Tulane w/ 20k/year vs. NYU vs. USC spring semester admit. HELP!

fallenchemist
Mon, 04 Apr 2011 21:09:14 +0000

I am afraid you both are under a couple of misconceptions about getting into law school. I know this not so much from the Tulane perspective but because my S, who is graduating this May from Truman State University (where??? LOL, look it up, it actually is really interesting but the point is it is clearly not so well known) and he has gotten into a couple of top 20 law schools and is probably borderline for a top 10. He should hear soon. Getting into a top law school is pretty much only about 3 things: your GPA, your LSAT score, and your recs. As long as the school you attend is accredited and at least known to these admissions people (and Truman is known to other academics, it is actually pretty selective although not as selective as Tulane or USC), then having those three criteria near the top of the heap will do it. And USC won’t prepare you any better for the LSAT or get you a better GPA than Tulane will.

nala, I have to point out two things you say that just are not correct:



1. lesser academic reputation

2. b/c of reputation, harder to get into graduate school, might get stuck in the south b/c/o the stigma that is attached to southern schools



Even if I agreed with #1, and I am not sure I entirely do because you would be amazed how many people think that a good football school cannot be that good academically, let’s say you are right there. It would still be a pretty small difference, and #2 absolutely does not follow from it. I am one example, I got into a top 5 chem grad school not even close to the south. I was just at a Tulane admitted student meeting yesterday where one of the other alums is a grad student at Harvard. And did you know that Tulane has had more Fulbright winners than USC, Duke and many other schools? Trails Harvard and Yale by a lot though, lol. Anyway, not to belabor the point but Tulane is EXTREMELY well thought of in grad schools, law schools and medical schools as a feeder school. I would also point out that Duke, Vandy and UNC are southern schools and I don’t think they have an issue here. Tulane really is far more highly regarded than you seem to think. Don’t let the USNWR rankings fool you here.

My recommendation to you both remains the same. Go where you think you will like it best overall and the finances are best for your family, and not based on this mythical criteria that one will help you get into law school more. Emotionally it is enticing, but factually it just is not true and I know you want to make your decision based on correct assumptions.