Top Law Schools

I am currently trying to decide between a few offers but I don`t currently reside in the US so I`m not able to visit any of these schools. I already have a job for after graduation so employment isn`t a concern. Is there any difference between the quality of education at these following schools? I have enough savings from my current job to get me through the first two years of living expenses and also a decent Americorps Education award for the third year of school living expenses. The three offers I`m deciding between are:

American=$120,000 total. Condition is only to maintain good academic standing.
Drake= Full tuition and fees for three years. No conditions, only need to enroll full time.
University of St. Thomas= Full tuition and fees for three years. No conditions, only need to enroll full time.

I am currently leaning toward Drake. Stats are 163 and 3.46. Thanks in advance.

legalbeagle26 wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 15, 2021 12:52 am

I already have a job for after graduation so employment isn`t a concern.

What kind of job? And how firm is the offer? What are your career goals more generally?

I ask because it's fairly unusual for most non-patent-prosecution people to have a guaranteed job three years out, especially when that job isn't paying for a part-time program. It's also important to know a little more about your employment prospects, because your school choices appear to be entirely random, and the nature of your guaranteed job may impact whether you can afford to attend a dumpster fire like St. Thomas without worrying about the long-term consequences of having that name on your degree.

It's at my family's firm in the Midwest.

Are you talking about the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis or St. Thomas University in Florida? The former isn't the best school in the country but isn`t considered a dumpster fire in Minnesota.

If you have a for sure gig lined up I'd just go to whichever you want between St. Thomas or Drake. Maybe I'd pick whichever does better in their own market or is closer/more well known in your family firm. No reason to go to American, which is probs comparable to those two anyways and will put you in a ton of debt in an expensive city. I lean towards Drake, but honestly, no idea. A free ride at one of these schools isn't the worst way to spend 3 years, especially since you have a guaranteed job. If I didn't have a guaranteed job, I think I'd retake the LSAT, because, even with the full ride, I think Drake and St. Thomas are only putting 60% or so of their grads in fulltime law jobs (regardless of salary- and I don't think American is doing much better than them tbh)- I could be wrong on that stat, but I think it is somewhere around there- and even for free, graduating from those schools is a gamble to get a job. But for you, picking one of those two, and no debt, is a fine choice and I'd def not take American at that level of debt.
Best of luck.

If everything is as you represent, I don't think you can go wrong with St. Thomas or Drake. If either school is in the same state as the family firm, I'd probably go there for networking, etc.

On the whole, I'd probably rather live in Minneapolis for three years, rather than Des Moines, but the difference isn't that huge.

Pick the one that has the highest bar passage rate and is also in the same state as your family firm.

Drake and St. Thomas are peers. Drake is probably a bit better-respected because it's the #2 school in its market and has slightly better employment/bar stats, but if your family firm is in Minnesota, go to St. Thomas. Imo Des Moines and Minneapolis are pretty similar cities to live in, both are cold but have a high quality of life, but Des Moines is smaller and somewhat warmer.