- PowerScore Staff
- Posts: 8980
- Joined: Feb 02, 2011
- Fri Apr 08, 2022 9:04 am
#94681
Below, PowerScore admissions expert Dave Killoran advises a student, Jenny, on Jenny's law school choice.
Jenny: "Hi,
I’ve applied and been accepted to the law schools at University of Colorado-Boulder (ranked 48), University of New Mexico (102), University of Washington (45), and Seattle University (126). CO, NM and SeattleU have offered scholarships that would make the (roughly estimated) cost of attendance $55k, $50k, and $95k, respectively. I am currently waiting to hear about additional scholarships I’ve applied for, including a fellowship that would cover full tuition (plus other perks) at UW or SU.
My dilemma is that the 2 lower-ranked schools have the most robust programs in the area I want to focus on (American Indian Law), and I don’t know whether the school or the program is more important in setting me up for success in a more niche area of law. Also, I’ll be 42 when I graduate and am a single parent, so a large amount of debt at graduation would be particularly difficult for me, and ideally I’ll be able work in the same city as the school for several years until my children finish high school. Given all these factors, I can’t identify a clear front-runner. What would you recommend?"
Dave Killoran: "Hi Jenny,
Thanks for the question! In general, overall ranking is more important than specialty rankings. There are exceptions of course, but when you are looking at schools that are outside the T25, the specific program is a nice bonus but not determinative. To me, your best option here is to avoid debt as much as possible. You’ve said it’s a concern, and I think you are quite right to be worried about it.
If you choose a school with low debt but no specialty program in Native law, then you should work with a professor to help create various offerings, such as a new journal on the topic. In other words, just because no program currently exists does not mean there’s no interest at the school for it. A school like Colorado offers you low debt, a great town location, and surely there would be interest in Native American law there. They’d be my front runner for you right now.
Thanks!"
Jenny: "Hi,
I’ve applied and been accepted to the law schools at University of Colorado-Boulder (ranked 48), University of New Mexico (102), University of Washington (45), and Seattle University (126). CO, NM and SeattleU have offered scholarships that would make the (roughly estimated) cost of attendance $55k, $50k, and $95k, respectively. I am currently waiting to hear about additional scholarships I’ve applied for, including a fellowship that would cover full tuition (plus other perks) at UW or SU.
My dilemma is that the 2 lower-ranked schools have the most robust programs in the area I want to focus on (American Indian Law), and I don’t know whether the school or the program is more important in setting me up for success in a more niche area of law. Also, I’ll be 42 when I graduate and am a single parent, so a large amount of debt at graduation would be particularly difficult for me, and ideally I’ll be able work in the same city as the school for several years until my children finish high school. Given all these factors, I can’t identify a clear front-runner. What would you recommend?"
Dave Killoran: "Hi Jenny,
Thanks for the question! In general, overall ranking is more important than specialty rankings. There are exceptions of course, but when you are looking at schools that are outside the T25, the specific program is a nice bonus but not determinative. To me, your best option here is to avoid debt as much as possible. You’ve said it’s a concern, and I think you are quite right to be worried about it.
If you choose a school with low debt but no specialty program in Native law, then you should work with a professor to help create various offerings, such as a new journal on the topic. In other words, just because no program currently exists does not mean there’s no interest at the school for it. A school like Colorado offers you low debt, a great town location, and surely there would be interest in Native American law there. They’d be my front runner for you right now.
Thanks!"