<p>I am going to suggest some ideas that might go against the grain of what is normally advised. </p>
<p>I do see why folks would suggest going to the highest ranked school that you can get into. Let's face it, job searches will probably be easier. I get it.</p>
<p>However, each law school has its own culture. Some law schools are more nurturing than others and teach kids initially how to outline/brief and maybe even study for exams. Some on the other hand just start going over cases with no nurturing. Some schools have smaller, more intimate classes where you get to know the professors, while some try to put as many kids as the seating will hold. Some schools are not only cutthroad but encouraged to be that way and some are a bit friendlier. Some libraries have all the books available to law students in the stacks and some have the newest books behind the librarian that must be ordered to take out. Some have new libraries and great courtrooms with the last technology for getting input and some schools have moot court rooms that date back 20 years or more. </p>
<p>Bottom line: I strongly urge you to check out the law schools that you are considering. Really evaluate what is there. Ask questions of the students about how they feel about the professors, classes, library, internship prospects and job prospects. </p>
<p>I attended a tier 1 law school, solely based on rankings, that was clearly the wrong school for me. I don't want anyone else to make that decision.</p>
<p>Bottom Line: rankings may be inportant,but law school should be about how you can become the best lawyer possible.</p>
<p>Law school is not college. It’s a means to an end. Unless two schools are otherwise dead even, I would not advise anyone to focus on these things. And some of these factors are so trivial that I can’t imagine two schools being closely-matched enough for them to make a difference.</p>
<p>You are misreading my post. I NEVER said to take a great library over a school that offers great contacts for jobs. However, assuming all choices lead to the similar rankings, I think choose the one that fits the student best is the better choice. Let’s face it, if a kid doens’t like the school and the culture, they probably won’t perform as well as those that fit in better. Better performance can affect job prospects as does better skill training.</p>
<p>The experience is generally going to be what you make of it, and it’s probably going to be stressful where ever you go. Again, it’s difficult to imagine that you won’t be able to find more meaningful distinctions between two schools than their library lending policies and moot court room technology. And I think there is a danger in getting too caught up in finding a good “fit” and ignoring more relevant considerations.</p>
<p>I definitely saw big differences between schools when visiting the schools where I was admitted. My kid also has identified big differences between his two schools. One is very friendly and supportive of students, with lots of social events for students, Professors who are readily accessible, old exams on file in the library, etc. The other is much more competitive, with tense students who disappear after classes, and Professors who are hard to reach. Each law school that he visited when applying to law schools had a very different feel to it. (At one school that he visited, he ran into someone that he knew who told him to go anywhere else.) </p>
<p>I agree with both TaxGuy and Zaprowsdower. Yes, it’s good to visit and compare schools. At the end of the day though, most students’ choices are usually based upon objective factors such as rankings, bar passage rates, location and cost.</p>
<p>Um, people, we’re not talking about 18 year olds here. A kid who starts law school at 22 or 23 will be 25 or 26 during the 3L year. And if your 26 year old needs friendly folks in order to get a professional certification, I’d suggest looking for a discipline besides the law. Whether your kid wants Biglaw, US Attorney’s office, DA, politics, or to become a personal injury lawyer- someone who needs to be surrounded by supportive folk is likely to hate being a lawyer!</p>
<p>The reason most students choose based on objective factors is that where you attend law school is heavily predictive of what kind of job you will and can get at the end of law school. Nice and logical, no?</p>
<p>I agree it’s important to visit and get feedback from current students, but this doesn’t mean you should pick a T3 school over a T1 school because you like the campus and the students are more laid back. And data points like the library staff are small enough that they’re unlikely to make a big difference in the overall decision.</p>
<p>An issue yet to be addressed on this thread is when to visit prospective law schools. </p>
<p>Just to throw out a point of view, I think it’s pointless to visit law schools until you’ve received an offer of admission. The schools will really roll out the red carpet for you at that point. I’ve heard of some college students treating the law school search the same way high schoolers go about their college search, showing up at random campuses to get a feel for the places they want to apply to. Apply first to a range of schools then use visits to help sort things out after you’ve been admitted. And, yes, you should visit before you accept. You don’t want to end up at a place you can’t stand even if it does have a high rank.</p>
<p>I’ve wondered about this regarding yield, however. According to posters on other blogs, certain schools want to see the love, i.e., a ‘Why this LS essay?’, particularly if the applicant’s numbers indicate that such a LS might be a low-match/safety. Thus, is there any value to visit early for the purpose of obtaining more insight into the LS so that one could write a much more compelling ‘Why’ essay?, at least more insightful than what can be gleaned from the website?</p>
<p>Yes, visiting potential law schools in advance of applying has some advantages. First, you get to see if you really want to apply there. </p>
<p>My son was definitely going to apply to West Virginia University law school. It had great tuition rates especially if he could establish in state residency. It wasn’t that far from our home,which would allow for more travel home and less cost. However, he was completely turned off by the facilities. They had tax research journals that were two year’s old and not updated among other factors that caused him not to apply. We also visited one law school that seemed great until we started asking students about their feelings. Not one praised the school or the faculty , and we asked a number of kids.</p>
<p>Secondly, visiting can really pay off in the essay. You can personalize the essay to the university. This has to be more impressive to admission folks than getting a generic essay.</p>
<p>other reasons to visit:
If you are splitter or have acceptable but borderline numbers an ED application may make the difference between an acceptance or denial. I don’t think it wise to apply ED, unless you have visited the school before applying.<br>
Based on what I have read on TLS- an ED application to certain schools might be helpful- but your stats have to be in the ballpark of what they are looking for.</p>
<p>Well, again, to be honest, these strike me as fairly trivial factors on which to base a life-altering decision. And it seems like they outweighted much more substantive factors in the decisionmaking process. At some point, I think you have to suck it up and deal with an ugly library for three years for the good of your career.</p>
<p>TheRoad: It’s apparent from your posting that you’re quite young and don’t understand the thread. This thread discusses the fact that there are differences between law schools (yes, even between Yale and Harvard) for those who have choices. You may find T-L-S to be a better fit.</p>