Choosing a law school can be a tough job. And choosing the right law school for yourself can be even tougher. So, in this article, we are going to discuss the 10 factors to be considered before choosing a law school for yourself. But first, let us see why choosing a good law school is important.
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Why is choosing a good law school important?
This is a million-dollar question. Everyone knows that choosing a good law school is very important, but if we ask them why they won’t even have a roadmap of what they want of their law school.
Choosing a good law school is important because it determines how your rest of the life is gonna be. There are some fields where degrees, grades, or which college did you attend doesn’t matter only skill does. But in law, along with your skills, your degree and grades hold a very high value. Your law school also gives you exposure to the outside world, which is also very important in this field.
So, the 10 factors which you should consider before choosing a law school are:-
1. Culture of the law school
This is one of the most important factors to consider before choosing a law school. What kind of culture does that law school have. Culture can be defined as what kind of students are there, what kind of ambiance does the college provides, or how competitive is your crowd at college.
A good law school will have tough criteria to admit students. Tough criteria would mean only the best of the applicants get there. So, it automatically ensures that you are among one of the best crowd of law students. Being a part of a good crowd of students is very essential for success in any field.
You also need to look at what kind of ambiance the college is providing. Does it have a fully equipped library? Does it have a good mooting culture? (Mooting is one of the most important activities you can take up in college, especially if you are planning to pursue litigation as a career).
Culture of a law school is one of the most important factors to consider.
2. Location of the law school
The location of the law school also plays a very big role in your career. A good location will ensure you good exposure to the outside as well as the legal world. It also helps you facilitate good internships and provides you better opportunities if you want to do something out of your college curriculum.
Having a law school in one of the metropolitan cities will make a lot of difference than tier 2 or 3 cities. As most of the law firms and corporate companies are located in metro cities, it is a lot easier to get a good internship in these cities than in other cities.
If your potential practice interests are going into corporate, then location becomes the most important factor. Law school in the metro city will ensure you good internship opportunities in top law firms in the country.
3. Internships and placements provided by law school
Internships are one of the most important aspects of law school. Landing Internships at good places can help a lot in your career. Most of the students land PPO (Pre Placement Offer) while interning in their 4th or 5th year. So, to get a PPO at a top law firm, you need to intern at that law firm. The location of the law school and internships are related. A good place will ensure good internship opportunities.
A good law school also pools in big companies to hire their students at good packages. So, a dedicated placement cell in a law school can help a lot.
Many law schools have their own internship and placement cell which provides you with internships during your semester break or otherwise. So make sure that the law school you are choosing has a dedicated internship and placement cell through which you can apply for internships as well as sit for placements.
4. Curriculum and extra-curriculars in law school
A good law school has a good curriculum. But a better law school has good extracurricular activities too. Participating in extra-curricular activities during law school is important as it improves your resume. When companies come for placement, they tend to give a lot of importance to these activities.
Also, if you want to pursue your masters from outside of India, they are more inclined to give admission to students who have participated in extra-curricular activities during their college. Participating in these activities will also open a window for you to be able to compete at the national level. These things look very good on your CV.
So, choose a college with solid extra-curricular programs. A good law school always sends its students to other law schools for competition and purposes. It should also assist and back you if you want to do some extra activities besides college.
5. Clinical programs in law school
A college has many clubs to engage students in different activities. There are research and publication clubs, legal aid clubs, moot court clubs, Model United Nations clubs (MUN), and so on. These clubs also play an important role in molding a law student’s mind. These clubs give you exposure and help you learn many skills along the way.
So, choosing a law school with a good clinical program is important as it will give you exposure and introduce you to the real legal world that exists outside your college.
6. Reputation, alumni network, and faculties in a law school
The Reputation of law school is very important. As credibility matters a lot in the field of law, a well-reputed college can give you a career boost that can take you to great heights. A college with a good reputation internationally can help you land good colleges even internationally for further studies.
A good Alumni network is also very important for a law school. They will enhance your professional network even after you graduate. Now Alumni of your law school working at someplace important can come in handy any time. It may also help you in landing an internship easily.
The faculties of a college determine all the aspects of your college life. A college with good and cooperating faculty can also help you make maximum utilization of your college’s resources.
So, in the end, I would like to say that choosing a college is an important decision which needs to be taken by keeping every factor in mind.
Also, choosing a college can be a subjective topic. Many people also take into consideration the distance between their home and college or try to get one in their state.
For some, choosing a college which his friend is choosing also comes into consideration. (Although I advise strongly against this).
9 Factors to consider before choosing a law school.
- Culture of the law school
- Location of the law school
- Your potential practice interests (Litigation, Corporate, Judiciary, etc)
- Exposure the law school will give.
- Internship and placement opportunities provided by the law school
- Curriculum and extracurricular programs of the law school
- Clinical Programs of the law school. (Legal aid clubs, Moot Court Clubs etc)
- The reputation of the law school
- Faculties and Alumni network of the law school.
If you feel any other factor should be considered before choosing a law school, do comment below.
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