How well does Fordham (specifically Lincoln Center, I’m not sure if what campus you go to makes a difference though) place it’s undergrads into law school? Harvard Law’s class profile does include Fordham @ Rose Hill, but Yale didn’t.
I assume that you are a rising high school senior. And interested in Fordham.
Law School Admission really considers two factors: LSAT and GPA.
All the top 10 law schools (and the other 250 schools) admit students from all sorts of colleges…some of them obscure and remote and off the radar screen of rankings.
Some law schools consider legacy and intangibles. Some consider diversity more than others.
So in a sense, it doesnt matter where you went to undergrad. It ONLY matters how you do on the LSAT.
Go to the USNWR Law School rankings and see for yourself what the LSAT scores are for admitted students at every school.
Fordham has students who have gotten into the top 10 schools, including Yale (an upperclassman friend of my kid was admitted there several years ago.) But that was a measure of their LSAT scores and gpa.
I am not saying law admissions directors dont look at the coursework, curriculum and strength of the school. But its a far far distant third place.
What school prepares you best for the LSAT? Hard question to answer. The LSAT measures a lot of things, mostly logic and the ability to sort through irrelevant facts to get to the nub of the matter. A broad based balanced core curriculum is often best for that. Some kids with average gpas will slam the LSAT. Some kids with high gpas will do poorly on the LSAT. Its a very odd and peculiar measure of intelligence and likelihood of success in law school. And doing average to poor on the LSAT doesnt mean you are stupid. Its a weird exam.
Fordham kids do very well getting into law schools. Typically Fordham Law takes one or two FCRH or FCLC graduates. Most Fordham undergrads go elsewhere.
Dont worry about it now. Worry about coming to Fordham and doing well. Take a superb and highly recommended LSAT prep course. Invaluable. Then take the LSAT. And take it again if you want to improve. But most improve only 3-5 points. Not a lot of big changes in scores are seen…or they start asking questions. But 3-5 points is a big deal in law school admissions and means getting in or not. I am not kidding.
Chances are, if you do well at Fordham (3.5gpa or better), then you will do fine on the LSAT and be admitted to a top 75 or top 50 law school. Which is where you want to be. If your LSAT scores indicate you will be in a third or fourth tier law school, then DONT GO TO LAW SCHOOL. The jobs arent there. Only the very top lawyers from top law schools get good jobs. (Top 10% of law class.)
Good luck.
hey! i am also wondering the same thing in regards to getting into a good law school. i just graduated from high school and am going to an ivy next year. i’m a little nervous about making my fall schedule and i have a lot of class options that allow either pass/fail or graded. my uncle graduated from harvard law and he also said that law school admissions is really a numbers game. if so, should i just take more pass/fail classes if i’m not confident in whether or not i’d pull off that A? or will law schools care about transcripts, and whether or not i took easy classes?
Honestly, it’s better to be graded. Pass/ fail just says you passed, not how well you did in the class. Also, chances are, you’ll have a limit to the number of courses you can indicate pass/fail for. At least Fordham does have a limit as far as I know. Also, keep in mind, you still have the LSAT to take, so that’s another factor. While law schools don’t scrutinize your transcript that much, they will look at your GPA and will probably think it’s weird that you just took Pass/fail courses and will question whether or not you’re truly ready for law school. Finally, get close to some professors because you’ll need their recommendations when the time comes.
Right now, students have the possibility of getting into law schools they never thought they would get into due to drop of applications because the poor job market (Fordham, who normally pulls from ivies, actually started to accept more Fordham students this year due to the drop). However, that may very well change by the time you graduate college.