looking to apply to us t30

[baddielawyer]

Hey so i'm going to be applying to the top 30 us law schools. i really want to go to boston university or fordham. if i get into a t14 that'll be great but i don't want to set myself up for disappointment. anyone here been to a t30 maybe even t40 (fordham ranks 36th i believe)? i do want to practice in the US 

but would practice in Canada too if I get into my top choices.

[Electricity]

No one can help or provide meaningful predictions without knowing your GPA/LSAT statistics first. One piece of advice I'll give is to ignore the US News & World Report rankings once you're out of the top 20. Unless you make it into a truly great law school (HYS obviously, maybe T7 or even T14), you should go wherever is cheapest/will give you the most in scholarships. The 26th best school isn't really distinguishable from the 36th best school in hiring or quality of education, but #36 may offer you a full ride while #26 may charge 50-60k per year. 

[SNAILS]

The one thing I do know about US law schools are that they are very LSAT based. 

GPA factors in less in the US than in Canada. Personal statements and such matter a lot less. Being a visible minority (esp. black) may matter.

[Yogurt Baron]

I've never gone to a U.S. law school, but I've applied to a bunch in the range you're looking at, been admitted, and repeatedly decided against going. It's just never seemed like a good bet, certainly not if you want to practice in Canada, but even if you want to practice in the States, it's expensive and a crapshoot.

 

On 7/27/2021 at 2:34 PM, SNAILS said:

GPA factors in less in the US than in Canada. Personal statements and such matter a lot less. Being a visible minority (esp. black) may matter.

Maybe this has changed - I haven't applied in the States in years and years - but it used to be that under-represented minority admissions favoured U.S. applicants---that is, a Black Canadian student wouldn't benefit from URM consideration, because it was for African-American candidates. If you're unsure whether you're a URM, definitely check with the school(s). 

On 7/12/2021 at 4:18 AM, Electricity said:

Unless you make it into a truly great law school (HYS obviously, maybe T7 or even T14), you should go wherever is cheapest/will give you the most in scholarships. The 26th best school isn't really distinguishable from the 36th best school in hiring or quality of education, but #36 may offer you a full ride while #26 may charge 50-60k per year. 

I agree with this, but also, beware of predatory "scholarships". Plenty of lower-ranked US schools offer a free ride to X% of their students, dependent upon those students remaining in the top Y% of the class, and Y is always a much smaller number than X.

[Chemistry124]

>Black Canadian student wouldn't benefit from URM consideration

Not true based on posted anecdotes of previous applicants (it is the case for undergrad level). Also, the demographical checkboxes on applications do not implicate citizenship statuses.

Edited August 3, 2021 by Chemistry124

[baddielawyer]

I’m a US citizen and a Canadian citizen so I don’t mind moving to the states forever

On 8/3/2021 at 6:01 PM, Chemistry124 said:

>Black Canadian student wouldn't benefit from URM consideration

Not true based on posted anecdotes of previous applicants (it is the case for undergrad level). Also, the demographical checkboxes on applications do not implicate citizenship statuses.

 

On 7/30/2021 at 5:29 PM, Yogurt Baron said:

I've never gone to a U.S. law school, but I've applied to a bunch in the range you're looking at, been admitted, and repeatedly decided against going. It's just never seemed like a good bet, certainly not if you want to practice in Canada, but even if you want to practice in the States, it's expensive and a crapshoot.

 

Maybe this has changed - I haven't applied in the States in years and years - but it used to be that under-represented minority admissions favoured U.S. applicants---that is, a Black Canadian student wouldn't benefit from URM consideration, because it was for African-American candidates. If you're unsure whether you're a URM, definitely check with the school(s). 

I agree with this, but also, beware of predatory "scholarships". Plenty of lower-ranked US schools offer a free ride to X% of their students, dependent upon those students remaining in the top Y% of the class, and Y is always a much smaller number than X.