How To Choose A Law School

"Hey, Mr. Newton..."

"Call me Chuck..."

"Okay, Mr. Chuck..."  (Do not worry about it, it's a Southern Thing).

"Just Chuck..."

"Okay, fine, Chuck..."

"Yes..."  (Just trying to be annoying.  Learned it in law school).

"I want to be a lawyer.  Where should I go to law school?"

I really get this question all of the time.  I was closing on the purchase of a new home, and the person's son from whom my wife and I were buying the house asked me this.  I was asked by a nurse's aid when visiting a sick relative in the hospital.  I have been asked this question in restaurants, in public bathrooms, at parties, as t-ball games, and just about everywhere else.

"Do I look like your guidance counselor!"  (Sorry, just being annoying again.  I do not really say this.  Thought it.  Never really said it.).

 I am really more than happy to give you my sincere opinion, but please do not ask me this question while I am enjoying my dip cone at Dairy Queen.  I have got to concentrate on my dip cone before it melts all over me.  (It's a small town Texas thing).

My pat answer is, however, "you want to go to the law school that accepts you".

Before you think it is a brush off statement, it is not.  Many law schools are competitive.  My daughter could not get into The University of Texas School of Law and she had a 4.0 grade point average.

That said, if you want to go to law school, you can probably find a school somewhere in this country that will take you.  It should be an ABA approved school.  It will take some work.  It might not be your first choice.  But, if being a lawyer is what you want, it will work out.

Even if you have choices as my daughter did, it is still a difficult decision.  But, the first thing you need to remember is that you do not have choices until you get your acceptance(s).  Before then, your school selection(s) are just a pipe dream.  If you have no acceptances, you have no choices.  You will have to regroup and try again.  If you have many acceptances, you have a lot of choices.

There are private advisers out there that will charge you a ton of money for help in this process.  There are all kinds of books, articles, seminars and tapes on how to do it.  There are people that rate schools.  The bottom line, however, is that most schools, no matter what tier, have more applicants for which they have seats.  They all have different criteria for accepting applicants.  Apply to two identical schools in rank, size and acceptance rates, and you are almost guaranteed to get rejected from at least one of them.  Too often the old adage that "beggars can't be choosy" applies.

If you have more than one acceptance then the choice gets harder.  I do not really know what to tell you.  There are so many factors.  State school vs. private school.  Tuition. Scholarships.  Location.  Reputation.  And, the biggest one of all in my opinion -- bar passage rate.  Some times it is just plain karma, Dude.  Visit the school.  Take the tour.  How does the school make you feel.  Every school has its good points.  They all tout how good they are.

My daughter chose the University of Houston Law Center. It was her choice, not mine.  I approved of it.  But it had all of the right qualifications in her mind.  It is in Houston.  It is a state school with much lower tuition than the private law schools.  It is willing to give her a good enough scholarship (not as much as a private school but good given the state tuition).  It has a great reputation. Although probably not relevant for the first half of law school, it has a great international law program (she is fluent in Japanese, is working in Japan now, and is at least interest in this area).  And, importantly, it has a high bar passage rate.  She did not want to go to the other state law school in Lubbock, where the only thing to do is watch New Mexico blow by.  And, that karma thing.  She went on a tour and felt at home.  Feeling you are in the right place is as important as being in the right place.

You say but the problem is that I want to graduate, work for Big Law, and get a big fat paycheck every month.  The truth of the matter, though, is that if you want to work for Big Law you have to bring something to the table that they want. Or, you have to be top of your class.  They want smart people who have proved they can perform and apply themselves.  The truth is that Big Law interviews at almost every ABA approved campus in the country. And, do you not think you will perform better, and therefore improve your chances of landing a Big Law job, if you attend law school at a place you enjoy?  A place were you feel at home?  A place that no only chose you, but you chose it?  I think so.

The problem with applying to law school and waiting is that it is really frustrating. Nobody likes being ignored or rejected.  Nobody likes to be evaluated as against others in this way.  It is part of the process, however. You will have to get use to it.

So, again, my response is you want to go to the law school that accepts you.  Apply early, and apply often.

Good luck.

Comments

[University of Houston Law Student]

Good choice. I love it here at Houston, but of course the reasons I love it have very little to do with why I chose it. It was as much dumb luck as anything, but the things I appreciate about it now are (1) fellow students - these are my kind of people. When I visited Baylor I got there a couple of hours early and sat in the common area and just observed... yeah, not so much. (2) professors - learning the law is painful enough with good professors. Mine have been excellent. (3) Location, Location Location - Houston has a lot of opportunities that aren't be available in other locations, clerking in fall/spring, interacting with the legal community, etc. As tortured a decision as most of us make it, I'm not convinced it makes that much of a difference. In the long run it's the student, not the school that makes the lawyer.

[Future Law Student]

Its good to hear how much everyone likes Houston's law school. I am facing the decision right now of where to go. My trouble is that I'm being offered a full tuition scholoarship at Baylor, but I want to go to University of Houston. Its really tough to pass up that kind of money. I guess I'll just have to decide.