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 Missouri and UMKC.
Fastest Response From Schools
- Request Info: For the fastest information for prospective students, look at the Spotlight schools on this page.
Student Body
- Part-Time: For schools emphasizing part-time studies, consider UMKC and University of Missouri.
- Diverse: For a diverse student body, consider Washington University in St Louis and UMKC.
School Setting
- Out of State: For geographic diversity, take note of Washington University in St Louis, Saint Louis University, UMKC, and University of Missouri.
- Dorms: For a residential campus environment, take note of Washington University in St Louis, Saint Louis University, University of Missouri, and UMKC.
Excellence
- SAT: For students with high SAT scores, look at Washington University in St Louis, Saint Louis University, University of Missouri, and UMKC.
- % Accepted: For selective institutions, look at Washington University in St Louis.
- Class Size: For small class sizes, look at Washington University in St Louis, Saint Louis University, UMKC, and University of Missouri.
Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
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Saint Louis University School Of Law • Saint Louis, MO
Studying Law (completion in 2010)
• 9/20/2011
"The school itself was not a bad school; I learned quite a bit, had a lot of good memories, and made great friends. However, if I had to do it over again, because I want to work in the federal government, I probably would have chosen a different school."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | If a person wants to stay in the greater St. Louis area, I believe my school would be an excellent, affordable choice. However, a person looking to work somewhere else in the nation, or who seeks national government positions, may do better by attending a more widely recognized and regarded school. |
| Program Reputation | 5 | St. Louis University used to be considered a Tier 1 school (albeit barely). However, in recent years the school has sunk to a Tier 3 school. It has a good reputation in the local community, but not in the rest of the country. |
| Program Quality | 7 | The school itself was good for a person wanting to stay in the greater St. Louis area; however, if a person wanted a job away from the area, the school's reputation and career resources were not very good. In fact, in securing my current position, my law school was of absolutely no help. |
| Instruction | 7 | I felt the faculty, although not nationally known, was very knowledgeable and prepared me well for my legal career. Many of the professors focused on real-world issues, and there was a push at the school for students to try at least some "real-world" classes like a clinic, moot court, or trial advocacy classes. |
| How Difficult | 5 | The workload was tolerable. There was plenty of work to stay busy throughout the semester, but I don't think it was so much so as to completely consume my life. I put in a fair amount of work and thought for the most part that I earned the grades I received. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | There were opportunities for "hands-on" learning experiences through moot courts and trial advocacy classes, as well as legal clinics and internships. But the school was still very old-fashioned in that the majority of the learning took place in the classrooms through the reading of case law. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 8 | St. Louis University is one of the few law schools to offer a part-time, evening degree program. Not only this, but there was always a good selection of classes at various times in the fall and spring semester, and a decent offering of classes during the summer semester. |
| Academic Facilities | 6 | The people of the school were very accessible, especially the professors. However, the classrooms were seriously outdated. They were uncomfortable and did not have reliable technology, and the professors themselves did not make use of current technology very often. |
| Social Life | 9 | The school had a number of extracurricular groups and had a very active social calendar (plenty of mixers, parties, and a softball league in the fall). There was certainly more to do than a person could keep up with; oftentimes, it was necessary to limit social activities in order to keep up with the studies. |
| Placement Services | 5 | For those seeking employment in or around St. Louis, the career services office has numerous contacts and can be very helpful. The office seems to be unable to help those seeking a job or internship outside the St. Louis area, and so those students wanting to work away from St. Louis end up having to do a lot of networking on their own. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | Having been an alum for about a year and a half now, I do get periodic updates from the school and know I can contact someone if I need assistance with something. However, aside from these sporadic contacts, there's not much effort to keep alumni connected with each other. |
Washington University • St. Louis, MO
Studying LLM Taxation (completion in 1989)
• 1/24/2012
"I was very satisfied with this program. There was one faculty adviser who oversaw the graduate students' needs."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | This is an excellent program. I believe it compares favorably to other similar programs. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | The school has an excellent JD program and consequently the graduate law programs are well regarded. Of course, in this area of law, NYU's program is preeminent. |
| Program Quality | 8 | It has a good curriculum and excellent faculty. |
| Instruction | 7 | The professors were a mix of practitioners and professors. All were well informed and up to date. |
| How Difficult | 7 | The program requirements were not overly burdensome. Many classes were combined with JD candidates. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | It's a program on US Tax law, so it's mostly books. They could have had more hands on work with tax forms. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | There are plenty of classes. There are few, if any, weekend or evening offerings. |
| Academic Facilities | 9 | There were plenty of resources available to law students. At the time I attended, Mudd Hall was relatively new. |
| Social Life | 6 | The graduate students were close knit. There were only a handful of us. |
| Placement Services | 5 | There is not a lot of effort in this area. It is a graduate program, so not much is really expected. |
| Alumni Network | 8 | There is a strong alumni group in Dallas where I live. They also are quite aggressive with respect to fund raising. |
Washington University School Of Law • St. Louis, MO
Studying Law (completion in 1984)
• 3/8/2012
"I got through it, basically that's my answer. What could have been the best intellectual experience of my life, turned out to be just a three-year pain in the you know where. The socratic method got old fast -- even the faculty seemed bored with it."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | no | Legal careers are VERY dependent on where one goes to law school. Get into Harvard, Yale, etc., or don't go. There are too many lawyers already -- and plenty of worthwhile alternative careers. That's really the BEST advice I can give anyone. There are easier and more fulfilling ways to make a six-figure living. |
| Program Reputation | 8 | The school's profile has increased significantly since I graduated. They have raised their profile within the US and, as noted, internationally. |
| Program Quality | 1 | Faculty was focused primarily on their own research -- teaching was secondary at best. In retrospect, the 3 years had very little to do with the actual day-to-day practice of law. |
| Instruction | 1 | Again, most faculty members were focused on their research and getting published. Most had NEVER practiced and, as such, had a very tenuous understanding of the real world life of a practicing attorney. |
| How Difficult | 8 | The material and workload was challenging. I feel that we were provided with broad exposure to major substantive areas of the law and we were well equipped to conduct independent legal research. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | They had a good Clinical Program, but it was very difficult for working law student to take advantage of it because it had very inflexible scheduling. They have done tremendous things with it since I have graduated. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 1 | In 1981-1984, things were different. Students have more flexibility now -- thank God. I worked 20 hours a week for a firm throughout law school. I would have appreciated more flexibility from the faculty and law school admin. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | First-rate facilities in every way. The library was superb as evidenced by the degree to which it was utilized by the major St. Louis law firms. |
| Social Life | 1 | It was a hard core study school. There was little, if any, social element to it. |
| Placement Services | 1 | Unless you were in the top 15 percent of the class, you were on your own. That is a fact. Top students were allowed to sign up for an unlimited number of interviews. As such, the bottom 85 percent were never even afforded the opportunity to sit for interviews. |
| Alumni Network | 3 | Strong in St. Louis. However, it diminished from the Midwest to the coasts -- with the exception of New York. The school has since increased its emphasis on developing an international profile. |
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