Making the decision to attend law school might be easy for some applicants, but it can be much harder to decide where to apply. Many applicants select their target law schools based on the U.S. News & World Report rankings. And although these rankings are helpful, they are not the be-all and end-all. Applicants who conduct a more in-depth look at law schools are more likely to end up in a place that fits them well.
In this blog post, we at Stratus share some guidance on researching law schools.
Initial Research
Before you take the LSAT, you should do some initial research on law schools. As you conduct this research, it is a good idea to keep your stats in mind. For example, does your GPA make you a competitive candidate, or is it a weakness? In addition, you should determine the target LSAT score for your schools of interest. The U.S. News & World Report rankings include the 25th percentile, median, and 75th percentile for both GPA and LSAT score.
Once you have your LSAT score and GPA, you should review your list of potential law schools to see if your numbers take you out of the running for any of them. Generally, you will not have a shot at any school where your LSAT score and GPA are well below the 25th percentile. If your stats are around the median for a school, you have a strong chance of getting in there, and if you are at the 75th percentile or higher for a school, you can consider it a “safety” school.
Your Career Goals
Knowing your chances of getting in somewhere is a good starting place, but this is not the sole determinant of whether a school is a good fit for you. Another factor to consider is your career goals. If you know you want to work in a particular market, it could be helpful to attend a school in that vicinity, especially if the legal community there tends to hire locally. Similarly, if you want to work in a particular area of law, it might make sense to attend a school that has a strong alumni community practicing in that field or is situated in a location offering many employment options in that field. For example, any of the DC law schools are ideal for someone wanting to work in government.
You can also look at what law schools offer with regard to your career goals. For example, peruse a school’s course catalog to see if it has courses in the area of law of interest to you. In addition, you can look at the background of the school’s professors and research its clinics and student practice organizations to see if the program offers many hands-on opportunities.
Now, if you do not know what kind of law you want to practice, don’t worry! Most applicants have not decided yet. But you likely have some ideas about the types of law you want to practice, so those interests can serve as guideposts.
School Size
You might have considered the size of schools when you applied to college. After all, colleges can span from a few hundred to tens of thousands of students. Law schools do not have the same range. Some have a few hundred students, while others have more than a thousand. Size differences can impact your law school experience, so it is worth taking note of them.
Financing
It seems everyone takes out loans to attend law school, but the price tags for schools can vary significantly. Some schools provide merit financial aid, while others do not. Often, if you receive merit aid, it is because your LSAT score and GPA are toward the top of the incoming class. Some might see this as an advantage because it likely means you are at the top of your class in terms of stats. However, others would argue that applicants should aim as high as possible in the law school rankings when selecting a school, and that it is better to attend a reach school and receive no merit aid.
Also, if you can get in-state tuition at a law school, the price tag for that school will likely be significantly lower than that of an out-of-state or private school. Every state has different requirements for in-state tuition, so you should thoroughly investigate whether you would qualify before basing an application decision on this aspect.
In addition to the cost of different schools, you should look into their employment statistics. For most schools, you should be able to find the post-graduation employment rate, the bar passage rate, and the amount of student debt incurred. Some schools also might offer information on the average salary of graduates and whether they are working in public interest or big law. Additionally, you can see if any schools offer loan repayment assistance programs for graduates working in public interest and/or earning below a certain income level.
You should not necessarily just go to the school that you believe will help you make the most money or will yield the least amount of debt. Instead, you should consider the full context of what you are getting into. Many people go into debt, take decades to pay off those loans through a public interest job, and are happy with their career. But others go into law school expecting to be a certain kind of lawyer and then face the realities of the limited employment options available to them.
Culture
You will spend three years at a law school, so you want to be sure that you will feel comfortable there. Consider the culture of the school and the surrounding community. Sometimes a state or city’s politics can impact the feel of the area. Additionally, many law schools and/or their respective universities already have a reputation surrounding their culture. Moreover, some law schools are located in college towns, while others are in large cities; this leads to drastically different cultural situations.
If you do not know the school’s reputation, you can get a feel by researching various factors. For example, you can look into what clubs and affinity groups are the most active on campus. You also can read about any recent controversies or protests at the school.
How to Gather Information About Law Schools
Fortunately, much of the school information we have discussed is easy to find if you know where to look:
- Online searches: Start with search engines. Often, either law schools or publications release various statistics about schools, such as bar passage rate, employment numbers, and average debt acquired. Additionally, you can search on news engines for any news stories (both positive and controversial) about a potential school and its surrounding community.
- Law school websites: Most law schools publish their course catalog, faculty bios, and club lists online, so you likely can go to a school’s website and find this information. To see how active certain school groups are, you can check out their webpage and/or social media pages to see what issues they are engaging in, how often they hold events, and their general membership size. You can also sign up for a law school’s e-mail list to receive updates about its program and application process.
- Law school events: Many law schools offer events for prospective applicants, such as on-campus information sessions that typically include a tour. Although these visits can help you get a good feel of the school, they can consume a lot of time and money. Fortunately, many schools hold webinars and Zoom sessions that provide essentially the same information as on-campus information sessions but without the hassle of travel. Some law schools will even hold information sessions in big cities. Attending these sessions can give you the opportunity to speak with members of the law school’s community without visiting campus.
- Other resources: Finally, you can conduct some primary research on your own. You can reach out to alumni of your target law schools who work in areas of law that you might want to practice (and if you do, be humble and respectful!). Alumni will often give you unfiltered opinions about the school. You can also look into employment information for the types of law you are interested in practicing and weigh that against the employment statistics and the costs of attending different schools.
Although this process may seem cumbersome, researching law schools can pay huge dividends. Finding the right school will not only boost your career but also improve your overall well-being in law school.
If you would like our advice on creating your law school list, sign up for a free consultation!