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Shooting beyond T14

profile427profile427 Alum Member
edited May 2015 in General 213 karma
Hi All,

I seem to have a bit of a conundrum with regards to "prestige" and applying to law school. I feel an internal pressure to try to make into one of the T14, even though my confidence has been squashed to probably 1/10* (10 being borderline optimistic egomaniac).

I earned my bachelor's from Loyola U Chicago & master's from Northwestern. It sounds silly and perhaps pompous, but I almost feel as though if I don't make it into one of the T14, then I'm a pretty big failure and will be going "backwards" in my education/career. However, I do have some interest in Loyola Health Law (cert program is in the top 10 of the country), but ultimately I still have the little gremlin telling me that it's still not good enough.

Anyone feel me?

I have a friend of a friend who transferred from Yeshiva & finished his undergrad at Columbia, and then he went to Cordoza (Yeshiva) for law school. He feels similarly blah about not doing LS at one of the T14, even though he's working in Big IP Law in NYC and is doing *just fine.*

Thoughts, anyone? Really for me, since I've worked professionally for a good six years after grad school, I know that what I need is a "good fit." I've done the prestige thing in the working world, and at the end of the day, it doesn't really make a difference in my quality of life and current career prospects. I'm just worrying that switching from healthcare to law is a completely different ball game and I'll regret not trying to make it into at least one T14.

((*I took the LSAT in 2013 at a horrible time in my life and earned what I consider to be a horrific score. Because of the stress, brain melt, and fatigue from my current full-time work situation, I'm concerned that I'll only make it by a few more points in October. To give some perspective, I feel that I need to jump an extra 20-25 points on my next LSAT to even think about considering applying to any T14.))
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Comments

  • ddakjikingddakjiking Inactive ⭐
    2116 karma
    I'd look into Northwestern with your work experience. They are more friendly to those with lower GPA's because they look for work experience.

    As for the prestige thing, it really depends on your ultimate goals. It sounds like you have some interest in healthcare. That either sounds like biglaw or a big pharm company to break into healthcare law.
  • visualcreedvisualcreed Member Inactive ⭐
    326 karma
    Its up to your goals, sounds like you don't really have that down yet. If you want to end up in the health field then pick a school that is known for that, if you just want to walk around thinking you're cool then go for Yale (#1 this year). Just figure out what you want then it should be easy to figure it out.

    For example, I want to stay local, the best way to do that is to go to the local law school. Besides maybe HYS, there's not other school that holds more prestige in the local community and its a whole lot cheaper so that's exactly what I'm going for. Sure, I could try to get into HYS but it would take more and cost more and ultimately, I have a whole lot more that matters to me than just law.
  • rblackshearrblackshear Alum Member
    104 karma
    I think everyone goes through this, I'm just going to do the best i can and if i don't make it I'm sure ill get over it. Maybe consider cutting back on TLS.
  • PacificoPacifico Alum Inactive ⭐
    8021 karma
    There's obviously a host of factors at work here, but the T14 exists for a reason (besides prestige), and at or near the top among those reasons is that there are significantly diminishing returns the further removed you get from schools that are ranked that highly. Of course there are always going to be exceptions to the rule and the top performers at certain schools will outperform their schools' rankings when it comes to certain job placements. If you know exactly what you want to do and are comfortable with the economic metrics of the debt you will graduate with then go for it. But just keep in mind that three years can change a person a lot, definitely enough to want to practice an entirely different type of law, so by going to a better school you can keep more options open.

    Additionally, as I'm sure you know, the rest of the T20/T50 schools are pretty much recognized as regional considerations only. But given your already deep Chicago connections (and more importantly NU connections) I would definitely recommend looking more closely at NU as @ddakjiking mentioned because I think having that much professional experience would enable you to fit in with a law school where the community skews slightly older than most others. I'm in a similar situation to you as I will be 32 when I start law school next year and out of everywhere I've looked, NU has had my favorite community that is populated by seasoned professionals, married students and students with kids, which would be a much better fit for me than other options I've explored.

    I went to a top 25 school for undergrad and completely squandered my opportunity there and graduated with nearly six figures in debt. Since joining the Army, I've nearly completed my masters at a decent Southern state school and have done exceedingly well, but now that I've rekindled my love of learning, there are not too many schools I'd settle for outside of the T14 or T20 (based on regional considerations). So I definitely know where you're coming from in terms of not wanting to go backwards. I've already had to do that once out of necessity, but I definitely don't want to do it again. In the end though, how much debt you're cool with given your employment prospects is just as significant a consideration as finding the right fit. But with enough research I'm sure you can find that sweet spot. Good luck! Feel free to hit me up anytime if you have any other questions.
  • profile427profile427 Alum Member
    213 karma
    @ddakjiking Yes, NU has been mentioned to me a few times. I'm a licensed practitioner and manager in allied health, which is why I'm interested in pursuing a cert/program in health law. I have a solid undergrad & grad GPA, but I'm just shaking in my boots with regards to re-taking the LSAT and earning a "T14-worthy" score. Maybe I could weasel my way in with nice transcripts, letters of recommendation, and personal statement, but the lower-end LSAT score would mean that school would probably end up costing me more than a colleague with a much stronger score.

    @visualcreed My ultimate goal is to enter a career that I find more fulfilling. I know that many people both inside and outside of law may find that laughable, but I'm really sad that over the past six years I've pretty much stunted my intellectual growth. I may be "changing lives" on a daily basis now, but unfortunately it doesn't excite me or make me feel like I truly am changing lives. I just want to make sure that I invest carefully in a JD, as tuition for my master's was $48k/yr. Thankfully, I earned some scholarship money and have been gainfully employed despite graduating right before the crash, but I feel that with making a major career change, I want to be even more savvy with determining the ROI.

    @Pacifico Thanks for your insight! It's helpful to hear your perspective and experience. I just want to maximize my next career move (see NU tuition note above), and since it seems that all admissions and scholarship processes bank so much on the LSAT score (which I find kind of lame...the whole of my being is not a number), I just want to make sure that I'm investing my efforts in the best possible scenarios. Also, being the uber-overachiever, I don't want to set myself up for failure. I have a strong academic record, but I just feel like my brain has melted from the daily grind, which isn't very helpful when it comes to confidence for both the LSAT & admissions process.

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