<p>A few thoughts…</p>
<p>Consider the pipeline into top law schools. Consider that those people are the ones who, generally, are at the top of the legal profession (at least disproportionately to lesser-known schools). Those people are the ones who, for the most part, took classes and grubbed for the As. They are not the smartest of the bunch, on the whole - the best people are getting Ph.D.s and MDs. (If I had a buck for every time I heard, “Law school is for people who can’t get other jobs,” or “Law school isn’t for engineers,” I wouldn’t have student loan debt.) Those are the people who are going to evaluate for admission into law school, for jobs, and for promotions. </p>
<p>A lot of “law” is about looking like the people around you - playing the same game they are but playing it better than your peers. That means taking the same majors, the same career path, and having the same credentials as the people you want to be. The selection process for the top schools is an imperfect measure of passion and talent. </p>
<p>A fair amount of law school is about grade-grubbing… and doing a bunch of things because they look good on your resume. </p>
<p>Not trying to completely knock lawyers - I love a lot of the people I know in the legal profession - but be aware of what kinds of people become lawyers. There are a lot of passionate, intellectual, driven people at my law school (which is fantastic), but a lot of them are not going the “traditional” route of top school -> top job -> working 80 hours a week to make money for a firm.</p>