slipper1234

I;d choose between Penn and Williams on social life, both will get you into a top law school. Personally I would go to Williams.

crnchycereal

If you want a solid liberal arts education, then Williams seems to be an automatic choice.

As for law school, you should realize that a school's academic reputation matters very little in the application process. The only real exceptions are HYPS, and even then, the boost that comes from having attended those schools is quite marginal. What really matters for law school are numbers. Contrary to other graduate/professional schools, the law school admissions process is very predictable. If you have an LSAT and a GPA above the medians for any given law school, then the conventional wisdom says you're a shoe in. This applies for virtually every law school in the country (Yale and perhaps Stanford being exceptions), regardless of your undergrad. A 3.8 GPA + 174 LSAT coming from Colorado State or from Dartmouth are both going to have equally good shots at law school.

BK22889

^ from everything i've read, thats so true...and so disheartening

jerushs

Why is that disheartening?

ccfaithful

I heard that Williams is well regarded by law schools and that a 3.75 Williams gpa with a 175+ lsat is pretty strong for law schools except for YLS or SLS.

crnchycereal

To put things in perspective, a 3.75 GPA and a 175+ LSAT score is a strong enough profile to be competitive ANYWHERE, including YLS and SLS. Those numbers would be an auto-admit at probably everywhere except HYS, and I'd actually be quite surprised if they didn't make HLS. Keep in mind that a 175+ LSAT score is well in the 99th percentile, so it would make one a strong candidate regardless of undergrad.

FG13

with that perspective of admissions, would they regard the major grade deflation at williams. i heard that some law schools convert your undergrad gpa based on your college and that with that conversion williams had the second highest value meaning it was regarded as the second hardest to get an A at. is that true for all the top law schools as well?
i feel that if it was strictly gpa and lsat it would be better to go to a college where it is easier to get a 4.0 rather than williams where it is a lot harder, in terms of acceptance to a top law school.

crnchycereal

I'll be frank with you. Despite the grade deflation at Williams (which, based on my own experience, I think is somewhat over-stated), it probably won't give you a huge edge over someone that goes to a school with grade inflation. Law schools really care about the numbers they post--i.e. the median LSAT and GPAs they can report for their accepted/matriculating students. It's possible that AdComms will look upon a relatively weaker GPA from Williams with a little sympathy, but in most cases, my guess is it wouldn't push a candidate over the edge. On the other hand, though the numbers dictate perhaps 80%+ of the admissions decision, keep in mind that the LSAT trumps the GPA. This is precisely because schools have varying levels of difficulty and grade inflation, so the LSAT is a way for law schools to get an idea of how you stack up against other applicants.

However, I would STRONGLY urge you not to consider another school over Williams if you're concerned that you might come out with a weaker GPA vis-a-vis law schools. There are several reasons for this. First, it's very possible that you'll decide upon another career path other than law school during your four years in college. If that's the case, then Williams still leaves many doors open for you. Second, you should not view your undergraduate experience primarily as a way to gain admission to law school. Aside from the aforementioned reason that you may change your mind, you really should choose your undergrad based on which institution will give you the best education, opportunities, and environment for you. Don't compromise that for a goal so narrow as law school.

Note: in case you're wondering, I'm a current senior at Williams. Looking back, I don't regret my decision to come here one bit. In fact, it was probably the best thing I ever did. Classes ended today, I'll be done with final exams in a little under a week, and I'm heading to Harvard Law in the fall of 2009. Williams is a wonderful place to be if you want to be surrounded by natural beauty, extremely talented faculty, and some of the most interesting and intelligent students in the country.

Dad2

Grad/professional schools know this. Swarthmore, e.g., has the least grade inflation of any elite institution in the nation and has great placement at top graduate and professional schools.

FG13

congrats crnchy cereal on Harvard Law! it seems that all williams grads definitely end up very successful. i would definitely agree on not going to a lesser school just for the gpa for i really value a good undergrad education as well. simply want to ensure that my chances for a good grad school are also maximized. with all these considerations in mind, williams does seem to prevail even over penn i would say.

FG13

are the opportunities for valuable internships also available via williams even though it's not really in the middle of the action geographically?

MikeyD223

It seems like you are forcing yourself to want Williams. Williams may have been the best school to which you were accepted, but your strong reservations about attending lead me to believe that it might be a poor match for you.. My suggestion would be to attend the school that will make you most happy, and stop obsessing over the academic reputation of School X versus Williams. Someone on the waiting list will be forever indebted to you.

slipper1234

Recruiting at top firms is not dependent of proximity. The top firms will travel to top LACs and schools like cornell and Dartmouth.