelor's degrees. These days a bachelor's degree is expected in some markets to get the same jobs that people with only HS diplomas were doing just a decade or two ago. Fields that people go into with liberal arts degrees generally tend to top out at very low salaries, while a person with a T4 law degree has the potential to make as much as or more than a person who goes to Harvard. It will just take a bit longer to get that higher salary.

[«ě»]

Hell, i think that if i dont get in a T14 i won't get a decent job. 

You've got to be pretty damn useless then But seriously, sounds like you don't have much experience from the work life, straight-through college guy?

[pinkytrc]

Personally, i cant imagine why would anyone go to a T 3/4 school. You can probably make more money with your bachelors degree, especially if you consider the cost of attending law school. Hell, i think that if i dont get in a T14 i won't get a decent job. 

I am not trying to be mean when I say this, but that is incredibly naive to think. Was it a joke??? If no one got a decent job from a t3 or t4 than we would have very, very few attorneys. And I just checked out Jones Day in Cleveland here.  Seems that there are a lot of grads from CSU (t3) and even one from Cooley.  I would consider Jones Day a pretty big firm!

PS- Most Judges and Politicians here are CSU grads too- not too shabby

[«ě»]

I think it was rather an attempt to sound elite (that seems to be a common trend among a few people here shooting for the top schools), rather than being a joke. Could be I'm wrong of course.

[pinkytrc]

lol. I know.  I've read posts from some pretty darn arrogant people on here!  And that's not because I scored in the 68th percentile, just because they are spending their time telling people they are stupid- basically.  It's crazy!

[StudentUVA]

Personally, i cant imagine why would anyone go to a T 3/4 school. You can probably make more money with your bachelors degree, especially if you consider the cost of attending law school. Hell, i think that if i dont get in a T14 i won't get a decent job. 

I am not trying to be mean when I say this, but that is incredibly naive to think. Was it a joke??? If no one got a decent job from a t3 or t4 than we would have very, very few attorneys. And I just checked out Jones Day in Cleveland here.  Seems that there are a lot of grads from CSU (t3) and even one from Cooley.  I would consider Jones Day a pretty big firm!

PS- Most Judges and Politicians here are CSU grads too- not too shabby

Depends on your definition of a decent job. 

[StudentUVA]

Hell, i think that if i dont get in a T14 i won't get a decent job. 

You've got to be pretty damn useless then But seriously, sounds like you don't have much experience from the work life, straight-through college guy?

Just speaking from my limited experience (yes i'm straight out of college guy). Personally, i'm gonna work as a manager in a retail store. After about two years i can get promoted to a district manager, and they make 60K a year. That's probably more than many T3/4 schools have to offer. And that's without wasting 3 years, about anywhere from 30-100 K. Dont get me wrong, i'm sure there are lots of happy attorneys that graduate from those schools, but i personally wouldn't risk getting into debt for something like that. I think there are other opportunities that are less risky. But hey, if there are successful T4 lawyers- so much the better for us who will probably go to T1 school.

[younghova]

god, where are these 60k jobs for liberal arts majors?

I think if you graduate from a top school, maybe the opportunities exist.

but even a lib arts major from a solid school, like boston college (just off the top of my head) will not slide into a job with that type of salary range.  in all likely hood, that graduate will probably be a waitor, or work with some type of volunteer organization, or teach, until they pursue their post grad studies. 

in the long run, i think most liberal arts students benifit financially from attending a t3 or t4. 

[«ě»]

But hey, if there are successful T4 lawyers- so much the better for us who will probably go to T1 school.

I think this is where you kinda miss my point. At your first time employment, your school will matter big time. 5 or 10 years down the line, you will be at the point where the employers barely care if you went to Yale or Cooley (ok, pushing it, but you get the point), and they will simply look at your professional achievements. You can easily find T3/T4 graduates who have climbed to the top of very good firms, just as you will find Yale, Harvard and Stanford graduates who have run their careers into the ditch.

T1 makes it easier, no doubt we all know this, but in a longer perspective it's less significant than most people think. The major discrepancy is that many T3 schools cost close to the same as the top3 schools, and that does not make much sense from a financial point. That being said, if you know you want to be a lawyer, and you have the personal strength to truly work to achieve your goals, you can go anywhere. Yet again, not saying I would pick Cooley over Harvard, by no means, but if you know this is the right profession and you can't get into the t14, it's not the end of your life. I've made a pretty good living so far in my life with nothing but a high school diploma, only recently went back to get my UG. It's not all about the schools, they just help.