I am a senior in high school that would like some advice. I could go to Columbia for $65,000 a year (I already got a pre-read and know I will not get aid), or I could go to Penn State Honors College for $30,000 a year. I would like to know if my chances of getting into a top law school would be increased by going to Columbia. Also, would graduating from a top law school pay the difference between the two undergrads?
No, and yes, respectively. More importantly, get some time interning/externing at a law office while in college so you can find out if the practice of law is really for you.
Your chances of getting into a particular law school would be helped most by going wherever you’ll have the best grades. Having Columbia on a resume instead of Penn State would make you a somewhat stronger candidate for law firm hiring once you’re actually in law school, though.
Yes, going to a top law school would allow you to pay off the difference between the two. You’ll be making $160k/year coming from a top law school, if you accept an offer with a large firm in a large city.
Allow me to state a contrarian view. Look at the stats for admissions. If you have the grades and test scores from Columbia, then, yes, you will stand better chance getting into a top law school. Look at the stats here on CC. However, saying you will attend the honors college does throw a little bit of a wrinkle into the mix. Personally, I don’t think law school admissions care if you went to big state school honors program as long as you have good grades and good test scores. I do think they care if you went to elite private school as it makes you easier place with big law.
As to the cost, I think only you can say. Some people go to Harvard and work in public interest or government jobs. Some people go to state law schools and become millionaires. And vice versa. Everyone goes to law school thinking they are going to graduate in 3 years and make $160k a year and live the good life. I know ivy lawyers making $15/hr. doing document review. And I know plenty of people who went to top law schools and worked for big law and hated it and are now in a different field. A law license is a license to print money. What you do with it is up to you.
Sorry, but for most law grads, a law license is anything but “a license to print money.” It’s more of a symbol of massive debt, and a guarantee that you’ll be scrambling for a job.
Look in some of the previous posts, as I have commented on this topic prior, as well as some of our more diligent community (e.g. Happy, Demos…). But, I’ll state in brief, having served on several law school admission committees, all things being equal, a Penn degree will give you a bit of a boost over, say NE 3.mile island state college. Problem is, that is seldom the case. That is to say, you have similar candidates, one from Penn, 3.7 and 169 LSAT, and the fellow from 3 mile island state college—they usually are just not neck and neck in their scores. So, yes it gives you a bit of a boost, and especially if you apply to Penn Law (Ivy law schools love their own) is it worth another 120k for undergrad is another question…
Going to a respected state flagship school like Penn State won’t close any doors for you regarding law school admissions. You just need to get great grades and LSAT scores.
I’m personally of the opinion, however, that going to a very unselective no-name university (as the above poster so eloquently put it as NE 3 mile island state college) can hurt you, both in admissions, and in not being as well prepared for the competition and rigor of your first year in law school.