Do law firms care what college you went to?

Asked by: Prof. Fae Stokes Jr.  |  Last update: February 10, 2025
Score: 4.4/5 (23 votes)

Legal employers couldn't care less where you earned your undergraduate degree. The only thing that counts is where you earned your law degree. Biglaw firms are the world's biggest school snobs, but they're only snobs about your law school.…

Do firms care what law school you went to?

Does It Matter Where You Go to Law School? Law school rankings do matter to employers. Typically, the higher your school is ranked, the greater your chances of securing a post-graduation career—especially when it comes to prestigious large law firms.

Does law school care what college you went to?

In one word, NO. Law schools care about many things: your GPA, your LSAT, the story you tell, the obstacles you've overcome.

Do employers care where you went to law school?

The Pecking Order. Your career trajectory and financial stability will primarily be shaped by three factors: your law school's ranking, your ranking in law school, and your total debt. School rankings matter because they matter to employers.

Does it matter where you went to college for law school?

Attending a well-known or prestigious college may provide a slight edge, but it will not compensate for significantly weaker academic or test performance. That being said, the benefit of a prestigious undergrad education is the network it can provide you, which can help in law school applications.

Why You SHOULDN'T Apply to an Ivy League School | What Nobody Will Tell You (2019)

15 related questions found

Can you get into Harvard law with a 3.5 GPA?

The most recent Harvard Law entering class had a median GPA of 3.92; the lowest GPA accepted was 3.82. As such, Harvard does not consider a 3.0 GPA competitive, so it's very unlikely you will get into it if you have this GPA.

Is 174 a good LSAT?

So, a great score on the LSAT is a 172, but more than 100,000 people take the LSAT every year and only 1% score 172 or higher. For the top 50 law schools, the median LSAT score is between 164 and 174. A good LSAT score for top tier(defined by T14 schools for this article) law schools is between 171 and 174.

Does it really matter what law school you go to?

However, if you don't graduate from a top-ranked law school, it can be hard to get clerkships and job openings in a different part of the country from where you study. Many 'Goldilocks' law schools, which offer a high-quality education without being dishearteningly selective, primarily serve their home region.

Do companies care what college you went to?

Despite what you may read to the contrary, most employers do care about where you went to school for your degree. Fortunately for many, that's not all they're concerned with, though.

Is it hard to get hired after law school?

Many law students and graduated law students struggle to find a job after law school. It is no secret that the legal job market is at an all-time low. Law students and new lawyers compete for the few jobs that have openings.

What is the feeder school for Harvard law?

Harvard College is the biggest feeder to Harvard Law School, followed by Yale, Princeton, and Stanford. Other big feeders include Penn, Columbia, Cornell, Duke, Dartmouth, Brown, Georgetown, etc.

Can I get into Columbia Law with a 3.5 GPA?

Columbia Law GPA: Requirements

While there is no GPA requirement, examining class profile data can help you compare your academic performance to admitted students: 25th percentile GPA: 3.81. Median GPA: 3.90. 75th percentile GPA: 3.97.

Where is it hardest to become a lawyer?

1. California

Law students across the US may be familiar with the famed “impossible” California bar exam. But why is the California bar exam so hard? For starters, the cut score (the score needed to pass the test) of the California bar is 1390 out of 2000, which is 40 points above the national average.

Do law firms look at law school grades?

Grades are important to many law firms when making hiring decisions. However, the weight that they carry in these decisions most often depends on the particular firm involved and whether you are (A) a junior attorney or law student, (B) a mid-level to senior associate, or (C) a partner.

Do law firms pay off law school debt?

Many civil legal aid organizations and some other public interest employers provide loan repayment assistance to their attorneys. A centralized list of employer programs has not been compiled, so law students and attorneys need to discuss the possible availability of such assistance with individual potential employers.

How do companies check if you went to college?

Employers verify education by requesting diplomas, sealed transcripts, or contacting educational institutions directly.

Do companies look at your college GPA?

GPA only really matters for entry-level roles

For the most part, your job history will consist of internships, summer jobs, or be non-existent when you graduate from college, so some employers will use your GPA as a metric to assess your candidacy for entry-level roles.

Do employers prefer college degrees?

Earning a college degree show your ability to complete academic work. Some employers consider this a demonstration of your mental capacity and work ethic. Employers may view your degree as verification of your skills, intelligence and ability to dedicate yourself to difficult tasks.

Is it worth going to a low-tier law school?

Graduates of lower-ranked law schools are hardly doomed to scratch out a living. Earning a law degree from any reputable program is an impressive achievement. Read the bios for any major law firm and you will see many successful lawyers who attended low-ranked schools.

Is it rare to get an A in law school?

Note that because the first year of law school is graded on a curve, very few students receive A's. So, it is a bit of a different story than undergrad, where professors are not limited in how many A's they can give. The key to getting all A's in law school is not to be the smartest. Nor is it to study 24 hours a day.

What GPA do law schools like?

The average GPA for law school is between 3.91. However, like LSAT scores, it's important to understand that the specific average GPA can differ depending on the law school and its level of competitiveness. Top-ranking law schools often expect higher average GPAs, typically ranging from 3.8 to 4.0 or even higher.

What was Obama's LSAT score?

The easiest to predict, by far, is Barack Obama's score, mostly because we have some data. Based on admissions records, we can deduce — somewhat reliably — that Barry-O scored between the 94th and 98th percentile on his LSAT. Using today's grading system, that would place him somewhere around a 170.

How rare is a 180 LSAT?

How Hard Is It To Get A Perfect Score On The LSAT? According to LSAC, only 119 test-takers out of nearly 60,000 achieved this in 2022. So when you ask, “How many people get a 180 on the LSAT?” the answer highlights the rarity and difficulty of this achievement.

Is a 138 LSAT bad?

“If you have a 2.3 GPA and a 138 LSAT, you — unfortunately — are very unlikely to be able to make it through law school and pass the bar exam after graduation.