I just received my UF and FSU acceptance letters. Under the assumption that I will be practically paying the same cost for either school. Which school in your opinion is better for a philosophy (on the track for law) major?
I hear UF is generally the better school however I have heard particularly good things about the FSU philosophy program.
Are you a transfer? UF acceptances don’t come out until Feb. 10th.
I’ve heard FSU might have a bit of an edge in philosophy, but it’s really a matter of which school you’re comfortable with.
I am a transfer student
So i guess they sent mine early, I dont know.
Congratulations to the OP. Some thoughts:
1 - Neither UF nor FSU have particularly strong philosophy departments, and for law school, the department ratings probably meaningless.
2 - UF will have a significantly stronger student body. Your peers will be more accomplished at UF.
3 - If you are interested in attending an elite private law school, UF has better placement at these types of schools than FSU.
4 - The market for young lawyers these days is terrible. If you do not have connections, it can be very difficult to find a legal job. We know multiple recent law school graduates who have not been able to find a full time legal position and are now working at non-legal positions. I employed three of them in a non-legal capacity, and some of these law school graduates went to T14 schools like NYU. In some cases, they spent $200,000 on a law degree, and are doing jobs that they could have gotten with their undergraduate degree alone. If you do go the law school route, go to the best school you can afford, and pair it with an MBA or similar dual degree. From my experience, these students have been much more employable than straight law school graduates without a dual-degree.
5 - A philosophy major will help you with the LSAT and law school, but law firms would rather hire someone with specialized pre-law experience in their field of practice. For example, a firm with Exxon/Mobile as a client will snap up a lawyer with a chemistry background, or a patent law firm would like a lawyer with computer science experience. It is tough being a young lawyer with no specialty right now.
Good luck.