Many folks ask me how business school (b-school) differs from law school (l-school), and several of my b-school classmates at one point seriously considered attending l-school instead of b-school. So, for those of you who are considering both b-school and l-school, I thought that I would highlight a couple of big differences between the two: grading and the nature of assignments. Keep in mind that I am generalizing …
First, grading in law school is mostly (if not 100%) based on your final exam. Grading in business school is based on a combination of individual class participation, group projects, midterms, individual assignments, and finals.
Also, the assignments in law school are mostly reading (some writing) assignments. For example, in my Property class, we are generally assigned one or two cases to read before each meeting, along with some supplemental materials, and we discuss the cases as a group during the meeting. Assignments in b-school vary widely, depending on the particular course. You may have problems sets in an Economics course and case write ups in a Strategy course. With respect to class discussions, most l-school professors will “cold call” and use some form of the “Socratic Method.” B-school professors are more likely to solicit class participation (but will also cold call) and to lecture.
There are some other differences that impact the overall atmosphere, e.g., average age, years of work experience, student groups, networking opportunities, etc. Overall, I really appreciate getting the benefits of both worlds.
