U Penn 213 schools in the class (3 years) - first year 251 students 119 schools
Harvard 146 schools -560 in first year.
UVA 315 students 131 schools with Oklahoma being a top feeder. Previous years Arkansas, Alabama and more.
Again - we are talking only about schools that are sending grads to these schools.
You all act that it’s rare that was ranked are sending and it’s anything but. The LSAT is the equalizer. That’s why they have kids from a hundred plus schools in not large classes.
The #s don’t lie.
And we are not talking about San Angelo State or N Alabama but if we were - well I see a Western Illinois at Penn.
OP - pick the right school for you and you’ll have a bright future if you put in the work. Your list includes only solid schools. And the common thread is you !!
A reminder that College Confidential is not a debate society. If you’ve already expressed your opinion and defended it once, it might be time to explore some other threads
I appreciate the variety of perspectives regarding law school. I think that
a) none of the schools on my list (with the possible exception of Drake) would limit my opportunities significantly, assuming I end up with a high undergrad GPA and a high LSAT
b) My impression is that a balanced list of law schools will be as important as a balanced list of undergrad schools, and if I don’t end up going to HYS, I’ll still be able to find gainful employment as a lawyer (or some such)
c) At this point, I don’t really have the ability to change my list of colleges. I didn’t shotgun a bunch of reach schools to maximize my chances of getting a t20 acceptance, and that’s probably the right choice for me. I also didn’t really have the long-term preparation to get in for undergrad at most of these schools, mostly because I never seriously thought about it beforehand.
So my point is, I agree that it would probably help my law school admissions chances if I went to, say, Harvard, but that’s not really an option now
That’s not exactly correct. It depends on the type of law you do, where you want to practice and status of the law firm (and what you hope to make). There is a pretty steep fall-off after the T14-16 law schools in terms of opportunities open. From those law schools, almost all options are open, from Big Law, judicial clerkships, public sector, regional and local practices. For lower ranked law schools, you have to be at the very top of the class to have the same opportunities as graduates from the top half of the T14. When you choose law schools, you have to pay attention to the historical outcomes of each school.
I agree there can be some advantages to going to certain law schools, but that is all far in your future (if at all, as noted plans often change).
For now, I think you are right to focus on making a good choice among the colleges that give you offers. And while we got a little sidetracked on the margin of error question, I think just as important, indeed more important, is choosing a college where you think you will likely thrive.
And that thought I would hope is still quite relevant to you!
Congratulations, @jameshawkings on all of your acceptances, merit aid offers, and invitations to compete for the schools’ elite scholarships! And also, thank you so much for continuing to give updates. They are very much appreciated!
I continue to be impressed with your open-mindedness to various perspectives and your thoughtful responses on this thread. I strongly suspect that you have a bright future, wherever you land. Hope you share with us where that ends up being!
I just want to highlight this message from @ucbalumnus that may have been overlooked during the discussion on law school:
The federal government and most colleges used to calculate an EFC (Expected Family Contribution) in determining a family’s need. That EFC would then be divided amongst the number of children attending college at one time (i.e. $20,000 for 1 kid = $10,000 for 2 kids, $5k for 4 kids, etc). That has changed in just the last year or so now the SAI (formerly EFC) is the same for each kid, so that it would be $20k for 1 kid, $40k for 2 kids, $80k for 4 kids, etc. So the additional financial aid that used to be available for families with multiple children in college at the same time is no longer a given.
Essentially, I would strongly recommend that your parents think about what they can provide you as well as your other siblings, as I have heard numerous stories of families who went all out for their first kid and then realized with their subsequent kids that they couldn’t do the same, and it ended up causing familial strife. I’m not saying this is what might happen in your family, but it’s something your parents will want to think about with respect to how they want to help their children in their post-secondary plans.
Once again, congratulations on everything so far. I am very hopeful for your future!
Where you go undergrad won’t matter (imho) but how you perform will.
Those happiest likely do best.
But the LSAT, which is critical, you’ll do what you’ll do no matter where you go undergrad and that will be a big driver to the type of law schools that you’ll be a candidate for.
As I’ve moved through this process and found out more information, I’ve become increasingly excited about my future and the paths open to me. I really appreciate the variety of perspectives and experiences y’all have brought, and I’m confident that I will end up where I need to be. Thank y’all so much for the advice/direction in this process; I truly had no idea what I was doing or where I was applying six months ago, and I have a much better plan now. Super excited to see what happens next, and I’m really grateful for the guidance!
I would not take this literally. While high gpa and lsat scores are certainly necessary, I would consider them to be the minimum requirements for top schools.
I am basing this on direct conversations I have had with those who attended and/or their family members.
Maturity
Excellent communication skills
Strong leadership
Programs such as Teach for America and Peace Corp are highly valued
Exceptional personal statement and letters of recommendation
Work experience - the students I know - besides the programs noted above, also worked for very well known investment banking firms etc
This is really cool information! Thanks for finding it.
For personal reasons, I’d like to stay away from Arkansas, but I appreciate the suggestion! I also agree that my list seems to, if not be the top feeders into law school, at least have some overlap with law school admissions. Mac’s poli sci department seems to place a lot of students into prestigious grad programs both here and abroad, from what I saw
With my interest in politics/political science, and having already done volunteer work for local politicians, I could see a couple of years working for some sort of elected official as a useful bridge to a law degree, for example. The Peace Corps and TFA look awesome, from my brief Googling.
Don’t forget - those who go to higher level or bigger schools undergrad will place more in grad school by nature of size or the academic seriousness up front.
Look at the right side of this link - per capita top PhD feeders are St John’s College, Knox College, Juniata, Thomas Aquinas, St Vincent and Beloit - all top 30 for Poli Sci.
Also here are Harvard phDs in Poli Sci / Government. It’s hard to see education - but many are foreign. But some I could find the education - Kenyon / BU undergrad / grad. Another Cornell / GW. Another Morehouse/ Harvard. Another Mac with no postgraduate. Another Furman, then Yale Law. Another Clemson, then Harvard.
Lots of Masters degrees first.
Btw Ogelthorpe in Atlanta has a similar program to Hendrix. Flagship 50. You can take classes at other Atlanta schools including Emory and Ga Tech I believe if not offered that semester at the home school.
That’s interesting. From this data, it seems like hard-working students from a variety of colleges can access high-level graduate programs. That’s great news! I also imagine close contact with professors would be advantageous for rec letters, etc.
I appreciate your suggestion, but I don’t have any more spots on my Common App, and don’t really want to apply to any more colleges.