<p>Before I applied to my undergrad schools, I didn't really extensively research any schools. So, I applied for 6 random Ivy Leagues thinking they would all be the same. However, the more I researched them, the more I realized that the 6 I applied to where all very similar, but Yale was different. While the students at other Ivys seemed hypercompetitive and cutthroat, the reports of Yale all suggested a much more relaxed, friendly atmosphere with a thriving social scene. Unfortunately, Yale was one of the two Ivys I did not apply to.</p>
<p>So instead, since my dream is to become a lawyer, I REALLY hope to get into Yale Law after my undergrad years. Where should I go to help my chances? I was thinking of attending a smaller New York school that has offered me a large scholarship for undergrad because of financial reasons, but I also got into a few bigger named schools and if going to the bigger named schools will help my chances of getting into Yale Law, I would like to know which to attend.</p>
<p>Does anyone know which are the top schools that Yale Law accepts their students from?</p>
<p>Often PhD programs. And Rhodes Scholars. Being a Rhodes Scholar is a good way to get into Yale Law School. Sometimes when people ask questions like this, I answer "Magdalen, Trinity, Christ Church . . . "</p>
<p>Don’t fetishize Yale Law School. It’s great, but it’s tiny, and about half of the graduates don’t really ever practice law, so it’s not even necessarily the best place to go if you really want to be a lawyer – especially if you really want to be a lawyer anywhere other than New York City or Washington D.C. And if what you want is “a thriving social scene,” don’t bother going to any law school.</p>
<p>If you look at raw numbers, Yale Law’s students tend to come from the usual suspects, like Yale and Harvard, but that’s not surprising given the talent pool. The most important thing is to make the best possible use of the opportunities at whatever school you attend. That and a good score on the LSAT would give you a pretty good shot.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the feedback! I appreciate your advice about not “fetishizing” Yale Law, and I plan on researching more extensively which Law schools would be best suited for me during my undergrad years. I just want to know whether or not going to a more prestigious, but more expensive school would significantly help me get into a better law school, because if not, I would rather attend a smaller school that offers more financial aid.</p>
<p>Do you think if I attended the University of Rochester, it would hurt my chances of getting into an Ivy for law school? I’m debating between UR, UCLA (I’m a California resident so it would be cheaper for me), NYU, and Cornell. Cornell would look the best, but it’s also the most expensive and if it would not significantly boost my chances of getting into a good law school, I would rather go with a cheaper investment.</p>
<p>It doesn’t really matter where you go, but what you do once you’re there. If you’re not from a top-tier school, then you have to perform a lot better to stand out in other ways.</p>
<p>Don’t choose what school you choose based upon your desire to go to law school. That might change in the future and, honestly, even if you go to Cornell, you might not get into a good law school. You SHOULD choose the school based on how you would fit in, the resources that would be available to you (and here possible career choices might come into play), and financial reasons.</p>
<p>This is a partial list of counts of students from a page entitled “Undergraduate schools of J.D. students enrolled at Harvard Law School in 2005-2006” which is no longer available on the Web but to which you can find references in CC and other places. The list is not complete as it totals to 1058 and thus appears to omit about 600 students. But it does include the top 10 “feeders” and gives you an idea of Harvard’s preferences. By all accounts Yale’s are the same.</p>
<p>Harvard 232
Yale 126
Stanford 91
Princeton 65
Duke 55
Pennsylvania 53
Brown 51
Columbia 44
UC-Berk 43
UCLA 41
Cornell 40
Georgetown 33
Dartmouth 31
U.Texas 31
NYU 17
Pomona 14
UNC 13
Brandeis 11
USC 11
GWU 8
William & Mary 7
U of Maryland 6
Case Western 5
Johns Hopkins 4
BC 3
Michigan State 3
Rutgers 3
American 2
ASU 2
Vassar 2
FSU 2
Colgate 1
DePaul 1
Kansas State 1
LSU 1
Oklahoma State 1
Syracuse 1
TCU 1
UConn 1
Wake Forest 1</p>