I asked because I think that it would be helpful to put your career goals in more tangible form. Probably best to start with more specifics.
For example: Do you want to be a Federal Public Defender representing indigent persons charged with federal crimes ? If so, then you will need 5 years of state public defender experience before receiving serious consideration for working in the federal legal system as a Federal Public Defender.
Many federal lawyer positions require that one graduate in the top 20% of his or her law school class.
Attending law school without incurring debt should also be a priority for those seeking a career in public interest law.
“My career dream is to work for the US government as an attorney. I want to represent the oppressed.”
Bear with me here… you are hung up on attending an elite college because you think that will help further your goal to “represent the oppressed”. Is Harvard or Princeton really the place to learn how to relate to those oppressed folk, while studying among the ten-percenters? Wouldn’t it make more sense to go to college in a place that offers more opportunities to interact with historically disadvantaged groups, so you can get to to know them, their wants, needs, aspirations? Maybe to a place where you have opportunities help them in small ways before you help in the big way you envision you someday will?
I like strawberry ice cream with chocolate sauce. Preferably Bosco, but I can’t find that these days, so I settle for Hershey’s. Yes. I know I’m weird.
There’s a lot of good advice here. The one thing that rings through and rings true to me is to pick the school that resnoates with you. D chose Dartmouth over Harvard. Not as prestigious, but it was a fit for her. Who wants to spend 4 years being unhappy at a “top-rated” school?
I know exactly what you mean…
The only reason I say I want to enroll at an elite college is probably because I am insecure and seek external validation; that is contrived. “Is Harvard or Princeton really the place to learn how to relate to those oppressed folk, while studying among the ten-percenters?” The answer to that would be “no”.
Now, I do want to be competitive in the hiring process for the federal government, say, US Attorney’s office. Do you think that attending a law school such as University of Virginia would give me an advantage?
That’s an interesting question…There is no federal law on the books which explicitly mentions my area of interest. However, if a state law violates the Constitution, that would be a matter for the US Department of Justice.
I’m just brainstorming here. What is so great about law is that there are many areas of practice, as well. Someone can switch from being a district attorney, or work in private practice, or work for the USA’s office.
Hmmm, I’m not sure what kind of debt UVA has, for example.
Actually, yes. I read an article last week that made the case for a student’s in-state flagship being hands-down the best place to attend undergraduate school if one hopes to attend law school. Number one, it keeps undergrad costs low. Second, you benefit from a larger alumni network. That same reasoning could apply to law school. There is a higher chance the interviewer for the job would be a UVA grad (of some type) vs. a Harvard grad, simply because it is a bigger college and has more graduates. Would a Harvard Law degree impress? Certainly. But an interviewer from the same college as yourself would give you quick rapport, which works equally in your favor.
If you are “insecure and seek external validation”, work on that before you even consider law school. You will get eaten alive by whoever is on the other side of “the oppressed” you purport to want to help and possibly by “the oppressed” themselves.
While the Justice Department does work cases that prosecute violations of civil rights and other federal laws designed to protect individual rights, remember the Justice Department represents the US government, which is to say it represents “The Man”. As a junior prosecutor you have 0 input in what cases are pursued. If your goal is to “help the oppressed”, the more direct path is through the public defender’s offices or to work for organizations that are specifically geared to causes that resonate with you.
UVA is a T10 law school with national repute, so as long as you do reasonably well, most doors would be open in any part of the country. It is much more than a flagship which has state or regional appeal/network. The hard part is getting in. UVA actually provides good detail into its class , including the undergrad programs that make up a class. https://www.law.virginia.edu/admissions/class-2022-profile
If you are serious about working for the oppressed, you generally don’t need a T20 law school degree (although there are plenty of T20 law grads who work public interest jobs). So to not get ahead of yourself, first job is to find and graduate from a good undergrad program and do reasonably well. Your eventual gpa and LSAT will determine which law schools you have a realistic shot at. By then, your goals may have changed.
@LZHope It doesn’t matter where you do your undergrad for law school - pick your state flagship, kick ass, do some notable internships and then score in the top 1 to 2 percent of the LSAT and you will be eligible for any of the top law schools. Where you go to law school has a bigger impact on your first law job than where you do your undergrad. I went to a top 20 law school back in the day and there were a three kids in my class of 180 that came from Harvard. Most everyone else was from non Ivies. I think we had some from the military academies and some from smaller LAC’s but mostly people from lesser prestige private and public colleges.
Working at the US Attorney’s office means becoming a Federal Prosecutor. You are NOT defending the oppressed- you are prosecuting people who have committed crimes at a federal level. Money laundering, kidnapping, public officials taking bribes, child pornography. You are not defending the victims of these crimes, you are prosecuting the people who committed them and trying to put them in a federal prison for a very long time.
OP- go become the best version of yourself that you can be. You have a LONG time to learn about what different types of lawyers do, you have a LONG journey ahead of you… today you want to defend the oppressed- tomorrow you may decide to work in public policy on clean water or getting cigarettes out of the hands of children.
Get off CC and go read, study, do your schoolwork!!! Bloom where you are planted right now.
My comment isn’t necessarily on the Ivy league culture but rather how many high achieving kids get left out. Families that make too much for significant aid but not enough to write a check. Some student loan debt is acceptable but not 6 figures for undergrad.