What's Special About...?
Sometime around 1997, one of my interview questions was, "Where else do your applicants tend to apply, and how are you different from them?" I've reported the results for all interviewed schools below, and added my own thoughts where possible. Please note that I don't endorse what the admissions officer said; I haven't been to many of these schools, and I certainly don't know them well enough to judge comments about programs or administration. Also note that neither "not interviewed" nor "not visited" is a comment about the schools. Some schools don't attend forums, or I missed them for some reason, and I visit schools within driving distance of my home or when I happen to be in an area; I've just never happened to be in Wyoming or Hawaii.
The list of comparable schools is helpful for two reasons: right now it shows you whom the person quoted was comparing their school to; In June, it will show you which wait lists are connected to the one you're interested in.
I was thinking of retiring this data in 2010, but I decided to give it a second look before doing so, and I'm glad I did: I had something new to say, usually based on a visit, for 40 of the 180-or-so schools! Loretta's thoughts for 2010 are highlighted thus. Older thoughts match the older chart.
| School | Comparable Schools | A School Representative Said: | Loretta's Thoughts |
| Akron | Capital, Cleveland State, Toledo, Dayton | Trial Advocacy, Low Tuition | very suburban |
| Alabama | Cumberland | Higher Standards, Low Cost | major college town |
| Albany | Syracuse SUNY | In state capital, student/faculty ratios, bar passage | Beautiful law school, but no campus |
| American | George Mason GW Maryland Boston U. | Friendly and feminist | New building, nice campus; closest law school to Morty's (formerly Krupin's) deli. |
| Arizona | Arizona St. New Mexico | Small, friendly, high diversity, emotional support | not visited. Great admissions staff. |
| Arizona State | Arizona Cal & NY schools | Quality of life, solid and affordable. Suburban. | Pueblo-modern architecture, way too hot. Great admissions staff. |
| Ark.-Fayetteville | Ark.-Little Rock | not interviewed | not visited |
| Ark.-Little Rock | Ark.-Fayetteville | not interviewed | not visited |
| Baltimore | Catholic Widener Nova | not interviewed | Urban Campus |
| Baylor | Texas SMU Vanderbilt | not interviewed | Trial Advocacy, Waco. |
| Boston College | Boston U. Northeastern UNC Notre Dame Hastings Fordham GW Georgetown William & Mary | Quiet atmosphere, isolated, supportive community | emphasize "isolated" |
| Boston U. | Boston College Northeastern Fordham American Maryland Tulane | Job placement, trial advocacy | excellent Boston location; one of the best urban campuses. |
| Brigham Young | Utah Arizona | not interviewed | Mormon |
| Brooklyn | Cardozo Fordham Hofstra Pace Rutgers | Strong clinical programs & minority recruiting | trial advocacy; nice building |
| Cal-Berkeley | Stanford Chicago Harvard | Low cost, high diversity, emphasize social policy | Prop 209 problems, but fabulous campus and law school. More of a college town than I expected. |
| Cal-Davis | Hastings McGeorge UCLA USC | Civil Rights | Suburban/Rural, Prop 209 problems |
| Cal-Hastings | Berkeley Davis UCLA USC | Strong public sector law dealing with real life problems | LEOP Program limited somewhat to play USNews rankings game. |
| Cal-UCLA | Berkeley Davis Hastings USC Cornell GW Penn | Accessible faculty, diversity, public interest law | Prop 209 problems, but great staff. |
| California Western | Whittier Pepperdine Golden Gate Chapman Thomas Jefferson Western State | Accessible faculty and staff user friendly environment | high attrition rate |
| Campbell | Central South Carolina UNC Wake Forest | Good practitioner reputation | Southern Baptist. 2010: moved to a more urban locale. |
| Capital | Akron Dayton Toledo Cleveland State | In state capital, International Law, Dispute Resolution | not visited |
| Cardozo | Brooklyn Fordham Hofstra Pace NYLS | Entertainment and immigration | 5th Avenue location |
| Case Western Reserve | Ohio State Wash U. Tulane BC BU | Commitment to teaching the skills needed now, not 30 years ago | A best buy -- good everything! |
| Catholic | American Maryland Syracuse DCLS | Small, personalized, community spirit, ethics | Communications Law |
| Chapman | Western State Thomas Jefferson Cal Western Whittier | Smaller Classes, Full Campus | not visited |
| Chicago | Columbia Stanford Berkeley Michigan | Economic analysis of law | Conservative. Not handicapped-accessible. |
| Chicago-Kent | John Marshall Loyola DePaul | Innovative technology in school, lots of writing | busy urban campus |
| Cincinnati | Case Western Ohio State Kentucky Louisville St. Louis W. Virginia | not interviewed | good campus, solid reputation |
| Cleveland State | Akron Case Western Toledo Capital | Russian Law, academic support, active student body | gorgeous law school! Livable city with population of over 2 million. Great people work and attend there. |
| Colorado | Denver New Mexico Arizona Oregon | not interviewed | Boulder didn't live up to its reputation, IMHO. Not nearly as eclectic as Eugene or Ann Arbor. |
| Columbia | NYU Chicago Stanford Harvard Yale | "Applicants should discover this for themselves." | Location, location, location! Building is institutional and closed to outsiders. |
| Connecticut | Albany Northeastern Boston U. Syracuse | not interviewed | Northeast Compact limits seats available for residents out of New England. Wonderful admissions staff. |
| Cornell | Penn NYU George Washington Georgetown UCLA | Small size, quality of university, Paris program | liberal small town |
| Creighton | Nebraska S. Dakota Drake Washburn Kansas Kansas City | not interviewed | Jesuit, urban. A beautiful building in a reasonable city. Like Des Moines, it had more to offer than I expected. Superb staff and administration. |
| Dayton | Akron Toledo Capital Cleveland State N. Kentucky | 25/75 Error In Official Guide; ABA Reports 2.98-3.47, 146-153 | Catholic; more than 50% non-resident |
| Denver | Colorado New Mexico Arizona State | Supportive staff, urban environment | Private; great new building! |
| DePaul | John Marshall Chicago-Kent Loyola Valparaiso Marquette Wayne State Wash U | Trial Practice, International Human Rights, Church State Studies | Not a full campus; not ostentatiously Catholic. Excellent public interest programs. |
| Detroit College | Detroit Wayne State Hamline William Mitchell Valparaiso | not interviewed | Large state university, increasing reputation. |
| Detroit Mercy | Detroit College Wayne State | Jesuit, Canadian Law | not visited |
| DC Law School | Baltimore Catholic Howard CUNY | Public Interest Law, DC Residence | Frequently provisionally accredited |
| Drake | Creighton Iowa Nebraska Washburn Kansas | Smaller school, more attention | Capital city, though small, is funky and has significant cultural and ethnic touches. I liked the building, too. |
| Duke | Penn UNC Vanderbilt Virginia | Less competitive than Ivies | Less urban than you'd think. Location is the best of the south (along with UNC, just down the road). |
| Duquesne | Pitt Dickinson W. Virginia Temple | Good practitioner reputation | Catholic |
| Emory | Vanderbilt Georgia Duke Georgetown UVA | Atlanta; Theology programs, | A best buy -- good everything! |
| Florida | Florida State Emory Alabama Tulane | Publishing faculty, good library | 90% resident, affirmative action problems |
| Florida State | Florida Stetson Mercer | Young energetic faculty, small personable school | Affirmative action problems. In the panhandle. |
| Fordham | NYU Cardozo Boston College George Washington | Conservative Jesuit institution. Perillo for Contracts | Midtown Manhattan location, with dorms. |
| Franklin Pierce | W. New England New England Suffolk Quinnipiac | Computer tutorials, good environment, technology law | No campus |
| George Mason | American Catholic William & Mary | not interviewed | State tuition, specialty tracks. Virginia, not DC. |
| G W | Georgetown American | Public interest programs | Elderly, prisoners, and elderly prisoners |
| Georgetown | GW NYU Penn Columbia Northwestern | Curriculum b, practitioner reputation, more liberal | International diplomacy, human rights |
| Georgia | Georgia State Emory | Traditional program, college town | Athens is not Atlanta; this is the old south. |
| Georgia State | Georgia Emory Mercer Florida | Older student body, diversity, part-time programs, atlanta | Urban Atlanta pros and cons. |
| Golden Gate | San Francisco Santa Clara McGeorge Pepperdine San Diego | Strong clinical programs, diversity, urban setting | No campus. |
| Gonzaga | Seattle | not interviewed | Jesuit, urban setting, foothills of the Rockies |
| Hamline | William Mitchell Marquette Valparaiso | Very young and flexible, religion and law, dispute resolution | Nice city, older facilities, friendly staff. |
| Harvard | Yale Stanford Columbia Michigan | Big city, big name, large class, sink or swim | The new library isn't so hot. |
| Hawaii | none?! | 30% non-residents, Pacific/Asian legal studies | not visited |
| Hofstra | Pace Brooklyn St. John’s | Accessible faculty, diversity, support for minority students | little overlap with city schools; not visited |
| Houston | S. Texas St. Mary's SMU Tulane | Small population, accessible faculty | Generic modern city, generic state school. |
| Howard | Catholic, Maryland, Loyola-New Orleans, NC Central | not interviewed | Premier HBC, Civil Rights Law |
| Idaho | Gonzaga Montana Utah | not interviewed | Shares facilities with Washington State University |
| Illinois | Bloomington Iowa Minnesota | not interviewed | 2 1/2 Hours From Chicago, Top Reputation, Good Diversity |
| Ind-Bloomington | Indianapolis Illinois | Rural environment, full-time teachers | Beautiful campus and law school. |
| Ind-Indianapolis | Bloomington | Urban environment, health law | Visited the city very briefly; nothing negative came to my notice. |
| Iowa | Minnesota Illinois Bloomington Michigan UNC Drake Chicago Schools | Diversity of students and faculty, large library, quality teaching | Archetypal state school -- big, out-of-town, accessible. Friendly staff, modern facilities. Town is WAY too small for me. |
| John Marshall | Chicago-Kent Loyola DePaul Cardozo Brooklyn | Small classes, intellectual property | Conservative; no campus. |
| Kansas | Nebraska Washburn Mo-KC Mo.-Columbia Creighton | not interviewed | College town, low tuition, state school |
| Kentucky | Louisville W. Virginia Case Western | Better alumni reputation, environment law journal (mining) | Mineral rights favors corporations. |
| Lewis & Clark | Oregon Seattle Colorado | Urban environment, environment law program | No campus; modern city. |
| Louisiana State | Tulane Loyola-New Orleans S. Texas | not interviewed | State residents only? |
| Louisville | N. Kentucky Kentucky Dayton | not interviewed | Nice campus, nice city |
| Loyola-Chicago | Chicago-Kent DePaul American Boston College | Safe city, child advocacy law | Urban campus; new library is cramped. |
| Loyola-L.A. | USC American Boston U. Hastings Tulane UCLA Santa Clara | Higher diversity, internships, scholarships | Entertainment law; funky urban campus. -- still recovering. |
| Loyola-New Orleans | Tulane Southern St. Mary's | Small, cheap, more congenial | Old buildings, great location. |
| Maine | Vermont Franklin Pierce Massachusetts Schools | Generalist approach | not visited |
| Marquette | Wisconsin DePaul Hamline | Cooperative accessible faculty, good job placement, "Milwaukee is a big small town." | Briefly visited -- industrial city, older facilities. |
| Maryland | Baltimore American George Mason Boston U. Fordham | Diversity of opportunity and electives, clinicals, personable | Urban campus; near the Inner Harbor. |
| McGeorge | Davis Pepperdine San Francisco Golden Gate San Diego | not interviewed | State capital, legislative internships, more agricultural than urban -- this ain't San Fran! |
| Memphis | Mercer Mississippi Tennessee | Urban environment; more legal opportunities. | Bad modern city; sprawl without a cultural center. |
| Mercer | Memphis S. Carolina Samford | Small size | Quaint old town. |
| Miami | Nova Temple Syracuse Florida St. Stetson | Scholarships, location | not visited; good rep in the north. |
| Michigan | NYU Chicago Columbia Berkeley Stanford Minnesota Georgetown Duke UVA | College town, full-time faculty, inter-disciplinary programs | The only cosmopolitan college town I've seen. Fabulous faculty and administration. |
| Minnesota | Iowa Illinois Michigan Notre Dame | Low tuition, great faculty and library | not visited. Library is reportedly beautiful |
| Mississippi | Mississippi Coll. Loyola-N.O. Memphis Samford | Low tuition, 80% state resident | This is the Deep South -- get me outta here! |
| Miss. College | Loyola-New Orleans Tulane Memphis Samford | Smaller & cheaper than other private schools | Nice small town, friendly staff. |
| Mo-Columbia | Mo-KC St. Louis Washington U. Kansas | College town, domestic violence clinic. | Archetypal state school -- big, out-of-town, accessible. Friendly staff, modern facilities. |
| Mo-Kansas City | Mo.-Columbia St. Louis Wash .U. Washburn | not interviewed | not visited. Major city, urban campus |
| Montana | Idaho Gonzaga | Tiny school, practice oriented | not visited. |
| Nebraska | Kansas Creighton Washburn Drake S. Dakota | not interviewed | Archetypal state school -- big, out-of-town, accessible. Friendly staff, modern facilities. |
| New England | Suffolk | part-time day program for mothers, low tuition for private school | Good location on Boston Common. |
| New Mexico | Arizona St. Denver Texas Tech. | not interviewed | Native American Programs |
| New York - CUNY | DC NYLS NC Central | Public interest law, diversity of student body | Very liberal, practice-oriented. |
| New York - SUNY | Syracuse Fordham American Albany | Innovative curriculum, emphasis on writing | Good law school and campus. Very liberal. |
| New York Law School | Cardozo Hofstra Pace Brooklyn | More local than national, liberal, good faculty | Very urban -- no campus. 2010 -- new building, not yet visited. |
| New York University | Penn Columbia Duke Cornell | Public interest and poverty interest | Urban campus, but with a park! |
| UNC - Chapel Hill | Wake Forest Duke Emory Vanderbilt | Low cost, friendly, corporate and tax programs | Good law school and campus. Location is the best of the south (along with Duke, just down the road). |
| NC Central | Campbell Southern Howard UNC | High public service placement | Low-budget state school. |
| North Dakota | not interviewed | not visited. | |
| Northeastern | Suffolk Boston U. American Maryland Connecticut | co-op program, less competitive-pass/fail grades | Not a full campus; great Boston location |
| Northern Ill. | S. Illinois Valparaiso Drake Chicago-Kent | Small, public interest, closer to chicago | not visited. |
| Northern Kentucky | Cincinnati Kentucky Capital Louisville | not interviewed | Low-budget campus, but liberal. |
| Northwestern | Chicago Michigan Boston U UCLA | Non-competitive and comfortable | Not a full campus; nice law library. Lake Michigan and Michigan Ave! |
| Notre Dame | BC Fordham | Community Service | Very Catholic, very isolated. |
| Nova | St. Thomas Miami | All small classes, hands on experience | not visited. |
| Ohio Northern | Capital Dayton Toledo Cleveland State | Small school, we really care | More non-residents |
| Ohio State | Case Western Notre Dame Michigan Cincinnati Illinois | Well rounded education-corporate, labor, tax | Nice campus, urban environment, great administration; at 1.5 million, the metro is just a shade too small for my style. |
| Oklahoma | Oklahoma City Tulsa SMU Mississippi S. Texas | not interviewed | not visited. |
| Oklahoma City | Oklahoma Tulsa | Less expensive, good city | Teach the fundamentals |
| Oregon | Lewis & Clark UC-Davis Tulane American Fordham | not interviewed | Friendly town, friendly school |
| Pace | Hofstra NYLS Brooklyn Cardozo St. John's | not interviewed | Out of the city--slower pace |
| Penn | NYU Duke Cornell Columbia UCLA Georgetown | Less competitive grading | Best urban campus! Beautiful law school. My first love, so I am shamelessly biased. |
| Penn State | Villanova Pitt West Va Duquesne Maryland Temple American Catholic | Open door policy, not cut-throat, practical training | Carlisle looks just like Mayberry! Now two campuses -- College Park and Dickinson -- haven't seen either one. |
| Pepperdine | San Diego San Fran Santa Clara Golden Gate McGeorge Whittier | not interviewed | Conservative Christian school with a great view! |
| Pittsburgh | Duquesne Dickinson Temple Villanova Case W. Virginia | Quiet city, strong clinical programs, commitment of faculty & staff | Good urban campus, good city. |
| Quinnipiac | Franklin Pierce Nova Mercer New England Whittier Valparaiso | not interviewed | Quintessential suburban campus, nice touches that only money can buy. |
| Regent | Campbell Stetson Pepperdine Richmond | not interviewed | not visited. Religious mission |
| Richmond | Emory Wake Forest Cumberland Maryland Washington & Lee William & Mary | Friendly, personalized education | Suburban campus in an urban setting |
| Roger Williams | not interviewed | not visited. | |
| Rutgers-Camden | Rutgers-Newark Temple Widener Seton Hall | Accessible faculty | South Jersey job market |
| Rutgers-Newark | Fordham NYU Temple Villanova | not interviewed | New York jobs at New Jersey tuition; awesome new millennium building. |
| Saint John's | Hofstra Pace Cardozo NYLS | Better reputation | not visited. very Catholic. |
| Saint Louis | Wash. U. Mo.-Columbia DePaul | Professional skills, health and employment law | not visited. |
| Saint Mary's | Loyola-New Orleans Tulsa S. Texas SMU Texas Tech | Commitment to diversity; Mexican Immigrant Law | not visited. |
| Saint Thomas | Miami Nova Loyola-New Orleans Mercer | Location, small size, immigration clinic | not visited. |
| Samford | Alabama Mercer Emory Florida State Georgia State Tennessee | "We're Better" | Deep South, not very friendly. |
| San Diego | San Francisco Santa Clara Golden Gate McGeorge | not interviewed | Good campus, imposing buildings |
| San Francisco | Santa Clara Golden Gate John Marshall McGeorge Pepperdine | Faculty commitment to student | Urban campus, good location. |
| Santa Clara | UC-Hastings UC-Davis Loyola-La | Academic support program, very friendly environment, high tech law | Lovely Spanish-style buildings, nice law school. |
| Seattle | Lewis & Clark | Cosmopolitan city, flexible schedules, broad based education | New building, great city; heck, I chose to live here out of 100 cities I've visited! Funky cool counterculture. |
| Seton Hall | Rutgers-Camden Rutgers-Newark Quinnipiac | Relaxed, open and supportive, gun control law, immigration | Funky modern building, practically connected to NY train station. |
| South Carolina | Mercer Campbell Emory Cumberland Mississippi | Pro bono program, good law review | Small town, okay campus. |
| South Dakota | Creighton Drake Nebraska | not interviewed | not visited. |
| South Texas | Texas Southern Houston St. Mary's | part-time program, trial advocacy | generic campus, great admissions staff |
| Southern Cal. | UCLA Hastings Penn Northwestern Georgetown | S/f ratio 13 to 1; "We try to make students happy." | Nice campus, nice law school; California cool. |
| Southern Illinois | N. Illinois Louisville | not interviewed | not visited. |
| Southern Methodist | Texas Emory Vanderbilt Houston Baylor Tulane Pepperdine Wash U | Metropolitan, less competitive, public service requirement | Suburban campus in an urban environment |
| Southern U. | Central Texas Southern LSU Tulane | not interviewed | Best HBC campus, 80 miles from New Orleans |
| Southwestern | Whittier San Diego Cal. Western Pepperdine | Two Year Program | Downtown L.A. location |
| Stanford | Berkeley Chicago Harvard Michigan Columbia | not interviewed | Oxford Meets California -- magnificent building! Magnificent admissions officer -- but good luck getting in! |
| Stetson | Miami Nova | Small size | Religious reputation stronger than actual effect |
| Suffolk | New England Northeastern BU John Marshall Cardozo | not interviewed | Focus on state legislature, conservative commuter schools |
| Syracuse | SUNY Temple Albany Franklin Pierce | Summer Program in Zimbabwe | Strong alumni reputation |
| Temple | Suffolk Miami Pitt Dickinson Villanova Rutgers-Camden | Diversity, semester in Japan | Trial Advocacy. Good administration. Good urban campus |
| Tennessee | Vanderbilt Memphis St. | Location and atmosphere | new building; generic modern city. |
| Texas | Vanderbilt Virginia Duke | State School, 80% Resident | not visited. |
| Texas Southern | Southern Central S. Texas St. Mary's | not interviewed | Takes more risks in admissions, higher attrition rate |
| Texas Tech. | SMU Tulsa Oklahoma Houston | not interviewed | not visited. |
| Texas Wesleyan | South Texas, Texas Tech, Tulsa, St. Mary's | not interviewed | Cute school, cute city, great administration |
| Thomas Jefferson | Whittier, Chapman, Western State | not interviewed | Commuter school with an ocean view |
| Thomas M. Cooley | Widener | Two year program, flexible schedules | not visited. |
| Toledo | Dayton Akron | Faculty accessibility and support | not visited. |
| Touro | Cardozo Hofstra Pace Brooklyn | not interviewed | Jewish calendar, has moved to a more central Long Island location |
| Tulane | SMU Emory Texas Vanderbilt | Diversity | Beautiful campus, beautiful city -- still recovering. |
| Tulsa | Oklahoma Oklahoma City Arkansas Houston Kansas | Modern facilities, low crime city, not too competitive | Helpful faculty and admin.not visited. |
| Utah | Brigham Young Idaho Colorado Arizona | not interviewed | not visited. |
| Valparaiso | Capital Bloomington Chicago-Kent N. Ill. | S/f ratio, size, public interest law | Not visited. |
| Vanderbilt | Virginia Duke | Student life | Country music capital of the U.S. |
| Vermont | Lewis & Clark Colorado Franklin Pierce Boston U Pace Syracuse | Clinical programs, good community | Idyllic rural beauty and isolation |
| Villanova | Temple Rutgers BC Pitt Duquesne | Solid regional reputation | Philly's Main Line, is the ultimate college town/city blend. |
| Virginia | Vanderbilt Duke | Reputation | new building, old Virginia. |
| Wake Forest | Duke UNC Washington Lee William-Mary | Non-competitive, good location | Suburban Christian environment |
| Washburn | Kansas Creighton Drake Mo-KC Nebraska | not interviewed | not visited. |
| Washington | UCLA Colorado USC | not interviewed | Institutional architecture, commuter-school mentality. |
| Washington U. | St. Louis BC BU Emory Tulane | Faculty commitment to teaching and students | Beautiful city, beautiful facilities, French and Southern influences, but primarily midwestern. I gave it an A. |
| Washington & Lee | Wake William & Mary Virginia Duke | S/f ratio 11 to 1, racially mixed, strong honor code | Nice campus, but isolated. |
| Wayne State | Detroit Detroit College | Better study environment, high bar passage rate | not visited. |
| West Virginia | Pitt Duquesne Dickinson Case | not interviewed | Rural Mountain Location |
| Western N. Eng. | Franklin Pierce Vermont Suffolk New England Connecticut | not interviewed | Typical middle American town and institution |
| Western State | Whittier, Cal Western, Chapman, Thomas Jefferson Golden Gate | not interviewed | Occasionally accredited, trying hard. |
| Whittier | Pepperdine McGeorge San Diego Cal. Western | Good faculty credentials, open door policy, safe location | Orange County safety and conservativeness. |
| Widener | Temple Rutgers-Camden Baltimore Penn State | not interviewed | Large classes, two campuses |
| Willamette | Oregon Lewis & Clark Seattle | Small city, small classes | Legislative programs, cute campus |
| William & Mary | Wake Washington And Lee Virginia (Most) | Legal Skills Curriculum | high-tech Moot Court room. |
| William Mitchell | Hamline Drake Creighton | Many clinicals, 90% employed by graduation | Modern facilities, friendly city -- A+! |
| Wisconsin | Minnesota Iowa | Public Interest Law, Clinicals | Smaller town than I would wish for. |
| Wyoming | Colorado Denver | not interviewed | not visited. |
| Yale | Stanford Harvard Chicago | Small size, cosmopolitan student body | The student always comes first |