This is what I've come to know from dealing with graduates, including making hiring decisions of associates and interns, from these three schools. All of these schools are respectable and even with average grades, if you find externships and network, you can find a decent job, but that 80k salary might be a few years away, but it is possible that you start out even better depending on how well you do. If you do well, you will have a good shot at making a decent salary. I think that if you want to work in NYC, NYLS might be your best option because you'll be on the ground, if you want LI go to Hofstra, and Albany for upstate. Students from all 3 advised me not to go <XLS> or to watch out for the debt and really consider the employment prospects (50k is something you MAY have to live on). You're not going to get a job because you went to one of these schools, you're going to get a job because you are going to have a law degree and a prospective employer will be hiring YOU. That's the deal when you're talking about smaller firms and local schools. Good luck.