Here are some tips for selecting schools, based on an analysis comparing each school to all others across dozens of factors:
Schools Concentrating On Lawyers
- Focus: For schools with a focus on this career area, look at Harvard and Northeastern.
Fastest Response From Schools
- Request Info: For the fastest information for prospective students, look at the Spotlight schools on this page.
Student Body
- Diverse: For a diverse student body, consider BU, Harvard, Southern New England School of Law, and Northeastern.
School Setting
- Out of State: For geographic diversity, take note of Harvard, BU, Tufts University, and BC.
- Dorms: For a residential campus environment, take note of BC, Harvard, BU, and Tufts University.
Excellence
- SAT: For students with high SAT scores, look at Harvard, Tufts University, BC, and Northeastern.
- % Accepted: For selective institutions, look at Harvard, Tufts University, BC, and Northeastern.
- Class Size: For small class sizes, look at Tufts University, Harvard, BC, and Suffolk University.
Spotlight Schools Search
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Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
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Boston University School Of Law • Boston, MA
Studying Law (completion in 2004)
• 9/14/2011
"I enjoy the practice of law. However, law school was very expensive."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | The law is interesting. However, law school was very expensive and there are not many jobs anymore. |
| Program Reputation | 10 | It's a top 25 law school. Top law firms recruit there. |
| Program Quality | 7 | The professors and curriculum are very good, but it is very expensive and the average job will not allow one to easily pay back student loans. |
| Instruction | 10 | The professors are very good. Princeton Review frequently ranks the instruction at BUSL as the best in the country. |
| How Difficult | 9 | This is a top 25 law school. The program is very rigorous, especially during the first year. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | They have several clinical programs. The criminal law clinic is very good. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | It's a standard program. It's mostly fall and spring classes during normal workdays and normal working hours. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | The libraries and IT are top notch. The building is old and ugly. |
| Social Life | 8 | I met lots of great people there. BU doesn't have very good sports teams, though. |
| Placement Services | 5 | They insinuate that everyone will get a high-paying job, but that is not the case. Also, the career development office has a very limited reach outside the Northeast. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | The network is solid in the Northeast, especially in MA and NY. It is lacking in other parts of the country. |
Suffolk University Law School • Boston, MA
Studying Juris Doctorate (completion in 2001)
• 10/14/2011
"As I stated above, the law school gave me enough substantial training that I was hired right away out of law school. On the down side, my student loan debt is extremely high and burdensome."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | I would tell the person to consider their dedication towards joining the law profession. They should balance that against the debt they will take on to achieve those goals. |
| Program Reputation | 5 | This is the largest law school in the Boston area. It has a good reputation locally, but is certainly not a nationally respected law school. It tends to be a bit of a "lawyer factory" |
| Program Quality | 9 | I did not earn the best grades nor did I receive the best training. I have been steadily employed since I graduated, however. |
| Instruction | 7 | Especially in the first year, the courses were completely mandated. You could neither choose which courses to take, nor the instructors for those courses. Some of the instructors in the law school were not very good teachers. |
| How Difficult | 9 | I was somewhat unprepared for the rigors of law school. My undergraduate school did not require as much analytical thought. For that reason, I spent about half my time in law school changing my way of thinking before I was able to adapt. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | The school provides a good mix of both. The academic classes were excellent (particularly in the second and third years, where I could choose which classes to take) but there were also substantial practicums (law clinics) that I was able to take. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | The school has a substantial evening section. Although I was in the day section, I was able to take classes in the evenings in order to complete my degree. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | The school moved into a new facility in my second year. The facilities in my first year were quite poor. The physical set up of the new building was wonderful. The computer infrastructure was superb. The classrooms were better set up. |
| Social Life | 5 | Law school is not exactly a hugely social environment. I did interact with some of my fellow students, but I spent a huge amount of my time studying. |
| Placement Services | 8 | I have remained steadily employed throughout the 10 years since graduation. I have made consistent use of the school's career services even after graduation. |
| Alumni Network | 6 | I actually have not used my school's alumni network. The school does provide support for its alums, however. During job searches since graduation, I have made consistent use of the school's career services. |
Harvard Law School • Cambridge, MA
Studying Law (completion in 1986)
• 12/23/2011
"Harvard Law opened up many doors for me. I made many connections and received a very solid legal education."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | Harvard provides an excellent foundation for the practice of law. It also opens many opportunities for careers after law school. |
| Program Reputation | 10 | Harvard Law has one of the best programs in the country. It is hard to question this. |
| Program Quality | 8 | Harvard Law School opened up many opportunities for me. I was taught by some of the best professors. |
| Instruction | 9 | I was taught by renowned professors. However, I may have benefited by a smaller class size in certain courses. |
| How Difficult | 7 | Harvard Law School is not as competitive as other law schools, once you are admitted. However, it was challenging. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | When I was there, there were not many clinical opportunities. However, in recent years, this has changed. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 3 | Everyone is expected to follow a similar schedule. There is not much flexibility in the curriculum. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | In the mid-80s, some facilities were lacking. However, many have been much improved since my time there. |
| Social Life | 8 | Everyone is happy to attend Harvard. However, there are some who are antisocial by nature. |
| Placement Services | 10 | If you do not find a job after Harvard Law School, it is your own fault. Harvard Law opened up many opportunities for me and significantly advanced my career. |
| Alumni Network | 9 | There is a strong group of alumni who are very connected. There are some who are naturally alienated from law school. |
Harvard Law School • Cambridge, MA
Studying JD/Juris Doctor (completion in 1997)
• 1/18/2012
"I learned many things. I ave a world-class network of alumni with which I can connect."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | The only reason you would not go to HLS if accepted is if you were also accepted to Yale. Do not pass up a Harvard credential. |
| Program Reputation | 10 | Harvard is continuously in the top three law schools along with Yale and Stanford. Thousands apply to attend every year. |
| Program Quality | 10 | Harvard Law School is one of the best institutions in the world. My degree and experiences there have greatly contributed to my career. |
| Instruction | 8 | Some professors taught more theory than actual black letter law. I enjoyed courses I took with practitioners and clinics the best. |
| How Difficult | 8 | The curriculum was rigorous and challenging. The professors are the best academics in the world. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Book learning is the primary method of study. If you take a law clinic or volunteer, you can gain more hands-on experience. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | There were no summer or evening offerings when I attended--most students work during the summer. The courses offered after the first year are very broad. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | The facilities have improved since I graduated. There is more space for student journals and law clinics. |
| Social Life | 7 | Athletics are not relevant at Harvard Law School. Students provided their own social activities. The school provided a large range of lectures and extra-curricular activities relevant to the study of law. |
| Placement Services | 5 | Most students find law firm jobs after their clerkships in the summer of their 2nd year. I have not interacted with career services recently. |
| Alumni Network | 8 | The Alumni network is very good. I receive information from the alumni office weekly. I have returned to the school for alumni gatherings about every five years, the last time being in September 2011 for the Celebration of Black Alumni. |
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