This is a very complicated and confusing question, particularly if you don’t come from a family of lawyers (like me). There are a lot of factors to contemplate, so I will break it all down here:
To summarize, the factors I suggest considering are: cost, rank, location, specialties, and long term goals.
First, there are two areas of the law that truly seek out top-14 schools: big law and academia. If you want to enter these two areas of law you will not be excluded by going to a lower ranked school, but it may be harder to break into these areas. Therefore, if you have your heart set on entering these areas of law, I would consider trying to go to the best school you go into. I do want to note here that big law does pay more than academia so incurring a lot of debt for academia may be problematic. Also, getting into either of these two areas of law is very challenging. To get into big law, one usually needs to go to a very good school or get in the top ten percent or both. That is to say, have a back up plan if you are considering these areas of law (for reasons out of your control, you may not get the grades you hoped for).
If you do not want to enter big law or academia (or maybe even if you do), I would encourage you to go to the best law school you got into for the least amount of money.
Average law school debt is around 130,000, so keep in mind how your financial choices will affect your future. Also, the federal government only provides people around $20,000 in loans per year of law school. Thus, if you will need more than this you will likely be looking at a private loan. Keep in mind you will also have to pay for housing, food, transportation, your nephew’s bday present, etc. so your tuition is not the only thing you need to be able to cover during law school. That is to say, try to go to a good school that won’t cost you an arm and a leg. For example, Columbia is one of the most costly at around 80,000. Most law schools do provide scholarships, and a significant portion of students do not pay the sticker price. If you get a scholarship, that is likely a good option but don’t sweat if not!
A few notes about scholarships. Some very low ranked schools provide full tuition scholarships. These are great but consider if you will get the education you want at one of these schools. If you want to practice locally and this school has a great reputation locally, then there is a good chance this type of school would be a good fit. However, be careful to read the fine print. Some of these scholarships (not all) that have strings attached. For example, some scholarships require a student to be in the top x% of the class and then put all the students on scholarships in the same class–stressful. Please read all conditions and be wary of scholarships that have these requirements.
Now, we need to talk about rankings. Rankings are complicated. First, they change frequently (unless you are Harvard). All middle schools move around a bit so consider the long term status of a school. Second, rankings do help one to enter big law (to my knowledge, some big law firms only work with the top law schools). Third, rankings are made up of kinda funky things (here is a full breakdown). Instead, I would encourage people to look up Standard 509’s of each law school (just google the school and standard 509). These provide a breakdown of specific statistics one might want to know e.g. where people have worked after attending this school.
Another thing to keep in mind is school’s have different specialties and devote resources to certain areas. For example, George Mason (where I go) invests in economics and antitrust, NYU has a great international law program, etc. U.S. News provides the best schools in certain areas as well as there full list and I recommend checking them out (ex: Health Care Law programs here).
Another question people often forget in their analysis is do I even want to live in the city where my law school is? Wherever your law school is, you will be for three years. That is quite a bit of time, so I would try to look up the area, the cost of living, the coffeeshops (maybe just me), etc. If you hate cities or the country, unless you have to, try not to force yourself to go to an area that is not a good fit.
Another factor to consider is where you want to end up after law school. Law schools tend to have great networks where they are located. This means the career center’s usually have great resources and relationships in the surrounding areas. Law schools also tend to be either local or national (some are a mix). If you want to go to Alabama after law school but you go to a local school in Vermont, it might make it more challenging to find a job in Alabama. Therefore, considering where you want to end up is important and can help one in deciding which law school to choose.
Finally, consider relationships and personal factors. For example, if you could save a ton of money staying home, are in a long term relationship, or need treatment by a certain doctor, personal factors can and should impact your decision.
In addition to factors to consider, I will give you something to ignore: swag. Law schools sometimes send flyers, promo materials, and merch to try to entice students to go to their law school. This truly does not tell you anything about the law school, so try not to be fooled by this nice gesture.
In the end, I suggest consider balancing how good the school is and its cost.
Also, a note of hope if you did not get into the school you wanted to: people often transfer! It is very possible and you can think about doing this later. I know many people who did this and were happy. I will note that transfers usually do not get scholarships and do have trouble entering some extracurriculars (moot court board and journal), so be sure to pay attention to the details.
In the end, no law school is absolutely perfect. All have their pros and cons but I hope this gave you more things to thing about!
bold brookings & brews 