How to decide?

crushLSAT31

Hello all,

I am really stuck on how to decide which school to attend. My top choice school is not giving me a lot of money but is in the top 50. My other schools which are way lower ranked are giving me either a full tuition or a little more than that. It is a question of debt or no debt?
Should I look at the amount of money the school is giving me, OR should I care more about the school’s ranking, reputation, alumni network etc?

Please give me any thoughts, advice, suggestions! I would really appreciate it

kennedybj

Have you tried negotiating scholarships with your top choice?
(Also, be prepared to hear replies telling you to retake the LSAT lol)

Pacifico

Check out each school on Law School Transparency to get an idea of what the real outcomes are, not what the school wants to pretend they are. Even schools in the lower half of the top 50 don't look all that great upon closer examination. Of course, a lot depends on what you want to do, where you want to practice, etc., but LST is a good place to start to get a better idea of what you'd be walking into.

runiggyrun

This is kind of a rock and a hard place situation. On one hand, "much lower ranked than 50" is starting to get in the territory of undesirable regardless of money (just my opinion, assuming typical circumstances upon graduation). On the other hand, bottom of the top 50 at near sticker doesn't sound very appealing either (I'm assuming bottom top 50 because otherwise you'd probably call them top 30 or whatever).
That being said, you might have mitigating circumstances that make your situation different from the typical K-JD graduate. For example someone with a strong background in electrical engineering or certain kinds of computer science who wants to stay in NorCal would probably be able to get an IP lawyer job out of Santa Clara (ranked 94) without much trouble. Unique skills and a high demand niche would work in your favor. Prior contacts in the legal world would work in your favor as well. Maybe you are a paralegal and your firm expressed a desire to have you back as a lawyer. Or maybe you want a "JD advantage" job and your current employer would love to promote you, but you're lacking the JD. I'm sure there are other special circumstances that would make either of those decisions work out better than what the averages would suggest.
In addition to perusing LST like @Pacifico recommended, I'd look around at the sort of firms you'd like to work for in the geographical area where you think you want to practice and see how many attorneys went to each of the schools you are considering. If there are none, that's not a good sign for that school. Alternatively, you might try to ask the schools for alumni contacts (they might be willing to do that now that you're admitted) and see where they ended up. You might even contact some of them to get a better idea of how well they had to do in school to get a good job, and also to get their personal perspective on the whole experience.
If the schools are not forthcoming, you can try the advanced search function on LinkedIn to find recent graduates from your target schools and see where they ended up. Some of them might even be willing to share their thoughts with you.