UMD or William & Mary for pre-law?

[Anonymous]

Where did your DC decide to go?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m a W&M grad and went to a top law school so may be biased but I think W&M does an excellent job of preparing its graduates for law school. Strong writing curriculum, and I also found the philosophy courses helpful for critical thinking skills. I’d pick W&M over UMD because you can get a more personalized pre-law educational experience.

UMD is a far better pre-law school than WM. Just because you went to WM years ago doesn't mean you have a clue.

[Anonymous]

There is nothing one needs for "pre-law." Seems silly.

[Anonymous]

There is no such major as "pre law." It doesn't matter what you major in or study when you are applying to law school. They take all majors. Most important thing is GPA.

[Anonymous]

People will say there's no such thing as pre-law or getting into a top law school, but the reality is that certain elite colleges graduate way more into the top law schools than UMD or William And Mary. W&M may get slightly more nods from ADCOMs for its amazing American History department.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Law schools admissions is largely about LSAT and GPA. They don't really care where you attended. It is a really just a tie breaker.

W&M doesn't have grade deflation. They have grade inflation like pretty much all selective schools and a relatively high average GPA above 3.5.

But if your kid is comfortable at UMD and does well, it will be fine.

Not true anymore, especially since pandemic.

Check out where most students of Yale, Stanford, Harvard went to undergrad.

Quality of school does matter; if at a huge state school, you need to really be at the top of the class to be at a great law school later. They will go much deeper into the class for top colleges.

[Anonymous]

The top 10/ivy hype train is relentless. If you live in the DMV you probably know a few lawyers who can answer this question for you instead of relying anonymous responses.

UMD or William & Mary will both serve your DC well for law school admissions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m a W&M grad and went to a top law school so may be biased but I think W&M does an excellent job of preparing its graduates for law school. Strong writing curriculum, and I also found the philosophy courses helpful for critical thinking skills. I’d pick W&M over UMD because you can get a more personalized pre-law educational experience.

UMD is a far better pre-law school than WM. Just because you went to WM years ago doesn't mean you have a clue.

And what are you basing your vague conclusory statements on? Sounds like you don’t have a clue yourself!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Save your money for law school and go to whichever of these is in-state.

+1 This is the correct answer.

Or better yet, skip law school altogether. DH is a lawyer, we know tons of lawyers, and none of them would advise their child to follow suit. Not one.

I second this. DH lawyer as well. Kid wants to go to law school and we are advising against it. If he really persists (just applying to undergrad now), I will recommend that he 1) work as a paralegal first and 2) run a DCF to determine what he'd need to make for the law school loans to payback.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where did your DC decide to go?

UMD! In-state. Oddly, our roles were kind of reverse from what is typical. I was encouraging W&M because I went to a mid-sized school and I think the vibe and culture is what college "should be." She said, "why would we pay out of state tuition?" and asked that I put the difference of tuition aside for law school. Sensible kid. I just hope she finds her people at such a big university.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Save your money for law school and go to whichever of these is in-state.

+1 This is the correct answer.

Or better yet, skip law school altogether. DH is a lawyer, we know tons of lawyers, and none of them would advise their child to follow suit. Not one.

Why not?

DP, but I'm a lawyer and am advising my kids not to do it unless they will be litigators like I am. Lots of law firms are really investing in AI and the need for attorneys to draft anything, legal research, review contracts, etc. is all going to disappear in a few years. There won't be any reason for firms to hire associates to do the work that AI can do faster, cheaper, and with no errors. The AI isn't there yet, but given the advancements that are happening at a pretty fast pace, the only safe practice areas in 5+ years will those that have an in-person element.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People will say there's no such thing as pre-law or getting into a top law school, but the reality is that certain elite colleges graduate way more into the top law schools than UMD or William And Mary. W&M may get slightly more nods from ADCOMs for its amazing American History department.

Correlation, not causation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Save your money for law school and go to whichever of these is in-state.

I would agree. your child needs to be a top student at either school. My UMD graduate finance major has worked 2 years in banking and is applying to law schools for fall 2025. They have a 3.8 GPA and almost perfect LSATs and hopes to get into a top Law School.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Save your money for law school and go to whichever of these is in-state.

+1 This is the correct answer.

Or better yet, skip law school altogether. DH is a lawyer, we know tons of lawyers, and none of them would advise their child to follow suit. Not one.

Why not?

DP, but I'm a lawyer and am advising my kids not to do it unless they will be litigators like I am. Lots of law firms are really investing in AI and the need for attorneys to draft anything, legal research, review contracts, etc. is all going to disappear in a few years. There won't be any reason for firms to hire associates to do the work that AI can do faster, cheaper, and with no errors. The AI isn't there yet, but given the advancements that are happening at a pretty fast pace, the only safe practice areas in 5+ years will those that have an in-person element.

I have been practicing for over 30 years and the prior poster is correct.

The labor trends are not moving in a positive direction yet tuition is still very high.

I think academic rigor in undergrad is what counts. I endured a difficult honors program at a very top ranked school and found law school very manageable. Finished second in the class and frankly didn’t put that much effort into it. The so-called pressure and competition didn’t bother me, and my college experience made that possible. Any reasonable college can provide the challenge; a student has to chase it and embrace it, though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People will say there's no such thing as pre-law or getting into a top law school, but the reality is that certain elite colleges graduate way more into the top law schools than UMD or William And Mary. W&M may get slightly more nods from ADCOMs for its amazing American History department.

That is because top schools have more high stats undergraduates, who often become high stats law school applicants to law schools looking for high stats applicants.