If you’re lucky enough to have been accepted to more than one school, you’ve got a tough choice to make. The law school you choose can make a big impact on your future legal career, so choosing the right school is imperative.
In this article, we’ll be discussing choosing the right school in terms of future employment. If you’re looking for lifestyle advice, check out our other article here.
Don’t Skip Admitted Students Day
We’ve said this a few times, but it bears repeating. Admitted Students Day is a great way to learn everything your school has to offer. You’ll meet with deans, professors, and alumni to get an in-depth look into whether the school is the right fit for you. If you’re trying to choose between multiple schools, this is the perfect tiebreaker.
School Rank > Everything Else (Most of the Time)
In most cases, national brand recognition outweighs any other factors. If you got into a top 25 school, that might have a bigger impact on your career than anything else we’ll talk about here. However, there are a couple of things that might sway you.
Location
The next three years will be filled with networking and building connections within the legal and on-campus community. These connections will come in handy when you’re looking for future job opportunities.
If you don’t like the location of the school in which you got into, it might not be a good place to start your legal career. Make sure to scope out the location before you make your final decision.
Specialized Programs
Before starting law school, it’s important to think about where you want to be in three years. If you know what you want to practice, consider looking at what your school has to offer before you start.
Most law schools offer specialized programs for particular practice areas. These programs can give you an extra boost to future employers, and help you land a more suiting summer internship. In some cases, it might be worth attending a slightly lower ranked school for the opportunity to get ahead in your desired field.
Consider Your Dream Job
Like I said before, some schools offer specialized programs depending on the field you’d like to go into in the future. Make sure to consider those programs before making your decision. Also, check out your school’s career services center. The job you land in the future has everything to do with how you perform in your first year and what opportunities are made available to you.
Look for a school that has a robust career services team that focuses on your areas of interest. When you make your first visit, make sure to stop by the career services center and ask as many questions as you can to help you make your decision.
Connect with Alumni
Whether you’re visiting on Admitted Students Day or scouring the internet for alumni, try to meet a few graduates before you make your final decision. These students will give you insight on the day-to-day experience of being a law student at that school, including what the professors are like and the future career opportunities available. Law school is all about networking, so making connections early may pay off in the future.
