For each school to which you choose to apply, you may have to
select from several different law programs — different
specializations and joint degrees. As a result, you may be faced
with hundreds of options. When you sit back and imagine your
ideal graduate program, what issues come into play? You need to
decide what is important to you. Do you need a program with a
flexible schedule? How big a workload do you think you can
handle? In what sort of learning environment do you thrive best?
You will need to take a number of factors into account when
assessing which law programs fit your wants and needs.
Although specific factors in choosing the right school will
vary from person to person, there are some common ones that will
ease the process considerably. Consider each of the following in
terms of its importance to you.
Part-Time vs. Full-Time
It's generally agreed that you should attend law school full-time
if possible. It immerses you completely in your legal training.
However, the sense of balance that can accompany a part-time
schedule has its own advantages.
Geography
Where do you want to practice law?
Statistically speaking, most lawyers practice in fairly close
proximity to their school. As you mull over the various issues
connected with geographic location, don't forget to consider your
personal preferences.
School Reputation
Beyond referencing the various annual rankings of law schools,
perhaps the best way to research the reputation of a school is to
ask lawyers or law students. Another method is to look through
law school catalogs to see which schools the professors attended.
You should also decide whether a local, national, or
international reputation is most important to you.
Placement
Spend some time familiarizing yourself with each school's
placement rates, the location of job placements, the on-campus
recruitment program, and the law school personnel devoted to
helping you find the right job.
Financial Aid
Financing law school is a very different process than financing a
college education, largely because of your access to loans and
potential earning power after graduation.
School Size
The potentially smaller classes and more intimate environment of
a smaller school is balanced by the advantage that a larger
school usually has in the greater size and diversity of both its
faculty and students.
Joint-Degree Programs
Joint-degree programs are often offered within larger
universities with a good selection of graduate and professional
programs and usually allow you to earn two degrees in a shorter
time than it would take to earn each degree separately.
Student Body
In a fundamental way, your classmates will determine the level of
intellectual challenge you'll face.
Class Size
One faculty member to 30 full-time students is considered the
outside limit of acceptability. Beyond this basic ratio, you
might want to assess the following characteristics of a school's
faculty: Educational background, professional experience beyond
the classroom, accessibility, reputation, continued professional
activity, and ethnic, academic, gender, and racial diversity.
Library and Facilities
Spend some time assessing the research facilities and resources
available at each of the schools you're considering.
Clinical Programs
Clinics allow law students to try out their legal skills
representing clients in a variety of settings. However, not all
clinical programs are of the same quality. Find out whether the
clinical experience is a simulated or a real-world experience and
decide which you would prefer. Also, make sure the kinds of
topics the clinics deal with are interesting to you.
Student Services
Administrative offices, such as registration and financial aid,
can have a dramatic impact on your school experience. Talk to
current students, read the literature, and call the offices
yourself to judge how responsive you think the staff will be to
your situation.
Student Organizations
Much of your law school experience will be enhanced by your
involvement in a number of extracurricular activities. Schools
will usually provide you with a list of student organizations on
request or even in their catalogs. You can tell a lot about a
school by the nature of its student organizations.
Academic Rigor
Most law school applicants will aspire to the most academically
competitive schools within their range of possibility based on
LSAT scores and GPA. While this makes a lot of sense in a number
of ways, it is not the best strategy for all people. Think
carefully about what your reaction might be to ranking at the
bottom of your class.
