Anonymous
Post 06/28/2024 11:40     Subject: Ed1 prelaw
Anonymous wrote:OP- I wonder if you or your spouse are "Big Law"? Or how she even knows what that is at her age? Have her do an internship at a top law firm even if it is unpaid admin work to see what the culture is like.

DH was in Big Law long enough to pay off some of law school but it is a tough road. The culture is not for everyone. Many partners were grossly overweight and always divorced. Women were expected not to have kids and given bad assignments if they did. I know it has improved somewhat in recent years but not completely.


+1
Anonymous
Post 06/28/2024 11:17     Subject: Ed1 prelaw
OP- I wonder if you or your spouse are "Big Law"? Or how she even knows what that is at her age? Have her do an internship at a top law firm even if it is unpaid admin work to see what the culture is like.

DH was in Big Law long enough to pay off some of law school but it is a tough road. The culture is not for everyone. Many partners were grossly overweight and always divorced. Women were expected not to have kids and given bad assignments if they did. I know it has improved somewhat in recent years but not completely.
Anonymous
Post 06/28/2024 10:48     Subject: Ed1 prelaw
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:There is no right choice. She can major in anything from English to Engineering and go to Law School. I went to U of Penn Law School and members of my class came from all over and majored in everything.


Yes. I remember at my law school orientation they went over how many states and countries we were from, and named all of our undergrad majors, to show us what a diverse class we were with regard to geographic background and majors.


THIS! I went to Stanford Law and laugh at these threads every time. Admissions is bored silly with the “prelaw” poly sci Ivy League-type undergrad. What a boring class it would be if everyone had followed that path. I was a foreign language major at a school no DCUM poster would find impressive. No hooks. Be interesting and genuinely passionate about your academics whereever you study. Don’t be a sheep.


And you probably attended decades ago. Law school admissions has changed significantly even in the last five years. Work experience matters greatly. There is lots of grade inflation now. The LSAT is easier than when you took it. Prestige of undergrad matters more for T14 now. You do need a hook besides your GPA and LSAT.


Lol, not PP but a lawyer who attended a top school -- of course "work experience matters." And the sky is blue. And water is wet. That doesn't contradict what the PP said. So tired of the mommies who aren't actually lawyers running their mouths around here about things they don't fully understand.
Anonymous
Post 06/28/2024 10:44     Subject: Ed1 prelaw
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:There is no right choice. She can major in anything from English to Engineering and go to Law School. I went to U of Penn Law School and members of my class came from all over and majored in everything.


Yes. I remember at my law school orientation they went over how many states and countries we were from, and named all of our undergrad majors, to show us what a diverse class we were with regard to geographic background and majors.


THIS! I went to Stanford Law and laugh at these threads every time. Admissions is bored silly with the “prelaw” poly sci Ivy League-type undergrad. What a boring class it would be if everyone had followed that path. I was a foreign language major at a school no DCUM poster would find impressive. No hooks. Be interesting and genuinely passionate about your academics whereever you study. Don’t be a sheep.


PP here. Yes! I went to an open-admissions arts school and majored in theater. The law schools loved me. So much. Attended a T1 school, had a blast, and I've done more than fine in a job many would do anything to get.
Anonymous
Post 06/28/2024 09:57     Subject: Ed1 prelaw


I'm also a senior attorney at a major tech company. Pedigree still matters in top legal departments. Not sure there's significant merit aid to be had at the level of law school needed for the type of job you are talking about for your DD, notwithstanding your connections, unless you mean connections with smaller firms.



I guess my post was a little confusing. I was talking about merit aid and her undergrad school. If she gets good merit aid as an undergrad, it will mean she has more money in her 529 for law school.

Anonymous
Post 06/28/2024 09:32     Subject: Ed1 prelaw
Anonymous wrote:My daughter is also interested in law school. While I'm not sure I want that for her, it is ultimately her decision. I did tell her that when she is considering where to go to school, she might want to attend a school that is offering significant merit aid. She can use the money left over in her 529 and apply it to the cost of law school. As others suggested, she should work for a couple of years before attending.

If she ends up going to law school, it may delay my retirement by a couple years. I am a very senior attorney at a major tech company, and I could open up some doors for her both at law firms and at tech companies.


I'm also a senior attorney at a major tech company. Pedigree still matters in top legal departments. Not sure there's significant merit aid to be had at the level of law school needed for the type of job you are talking about for your DD, notwithstanding your connections, unless you mean connections with smaller firms.

Anonymous
Post 06/28/2024 08:25     Subject: Ed1 prelaw
My daughter is also interested in law school. While I'm not sure I want that for her, it is ultimately her decision. I did tell her that when she is considering where to go to school, she might want to attend a school that is offering significant merit aid. She can use the money left over in her 529 and apply it to the cost of law school. As others suggested, she should work for a couple of years before attending.

If she ends up going to law school, it may delay my retirement by a couple years. I am a very senior attorney at a major tech company, and I could open up some doors for her both at law firms and at tech companies.
Anonymous
Post 06/28/2024 06:28     Subject: Ed1 prelaw
Go where she will be the most likely to get a 4.0/3.99/3.98 with the most freetime
Anonymous
Post 06/28/2024 03:30     Subject: Ed1 prelaw
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:There is no right choice. She can major in anything from English to Engineering and go to Law School. I went to U of Penn Law School and members of my class came from all over and majored in everything.


Yes. I remember at my law school orientation they went over how many states and countries we were from, and named all of our undergrad majors, to show us what a diverse class we were with regard to geographic background and majors.


THIS! I went to Stanford Law and laugh at these threads every time. Admissions is bored silly with the “prelaw” poly sci Ivy League-type undergrad. What a boring class it would be if everyone had followed that path. I was a foreign language major at a school no DCUM poster would find impressive. No hooks. Be interesting and genuinely passionate about your academics whereever you study. Don’t be a sheep.


And you probably attended decades ago. Law school admissions has changed significantly even in the last five years. Work experience matters greatly. There is lots of grade inflation now. The LSAT is easier than when you took it. Prestige of undergrad matters more for T14 now. You do need a hook besides your GPA and LSAT.


Oh, please. Work experience has always mattered to Stanford. And there are only 180 spots per class - do you really think they are going to fill them with prelaw majors from the same 14 schools? They work to build an eclectic, diverse, and interesting class. Your hook is to stand out and bring some unique perspective to that class — the GPA and LSAT merely demonstrate that you are capable of doing the work. This is nothing new.
Anonymous
Post 06/28/2024 01:01     Subject: Ed1 prelaw
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:There is no right choice. She can major in anything from English to Engineering and go to Law School. I went to U of Penn Law School and members of my class came from all over and majored in everything.


Yes. I remember at my law school orientation they went over how many states and countries we were from, and named all of our undergrad majors, to show us what a diverse class we were with regard to geographic background and majors.


THIS! I went to Stanford Law and laugh at these threads every time. Admissions is bored silly with the “prelaw” poly sci Ivy League-type undergrad. What a boring class it would be if everyone had followed that path. I was a foreign language major at a school no DCUM poster would find impressive. No hooks. Be interesting and genuinely passionate about your academics whereever you study. Don’t be a sheep.


And you probably attended decades ago. Law school admissions has changed significantly even in the last five years. Work experience matters greatly. There is lots of grade inflation now. The LSAT is easier than when you took it. Prestige of undergrad matters more for T14 now. You do need a hook besides your GPA and LSAT.
Anonymous
Post 06/27/2024 23:25     Subject: Ed1 prelaw
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Most of these people don’t know what they are talking about. I’m an Amherst grad that got into HLS, YLS and Columbia Law. I see resumes all the time for hiring and the Amherst grads do very well at law school admits particularly for HLS and YLS — it’s as close as you come to a feeder for those two schools.

Of course Dartmouth is fine too but a small school like Amherst its easier to get to know the r professors and develop real leadership skills.

But I also think it’s ridiculous for a teen to be aiming for Big Law. It’s a step short of saying that your career goal is to be the Hunger Games tribute. I mean, lots of us end up there but the idea of it being a goal when you are just 16 is so sad.


Another lawyer reading here who is still recovering from the years I spent toiling away in BigLaw, missing important family events, friends' weddings, and the stress I endured working in a toxic workplace. Am I wealthy yes, but would I encourage any of my kids to go into BigLaw, definitely not.

I graduated from Dartmouth and went to Harvard Law, where anyone who wants to go to BigLaw can get a job in BigLaw. The harder and more prestigious jobs are clerking for circuit/the supreme court, academia, Skadden fellows, and DOJ.


I lasted two years in big law, left, and never looked back. Didn’t wear a watch for years as I couldn’t bear the thought of billable hours. I, too, would never encourage my children to go into big law and I’m not sure I’d encourage law school. That being said, my Stanford Law degree and circuit clerkship have given me great flexibility to chose my legal path and obtain work/life balance. I’m not as wealthy as my classmates but the prestigious degree has given me great flexibility and, for that, I’m grateful.
Anonymous
Post 06/27/2024 23:18     Subject: Ed1 prelaw
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:There is no right choice. She can major in anything from English to Engineering and go to Law School. I went to U of Penn Law School and members of my class came from all over and majored in everything.


Yes. I remember at my law school orientation they went over how many states and countries we were from, and named all of our undergrad majors, to show us what a diverse class we were with regard to geographic background and majors.


THIS! I went to Stanford Law and laugh at these threads every time. Admissions is bored silly with the “prelaw” poly sci Ivy League-type undergrad. What a boring class it would be if everyone had followed that path. I was a foreign language major at a school no DCUM poster would find impressive. No hooks. Be interesting and genuinely passionate about your academics whereever you study. Don’t be a sheep.
Anonymous
Post 06/27/2024 19:18     Subject: Ed1 prelaw
One potential consideration is that Amherst awards A+s, while Dartmouth and CMC don't. Though they're not counted as 4.3 for Amherst GPA calculations, they are for LSAC GPA, which can give such students a significant advantage.

Combined with the open curriculum and a fair amount of grade inflation, it's not all that difficult to get a >4.0 GPA at Amherst, which will help a lot.
Anonymous
Post 06/27/2024 19:15     Subject: Ed1 prelaw
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Op , none of us know whether this is a good plan for ED without knowing your daughter’s stats and where she goes to school (public, private, geographical area). ED doesn’t help tremendously at any of the schools you listed and all are lottery schools.

To be accepted at Yale, she will need perfect grades and near perfect LSATs. Also highly unlikely for any student.


More than half the YLS grads I’ve worked with are useless as big law associates.


There is truth in the above statement. As difficult as it is to believe, a law degree from Yale Law School does not guarantee success in the real world.


Ok. OP specifically said her kid wants Yale. Did you want to address that with her then?
Anonymous
Post 06/27/2024 18:42     Subject: Ed1 prelaw
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Op , none of us know whether this is a good plan for ED without knowing your daughter’s stats and where she goes to school (public, private, geographical area). ED doesn’t help tremendously at any of the schools you listed and all are lottery schools.

To be accepted at Yale, she will need perfect grades and near perfect LSATs. Also highly unlikely for any student.


More than half the YLS grads I’ve worked with are useless as big law associates.


There is truth in the above statement. As difficult as it is to believe, a law degree from Yale Law School does not guarantee success in the real world.