Top Law Schools

I am aware that these schools do not place nationally and do not produce big law job opportunities. However, I am alright with staying in the Midwest and am not interested in big law. With that said, I am having a tough time deciding which of the following schools to attend and would like some helpful advice.

I know most of these schools are TTT so please no lectures on how awful these schools are in your opinion because you are going to a t14 school and no other school is worth attending. I am happy with the general affordability of these schools but it is difficult to find enough info on schools outside of tier2 in order to make an informed decision.

If anyone could help me out with useful insight on the following schools I would greatly appreciate it. I am not a URM and my numbers are 155/3.0

Penn State-Pending
IU-Indy-Pending
Akron-Deferred and already sent a LOCI
Michigan State-Pending
Wayne State-Pending
Cleveland State-Accepted
Toledo-Pending
Albany-Pending
Dayton-Accepted

all i know is MSU is on par with wayne state university in michigan. although, wayne has the prestige edge among most practicing attorneys in michigan.

they place well into grand rapids and detroit...

as far as the other schools, i have not the slightest idea.

edit: acknowledgement that this answer does not help you at all unless you want to practice in michigannnnnnnnnn

Hands down Penn State. It's on the rise and its a nationally recognized name.

Thank you bighead715, I forgot to add that I also applied to Wayne State so your insight is especially useful. I would not mind ending up in Michigan since I grew up there, but I have heard mixed reviews on the affects of the poor economy on the law job market.

kukuxumusu wrote:Hands down Penn State. It's on the rise and its a nationally recognized name.

In law? It's probably only solid in PA and the Mid-Atlantic.

OP, go with whatever school gives you the most $$$ and is closest to where you want to work. Even if you're not interested in Biglaw, you need to focus on getting less debt with this list. The Midwest is pretty big and I would imagine most of these schools are more mobile at a state or local level. If you want to work in Michigan, go to Wayne State/Mich. State. If you want to work in Ohio, go with the cheapest of Dayton/Akron/Cleveland State.

Penn State-Pending
IU-Indy-Pending
Akron-Deferred and already sent a LOCI
Michigan State-Pending
Cleveland State-Accepted
Albany-Pending
Dayton-Accepted

I'd rank Penn State, IU, and MSU a little higher than the others, but they're all close enough that I think the answer to your question lies in factors other than pure law school prestige. First, which one(s) ultimately give you the best financial package? If there's a clear winner, why wouldn't you go there? Second, you say you'll likely practice in the Midwest--do you have a likely city in mind? If you do, go to the law school that's located in that city (CSU for Cleveland, etc.). It helps a little to have a bigger alumni base for the City where you practice.

Good luck!

For all of these you'll be confined to the state/region the school is in. It matters more where you want to practice than which is the "best school". That said, Penn State is not a terrible choice if they accept you with those numbers.

If you didn't study that hard to get that 155, though, the correct answer is "study and retake". You could do a lot better than these schools, or at least get a lot of $$$ from these schools, with a higher LSAT.

wadeny wrote:

kukuxumusu wrote:Hands down Penn State. It's on the rise and its a nationally recognized name.

In law? It's probably only solid in PA and the Mid-Atlantic.

OP, go with whatever school gives you the most $$$ and is closest to where you want to work. Even if you're not interested in Biglaw, you need to focus on getting less debt with this list. The Midwest is pretty big and I would imagine most of these schools are more mobile at a state or local level. If you want to work in Michigan, go to Wayne State/Mich. State. If you want to work in Ohio, go with the cheapest of Dayton/Akron/Cleveland State.

You're right, I should have clarified. The law school is new and on the rise. In general it's a strong name but in law it's just starting out. BUT, Penn State is really committing resources to better the school and fast. I think in a few years it will have a much better standing law wise. Also, the alumni network is the biggest in the nation which is sure to help when trying to find a job.

kukuxumusu wrote:

wadeny wrote:

kukuxumusu wrote:Hands down Penn State. It's on the rise and its a nationally recognized name.

In law? It's probably only solid in PA and the Mid-Atlantic.

OP, go with whatever school gives you the most $$$ and is closest to where you want to work. Even if you're not interested in Biglaw, you need to focus on getting less debt with this list. The Midwest is pretty big and I would imagine most of these schools are more mobile at a state or local level. If you want to work in Michigan, go to Wayne State/Mich. State. If you want to work in Ohio, go with the cheapest of Dayton/Akron/Cleveland State.

You're right, I should have clarified. The law school is new and on the rise. In general it's a strong name but in law it's just starting out. BUT, Penn State is really committing resources to better the school and fast. I think in a few years it will have a much better standing law wise.

New? Penn State's Dickinson School of Law is the fifth-oldest law school in the United States, according to Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pennsy ... ool_of_Law

They have a new campus (which is kind of wierd, they now have two law school campuses operating under one umbrella as one single law school) but it's still technically the same law school.

Penn State University + The Dickinson School of Law = Penn State Law (or technically, Penn State University's Dickinson School of Law ) The way I understand it, the reason for the two campuses is that they wanted to maintain Dickinson's history / location closer to Harrisburg.

Anyway, the answer to this question - sticking with the equations method- is: Rank the areas you want to live + Rank the schools from least expensive to most = Compare and go to the one that ranks highest in each category. If there is no clear cut winner, go to the cheapest.

vanwinkle wrote:

kukuxumusu wrote:

wadeny wrote:

kukuxumusu wrote:Hands down Penn State. It's on the rise and its a nationally recognized name.

In law? It's probably only solid in PA and the Mid-Atlantic.

OP, go with whatever school gives you the most $$$ and is closest to where you want to work. Even if you're not interested in Biglaw, you need to focus on getting less debt with this list. The Midwest is pretty big and I would imagine most of these schools are more mobile at a state or local level. If you want to work in Michigan, go to Wayne State/Mich. State. If you want to work in Ohio, go with the cheapest of Dayton/Akron/Cleveland State.

You're right, I should have clarified. The law school is new and on the rise. In general it's a strong name but in law it's just starting out. BUT, Penn State is really committing resources to better the school and fast. I think in a few years it will have a much better standing law wise.

New? Penn State's Dickinson School of Law is the fifth-oldest law school in the United States, according to Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pennsy ... ool_of_Law

They have a new campus (which is kind of wierd, they now have two law school campuses operating under one umbrella as one single law school) but it's still technically the same law school.

Well yeah, but with the new campus its a revamped effort. The old school was kind of on its own, the new school/campus is fully integrated into the PSU system.

Thanks again to everyone for the advice. It seems the overall theme for me heading into law school is to minimize my debt considering that my numbers are not good enough to get into tier1 schools. Even though my debt will be low out of school, which is a plus, I hope I will be able to find a job in law otherwise it will have been a waste of three years of my life.

BoilerUp wrote:Thanks again to everyone for the advice. It seems the overall theme for me heading into law school is to minimize my debt considering that my numbers are not good enough to get into tier1 schools. Even though my debt will be low out of school, which is a plus, I hope I will be able to find a job in law otherwise it will have been a waste of three years of my life.

It's not just you. And it's not just below tier 1. Basically everyone outside the top half at the top six to ten (maybe fourteen) schools in the country should be concerned about minimizing debt, because no one, especially not a bunch of 0L's have any idea how much hiring is going to be going on in three years. Check the link, if you're not in that big spike on the right, odds are you end up in that lump on the left. If your debt is low, at least you can still live pretty well regardless. Good luck.

http://www.nalp.org/08saldistribution

I had a friend who got into and is currently attending Penn State who had a 155 LSAT, but she was lucky to have been admitted, and she had close to a 4.0 GPA. Don't count your chickens before they hatch. Plus, Penn State is sort of limited in that it doesn't have a natural market to serve. It is grossly outmatched in Philadelphia, and DU and Pitt grads have a leg up in Pittsburgh.

That said, I agree with someone above who suggested just to go to a school in the area you want to practice in. Regional schools place best in their own regions.