<p>My son was accepted by both USC with a half tuition scholarship and UVA (oos), but money is not a big issue. He plans to go to Law School after getting his BA degree. Which school can best prepare him to go to Law School?</p>
<p>Both schools will prepare him well for law school. It should come down to what he personally prefers. USC and UVA are vastly different environments, in my opinion. </p>
<p>In addition, consider cost - would you be willing to use the money he would save by going to USC for undergrad for part of his law school tuition?</p>
<p>UVa used to publish a sheet listing law schools UVa students went on to attend, including information on numbers of applicants and acceptances per school with additional information on grades/LSATs etc. I picked this up at Orientation three years ago, so I don’t know if the school still publishes it. It was probably from University Career Services, since that office offers pre-law advising. You might check if USC makes that info available, as well.</p>
<p>Another consideration, though, is where your son sees himself living after law school. If he has a strong preference for California, he might want to attend USC for a possibly better pipeline to top law schools in the area.</p>
<p>Thanks for your replies. It is a really tough call for me. I just want to pick a school that will help him get into the best law school possible.</p>
<p>I’m a little biased because I’m a future student at UVa and was on grounds today. I would go to UVa without a doubt. In the pre-law area, I believe UVa has a better program, but I’m not too sure. There were also a few people that are planning on becoming pre-law and chose UVa over USC. Either way, you can’t go wrong, but UVa is the better here option in my opinion. Good luck to your son!</p>
<p>Sent from my SPH-M920 using CC</p>
<p>Law school admissions don’t take the quality of undergrad. into account, so I’d suggest that he choose whichever he’d enjoy spending the next four years of his life at. Personally I don’t think campus visits are as useful as everyone else claims they are, especially if you only judge it off of a tour. I’d suggest looking at college review sites like students review (no space) and seeing some of the complaints people have for each school.</p>
<p>I know some law schools are numbers-driven in admission, but I find it impossible to believe that they don’t take into account the quality of an undergrad college. Selective grad schools and many law schools are also driven by prestige and by wanting students who are well prepared, and I can’t believe they would pick the top students from Upper Swampgas State College.</p>
<p>A couple of comments. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>As an initial matter, it is disturbing to see this post from a parent saying that “I” want to pick the right school for the student. U-va and USC are both great schools and will serve the student well in getting into law school. If money isn’t an issue, this should be the student’s decision and not the parent’s.</p></li>
<li><p>The suggestion that law schools don’t care about the quality of an undergraduate institution is absolutely false. Not only do they care, many of the elite law schools actually have their own private rankings of undergraduates schools and their rigor and take the rankings into account in admissions decisions. </p></li>
<li><p>U-va’s undergraduate school enjoys a stronger reputation nationally among leading law schools (on both coasts) than does USC. The difference may not be substantial, but it is definitely there. </p></li>
<li><p>Remember that both schools have their own law schools and that uva’s is much more highly regarded. Most law schools favor their own undergraduates in admissions, and UVA and USC are no exceptions. </p></li>
<li><p>Bottom line: if law school admissions is the only factor governing this decision, then UVA is the winner. But the gap between the two schools on this issue isn’t so great that the student should go to UVA over USC if he thinks he’d be happier at USC. If he does well at either school he’ll get into a good law school. But this has to be HIS decision, not his parents’.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Speaking as a School Counselor, if money is not an issue, visit both then choose which seems to be a better fit. Both offer very different college experiences.</p>
<p>Collegetown v. Urban City
Majority VA residents v. Various States and Countries Represented
Weather
etc.</p>
<p>As long as your son can achieve a high GPA and LSAT score while being involved in campus life and interning at law offices, courthouses, etc., the small difference in academic quality would be minimal in law school admissions decisions. Remember they admit the applicant based on the academic and extracurricular resources available to him or her and both offer extensive resources.</p>
<p>Choose Pre-Law advising at either school and have him choose where he will thrive.</p>
<p>Thanks to all of you for your advice, suggestions, and opinions. I really appreciate it.</p>
<p>He has chosen USC, but I really like UVa. I am having a difficult time with this decision.</p>
<p>surferbeach says: “Remember they admit the applicant based on the academic and extracurricular resources available to him or her and both offer extensive resources.”</p>
<p>That is simply not true when it comes to law school admissions. Undergrad admissions, maybe. But law school admissions are based almost entirely on the GPA, the LSAT, and the perceived quality of the undergraduate institution and major. Extracurricular activities count only at the margin. Interning at law offices and courthouses, for example, means nothing at top law schools. Nothing.</p>
<p>Both are fine schools – maybe I am missing the gist of some of the comments above, but at least by US News standards, FWTW, USC is actually ranked higher than UVa is currently (and it is ahead of UCLA, which is currently tied with UVa).</p>
<p>Historically, law schools have given priority to students from undergraduate institutions and with majors the law school has had a positive experience with in the past. That said, an applicant with top grades and LSAT scores from undergraduate schools outside the top US universities and LAC’s can still gain admission to a T-14 Law School. In those cases essays and stellar recommendations garnered by excelling either academically, in clerkships, or in extracurricular activities can, indeed, make a difference in admissions.</p>
<p>Good luck to aCAMom’s son. I hope the horizon for legal jobs brightens in the next 7 years. ; )</p>
<p>US News rankings mean nothing to law schools either. Besides, notwithstanding their overall US News rankings, the academic reputation score of UVA in those rankings is considerably higher than USC’s. That’s what counts. In the final analysis, while I don’t have the numbers to prove it, I’m quite certain that there are more UVA undergrads currently enrolled in the top 14 law schools than there are USC grads. No doubt about it.</p>
<p>Novaparent – are you an administrator at G’town? That is the only T-14 law school in DC area. </p>
<p>But seriously, why dump on USC? It is a good school. I am also confident – confident that one who excels at USC in a traditional pre-law course of study and scores well on the LSAT’s will have great shots at a T-14 law school. Moreover, one who excelled in USC’s j-school or their film school AND aced the LSAT would be a very appealing law school admit – to diversify the otherwise blas</p>
<p>AVA55 --</p>
<p>I’m not “dumping on USC.” I agree that it’s a good school. I simply gave an honest and informed opinion, which I will now repeat: </p>
<p>“Bottom line: if law school admissions is the only factor governing this decision, then UVA is the winner. But the gap between the two schools on this issue isn’t so great that the student should go to UVA over USC if he thinks he’d be happier at USC. If he does well at either school he’ll get into a good law school. But this has to be HIS decision, not his parents’.”</p>
<p>To me, at a minimum, the tie-breaker is that UVA itself has a T-14 law school where the current graduating class has 38 UVA undergrads.</p>
<p>Note also that the current graduating class at the nation’s top law school, Yale, has ZERO USC grads – but does include several UVA grads.</p>
<p>Note finally that UVA – but not USC – appears on the Wall Street Journal’s list of the top 50 “feeder schools” for the nation’s best law, medical, and business schools. </p>
<p>The OP’s question was:</p>
<p>“Which school can best prepare him to go to Law School?” </p>
<p>I really don’t think it’s “dumping” on USC to state the obvious: it’s a very good school, but if law school is your end game then UVA has a clear edge. USC may be on the rise, but it’s still playing catch-up.</p>
<p>The idea that law school admissions do not take the quality of the institution into account is absurd and simply not true. Likewise, medical school, business school, and graduate school admissions similarly STRONGLY consider the quality of the undergraduate institution and education into account. Now, with that said, a UVa or USC student with a low GPA and low LSAT will have a harder time getting in to a good law school than a person with a higher GPA and higher LSAT from Virginia Tech. or James Madison, but with all things equal, the UVa or USC student is more likely to get in. With that being said, UVa and USC are considered fairly equal in terms of academic prestige (UVa may be seen as being slightly more prestigious in academia, but not significantly so).</p>
<p>Thank you all for your comments. I have learned a lot and enjoyed reading them. Please continue to post comments if you like.</p>
<p>No significant difference in terms of gaining admission into a top law school. And a pre-law major or program has zero relevance. A kid with any major (anthropology to zoology) can get into a top law school if the kid has the stats. </p>
<p>A 3.9 GPA from USC (USNews #23) will have about the same impact on a law school admissions committee as a 3.9 from UVA (USNews #25). Which place is he more likely to get a 3.9 GPA? Which place is he more likely to study hard for the LSAT so he can get a top score?</p>
<p>Northwesty – I would caveat your “any major” comment slightly. Maybe any LAS major, j-school, business, and engineering majors (especially for patent law prospects) will not hurt one’s chances. But, speaking from personal experience many years ago, unfamiliar/out of the law-school-mainstream undergraduate majors can hinder law school admittance, even with stellar grades and scores. </p>
<p>There is no question that students with strong undergraduate backgrounds in writing and analysis are best prepared for law school, regardless of the courses in which they gained those skills.</p>
<p>With my LSATs, my 3.9 in philosophy from a 50-100 US News college worked just fine to get me into several T14 law schools. I wasn’t “pre-law” and never talked to my college’s pre-law advisor.</p>
<p>Maybe majoring in the poetry of Tajikistan might not work. But the only pre-requisite for law school is having a bachelor degree. Any non-goofy BA or BS major will do.</p>