| Topic Name: |
non-top 10 law schools |
| Message Name: |
McGeorge redux |
| Date Posted: |
05/18/2000 |
| In Reply To: |
Gurdonak, sorry to bother you about this, but since you are from California, what would be your first impression of a graduate from McGeorge (tier 4: is is really so bad)? All other things being equal, would they be given similar consideration to graduates from tier 2 schools such as Loyola or San Diego? Would I "have to" work extra hard to make personal connections or "have to" get on the law review? Gotta big scholarship from there, so just askin'... |
| Message: |
I went over to the US News.com website to run McGeorge, Loyola (CA) and San Diego through the compare law schools search engine there. That search engine is useful for an "at a glance" portrayal, and I'll confine myself to an issue or two, while suggesting you load up and review that table.
If we assume the compilation of figures accurately by the schools, the
data shows the distinction pretty well:
In the "percent employed nine months after graduation" category, McGeorge scores 78 percent, Loyola 91 percent and San Diego 89 percent.
In the statistic for average entry level income of those in the 25th percentile of the class and those in the 75th percentile,
McGeorge shows a range of 40,000 to 55,000,
Loyola shows a range of 55,000 to 83,000,
and San Diego shows a range of 50,000 to 75,000. The median starting salary shows as
McGeorge 48K, Loyola 75K, and San Diego 65K.
Regional differences are going to be part of the story. The suburbs of Sacramento are less expensive than the suburbs of San Diego (even though with the Sac. housing market, who knows whether that will hold forever), and the suburbs of San Diego are in general less expensive than those of LA. Firm salaries tend to be higher in LA than in SD and in SD higher than in Sac (although, again, this changing economy means that is not always the case firm by firm).
But overall, the data fits my qualitative guess of the "tier difference"--a McGeorge candidate will still probably get a job, and
the job could pay 55K if the grad is top quarter (undoubtedly a fair bit more for top 10), but the grad will be at a disadvantage as compared to a Loyola or San Diego grad,
and in the case of Loyola, the difference could (ignoring regional cost of living differences) be pretty material.
OTOH, we are not talking about the difference between working and not working in the main, but merely the difference in pay and attainability of the first job.
If you get out of McGeorge, get a job,and prove yourself a litigation dynamo, nobody is ever going to think twice about what school you attended....
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