Anonymous
01/03/2015 10:42
Subject: Good SLAC for "pre" law?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Somewhere with grade inflation so she can get a high gpa
this.
you want a place that has easy grading and where your kid will be happy so they can get the best gpa possible.
then the kid needs to kill lsat's.
it doesn't matter where said kid goes to undergrad.
he/she can go to chico state, but a 3.8, 177 lsat will get him/her into a top 6 law school at the very least, if not HLS
What's "HLS"?
Harvard Law School.
I think most people have never heard of that abbreviation.
Not sure you're right about that. Sorry.
It's well known among pasty-faced lawyers toiling away in Big Law in DC.
Anonymous
01/03/2015 02:13
Subject: Good SLAC for "pre" law?
Anonymous wrote: Of course the law school counts more, but I don't agree the undergrad isn't important. Law school is a numbers game, yes, and that high LSAT with the high GPA is important, but I believe there is a waiting. I think the 4.00 kid from Md with a good, not great, LSAT will not do as well as the 4.0 kid from Princeton with the same LSAT. While we all know people from small LACs who got into HLS or YLS, keep in mind those are usually only one person from each of those schools. By contrast, I understand that HLS used to reserve something like 25% of its slots for Harvard undergrads -- probably less today, but you get the point.
Then there are other factors. I attended a state flagship school for undergrad in another part of the country. Very few of my classmates moved out of the state. Had I stayed there, I would have had a good network of local contacts that eventually would help with a legal practice. Odds are much better if you go to a top 20 university or LAC that you will make friends with more future movers and shakers if you want a national legal practice in DC, NY, etc. If you plan to work for the government, public interest, etc. it doesn't matter as much, but even in government the contacts from undergrad can help.
I went to HLS. Not sure I agree with the first point. HLS is looking for all sorts of diversity, including geographical. I think my application helped that I was applying from a SLAC out west. Anything you can do to be unique or different is helpful. Yes, HLS will probably only take the top student from the school. In the case of my SLAC, it was one only every five or ten years. Do not take poli-sci. The easiest major to get into HLS when I applied was religious studies (because so few religious studies majors apply). Remember also that admissions officers are looking for students who will talk and argue in class - different political viewpoints can be helpful. And I agree with the second point - 1/3 of my HLS class did come from Harvard Undergrad.