[blindlaw] Choosing a School

[Daniel McBride]

Sanho:

A couple of things to consider. First, law school rankings.

Let's assume that Harvard is ranked number 1 and Texas A&M (where I live) is
ranked in the middle of the pack. If you attend A&M and finish in the top
10% of your class, you are better off than if you attend Harvard and finish
in the bottom 10% of your class. Where one finishes in their class rankings
is more important than where their school is ranked generally. What you put
into your efforts is more important than the school attended, as you are
going to get out of it what you put into it, regardless the school.

In Texas, after each bar exam, numbers are published regarding the
percentage of each Texas law school's students taking the bar that passed
the bar. For example, let's say 90% of Baylor's students pass the bar
whereas only 60% of Texas Southern's students pass the bar. This figure is
far more significant than any internet ranking. After all, the most
significant threshold is passing the bar and getting your license. So you
might look into the two schools you're considering to determine which has
the better bar exam pass rate.

Also, more important than a school's internet ranking is how heavily a
school is recruited by major law firms. If information is available
regarding the recruiting practices at these two schools, I suggest that, if
one is more heavily recruited than the other, then the more heavily
recruited school is a better choice than the lesser recruited school.

Second is cost. If one of your schools is a private university and law
school is going to leave you with a $200,000 debt, and the other is a state
university school that will leave you with a debt of $100,000, then you
might want to consider the state school.

Finally, there is the comfort zone. Considering that the "real" difference
to you between these two schools is likely to be quite marginal in the long
run, and you are quite comfortable with your surroundings wherein the one
school is located, then stay where you are comfortable.

Each of the above considerations are offered in my humble opinion only,
understanding that others might disagree.

Regards,
Daniel McBride
Fort Worth, Texas

-----Original Message-----
From: BlindLaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Sanho
Steele-Louchart via BlindLaw
Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2019 5:16 PM
To: blindlaw at nfbnet.org
Cc: Sanho Steele-Louchart
Subject: [blindlaw] Choosing a School

Good afternoon,

Do you have any tips on selecting a law school? I have excellent offers to
several, and two of them have particularly great reputations in my state,
but one is fairly highly ranked, but would require relocating and leaving a
city I love. The other is ranked right in the middle of the pack, but is
extremely highly ranked in some key areas of study, and would mean staying
in a place I already know I enjoy and have several preexisting friendships.
What do you folks think? How do you choose between two great options? In
your experience, do school rankings matter as much as the internet would
have you beleive? 

Warmth,
Sanho


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