Reply to Fighting for Fractions .. roughly 2% of college students go to a "top 30" school

Forum Index » College and University Discussion

Reply to "Fighting for Fractions .. roughly 2% of college students go to a "top 30" school"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Why is everyone fighting so hard to get their kids into a "top 30-ish" school?

Less than 5% of college students attend a top 50 college. About 2.4% of college students in the US attend a top 30 college. Roughly 1% attend a "top 20" college. What is the point in fighting to be such a tiny fraction of college students.

[/quote]
For internships and jobs after. For grad school, medical and law school placement. For the contacts one makes at such places.[/quote]

+1 and legacy status after. In my case, I was fortunate to get into Harvard for undergrad and worked hard and got into its law school. I met future presidents, congressman, roommates are household names, that sort of thing. That got me clerkships, which got me offers from top firms, which got me to the top of my field in interesting private and public positions. And now my DD is there. Yesterday I exchanged gifts and calls from H and HLS friends going way back. That’s why it matters. The experience made me a better person and better lawyer - one that could provide for a family and open doors for the next generation.[/quote]

[b]Note that this (absolutely correct) answer does not mention a single academic aspect of the school. Major, classes, professors — these matter only insofar as they allow you to network. Students more oriented toward academics than networking will not reap these benefits simply by attending a T10 and earning a degree. It’s who you meet while there that counts.[/quote][/b]

I posted the above.  It is correct.  But as to the academic aspect of Harvard I didn't think I needed to mention.  It is tough.  You are being judged against top students from America's SLACs and Universities. Every day was a struggle to master the material before class and to be able to argue it in class.  I worked my butt off to make cum laude. I was not strong enough to make Magna (18 in my class of 500).  There were no summas my year (summas are rare at HLS). I received the best academic preparation for the law that a school could provide.  Harvard has more resources than the smaller law schools, so it can provide more pro bono opportunities, like clinics where future tax lawyers help the indigent with preparing their forms. Or work in the Boston family courts if interested in family law.

And law school students do not have "majors". I don't know what PP meant by that.

It is assumed when you say you are going to a T6 that you are getting a superlative academic experience.  The rest is networking and learning to get the grades to get the clerkship to get to a SCOTUS clerkship (which most don't attain).[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics