<p>I'm certain this subject has been brought up in other posts but now that my son has some decisions to make, I thought I'd get some input.</p>
<p>He is graduating high school this year and he wants to go to law school after college. He's incredibly bright, driven and personable. He's already been accepted to Stanford and Vanderbilt, waiting to hear from Harvard and Duke. </p>
<p>We will struggle to pay full boat for any of these schools since we are in the dreaded upper middle class where we don't qualify for need based aid yet paying 50K +/year is daunting in light of recent loss of home equity, 529 plan losses etc... </p>
<p>So here's the $200,000 question. If he gets either a Robertson (full ride) scholarship from Duke or a Chancellor's (full tuition) from Vandy, does he say no to Stanford and Harvard (if he gets in). Will doing so, have a tangible impact on admission chances to a top law school.</p>
<p>I realize that many factors are used for law school admissions including LSAT and GPA but for discussion sake let's say his GPA and LSAT would be comparable at all 4 schools. </p>
<p>In a vacuum, what informed advice can any of you offer. I</p>
<p>I did see the Yale Law School admissions stats which were highly skewed towards Ivy League type undergrad schools. </p>
<p>law school admission is primarily based on gpa and lsat score. If he gets a 172 LSAT from any of the 4 schools mentioned, and has a solid gpa (3.6+), your son can anticipate multiple acceptances from T-15 law schools. If he gets a 162 LSAT (still considered around top 10% per cent), he probably won't get into any T-15, even if he is a harvard.stanford grad. His LSAT score is going to be the most important factor for admission.
My advise (as another mom)-- as law school admission is so heavily weighted on LSAT score, take the scholarship money (if offered) at Duke or vanderbilt, and use the savings towards law school.
as your son is planning on law school, your family could be well over $250,000 in debt before your son turns 25. Duke or vandy with scholarship sounds like a very wise investment.</p>
<p>So with LSAT being the most important factor, and again with all other factors remaining the same, is the education my son would get at Stanford "better" such that he would likely score higher on the LSAT? I tend to think not but just putting that out there for your consideration. I would imagine LSAT scores are a product of:
a) raw intelligence
b) preparation via a review course
c) educational background and foundation
etc...</p>
<p>mom- my gut feeling is that stanford is NOT going to prepare him any better for the LSAT's than Vandy. Success on the LSAT's is a combo of intelligence and heavy duty preparation.
again- others will chime in and give you their thoughts, but I'm making a case for taking the money and run. Use it for law school. Your son will have fantastic opportunities at Duke or Vandy too. Good luck.</p>
<p>I'd say "raw intelligence + basic course in formal logic"</p>
<p>Can't say anything about preparation, since my daughter decided it was not necessary :-/... but I am sure that preparation can help a lot (especially self-prep, using old tests)</p>
<p>nng- your d did not take any past LSAT tests even to just familiarize herself with the exam?? That is a very unique situation.
Even if kids do self-prep only, they usually practice on old tests for familiarity and to get the timing down.</p>
<p>I've never attended Duke or Vandy, but did transfer as an undergrad from Cornell to Stanford back in the day, and didn't feel there was a noticeable difference in the quality of education I received at the two.</p>
<p>First, I'd wait until he gets in and gets the full scholarship before making the decision. </p>
<p>Second, make the choice as to which college to attend without taking law school into account. A LOT of high school students who say they want to become lawyers never do so. Moreover, IMO, college is NOT just an opportunity to pick up a credential (a degree) which will enable him to compete at the next step of the game of life --law school. He has to spend FOUR YEARS of his life at the college he chooses. (Of course, he can transfer, but that's something to be avoided if possible. )</p>
<p>While all four of the colleges you've named are great schools, they are quite different. Some--probably most--kids could do well at all four. Others could not. Instead of worrying about the "next level," make the decision based on what is best for your son and your family WITHOUT taking LS into account.</p>
<p>This link provides information on 2006-07 law schools admissions for Stanford undergrads It shows LSAT and GPA. Something similar probably exists for the other schools.</p>
<p>As far as the LSAT goes, none of the schools you've listed are likely to give better "prep" than another. Each probably has some kind of pre-law student group, and all have advisors for pre-law students (either in the career services office or another department on campus.) Ultimately, the prep will be individual to each student - wherever they go to school. </p>
<p>All are academically challenging schools....so all are likely to provide an equal challenge for getting a high GPA.</p>
<p>Nothing wrong with taking the money at Vandy or Duke (both great schools anyways) and turning down Stanford and Harvard. It would be a wise choice. They are all great, it's like trading a Lamborghini for a (very cheap) Aston Martin. :)</p>