jeff2a

I'm a HS junior, and ever since I can remember I've wanted to be a lawyer. Now I'm being presented with different choices for colleges, and I want to make the decision that will best assist me with getting into law school and succeeding there. Is it necessary to go to a Harvard or Yale level school for your undergrad to go to a Harvard or Yale level law school? I'm considering going to Missouri State because I could go there for essentially free and they have a good debate team. Would that screw me over for law school admissions? And would doing CEDA/NDT debate in college help?

sybbie719

You do know that Boalt, Michigan and UVA are all public schools, which are part of the
T-14. UT- Austin and UCLA are tied at #16. So in answer to your titled question Pubic does not equal bad.

Do you plan on practicing in Missouri?

law_applicant

I just posted this in another thread, but your numbers are much more important than where you go for UG. People who do well in public UG can get into any law school, as long as they also have the right LSAT.

rodney

Good friend graduated from SUNY-Binghamton got her law degree from Harvard......agree with law__applicant.....

tazo20

Your chances of attending Harvard or Yale law school would be higher if you attend Harvard or Yale as an undergrad, but they also accept applicants from state schools, just in low numbers.

jeff2a

@ sybbie719-

Yeah, I know that was an over-generalization. My point was, Missouri State is no UCLA.

And no, probably not.

And for EC's, is it depth or breadth that matters more? Like, if I excel in one activity, is that enough? Or should I do more activities?

superflush

It certainly wouldn't "screw you over." The most important law school admissions factor is the LSAT, and second is your GPA. If those are both good, then it shouldn't matter too much where you went to school. Sure, going to HYP may give you a slight boost, but it would be minimal. If you focus on doing well in college, you should be fine.

law_applicant

On-campus EC's don't matter much for most places. Mine were very limited and I am still doing well with admissions. Work/internship experience can be somewhat more important.

glame

Indeed, EC's are a factor, but they are not nearly as important as with undergrad. Law school, and grad school in general, is much more numbers based and less of a crapshoot than undergrad. Regarding EC's, from what I have been told here at Cornell, you just want to really get involved in 2-3 EC's and even among that list, do not get involved in leadership posts in all three. Just pick one club to develop leadership positions in. Regarding undergrad reputation, there is an extensive thread on that. You look at the undergrad profiles of all the T-14 schools and there is not just Ivy League caliber schools. However, an advantage in going to an elite school is the alumni connections. These connections can help you land summer jobs or internships in the legal field, which will then boost your resume.

Top10LawSchool1L

Even though they say undergrad does not matter, looking at lawschoolnumbers.com, I find schools to a certain degree do value undergrad rep when deciding among applicants with very similar numbers (LSAT/GPA). Of course the weight is very minimal, but when looking at applicants with similar numbers, undergrad rep does play a role.

Numbers of course are supreme. The LSAT is the most important factor in your application. If you obtain high numbers from a bad undergrad institution, you can still get into Harvard. (I won't mention Yale because it requires impressive extracurriculars as well.)

Unless you are looking to get into Yale or Stanford, ECs won't matter too much. Just pick a few ECs and maintain a high GPA/get a high LSAT.

Pierce&Pierce

doing policy debate might help some, especialy if u do well at tournaments