Anonymous wrote:It doesn’t really matter where you to go to college for the top law schools, grades and lsat scores are all they care about. The top law schools accept students for a wide range of schools.

OP here.

Yes, this is correct. But the facts are what they are. May be useful to some, may not be important to others.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Therefore, those seeking to earn an undergraduate degree at an SLAC prior to attending law school should consider Amherst, Pomona, Claremont McKenna, swarthmore, Barnard, Williams, Wesleyan, Bowdoin, Wash & Lee, Colgate, and Bryn Mawr if qualified and affordable.

While the above 11 SLACs have a strong track record of placing students into the Top 14 law schools, any affordable undergraduate school is fine so long as the student earns a high GPA and scores well on the LSAT (law school admission test) as undergraduate school attended is not typically a factor that law schools consider during the admissions review process.

So what is the point of your post? First it seems like you're trying to convince us that certain schools matter more than others for getting into top law schools, then you state that it does not. I agree with the latter, but am confused as to why you went to such great lengths to get there.

I am sharing information. Some may find it useful, while others may choose to disregard it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It doesn’t really matter where you to go to college for the top law schools, grades and lsat scores are all they care about. The top law schools accept students for a wide range of schools.

It also isn't surprising that undergraduate institutions that select for high standardized test scores would have more students who do well on standardized tests.

It will be interesting to see if that changes over time now that the top undergraduate schools have a significant % of the student body that were admitted test optional.

Oh please. You’re implying that the students at these schools are somehow inherently a “cut above” the riff raff at others. Not so. All of these top colleges could fill their entire cohorts from the pool of applicants who didn’t get into ANY of them, and their average SAT/ACT would not be affected. That’s how many qualified applicants they get. Also, there is only very weak correlation between SAT performance and LSAT performance.

It’s also not true that most big law firms only recruit from T14 law schools. Boston, NYC, Philly and DC Biglaw are all full of partners from Vanderbilt, BC, GWU, Florida, Notre Dame, Emory, etc. White shoe firms in NYC may recruit mostly from T14, but that’s not representative of BigLaw as a whole.

If a law student wants biglaw immediately after finishing law school (and the prior summer as a law clerk), the odds are dramatically better from Top 14 law schools than from "Vanderbilt, BC, GWU, Florida, Notre Dame, Emory, etc.". There are actual numbers that prove this, but I am not going to spend time now researching law school placements and biglaw firm listings of associates educational background.

Yes, biglaw does hire from many non-T14 law schools, but the numbers are insignificant compared to T-14 law school grads hiring. Class rank and grades are important in biglaw recruiting in addition to school attended. Major law firms go much deeper in each class at T-14 law schools for recruiting new hires.

Yes, if one finishes highly ranked--top 10% or top 5%--in a non-Top 14 Tier One law school, then that person may get an interview with some major biglaw firms. A federal judicial clerkship often gives one's resume a very significant boost.

It is about playing the odds to a certain extent. Attending a Tier One (top 50 ranked law school) law school not in the Top 14, can drastically lower the chances for employment in biglaw immediately after graduating law school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It doesn’t really matter where you to go to college for the top law schools, grades and lsat scores are all they care about. The top law schools accept students for a wide range of schools.

It also isn't surprising that undergraduate institutions that select for high standardized test scores would have more students who do well on standardized tests.

It will be interesting to see if that changes over time now that the top undergraduate schools have a significant % of the student body that were admitted test optional.

Oh please. You’re implying that the students at these schools are somehow inherently a “cut above” the riff raff at others. Not so. All of these top colleges could fill their entire cohorts from the pool of applicants who didn’t get into ANY of them, and their average SAT/ACT would not be affected. That’s how many qualified applicants they get. Also, there is only very weak correlation between SAT performance and LSAT performance.

It’s also not true that most big law firms only recruit from T14 law schools. Boston, NYC, Philly and DC Biglaw are all full of partners from Vanderbilt, BC, GWU, Florida, Notre Dame, Emory, etc. White shoe firms in NYC may recruit mostly from T14, but that’s not representative of BigLaw as a whole.

Anonymous wrote:Therefore, those seeking to earn an undergraduate degree at an SLAC prior to attending law school should consider Amherst, Pomona, Claremont McKenna, swarthmore, Barnard, Williams, Wesleyan, Bowdoin, Wash & Lee, Colgate, and Bryn Mawr if qualified and affordable.

While the above 11 SLACs have a strong track record of placing students into the Top 14 law schools, any affordable undergraduate school is fine so long as the student earns a high GPA and scores well on the LSAT (law school admission test) as undergraduate school attended is not typically a factor that law schools consider during the admissions review process.

So what is the point of your post? First it seems like you're trying to convince us that certain schools matter more than others for getting into top law schools, then you state that it does not. I agree with the latter, but am confused as to why you went to such great lengths to get there.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It doesn’t really matter where you to go to college for the top law schools, grades and lsat scores are all they care about. The top law schools accept students for a wide range of schools.

Correct

If that is the case why are the number of students in the T14 from Ivy League and similar undergraduate schools (inclusive of certain SLACs). Riddle me this? I went to a top 60 undergrad and top 50 law school and made it to big firms but eventually left.

Anonymous wrote:It doesn’t really matter where you to go to college for the top law schools, grades and lsat scores are all they care about. The top law schools accept students for a wide range of schools.

It also isn't surprising that undergraduate institutions that select for high standardized test scores would have more students who do well on standardized tests.

It will be interesting to see if that changes over time now that the top undergraduate schools have a significant % of the student body that were admitted test optional.

Anonymous wrote:It doesn’t really matter where you to go to college for the top law schools, grades and lsat scores are all they care about. The top law schools accept students for a wide range of schools.

Correct

Anonymous wrote:The Top Feeder Schools To The Top 14 Law Schools When Adjusted for Undergraduate Enrollment:

1) Yale
2) Princeton
3) Amherst College
4) Harvard
5) U Chicago
6) Duke
7) Columbia
8) Georgetown
9) Pomona College
10) Yeshiva

11) Stanford
12) Claremont McKenna College
13) Swarthmore College
14) Barnard College
15) Dartmouth College
16) U Penn
17) Cornell
18) Northwestern
19) Williams College
20) Wesleyan University

21) Rice
22) WashUStL
23) Brown
24) Vanderbilt
25) Bowdoin College
26) Wash & Lee
27) Tufts
28) Brandeis
29) Colgate University
30) Bryn Mawr College

Another adjusted list based on undergraduate enrollment enrollment. When you’re in the top schools, absolute numbers matter.

It doesn’t really matter where you to go to college for the top law schools, grades and lsat scores are all they care about. The top law schools accept students for a wide range of schools.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Therefore, those seeking to earn an undergraduate degree at an SLAC prior to attending law school should consider Amherst, Pomona, Claremont McKenna, swarthmore, Barnard, Williams, Wesleyan, Bowdoin, Wash & Lee, Colgate, and Bryn Mawr if qualified and affordable.

While the above 11 SLACs have a strong track record of placing students into the Top 14 law schools, any affordable undergraduate school is fine so long as the student earns a high GPA and scores well on the LSAT (law school admission test) as undergraduate school attended is not typically a factor that law schools consider during the admissions review process.

This. And even T14 doesn’t matter that much in the long term. I am equity partner at a AmLaw 50 firm, and the vast majority of my partners are from outside that group. None of the very highest paid ones are. T14 matters more if you want to slave away at Cravath or Wachtell, where your probability of making equity partner (or even staying more than 3 or 4 years) are incredibly small.

+1

Anonymous wrote:Therefore, those seeking to earn an undergraduate degree at an SLAC prior to attending law school should consider Amherst, Pomona, Claremont McKenna, swarthmore, Barnard, Williams, Wesleyan, Bowdoin, Wash & Lee, Colgate, and Bryn Mawr if qualified and affordable.

While the above 11 SLACs have a strong track record of placing students into the Top 14 law schools, any affordable undergraduate school is fine so long as the student earns a high GPA and scores well on the LSAT (law school admission test) as undergraduate school attended is not typically a factor that law schools consider during the admissions review process.

This. And even T14 doesn’t matter that much in the long term. I am equity partner at a AmLaw 50 firm, and the vast majority of my partners are from outside that group. None of the very highest paid ones are. T14 matters more if you want to slave away at Cravath or Wachtell, where your probability of making equity partner (or even staying more than 3 or 4 years) are incredibly small.

Therefore, those seeking to earn an undergraduate degree at an SLAC prior to attending law school should consider Amherst, Pomona, Claremont McKenna, swarthmore, Barnard, Williams, Wesleyan, Bowdoin, Wash & Lee, Colgate, and Bryn Mawr if qualified and affordable.

While the above 11 SLACs have a strong track record of placing students into the Top 14 law schools, any affordable undergraduate school is fine so long as the student earns a high GPA and scores well on the LSAT (law school admission test) as undergraduate school attended is not typically a factor that law schools consider during the admissions review process.

The Top Feeder Schools To The Top 14 Law Schools When Adjusted for Undergraduate Enrollment:

1) Yale
2) Princeton
3) Amherst College
4) Harvard
5) U Chicago
6) Duke
7) Columbia
8) Georgetown
9) Pomona College
10) Yeshiva

11) Stanford
12) Claremont McKenna College
13) Swarthmore College
14) Barnard College
15) Dartmouth College
16) U Penn
17) Cornell
18) Northwestern
19) Williams College
20) Wesleyan University

21) Rice
22) WashUStL
23) Brown
24) Vanderbilt
25) Bowdoin College
26) Wash & Lee
27) Tufts
28) Brandeis
29) Colgate University
30) Bryn Mawr College

The Top 14 Law Schools out of approximately 196 ABA (American Bar Association) approved law schools are:

1)Yale Law School
2) Stanford Law School
3) Univ. of Chicago School of Law

4) Columbia Law School
4) Harvard Law School
6) NYU Law School

7) Univ. of Pennsylvania law school
8) Univ. of Virginia law school
9) Univ. of California at Berkeley law school
10) Michigan
11) Duke law school
12) Cornell law school
13) Northwestern law school
14) Georgetown Law

The Top 14 law schools are the most elite law schools in the US and are considered by many to be the only national law schools as their graduates routinely are hired by the biggest law firms throughout the nation.

Most major law firms ("biglaw") in the US pay on a lockstep pay scale during an associate's first 8 years :

Year 1: Base salary = $215,000 plus expected end-of-year bonus = $20,000 = Total of $235,000
Year 2 : $225,000 plus $30,000 bonus = $255,000
Year 3 : $250,000 base plus $57,500 bonus = $307,500
Year 4 : $295,000 plus $75,000 = $370,000

Year 5 : $345,000 plus $90,000 = $435,000
Year 6 : $370,000 plus $105,000 = $475,000
Year 7 : $400,000 plus $115,000 = $515,000
Year 8 : $415,000 plus $115,000 = $530,000

Biglaw firms hire mostly from the Top 14 law schools.

Most remain in biglaw for just 4 or 5 years due to burnout. Biglaw associates are expected to bill around 2,000 hours per year in order to receive the year end bonus.

The Top Feeder Schools To The Top 14 Law Schools are:

1) UC-Berkeley
2) Cornell
3) Harvard
4) Yale
5) Michigan
6) U Penn
7) UCLA
8) Columbia
9) Georgetown
10) Duke

11) U Chicago
12) Princeton
13) Virginia
14) NYU
15) Stanford
16) Northwestern
17) USC
18) WashUStL
19) U Florida
20) Brown

21) Texas
22) Vanderbilt
23) Maryland
24) Boston College
25) Emory
26) Notre Dame
27) Dartmouth College
28) GWU
29) UC-San Diego
30) UNC

All of the above listed 30 schools are all National Universities. When the Top Feeder list is adjusted based on undergraduate enrollment numbers, the top 30 feeder schools than include 11 SLACs.