Go to 18-30 or take a year off

Comments

• 3 Likes

  BinghamtonDave Alum Member ⭐ 🍌🍌

  October 2016 8716 karma

  18-30 is really a wide range. A full answer to your question would be (for me) contingent upon several factors: level of debt you are comfortable with, scholarships you can get from the 18-30 ranked school, what you want to do with your law degree etc.
  
  I should say with full disclosure that I am not one of these people who automatically disqualifies law school outside of the T-14, but being burdened by debt is something I want to avoid at all costs.
  
• Kateryna Alum Member

  October 2016 984 karma

  @David3389 it is like going to 18th school with $100k in debt or going to 30th with full scholarship or very close to it. the issue is the long term return on those $100k. i mean if the 18th school can secure a job with $100k a year and if 30th can only get me $60k... i am just not sure how big of importance ranking plays outside of t14
• Kateryna Alum Member

  October 2016 984 karma

  also, if i stay a year off i hope to get in t14
• 1 Like

  alex.e92 Alum Member

  October 2016 239 karma

  I think it depends on 2 things.
  1. Do you want to work in biglaw?
  2. Do you know where you want to practice?
  
  If working in biglaw isn't important to you or if you want to do public interest law AND you have a general idea of where you would like to live, I think 18-30 could have a great ROI as long as you go to law school in the market you would like to start your career.
  
  I think the lack of ROI comes in when people attend schools 18-30 expecting to be able to accept a biglaw job across the country. I'm sure this happens, but according to the employment data it doesn't happen a lot.
  
  If biglaw is something you are interested in, I really think you should consider postponing a cycle. This is anecdotal, so please take it with a grain of salt, but the firm that my significant other is at actually doesn't interview summer associates outside of OCI (on campus interviews) and they only go to 14 schools. I'm not endorsing this practice, but it does happen with a lot of the big firms. People outside of an arbitrary school ranking cut off don't even have an opportunity to interview. Similarly, if you can't see yourself practicing in whatever market the school is in it might be worth it to try to break into a school with a more national reach.
  
  I would read up on the interview process that firms use and look into employment statistics and consider what is best for you! There are plenty of scenarios where 18-30 could be ideal and plenty where it could be a bad investment. It all depends on your preferences.
  
  Hope this helps a little! Good luck with your decision!
• 1 Like

  alex.e92 Alum Member

  October 2016 239 karma

  http://employmentsummary.abaquestionnaire.org/
  
  I would also leverage information that a website like this offers.
• 2 Likes

  Kateryna Alum Member

  October 2016 984 karma

  @HasaDigaLSAT thank you so much for your input, it means a lot to me
• 1 Like

  Alex Alum Member ⭐

  October 2016 23929 karma

  @Kateryna said:
  also, if i stay a year off i hope to get in t14
  

  
  I say wait a year, retake, and re-evaluate. Once you commit to a school outside of the T14 a lot of things change. As others have said, if you want big law or a job at the AUSA lawyers you'll almost certainly want to go for a T14. And then of course, how debt adverse you are will factor into the calculus here too.
  
  
• Nicole Hopkins Alum Inactive Sage Inactive ⭐

  October 2016 4344 karma

  @Kateryna said:
  18--30 range ranking
  

  That's a wild range. Outside of T14, the conversation changes. 18-30? It's an even riskier conversation.
• Kateryna Alum Member

  October 2016 984 karma

  could you please expand on thag? @"Nicole Hopkins"
• Kateryna Alum Member

  October 2016 984 karma

  that*
• 1 Like

  Nicole Hopkins Alum Inactive Sage Inactive ⭐

  October 2016 4344 karma

  @Kateryna said:
  please expand
  

  So basically as you move down within that range, you're getting into regional territory and you really need to be careful about biglaw/clerkship numbers outside of, frankly, the T13. It's a complicated calculus regarding the curve and placement statistics as well as minimum GPA requirements firms maintain for different schools. A 3.3 may get you placement at Firm X from School B, ranked 10th, whereas that same firm requires a 3.7 from School C, ranked 25th.
• danielznelson Alum Inactive Sage Inactive ⭐

  October 2016 4181 karma

  I think the biggest factor is whether you want to practice in-state or not. If you do, and if you've gained admission into a top state school with money, waiting a year probably wouldn't make much sense. Otherwise, you have little to nothing to lose by waiting it out a year, so long as you have no problem doing it.