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By
far the best indicator of a good
law school match for you is how well you like, respect,
and trust the
students
who will become your peers and whether you are
stimulated by them. We
think,
when we decide to go to law school, that we are buying a
legal
education. In
fact, it may be more relevant to say we are buying a
peer group,
choosing the
people who will shape our values and approach to
practicing law and
who, in
many cases, will be the people we deal with on both a
professional and
social
basis in the decades to come. We’ve
already
discussed how critical relationships are to happiness
and how important
it is
to trust those people with whom you spend your days. But
it is also
increasingly evident that our peers determine our values
and influence
our
behavior to a degree most people find surprising. In Connected: The Surprising
Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our
Lives, Nicholas
Christakis and James Fowler show how our peer groups
influence
everything from
our weight to our sexual practices, not to mention our
happiness. In
fact, Christakis and Fowler
come to the
startling conclusion that not only is getting a $10,000
raise less
likely to
make you happy than having a happy friend—it’s also less
likely to make
you
happy than having a friend who has a
friend who is happy! “Network contagion,” the
phenomenon explored
by
Christakis and Fowler, is incredibly powerful and is
rooted deeply in
our
evolutionary history. So with that in mind, consider carefully the peer group you select. Do the students at a school you are considering have the ethical values you would like to have? Do they see the world as you see it, or would like to see it? Are they, in general (there’s a grouch or two everywhere) the type of people you would be proud to call your friends? When you go on your campus visit, remember to pay at least as much attention to the students as to the architecture. Interact as much as possible with students and ask yourself if they are the type of people you would like to be—because they, in fact, will pull you in their direction for the next three years (at least). Their joys and sorrows will, to a larger extent than you ever imagine, be your joys and sorrows.
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