Posted by David Bernstein: Choosing a Lower-ranked Law School Over a Higher-ranked One:
I agree [1]with Orin that, as a general rule, it's wise to pick a much higher-ranked law school over a lower one. Depending on the extent of the difference in rank, however, other factors can tip the balance: (1) Geographic preference: If one wishes to work in Cincinnati when he graduates, it's likely better to go to U.C. than to, say, B.C. Especially if you are single, you might strongly prefer to spend three years at, say, George Mason in Arlington than three years at W&L in rural Lexington (and, indeed, urban law schools in desireable cities tend to get better students than do well-thought-of schools in Midwestern university towns; compare second-tier Cardozo's LSATs to University of Illinois'). On a narrower geographic note, some of the Mason students I know who turned down Georgetown or G.W. did so because they are older evening students with families and live and work in Virginia, and can't spare the extra time and energy to get in and out of the city (especially because local employers know that Mason night students have entering scores rather similar to the other Georges' night students). On the other hand, the highest-ranked schools tend to have brand names that carry nationwide, an important factor if you want to be geographically flexible. (And if you want to be a law professor, you MUST try to go to a top 15, and preferably top 5, law school.) (2) Special programs: I don't know how common such things are, but George Mason has an excellent patent program, and students in that program generally have few problems getting lucrative jobs. Thus, things can come down to factors such as cost. (3) Cost: Attending a higher-cost, higher-ranked law school can pay big dividends, if you are young and planning (hoping) to work at a big firm. If you're planning to go into a family firm, work for the government or as a solo practitioner, and/or are over forty, capitalizing the extra costs of a private school becomes more of a problem. (4) Special intellectual focus of a law school: Mason, for example, has a faculty with a strong interest in law and economics. Students interested in economics are likely to thrive at Mason both because they have some background knowledge, and because they are likely to be especially engaged. Better to do very well at school ranked X than to be a mediocre student at a school ranked X+10. (5) Law school employment connections: For example, A.U. has lots of connections in the D.C. "public interest" law community. Cross-river rival Mason has lots of connections on the Hill, especially among Republicans. (6) Intellectual interest: Believe it or not, one occasionally meets law students, especially older ones, who are going to law school primarily because they want to learn about the legal system, not to practice. Such students should choose the school that bests meets their intellectual needs, regardless of rank. (7) Joint degrees: Some schools have relatively unique joint-degree programs. Mason, for example, has joint degree programs with the Economics Departments, which is unusual only in that the Econ department is itself so different from most. If a student is getting a law degree primarily to supplement a primary interest in something else, such as economics, the name brand of the law school becomes less important. And then there are the intangibles Orin talked about; it's three years of one's life, after all. References 1. http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2005_02_27-2005_03_05.shtml#1109607351 _______________________________________________ Volokh mailing list [email protected] http://highsorcery.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/volokh
