Many students dream about entering an Ivy League school at a point in their academic journeys. Ivy League institutions exist in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada, offering talented students an opportunity to further their academics. Lawyers from Harvard or any other Ivy League law school are often the most sought after in the legal industry. What’s the fuss about getting into an Ivy League college, and why does it demand so much hard work? Here are some benefits of an Ivy League law education.
Prestige and Head Start
Lawyers with an Ivy League education are likely to get a head start in the professional space, which is more than enough reason to opt for an Ivy League education as a law school applicant. You can count many first-choice college lawyers from Princeton, Yale, Georgetown, and others who got an acceptance letter into a top firm right after graduation.
However, despite the benefits, you can still become a top lawyer like Malliha Wilson without an Ivy League law education, Malliha graduated from McGill University and started her legal career as senior counsel for the Ministry of Government Services. She became the special legal advisor to the Investment Management Corporation of Ontario (IMCO) and currently serves as a senior partner at Nava Wilson LLP.
Powerful Alumni
Many Ivy League-ranked top schools have a strong alumni culture, which many institutions call on for presentations, donations, and other high-end activities. Ivy League universities trust their alumni to make important decisions wherever they find themselves and field a very rigorous and selective administration process and ensure they provide a college experience critical enough to impact a young person’s life.
Ivy League schools are known to have a very low acceptance rate, and an admissions decision is based on only an individual’s GPA or schoolwork. Applicants may be tested for their proficiency and many other skills, including how they maximize strengths and manage weaknesses. That’s why many juniors seek Ivy League counseling before shooting for any of the Ivies. Ivy League counselors understand the ethics and standards of admissions committees. They afford students the clarity in listing their accomplishments and educational goals the way elite universities demand.
World-Class Resources
The Ivy League fuss also has a lot to do with the opportunities and resources available in such institutions. Seven of the United States’ Ivy League universities, including Brown and Dartmouth, were founded in the colonial era, and these institutions have enjoyed significant investments over the years and have created the best learning environments for students.
Law students in Ivy League schools are privy to the workings of the legal system, as early Ivy League proponents constructed a huge part of the system’s architecture. There are many corporate governing structures, legal best practices, and methodologies that began as early-day Harvard Law School projects. With access to such world-stage resources, it becomes easier for Ivy League-educated lawyers to rise through the ranks and carve distinctive names for themselves. This can best explain the high success rate for Ivy League-educated lawyers in the legal services industry.
Remuneration
A young lawyer from Columbia University can land up to about $150,000 in starting salary. A Canadian survey in 2010 revealed Ivy League lawyers to be earning $337 per hour, and colleagues handling notable cases can earn more in bonuses and commissions. These trends are similar to many top recruiters in the game, and the price is set to attract the best from Ivy League schools.
Some institutions even have a Harvard-only hiring policy, and business consulting agencies like McKinsey are best known to leverage Harvard knowledge for the firm’s high-end clients. For the most part, these policies pay off and clients receive the best legal services. However, many advocates have called for diversity in hiring, especially with women, which has forced some top firms to drop their policies and favor more culturally diverse and inclusive work environments.