Don’t know what any of this means, but UConn Law provided an excellent edukasion and I’m told (not that they would have had me) that the undergraduate school has an honors tract (track? A special program, anyway) that is absolutely exceptional. Difference is that when I attended law school in 1978-81, tuition was free. My friend Bob Horton’s kid Justin is at Harvard Law, paying a fortune and I suspect Justin’s getting the better deal.
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Harvard is great, for sure, but there are a million excellent choices for law school that won’t break the bank or be a financial burden for decades if the student gets a loan for the costs. I know kids who have gone to Fordham law, Pace law, Yeshiva, Brooklyn law and end up with great jobs in prestigious firms. If I were hiring, I’d want a balance; some Ivy grads but also some young scrappers, who had to fight for every thing they’ve gotten. These days, a lot of retired and active lawyers like to give back by teaching classes at a local school and I bet UCONN gets its fair share of good teachers to bring up its rankings.
Anon, Harvard Law tuition is similar to Fordham’s, FWIW. Also not sure why you think people who have had to fight for what they’ve gotten and Harvard students are mutually exclusive categories.
Obama went to Harvard Law. Enough said.
Trust me, Justin Horton is no Obama, and I mean that in the very best way.
One has a much, much easier time getting a job out of Harvard than out of any of those other places. Not saying the education is all that different, but a law student’s educational experience is markedly different when he or she is insecure about finding a job. I went to St. John’s and I have a great job I really like, but you’re kidding yourself if you think your prospects are as good coming out of SJU than out of Harvard.
To be fair I have not looked at how they determine the rankings, but winning the National Championship in Men’s Basketball and the success of the athletic program in general, has a LOT to do with an increase in popularity.
That’s absolutely ridiculous and absolutely true. I witnessed the same thing at BC when Doug Flutie tossed his miracle pass.
Anonymous#1: you must not be a lawyer. Law schools all charge pretty much the same price – except some state schools are pretty cheap to their state residents. Figure $150,000, round numbers, for tuition and fees for 3 years – living expenses are extra.
The problem is that unless you’re in the top 2/3 of your class at one of the top 5 law schools, or in the top 1/2 of your class at the next 5 or so, or the top 1/4 of your class in the next 5 or so, you’re not likely to get a ‘big law’ — that is to say a major law firm that pays the “going rate” of $160,000 (slightly less in some regions, but roughly equivalent purchasing power) – job. Below the top 20 law schools, it gets very hard.
It’s not impossible: if you’re a top 5-10% of the class and a law review editor at a lesser school, you have a shot, especially in a city near where the school is located, but it’s not a slam dunk. (that’s probably Fordham) From 3rd or 4th tier law schools, you might have a shot with (1) connections, (2) top 5 in the class (not %), and (3) editor in chief of the flagship law review, but only near the school and where the firm already has a partner who went to the school. (this clearly applies to Brooklyn, New York Law, Yeshiva, etc.)
It’s been true at least since WWII that graduating from one of 15 or so law schools that make someone’s top 10 list is the only way to really be considered seriously at a major firm or for an important clerkship.
1. The “Flutie Effect” has been disproven.
It was called the Hail Mary Pass.