Is "Fit" overrated when it comes to law school

Graduate School Law School
1

<p>Hi Gang,</p>

<p>I was talking to my D the other night when she mentioned that several of her 1L friends hate or are unhappy at the law school that they are currently attending. She said this came from friends across the board from the T14 to top 50 schools.</p>

<p>I asked if she thought that they chose the "best " school for them or did they simply choose to attend the "best" or highest ranked school that they gained admission to. She said that while many parents and student talk about "fit" when it comes to choosing an undergrad school, when it comes to law school, you just have to suck it up for 3 years and do your best at the best school that you can get into.</p>

<p>While there are probably some gunners at every school, some schools have a more friendly reputation where students do work collaboratively (MVP), some schools have the reuptation of being factories (Georgetown), while other schools are considered "intense" and no fun (Chicago, Cornell). I have even heard NYU & Columbia being compared to the Frensh Prince's Will (NYU) and Carlton (Columbia).</p>

<p>Should a student being looking for "fit" when it comes to law school?</p>

<p>Should a student just attend the "best" school regardless of how they feel about it?</p>

<p>Should a student turn down major $$ at a 15-20 school in order to go full freight at a T14.</p>

<p>Stacy, Mike, Haz and other currentlaw school students, I would love to hear your take on this. What is it that you like about your school, at the end of the day, do you really think that the school you chose was overall the best school for you?</p>

<p>thanks,</p>

<p>S.</p>

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<p>this will be interesting- I'm listening too!</p>

<p>I will tell you- she'd rather not be in another "college town" environment. So U Mich /UVA are not high on her list. She definitely has preferences re:fit. </p>

<p>sybbie I think both our kids fall into the same category. They will not be straight from UG, so for the young woman of 23 to 26 going to law school, they may be looking for a different environment than the 21 year old right out of college. The "softball and beer" stereotype of UVA is not for my kid. A school like NW or Georgetown would be higher on her wishlist.</p>

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<p>1.) I think there's some truth to cultural differences. I can only speak to what I've seen firsthand, but Columbia and NYU are academic peers but nonetheless very different. In my judgment, NYU is relatively hipster (I found it a little obnoxious, actually), while Columbia's a very professional environment.</p>

<p>I do not, however, think these differences translate into amount of work the students do. I think (with one famous exception), law schools of equivalent tiers are all approximately equivalent difficulty. NYU kids are more laid-back in mannerism, but they go home and study just as much as Columbia kids.</p>

<p>I will also say, as a general rule with lots of exceptions, that I think students at higher ranked law schools do progressively less work. This is partly because their greater intelligence outweighs their harder curriculum, but it's also because the competition to be at the top of the class is lower. Just hypothetically, Princeton Law's top 80% probably has the same career prospects as Animal House's top 10%; so there's no less need to fight for those top few spots.</p>

<p>2.) Within relatively narrow tiers, I think it's sensible to look for fit. Columbia vs. NYU, for example. Georgetown vs. Cornell. Etc.</p>

<p>3.) I think it depends on what you want to do, what your family's situation is, and what specific jump you're talking about. For example, imagine two students:
(A) from a poor family, weighing $140,000 from UCLA vs. full-tuition at Cornell.
(B) very wealthy family, weighing $30,000 from WUSTL vs. full-tuition at Harvard.
Obviously those are extremes, but they serve to demonstrate that there's a lot of variables you have to consider here.</p>

<p>I should tell you that I had to make a money-vs.-slightly-better-school decision, and I took the better school.</p>

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<p>Haha -- Marshall, a fictional character from "How I Met Your Mother," is a CLS 2L, and he has a song for the times he is stuck studying when his friends are out partying:</p>

<p>"Studyin' law,
Makin' a responsible choice for mah future...
On Friday night...
BEIN' A LAWYER HAD BETTER BE AWESOME!"</p>