Top Law Schools

Which is the better option?

Background:
GPA 3.5
Lsat 163

I live in the Metro Detroit area so Wayne would be convenient, but I am looking for a school where I can be sure to keep my scholarship throughout law school. I also want to attend a school with great connections and helpful staff - (effective professors). Also, I want to focus on family law and/or immigration law.

( I am wait-listed at Notre Dame.)

Any and all advice is welcomed!

Thank you.

The two schools are similarly ranked so it is largely a question of which one you like more. I think Michigan State has a few more ties to state government positions so if you want to work in that sector, I'd lean MSU.

That said, if you are waitlisted at Notre Dame, it seems odd that you'd be debating between two school so far below ND in the rankings. If you did not apply to other schools (regional or otherwise) that were between ND and MSU/Wayne, I'd advise that you not accept any offer this year and reapply next year. Even assuming you want to stay in the region, your long term prospects are a lot better coming from a school like OSU, U Ill., U. Ind, or maybe even Case Western than graduating a year earlier from MSU or Wayne. And, your numbers should be good enough to get you into one of those schools unless there is some big red flag in it. Bottom line, if you don't get off the waitlist at ND, think about reapplying next cycle.

I appreciate your reply. I was accepted into a couple other schools including OSU and Arizona State but they offered me half tuition; I didn't think taking out loans for those schools was worth it. What do you think?

It totally depends on what your long term goals.
If you want a chance at a mid range to big firm or a clerkship, then ASU or OSU is the way to go if you can at all afford to take the loans out.

If you want to be a public defender, go into public interest, or commit yourself to staying in Michigan, then going to Wayne State or MSU has merit given the money difference.

If you are not certain what or where you want to practice law, I favor ASU or OSU because these two schools will leave far more options open. This is just an estimate but you'll probably need to finish around the top 10% of your class at Wayne State or MSU to have the same job prospects as someone with median grades at OSU/ASU. And, top 10% or so grades at OSU/ASU will open up doors that probably will only be available to maybe 5 or so people at Wayne/MSU. So, if you don't know what you want to do in law, you really need to decide how much you want to gamble on yourself.

My legal connections are Wayne Law grads. My mentor is a Harvard grad and Wayne Law professor. I live and work in the Metro Detroit area. Everything is telling me to attend Wayne and live at home where I basically have a legal job lined up for me, BUT, I did not want to attend Wayne Law so I missed the deadline and lost the scholarship. Now I'm just hoping I get into a superior school!

[Y]our long term prospects are a lot better coming from a school like ... U. Ind

That's Indiana University.

ExperssioUnius wrote:It totally depends on what your long term goals.
If you want a chance at a mid range to big firm or a clerkship, then ASU or OSU is the way to go if you can at all afford to take the loans out.

If you want to be a public defender, go into public interest, or commit yourself to staying in Michigan, then going to Wayne State or MSU has merit given the money difference.

If you are not certain what or where you want to practice law, I favor ASU or OSU because these two schools will leave far more options open. This is just an estimate but you'll probably need to finish around the top 10% of your class at Wayne State or MSU to have the same job prospects as someone with median grades at OSU/ASU. And, top 10% or so grades at OSU/ASU will open up doors that probably will only be available to maybe 5 or so people at Wayne/MSU. So, if you don't know what you want to do in law, you really need to decide how much you want to gamble on yourself.

ASU and OSU will provide more options in Arizona and Ohio, not Michigan. You put too much weight on the rankings.