[blindLaw] Selecting a Law School & Textbooks

Mon Mar 25 19:53:20 UTC 2024

Hi Natasha,

Choosing a law school is quite a huge decision. Have you been able to tour the law schools you're interested in? Have you spoken with any professors or anyone else from the law schools you've applied to? Speaking to people from the school, taking a tour, and sitting in on a class helped me determine which law school to attend. 

I don't know that I thought about the ranking of the law school I attended exactly. I would have been just as happy at a state school as I would have been at a private law school. I understand the pull of the scholarship though. You can also ask the school if you can speak to current students. The school I attended gave me plenty of students to talk to about the programs I was interested in. 

As an aside, if you end up near or in Washington, DC, I live in Arlington right outside of DC and would be happy to show you around.

As for textbooks, my law school got me accessible copies of the textbooks from the publishers. We had to work on these books sometimes because they weren't always accessible. The page numbers were often unreadable, and the graphics were not labeled properly, which mattered when I took a trial advocacy class. Anyway, I could go on about textbooks, but it might be worth visiting with your prospective school's disability services offices and asking them how they do things. As someone who spent half my 1L year advocating for what I needed, I can tell you that it sounds great in theory not to choose a school based on accessibility needs, but it's just not super realistic in law school, when you'll need every minute you can to actually focus on your school work. 

I hope this helps.

Julie

-----Original Message-----
From: BlindLaw <blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Natasha Ishaq via BlindLaw
Sent: Monday, March 25, 2024 8:00 AM
To: Blind Law Mailing List <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Natasha Ishaq <natasha.ishaq2001 at gmail.com>
Subject: [blindLaw] Selecting a Law School & Textbooks

Hi All,

I reaching out with two questions.

First, I am strugling to decide which law school I should attend come fall.
On one hand, I have been offered admission to Liberty University School of Law. This was a school that I applied to because of a particular clinic it offered that was of interest to me. I was offered a fairly significant scholarship as well. However, my research shows me that the ranking of this school is questionable, nor does it appear to be incredibly reputable. Has anyone attended this school or know of anyone who has? On the other hand, I’ve been admitted to Tier 2 schools, one of which is of particular interest to me. I am waiting to receive information regarding scholarships for this particular school. My gut feeling is to go with the school that has the highest ranking, even if the school does not offer me as much of a scholarship. I am also feeling stuck because a school in Washington DC that I was hoping to be admitted to has waitlisted me. I cannot help but think about the possibility that this school might admit me after I accept another’s office. I was hoping to attend law school in Washington DC because of the fact that so many government agencies would be right there for externships, clerkships, etc.

How do I ensure that the decision I make is the right one? Does ranking truly matter? if so, will I be doing myself a disservice my attending a Tier 2 school instead of a Tier 1 school? How should a prospective student who is still debating upon which area of law they want to practice go about choosing a la school?

My second question is in regards to accessing law school textbooks. What is the best way to acquire law school textbooks in an accessible format?
Throughout college, I was often able to retrieve accessible PDF copies of textbooks online or have the accessibility support office assist in retrieving accessible PDF copies directly from the publishers. Occassional y I was able to find textbooks on Bookshare. What is my best et for law school?

I apologize for all the questions. I am so thankful for the insight anyone is willing or able to offer.

Thank you so much!

Warm Regards,
Natasha
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