Choosing a law school can be overwhelming, with rankings, scholarship offers, and employment statistics to consider. Four past recipients of The National Jurist’s 2023 Law Student of the Year honor share a consistent message: focus less on prestige and more on finding the place where you can thrive.
These graduates, including Jessica Collier, Nicole Jansma, Sydney Warinner, and Dylan Gunaratne, challenge the conventional wisdom of relying solely on rankings in the decision process. Collier, a 2024 graduate of Widener University Commonwealth Law School, took a holistic approach when choosing a school, considering factors such as overall fit, cost, and environment.
Jansma, a 2023 graduate of Chicago-Kent College of Law, agrees that students should look beyond rankings. She urges students to consider factors such as scholarships, legal writing programs, career outcomes, and overall educational quality. In her view, financial flexibility can create opportunities after graduation that might otherwise be unavailable.
Warinner, a 2023 graduate of Case Western Reserve University School of Law, reached a similar conclusion when choosing her law school. Interested in international law, she looked beyond overall rankings and focused on specialized programs, practical experiences, faculty expertise, and scholarship opportunities.
For Warinner, affordability was especially important as a first-generation law student. The scholarships and opportunities available at CWRU Law helped make her legal education possible while supporting her long-term career goals. Collier also believes applicants place too much emphasis on one particular number – the LSAT score.
While it is important, Collier says it doesn’t define who you are as a student or who you will become as an attorney. Success does not hinge on admissions statistics or a single exam. Strong lawyers come from a wide range of schools and backgrounds.
Law school has a reputation for being intimidating, competitive, and relentlessly difficult. However, these graduates discovered that reality did not always match the stereotypes. Jansma was pleasantly surprised, finding that classmates became friends, collaborators, and future colleagues rather than competitors.
Gunaratne, who graduated from Southwestern Law School in 2023, said his biggest surprise about the first year of law school was more personal. He had been out of school for a few years before starting law school and found it hard to get back into the classroom setting. However, he soon found his bearings and built up his confidence.
One lesson appears throughout these graduates’ experiences: there is no single formula for academic success. Collier succeeded by treating law school like a full-time job.
Law school can feel all-consuming, causing you to lose touch with the parts of your life that make you who you are. Each graduate found ways to reconnect with life outside the classroom, whether it was a favorite comfort food or simply stepping away from the books for an evening.
Their advice is simple but powerful: law school matters, but so do the people, interests, and experiences that make you who you are. As law school can be a significant investment, it’s essential to find a balance that works for you, and considering factors like Master programs can help.
By considering factors beyond rankings and finding a system that works for them, incoming law students can set themselves up for success. It’s also important to remember that law school is not just about academics, but also about personal growth and development, which can be influenced by the type of lawyer you want to become.
