Buckle up! We’re taking you on a road trip to explore the various regions of the U.S. and some of their law schools.
After you have been accepted to one or more law schools, it will be time for you to choose where you will attend. The same factors that led you to apply to law schools will come into play when making this decision.
It will be important to consider the cost of both living and tuition, the programs and student culture the school offers, what life is like outside of the law school bubble and if you see yourself being successful at that school.
One way to be sure that you like the area your school is in is to take a tour. To get the most out of your tour you’ll want to focus on the student culture, activities and overall vibe of the city or town.
Tessa Morrison, a first-year at the University of Virginia School of Law, shared her experience touring different schools on an episode of Admissable, a podcast hosted by Natalie Blazer, dean of admissions at UVA Law.
In the episode, she shares three things that she focused on while touring schools: Understanding the area, the size of each school and the school culture.
“So I visited schools in cities and college towns,” Morrison shared in the episode. “I think what was really helpful was being able to go and visit and explore a little bit outside the school bubble itself… A city might have more art performances going on, the college town might have more nature for you to get out into. And I think it was really helpful for me to evaluate which of those things was I feeling drawn to.”
Blazer often has conversations about how students should choose a law school. She said one of the most important things is to visualize your success at that school.
“I tell people this all the time,” Blazer said. “When you set foot on a law school campus or as we say, grounds, can you envision yourself succeeding there? Do you see yourself being supported?”
“You can know what a school is ranked, but a top law school is going to open the doors that you’re looking for it to open,” she continued. “I think it’s much more important that you find where you personally can succeed.”
There are law schools all across the U.S., so if you are drawn to a certain region, that may be a good place to start envisioning success. But before you book that law school tour road trip, we’ll take you on our own trip across the nation!
First stop: The Northeastern region
Four of the most prestigious schools take root in the Northeast, including Yale Law School and Harvard Law School. If the elite schools aren’t to your taste, there are also plenty of other options in this region.
You may find that many of these schools are rich in history and based in prominent cities, such as New York City and Boston. If you’re indifferent to city life you can also find a cozy law school home in rural areas.
Want to study environmental law? Vermont Law School has one of the top programs in the nation and has been honored by preLaw as one of the top Greenest Law Schools for years. Are you interested in banking, finance, mergers and acquisitions and corporate law? Throw a dart at New York City and you’ll hit a law school that excels in those areas.
Second stop: Midwestern region
The law schools of the Upper Midwest boast some of the more progressive, affordable and student-supportive cultures in the nation. And if you’re a Cubs fan, get out the Rizzo jersey. Chicago boasts six law schools, including Chicago-Kent College of Law, so Wrigley Field awaits if you need to blow off some law school steam.
But if big city living isn’t your thing, no problem. The law schools of the Upper Midwest offer a wide variety of choices. University of Wisconsin Law School is in Madison, Wis., one of the top college towns in the nation. But if you want a really small-town law school experience, how about The University of South Dakota School of Law in Vermillion, S.D., with a population of 10,571?
The midwest region offers many affordable living and tuition options, it may just get a bit chilly so it’d be good to invest in some gloves and overcoats.
Third stop: Mid-Atlantic region
If you want to take a dive into our nation’s history, you’ll find that the region that stretches from Maryland to North Carolina is home to a host of law schools that build off a legacy of liberty.
Historic schools like William & Mary Law School and the University of Virginia still carry forward with the principles and ideals of Thomas Jefferson. If government and politics are your game, there’s no better place to study than within walking distance of the Capital by attending Georgetown University Law Center or the White House when attending George Washington University Law School.
Plus, D.C. is home to Howard University School of Law, the quintessential school for African- Americans and civil rights. Religion also plays an integral role in this land of liberty, with two of the most devout Christian schools — Liberty University School of Law and Regent University School of Law. It is also home to Catholic University of America, and Columbus School of Law, another devout law school.
Fourth stop: Southern region
If you can handle the humidity and love a glass of sweet tea, one of the best things about Southeastern law schools is their affordability. Many schools, like Georgia State University College of Law and University of Georgia School of Law, continue to place at the top of preLaw’s Best Value Law School rankings.
The Southeast’s other big draw is the wide range of schools and the differing locales in which they are based. You can attend law school in a charming Southern town or go to University of Miami School of Law and see and be seen at South Beach.
Though it may be best known for barbecue, oil rigs and longhorn cattle, the region that stretches from Texas to Kansas and includes Louisiana and Arkansas is home to a host of Best Value law schools and boasts some of the finest moot court and trial advocacy programs in the country. South Texas College of Law Houston and Texas Tech University School of Law in Lubbock leads a host of successful programs in the region that boast strong trial advocacy and litigation programs.
Energy and environmental law also play strong roles, especially in Texas and Louisiana. Oil and gas make up a large part of the economy and law schools cater to that industry.
While the University of Texas School of Law in Austin dominates the rankings for employment at Big Law firms, most of the schools in the South Central region report above-average employment rates.
Final stop: The Western region
The West has it all — surfing, skiing and an abundant number of ways to play in nature. And from Oregon to Arizona, from Hawaii to Idaho, there are plenty of law schools to choose from.
Many have affordable tuition and high post-graduate employment rates, making the West one of the Best Value regions in the nation. Brigham Young University – J. Reuban Clark Law School was ranked number one this year in our list of Best Value Law schools, so you could save money with a mountainside view.
Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University and The University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law also appear on our Best Value list.
Besides activities galore, the West provides a variety of law schools that offer practically every legal specialty.
If you want to get golden amongst the stars (the ones in Hollywood that is), a law school in California is home to many options for school. You can go to Chapman University Fowler School of Law in the quaint city of Orange with a population of 140,000 or UCLA School of Law in sprawling Los Angeles with a population of 4 million.
Given California’s diverse population, law schools attract students of all races, making many of the schools highly diverse. Eight California schools were among the top 20 of preLaw’s ranking of Most Diverse Law Schools last year.
Is social activism your calling? University of California, Berkeley School of Law, UC Davis School of Law was fourth, Stanford University Law School and UCLA continue to have high rankings by preLaw for public interest programs. No other state had as many schools in our top 10.
