Since this post is supposed to be about something personal, I figured I would make it about the thing that's been taking up most of my free time lately: applying to and selecting a law school.
In making my choice of law schools, I've noticed that some law schools tend to (loosely) follow variants of the basic strategies that are listed in our Capsim Manual. For example:
A Broad Cost Leader strategy maintains a presence in all segments of the market, gains an advantage by keeping costs to a minimum, allowing the company to compete on the basis of price.
That description seems to fit BYU's Law School very well. They are a good law school, ranked around 40th in the US News Report, with course offerings in almost all major legal fields. Where they really stand out, though, is price. With yearly tuition at around $10,000, they cost 1/3 to 1/4 as much as similarly ranked schools. That's a terrific bargain.
A company following a Niche Differentiation strategy tries to distinguishing themselves by focusing on a particular field or niche within an industry, and doing it so much better than their competitors that they can charge a premium.
Chicago-Kent Law School follows this model. They focus on patent and IT law, and are among the best in this particular segment of the legal market. They also charge a premium ($45,000 per year) for tuition.
A company using a Broad Differentiation strategy maintains a presence in every segment of the market, and gains their competitive advantage by offering excellent products in each market segment that they can charge a premium for.
Yale is a school that quickly comes to mind when thinking of this strategy. They are widely recognized as the top law school in the country, with prestigious faculty, incredibly bright students, and courses of study in just about anything that interests you. They also charge a premium ($44,000) to attend.
