How to Evaluate Law School Offers
By Sydney Montgomery, Executive Director
You’ve gotten into law school, but now you’re looking at your offers and realizing you have a decision to make. Maybe you are concerned because you haven’t heard back from schools yet and aren’t sure if you can start the decision process.
Even though it is a very emotional decision, it is also a financial investment, time investment, building your network, etc. I want to make sure that you’re making a good investment that you’re going to feel happy about and fulfill your career goals.
In this blog post, I discuss what you do now that you have offers and how to evaluate them.
Depending on where you are in the cycle and when you applied, you may or may not have already heard back from law schools. If you’re reading this in February and worried about not hearing back, I promise you acceptances are coming. Read more on what to do during this waiting process here.
Sometimes you might get some acceptances in December and other acceptances in April. Because there is so much waiting time, it is a good idea to start the evaluation process earlier than later.
If you wait to think about it until you’ve received all of your acceptances in April, you’re going to be very stressed with May deposit deadlines coming up quickly. I don’t want you to make a decision this big while you’re that stressed; it’s just not worth it.
Making an Informed Decision
Data is not my favorite word. I was an English major; STEM is not my favorite thing. But I do think that a lot of times when we have indecision, getting enough information to make a sound decision is helpful.
Visiting the School(s)
The first thing that I encourage all of my students to do is to go and visit. Some of you may not have listened to me over the summer when I said to go to virtual information sessions and tours; now is the time.
If you can’t physically visit, you should at least do a virtual information session. When you’re at an information session, look out for: student body ratio, clinics, externships, journals, student housing, organizations.
You also want to understand what is going to make a school a good fit for you. You want to thrive there while also making a return on your investment. If you’re at a school that you’re uncomfortable at and don’t do well at, it doesn’t matter what name is on the diploma.
Apart from virtual sessions, schools often have in-person admitted student events. You can also reach out to admissions one-on-one to arrange a visit.
If you can’t afford to visit a school, you should always ask for help. A lot of schools have travel stipends set aside for lower-income students to help you be able to visit the school. They can also connect you with students so you can find somewhere to stay while visiting. (I know from experience! A dean at Berkley helped me financially to fly there from the east coast and I stayed with a student from a Black Law Students Association.) If that isn’t possible, try to attend virtual events or set up a meeting with an admissions officer.
Meeting Classmates
Visiting can also help you get a gauge on the students you’ll be in class with. If you connect with a BLSA that has 30 students, maybe ten are graduating this year, 20 of those students are going to be your classmates. Law schools are very small, so you will be meeting them down the line. Visiting gives you a chance to begin to get to know them and understand the community you will be entering. If you can’t visit in person, you can still make these connections through social media.
Learning the Landscape
Another thing you can get a feel for when visiting is if you’ll like the area or not. If you think you may love to live in a big city, but you hated spending a few nights there, you may not want to move there full-time for several years.
Your entire decision shouldn’t be based on just the tour, people you meet, and the location, but they’re definitely important factors to consider.
Asking Questions That Matter
When you attend an in-person or virtual event, make sure that you’re coming with questions about things that matter to you. If you’re religious, find out what religious organizations are on campus or nearby for you to practice your faith, for example.
For me, it was very important for me to speak to a Black person at every single school I was considering. The best thing about touching base with other students is they will likely be very honest with you. When I spoke to Black people on those campuses, they told me the good and the bad about being Black on their campus.
Another example could be if you need schools with certain disability services. I have an autoimmune disease, so that would be a top priority if I was a current applicant.
It doesn’t do them any good to lie to you. It gives you the option to inform your decision about where you’re going to go, and you can form your own opinions based on what they tell you. If they say something bothers them that wouldn’t bother you, it may not help your decision but it gives you more perspective and the ability to make that choice.
Current students are better to speak to, but if you can speak to a recent alum that works as well.
Considering the Finances
I am a big spreadsheet girl. I think it’s important to know all of the costs. Below is an example of what a spreadsheet I use with my students looks like.
It’s important to make sure that you’re looking at the total cost, not just the tuition. The cost of housing, estimated books, tuition, etc. should all be included in these numbers. You should also be calculating how much in loans you will need once scholarships are taken out of that total cost.
A school can cost $80,000 and give you $30,000, so you need $50,000 in loans. Another school can cost $100,000 and give you $40,000, so you need to take out $60,000 in loans. Keeping track makes it easier to understand how much debt you will be in, regardless of just looking at who gave you a larger scholarship amount.
Doing research on the average median salary of students from each school helps you understand the return on investment. If I need to take out $60,000 in loans every year, what kind of salary would make that feasible? If the average median salary at that school is only $55,0000, you’re going to have a hard time with that debt load. If the average median salary is $200,000 and you’re only taking out $40,000 in loans, you’ll be okay.
This is an easy spreadsheet to get started as offers come in, that way you have something to compare as more offers come later down the line.
And as a reminder, there are things you can do to lessen that personal borrowing amount. But that baseline comparison is essential to understanding your choices financially.
Collecting the Data
Similar to looking at the median salary, there are other outcomes you should consider. You can look at Law School Transparency and see the average graduation rate, the percentage of those who graduate with clerkships, the percentage of how many students go into the area of law that you’re interested in, and so on.
Here is an example of how this data helps: If 80% of the students at a school go into Big Law, and you want to go into Big Law, then that may outweigh that there are scarce student housing options for you. This is all up to your own preference and what matters to you may be weighed differently between different schools.
The ABA 509 Reports are also a good option to help get some of that data. I usually suggest you look at this before you apply, but I know some of you didn’t. You can find the bar passage rate on these reports, which is essential in making that financial decision.
If a school is $20,000 cheaper, but so many of their graduates are not passing the bar, it may be worth taking on more debt to go to a school that will support your career enough.
Final Thoughts
So, you’ve just gotten an acceptance letter. Let’s talk about what you should be doing:
Celebrate!
Add the school to your financial aid tracker.
Add any aid you received and scholarships you applied for to the tracker. Do the research on the median salary and add that to your tracker. Based on this information, come up with the estimated amount of loans you will need to take out.
Research the employment landscape, including what area of law students tend to go into.
Research the school’s bar passage rate.
Visit the law school to learn more about the campus culture, support services, and anything else that is important to you. If you can’t visit in-person, make sure to attend virtual sessions.
Now, once you hit April and get in that last acceptance, you will have all of the information that you need to make an informed decision about where to attend law school. And you won’t have to rush through the process.
This is an emotional decision, but make sure that you’re taking all of these quantitative and qualitiative pieces into your decision, as well. Your law school community is your law school community for life; make sure you’re picking a school that you’re excited to make a lifetime commitment to.
If you need any support throughout the decision-making process, we’re here to help! You can always schedule a one-on-one strategy call with our consultants through our Combo Plans. If you have any specific questions, don’t be afraid to reach out at hello@smontgomeryconsulting!