I have been accepted to a few universities so far, though my main choices have yet to be announced. My long-term goal is law school, and I would like to keep the chances of transferring to another school open (assuming I do not get into a top choice during this regular app period). During the next four years, I want to study abroad and conduct and publish research.
I believe I have the answer to this question, but I wanted more expert advice then my own mediocre understanding.
School #1, ranked around 60. Good resources, well known, I like the campus, finances TBA.
School #2, ranked not ideally, around 400. However, they offered me essentially a free ride, thousands of dollars in research funding, a spot in the honors college, as well as a number of other benefits like priority housing.
Again, my long term goal is to be accepted into an elite law school and keep my options for transferring open. I understand ranking is important for law applicants, so I lean towards school 1.
Law schools do not care about the rank of your undergrad institution. They care about GPA and LSAT scores. It’s also quite expensive to attend law school so I’d suggest the more affordable option unless you have a nice bank account waiting to fund those 3 years.
The hard question to answer is will a lower level school challenge you enough to get a necessary LSAT score. You likely will also need LOR’s along the line “best student ever” depending upon your definition of elite.
I agree with @vpa2019, ranking is not important for law applicants, it’s more about GPA, test scores and what you make of your college opportunity. If you like School #2, I’d say go for it.
Hello, I asked this question earlier but I don’t believe I added enough detail.
I am stuck. Though I am still waiting on a few schools, I wanted to inquire which is more valuable for my goals.
To premise:
I want to attend law school, ideally T10.
I want to conduct research and have it published.
I want strong academics. My high school struggled with academics, being ranked pretty lowly in my area.
Unless I get into my top choices, I’d like to keep my options for transferring to my top choices open.
I value going out of state, though in the right circumstances I’d consider staying in-state. I understand that finances in-state often are better, but having lived here all my life, I truly hope to have a new experience, especially if its in a city. I know there are options to do so at any university but nonetheless.
With that being said, I am torn between two schools.
School 1:
Much more well known and prestigious
Higher ranked (around 60)
Out of state
Finances TBA, I understand how difficult this makes my question but alas
Strong sense of school camaraderie, which is something I value
Ranked A+ on Niche
Highly ranked professors
School 2:
Ranked poorly compared to school 1 (ranked over 400)
Offered thousands of $$$ to conduct research on behalf of the university
Offered essentially a full ride
Offered place in honors college (5% of school only)
Haven’t even received financial aid, so very good finances
HOWEVER
in-state
small town (less opportunities)
smaller campus
lower ranked academics
ranked B+ on Niche (compared to A+ for school 1)
Less prestigious
Though I love the incentives of school 2, I like school 1 better if both offered the same thing. I have some time so I am not too stressed, but would appreciate the advice!
I’m not sure I see anything new in your latest post. So I apologize if I’m missing new information. Have you been accepted to both schools? If school #1 offers the same as #2 then go to school #1. If you want people on CC to tell you should incur debt to attend school #1 a majority will not do so.
The reality is you need to wait to see the financial picture for school #1. If it’s close to school #2 and/or the FA is such that your family can make it work financially then school #1 seems to be your preferred choice. However, if #1 would require your family incurring substantial debt and your ultimate goal is law school which itself will require incurring substantial debt then #2 is the logical choice.
It appears that prestige/ranking and location are the primary distinguishing factors between #1 and #2. Will you be able to do research at #1? Is the ability to do research important to you? More importantly can your family afford #1 if FA is anything less than a full ride?
You can go and live OOS when you attend law school.
You also mentioned transferring. Transfers generally receive less FA than freshmen and the acceptance rates are not necessarily better. So if FA is a determinative factor in choosing your “first” college, your “second” college will present a similar issue unless you apply and are accepted to a school that provides good FA to transfer students.
If school #1 is affordable, go there. And affordable does not have to mean free. Just don’t take on a much, if any, debt for school #1. Just like pre-med, many pre-law students don’t end up going to law school. Keeping your options open is good. A school ranked 400 will give you fewer options. The school ranked 60 will have plenty of research opportunities for you. I went to a top law school. There was no one in my class who attended a college ranked anywhere near as low as 400. I just checked their most recent class … same thing. For whatever reason, it just doesn’t happen or is extremely rare. Maybe the preparation at lower ranked schools is lacking. May be that prestige does matter for admissions. Look up the school profiles for the T14 and see for yourself.
I am a big proponent of free, but free is not always the best option.
Ask both schools where recent grads have been accepted into law school and see if that factors into your thoughts. If school #2 has students who have gone where you’d like to go, it makes that choice easier. If not and school #1 has - it’s worth contemplating.
No school is worth a ton of debt, but if school #1 is affordable without that, there’s no reason to pick school #2 if you don’t think it will get you where you want to go. Check though. Get answers. Don’t just assume.
Except for rankings in unknown schools, there’s not enough information to be all that helpful. Here’s my advice. If you have to co-sign large amounts of debt to pay for it, you can’t afford it. Law schools don’t look at undergraduate research, because it’s not relevant, and most undergraduate schools don’t even offer it. They look at grades and LSAT scores. Experienced lawyers make just a little more than electrical engineers, but they have one of the highest debt to salary ratios of any profession. Add large undergraduate debt to that, and you’re living paycheck-to-paycheck most of your career.
Would you be challenged at a school ranked 400+?
Would the HonorsStudents be considered academic peers and how many of you are there?
In particular, if you plan on Humanities/social science majors, what will the level of discussion be? It’s a key element for seminars and at a school where the average EBRW score is around 500 a lot would focus on checking understanding, whereas if 650-700 you’d focus on analysis right away.
How many pages is a typical freshman paper? How many a semester? (It can range from 2 to 5 or even 10 pages, since some students may only have written a few 5-paragraph essays whereas others may have had to submit a 10-page “junior paper”…)
This is especially important wrt law school, where you’ll be required to have excellent reading/writing skills and where academic expectations can greatly vary (I was once asked to comment on a paper for a junior-English class at a nearly open-enrollment regional university; if it’d been from my freshman seminar I’d have asked for a rewrite so the student could get a C. That student, a junior, made a few changes and got an A. I can’t imagine what other students turned in and still can’t get over that A. So, yes, for law school it’d mean a great GPA but… someone with that level of writing would not get into any reputable law school.)
How many pages per week are you expected to read and discuss (it can range from under 100 to over 250…)
Does school 2 have areas of expertise (like Mizzou and journalism, SUNY Cortland and sports, Stockton and hospitality…)?
If you can find out, see if the professors at school 1 are on a 2:3, 3:3, 3:4, or 4:4 schedule. It makes a huge difference in terms of what reserch they can do, what contacts they have etc. (The professors at school 2 are almost certainly on a 4:4 schedule). Ideally you’d want them to be on 3:3 or 2:3 (3:3 likely).
wrt research, you’ll be able to conduct research at both; if it’s good, you’ll get to present it at conferences.
Can you not indicate what universities you’re talking about, your stats, and what majors you’re considering?
Obviously, if School 1 returns with an unaffordable financial aid offer you’ll have the full ride as a solid Plan B.
