6 Factors to Keep in Mind When Choosing Schools

When applying to law schools, it's important to figure out what's important to you. Yes, it's easy to just take a look at where you fall on their LSAT/GPA spectrum to figure out where you might get in, but picking the school that you want to attend, and that you think would be a good fit for you, should require a little more research. Here is a list of things that I look at in a school before I decide whether or not I want to apply, and why:

1. Bar Pass Rate: A no-brainer. I want to know how likely it is that I'll pass the Bar the first time; it's the whole point of law school.
2. Ranking: This matters because the name on your diploma carries weight, and a higher-ranked school is likely to have more clout when you're applying for jobs.
3. Clinical Programs: I know that I want to get as much hands-on experience as I can, as soon as I can, and law clinics are the best way to do that.
4. Tuition and Types of Financial Aid Programs: We all know that law school will be an expensive endeavor. Even with the six-figure salaries we all hope to get right out of law school, crushing debt isn't a good look on anyone, so it's good to figure out how much you'd be paying.
5. Location: Just by nature, a school in an urban area is going to have many more external opportunities than a rural one.
6. Reach, Match, or Safety: I don't look at this solely as a factor to decide on one school, but I like to know where I stand with each school I apply to, so I can ensure I'm applying to a variety of all three.

This is a non-exhaustive list, but I absolutely encourage everyone to at least look at these factors when you're picking the schools that you want to apply to, or figure out what's important to you and keep that in mind.

Picking which schools to apply to is overwhelming. Having a few clearly defined criteria that you're looking for can really simplify the process, rather than just applying to every place that might take you, and trying to figure it out from there.