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 University of Minnesota.
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 Hamline.
- Adult Learners: For lots of adult learners, consider University of St Thomas.
School Setting
- Out of State: For geographic diversity, take note of University of Minnesota, University of St Thomas, and Hamline.
- Dorms: For a residential campus environment, take note of University of St Thomas, Hamline, and University of Minnesota.
Excellence
- SAT: For students with high SAT scores, look at University of Minnesota and University of St Thomas.
- % Accepted: For selective institutions, look at University of Minnesota.
- Class Size: For small class sizes, look at University of St Thomas, Hamline, and University of Minnesota.
Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
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University Of Minnesota • Minneapolis, MN
Studying Juris Doctorate (completion in 2001)
• 9/29/2011
"The University of Minnesota provided very good practical and theoretical classes. Upon graduation I felt well prepared to practice law."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | Yes, for all the reasons I have given. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | The last time I checked, the University of Minnesota was a top-20 law school. It has a good reputation for turning out well-grounded and extremely competent lawyers. |
| Program Quality | 9 | The University of Minnesota provided very good practical and theoretical classes. Upon graduation I felt well prepared to practice law. |
| Instruction | 8 | I had professors who were both very knowledgeable in the theory of law as well as the practical application of law. I also received excellent tutelage from 3L instructors and moot directors. |
| How Difficult | 7 | As in almost any law program, extensive reading, research, and writing was required. We were, however, provided with excellent resources. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | The law reviews provided excellent theoretical experience in addition to class. The moot courts, trial advocacy, and clinical programs provided an excellent practical education. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 4 | The University of Minnesota offered a very traditional full-time student course load. There were very few opportunities to fulfill required courses with an alternative schedule. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | The law library is one of the best in the world. Combined with excellent clinical and computer resources it was an excellent environment. |
| Social Life | 7 | I made very good friends at the law school and maintain contact with them. There were plenty of social opportunities. |
| Placement Services | 5 | I don't know how it compares to other law schools, but our CSO was not the greatest from personal experience. Hopefully it has improved since I graduated. |
| Alumni Network | 7 | I am close with my cohorts. The alumni network overall does a good job of keeping alumni informed about the current state of the law school and its alumni. |
University Of Minnesota • Minneapolis, MN
Studying Law (completion in 2009)
• 2/25/2012
"If I had to choose again, I would probably not attend school here. But I just think it was a bad fit for me."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | no | I could not in good conscience recommend any law school right now. Choosing law is a very bad career at this moment since it is so saturated. |
| Program Reputation | 9 | It is a top 20 school so it is prestigious. However, it is not a top 14 school, so it does not get a "10." |
| Program Quality | 6 | It is a top 20 school, so it has the advantage of prestige. However, the career program was inadequate when I attended. A lame duck career services director was there for my third year and she cost me interviews. |
| Instruction | 7 | Most instructors were good. There were some that were more interested in their careers than in teaching, but I suppose that's more the fault of the law in general than my particular school. |
| How Difficult | 10 | Patent Prosecution is the only field requiring a person to pass two different bar exams. Also, in order to do this job one must have an engineering degree and a law degree. Neither of those is easy, and combined they are extremely difficult. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | The law is almost exclusively case or treatise or statute driven so it is hard to deviate from that. The clinics offered good hands-on experience. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 7 | It's law, so there's not much flexibility in the first year. The second and third year are much better and I appreciated that. |
| Academic Facilities | 4 | The required computers were terrible. The chairs made my knees hurt. The classrooms were in the basement. The library is pretty enough. Professors are very accessible. |
| Social Life | 8 | It is a Big Ten school so the social life and especially the sports are great. The law school is somewhat sheltered, though. |
| Placement Services | 2 | This is for the time that I was there. The person in charge cost me interviews by rescheduling them to overlap without telling me the day of the interviews. It reflects very poorly on the school. |
| Alumni Network | 2 | I do not have any contact with them. The alumni network does not help me at all. |
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