Where I’m Applying to Law School

At the beginning of October, I went to the New York law forum with the pre-law society. There, I sat in on a panel and heard some shocking news: apparently, the average law applicant applies to upwards of 15 schools.

When I decided I wanted to go to law school, Dr. Devine had me make a list of all the things that were important to me in the school I went to, and then showed me where I could look up schools that had those characteristics. (For reference, the LSAC publishes profiles on all the law schools they accredit.) I used the book and came up with a list:

1. Georgetown law (my absolute dream school)
2. Harvard Law
3. New York University Law
4. Notre Dame Law
5. Pitt law (I can’t wait to visit!)
6. Washington University in Saint Louis Law

That’s 6. Not 15. Naturally, I was a little worried right off the bat. I mean, if I’m supposed to apply to 15 schools and I have only 6, I must be doing something wrong, right? Maybe my criteria were too specific, maybe I was looking for entirely the wrong things, and maybe I just had unrealistic expectations.

But, as I walked through the forum and asked questions, the answers I got comforted me. All of the law schools I talked to were really upfront about answering my questions, so while many of them brought up new programs I had never heard of and sounded awesome, many also said that maybe their programs weren’t the best for me. One alum even suggested somewhere else for me to look.

So, while the average law school applicant may choose 15 schools, I have decided to stick with my 6 unless something jumps out at me. You never know, it might. Carnegie Mellon did. And if it doesn’t, that means I picked the right six initially.

So what do you think? Where are you applying?