Get ready for a long answer because that is a loaded question.
You are correct to be cautious of "Low ranked" schools and the employment prospects coming out of those schools. But "low ranked" is a relative term and even though you might already know this I'll go over the info for anyone else reading this answer. I'll base everything on a scale 1-10. 1 being a virtual guaranteed job to 10 being unemployment and the poorhouse.
Lets say you get into a tier 4 or tier 3 schools. Those schools have an employment rate of 30%-50% nine months after graduation. The median salary for these jobs is 35K-65K and they are mostly public interest jobs. So if you went to one of these schools you are looking at an 8 or 9 on a scale of 10.
If you go to a tier one or tier two school then you are looking better. They have employment rates of 65% to 90% with some even higher. The median salary is normally in the 70K-85K range upon graduation with most of the higher ranked schools (ranked 15th - 35th) having 100K-135K range jobs. Difficulty level is a 3 to a 7 with some variation that I will discuss later.
The Top 14 are noted as being the elite schools in the country and 92% -100% of students upon graduation are employed. The average median salary for jobs from the t14 schools is 135K - 160K. Difficulty of finding a job.... 1-2 Graduate and it is almost guaranteed... in fact you usually have a job lined by the second semester in your second year.
Now there is one thing that can make a HUGE difference when trying to find a job out of a tier one or two school. LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION
If you go to a tier 2 school like Rutgers - Camden then upon graduation you will be competing with graduates from NYU, Columbia, Harvard, Yale, Penn, Cornell, Fordham, UConn, Yeshiva, Brooklyn, Seton Hall, and Rutgers Newark... not to mention other top 25 law schools that have strong ties to NYC like UVA, Duke, Chicago, Stanford, Emory, and Notre Dame which are all ranked above Rutgers Law - Camden. Difficulty level of landing any job is a 6-7. Difficulty of landing a top-paying job (160K) is a 8-9.
Now what about a tier 2 school like U of Miami.... other than the national t 14 schools you will have a great handle on the market with you main competition coming from U of Florida, maybe Florida State and Emory University. Even though Miami is ranked below Camden you can see why finding a high paying job in Miami with a law degree from "The U" would be easier than a the Rutgers situation. Ease of finding a job, 3-4 Ease of finding a high paying job 5-6.
Tips for admissions.
1. Schools primarily care about three things LSAT, GPA, and Ethnicity.
Now I'm not going to do into the affirmative action debate but I will say that it does matter and I don't think anyone can dispute that.
Schools look for specific ranges of GPA's and LSAT's. It doesn't matter if curing cancer is one of your extracurriculars you won't get a second look if you don't meet one or ideally both of the above. The wild card is the ethnicity. If you are an under represented minority the requirements for the GPA and LSAT range is stretched. So study hard.... real hard for that LSAT. I studied for 2 months I don't think that I was adequately prepared to reach my full potential. One other note, any practice test you take should be strictly timed. That is what makes the LSAT so hard is that it is difficult to finish with the allotted time, so practice under the gun.
2. Beef up you extracurricular activities.
If all you have done in college is school and party then you are going to be at a loss when it come admissions time. Find local charities and non-profits that you can help out. Be a part of multiple organizations, not just one or two. Try to attain a leadership role in at least one charity. This shows responsibility and that you are adamantly for the cause. You have to differentiate yourself from all the other people who have virtually the same LSAT and GPA that you do.
3. Do not get your local senator, congressman, mayor, ect ... to write your letters of recommendation. Get someone you know well, very well. Sit down with that person tell them why you want to go to law school and what brought you to this decision. Ask them if they will write a positive letter on your behalf. Get a person who can write well.
4. Apply to a lot of schools. I applied to 4 reaches, 7 primary schools, and 4 safety schools. I was accepted at 2 reach, 5 primary, and 2 safety schools.
You never know what an admissions board will be planning for the upcoming class. I had a 166 LSAT and 4.0 GPA. Vanderbilt and UCLA median LSAT the previous year was 166 so I thought, that's perfect for me. Well both schools decided to try to up their median this year and only accepted 2 or 3 166 lsat's initially and only wanted 167's. (UCLA didn't accept any 166ers initially) They waitlisted all the 166's to see how their strategy would play out. I was waitlisted at both and withdrew from both. (I got into a better school)
Well, sorry it was so long. If you have any other specific questions then just ask in a follow up and I will check back and answer then to the best of my abilities.
What crap! It's not where you went to school it's how well you interview, when it comes to getting a job. Most people don't go to the "elite" law schools. Besides, I am an Atty. & own a firm & make more than 95% of Attys. & I went to a tier 4 school. I hire Attys and most "elites" R unprepared!!!! http://answers.yahoo.com/question/accuse_write?qid=20080626003354AAmgV7j&kid=GJ1dAE66C0Lc7DE8n733&s=comm&date=2009-01-17+16%3A03%3A35&.crumb=
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