Getting into Law School

[Anonymous]

I went to law school many decades ago. What does it take to get into a decent (top 30) law school these days besides GPA and LSAT score?

Do they care about work history, other ECs, etc? Is it the same game we see with undergrad? Better or worse?

Thanks

[Anonymous]

Probably need to distinguish between top 18 versus remaking top 30 law schools.

Top 18 are more selective which, in the world of law school admissions, means very high numbers (LSAT & GPA). Work experience helps.

[Anonymous]

My guess is that it’s all the same bullshit as the undergrad game. Go to good law school. Work hard. Get out and kick ass.

[Anonymous]

All this school “selectivity” stuff makes me sick. Most of these people have no clue. In the real world all kinds of people from all kinds of schools have law and other jobs pulling down $2-4 mil a year. My guess is that these know it alls on this site aren’t doing that.

[Anonymous]

I am a lawyer. I didn’t not go to a. Elite school. I make 15x what most Harvard grads make. Seriously. Go to a good school, work hard and kill it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All this school “selectivity” stuff makes me sick. Most of these people have no clue. In the real world all kinds of people from all kinds of schools have law and other jobs pulling down $2-4 mil a year. My guess is that these know it alls on this site aren’t doing that.

No, they aren’t. Very few lawyers pull in this kind of money, and if they do it’s because they are very good at bringing in business not because they are law nerds.

[Anonymous]

T14 will still primarily be gpa and lsat. Post college work experience may help a little.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a lawyer. I didn’t not go to a. Elite school. I make 15x what most Harvard grads make. Seriously. Go to a good school, work hard and kill it.

What you make really has to do with which field of law you go into, right? Not where you attended.

If you want to clerk for a SC justice, then Harvard might be your best shot. But just like with undergrad, it's not where you go as much as what you do with your life while there and beyond

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a lawyer. I didn’t not go to a. Elite school. I make 15x what most Harvard grads make. Seriously. Go to a good school, work hard and kill it.

PI ? No thanks

[Anonymous]

Does undergrad school matter? Is it easier to get into a top 10 law school from a top 10 undergrad?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a lawyer. I didn’t not go to a. Elite school. I make 15x what most Harvard grads make. Seriously. Go to a good school, work hard and kill it.

What you make really has to do with which field of law you go into, right? Not where you attended.

If you want to clerk for a SC justice, then Harvard might be your best shot. But just like with undergrad, it's not where you go as much as what you do with your life while there and beyond

You’re skipping over the big part in the middle. The people at the best schools have way more options to choose from. A top of the class student at the university of Nebraska is going to have to claw and fight and be world’s best salesman to get even a fraction of the offers. Could they get one that puts them on the money train? They might put the path is so smooth comparatively coming out of the T 14.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does undergrad school matter? Is it easier to get into a top 10 law school from a top 10 undergrad?

Undergrad does not matter. Any state flagship will do for T14 law schools (T10 vs T14 law school isn't a distinction made by employers).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a lawyer. I didn’t not go to a. Elite school. I make 15x what most Harvard grads make. Seriously. Go to a good school, work hard and kill it.

What you make really has to do with which field of law you go into, right? Not where you attended.

If you want to clerk for a SC justice, then Harvard might be your best shot. But just like with undergrad, it's not where you go as much as what you do with your life while there and beyond

DP. Where you attended law school matters a lot. It is not just like undergrad.

The most straightforward path to how much you make is through BigLaw (or related BigLaw-spinoff boutique). The most direct, no nonsense route to BigLaw is getting good first year grades at a T14.

Any of the T14 can lead to a S. Ct. clerkship.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a lawyer. I didn’t not go to a. Elite school. I make 15x what most Harvard grads make. Seriously. Go to a good school, work hard and kill it.

PI ? No thanks

Not PI. But appreciate the concern.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does undergrad school matter? Is it easier to get into a top 10 law school from a top 10 undergrad?

It matters at the margins. If admissions is weighing two students with similar LSAT scores and GPAs (e.g. each applicant has a 3.9 GPA with a 173 LSAT,), but one applicant went to Stanford for their undergrad, and the other went to Cal State Fullerton, then the Stanford undergrad will usually win out. It’s also easier to get good law school letters of recs from more elite undergrads. Yale Law is somewhat infamous for taking close to half their class from Ivy plus undergrads.