<p>i was looking over the law school admissions myths thread, and essentially came to the conclusion that LSAT/GPA is the deciding factor for law school admissions (duh) </p>
<p>but is it worth going to a smaller/easier undergrad school rather than a bigger one than presitge...would that help for professional school admissions?</p>
<p>and does anyone know of the best feeder schools (into law) for undergrad?</p>
<p>"but is it worth going to a smaller/easier undergrad school rather than a bigger one than presitge"</p>
<p>what does that mean? i originally read it as "..easier undergrad school rather than a bigger one with prestige" but that usually isn't the case. if it is, id think you should name the schools you are talking about so we have an idea.</p>
<p>so sorry to hack into this thread, but how about higher gpa at SUNY Binghamton v. a little lower gpa at NYU?</p>
<p>I wouldn't make the decision of what college to attend based on what some law school admissions committee might think some day. Select the college that's the best fit for you (intellectually, financially, geographically, socially, religiously - whatever factors combine to make a good fit in your estimation), then matriculate and give it the old college try. Explore your interests. Read broadly and deeply. Give your studies the serious effort they deserve. Lead an examined life. Then, if you believe your interests and aptitudes are pointing you toward the practice of law, apply to law school with an untroubled conscience.</p>
<p>You can get A's at any school as long as you know what you're doing. On the other hand, it would be much easier at some state school and they're usually cheaper and more fun, so you may as well go for that.</p>
<p>Any school? A's can be tough, much more so than A-'s. And the harder the school, the better the competition is.</p>
<p>by the way, speaking of A/A-, do all colleges hand out 3.7's for A-'s... i only know that uc berkeley does, and was curious if that was the case everywhere</p>
<p>Law school admission GPAs are calculated by LSAC and are standardized, so everyone gets A = 4.00, A- = 3.67, B+ = 3.33, etc. regardless of what your school does.</p>
<p>oh okay, got it...so whenever people say, yale law has an avg gpa of 3.8 or this law school has an avg gpa of this, they're calculating according to the LSAC standardization?</p>
<p>Yeah, but I think most schools lack A+s, and those that have them don't grant them very often.</p>
<p>i would imagine, my high school doesn't even dish out A+'s let alone most colleges.</p>
<p>Unless you really get off on telling people you went to a big-name school, I'd say go for the easier school. Myself and almost all my close friends have essentially regretted choosing top colleges over our much easier state school with scholarships.</p>
<p>well from what it sounds like from other CCers, such regrets depend on which top colleges and which state schools</p>
<p>GPA.</p>
<p>By a long mile.</p>
<p>Greybeard's post #4 bears re-reading.</p>
<p>Greybeard's #4 means nothing if you explore the wrong classes, make C's and get knocked out of the running for a top 20 law school.</p>
<p>Still, if you're smart enough to do this and still get into a top 20 law school, you're probably smarter than the entire entering boalt law school class at a top law school like Boalt or Berkeley.</p>
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Greybeard's #4 means nothing if you explore the wrong classes, make C's and get knocked out of the running for a top 20 law school.
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</p>
<p>just by your saying that, you missed the point entirely.</p>
<p>what i always find interesting is the number of hs student posting on this forum looking for "the answer" to how to get into a top law school.</p>
<p>it is so easy these days to be goal focused and to always be reaching for the next top achievement. it becomes easy to focus on some far off goal and loose sight of where you are.</p>
<p>i doubt many hs kids considering a career in law have a clue as to what that actually means. and if they do have some idea of what they want to do as a lawyer, they probably still have no clue as to whether a Harvard or Yale law degree is really the best route to what they actually want in a legal career. believe it or not, it isn't always. and i say that as someone who has known many people who attended both of those schools. </p>
<p>your four years in college isn't just a time to be stocking your gpa for your law school application -- its a time to learn about yourself and your real interests -- the world is a lot bigger than what you've gotten to see in hs.</p>
<p>Oh LiberalCensors, your name and posts make so much more sense now that you revealed your identity. Why are you insulting the many students at Boalt, one of the best law schols on the west coast, and a top 14 school?</p>
<p>According to US high school students (and too many of their parents), you can look at someone's incoming "stats" and predict with virtual certainty their class rank on college graduation day. Therefore, the thing to do is to go to a very unselective college where your GPA/SAT put you near the top of the heap and four years later, you'll graduate Phi Beta Kappa (at least if the college has a chapter). You can then go to YHS Law.</p>
<p>If life really worked like this, YHS Law would be filled with people who went to colleges that weren't selective. Hint: They aren't. That doesn't mean that you can't go to a less selective college and end up at YHS Law. You definitely can. But is it MORE likely that you'll make it if you make this choice instead of going to a prestigious college? I don't think so. </p>
<p>One of the many reasons it isn't, is that high school gpa and SAT scores are FAR from perfect predictors of college success. Do NOT assume that it's a "given" that if you go to a less selective college, you'll end up with a higher gpa than you will if you go to a more selective one.</p>
<p>There are MANY reasons why that might not be true. The less selective college might have more required courses which you have to take and some of these may be in areas in which you are unlikely to do well. A student who is an excellent writer might do better at a college with lots of essay exams and papers than at a college where most tests are multiple choice. A student who excels at class discussion might be better off at a school with small classes where class discussion counts. A student who isn't "getting" it in class might find that the prestigious school offers free tutoring and make lots of help available whereas the less selective school doesn't. One school might use a lot of TAs with less than perfect spoken English skills. That might not be an issue at all at a small prestigious LAC. There are all SORTS of reasons why the same student might actually do better gpa wise at a more selective college.</p>