Opinions in part time, unaccredited law school

[tttcomrader]

I'm hoping to keep my full time job during my quest for law.

I'm working in Charleston and I plan to apply for the part time program in Charleston law school, aside from the satisfaction of a JD, my goals after finishing are to do some law consultant work on the side and may be going into politics.

But Charleston School of Law is not yet fully ABA accredited, so will that and the fact of being part time student hurt my goals?

Thank you.

[Doritos]

Part time is less of a deal than the fact that the school is not accredited. At the end of the day a part time JD is still a JD but keep in mind the school has no reputation at all. A school has to be open for 5 years before it can receive accreditation. Charleston opened in 2002 yet it has not achieved full accreditation yet. I would ask them why this is. Not to say you can't do anything with a JD from Charleston just bear in mind you are going to have extra obstacles that a graduate from an accredited school won't have to face. Is there any possibility of you relocating and attending a different part time program?

[MidlawMyth]

waste of time and money

[CanadianWolf]

What is "law consultant work"?

[legalease9]

DO NOT GO TO AN UNACCREDITED SCHOOL!!! Especially if it has had the time to get accredited and failed to do so.

[violinst]

NO.

You can do better, much better, and you should.

[tttcomrader]

Well, my undergrad GPA is 3.67 (double major history/math), got my master in math with GPA 3.0 since I slacked off. Haven't taken the LSAT yet but I'm studying for it, to be honest they are a lot like the math problems I do, so shouldn't be too hard I think.

But I'm now teaching math full time in a community college, easy job, no stress, good people, great benefit, yeah, the pay ain't too high (in mid 40k) right now but in the long term I can go higher than 60k. I research a little bit on law school and it seems like a lot of people are having hard time finding a job, or making little more than I do with tons of debt.

So bottom line, I want to keep my job, so I guess I should wait till they are accredited? I presume they should be working on that now, right?

[Always Credited]

Well, my undergrad GPA is 3.67 (double major history/math), got my master in math with GPA 3.0 since I slacked off. Haven't taken the LSAT yet but I'm studying for it, to be honest they are a lot like the math problems I do, so shouldn't be too hard I think.

But I'm now teaching math full time in a community college, easy job, no stress, good people, great benefit, yeah, the pay ain't too high (in mid 40k) right now but in the long term I can go higher than 60k. I research a little bit on law school and it seems like a lot of people are having hard time finding a job, or making little more than I do with tons of debt.

So bottom line, I want to keep my job, so I guess I should wait till they are accredited? I presume they should be working on that now, right?

Don't attend an unaccredited school - period. Ever. EVER! You've got a real solid GPA, don't waste it...my advice to you is to study hard and take the LSAT, then come back here with a score/GPA combo and we'll tell you your best options, and whether or not those options will likely outweigh your current job in prospective earnings.

[motiontodismiss]

Just don't do it. Get your act together, do well on the LSAT and at least try to get into a proper (ABA accredited) law school.

[tttcomrader]

Thank you so much for the advice, I will take my LSAT and I shall return for an assessment.

Thank you!!!

[Always Credited]

Thank you so much for the advice, I will take my LSAT and I shall return for an assessment.

Thank you!!!

No probs and good luck.

[deadpanic]

As many have already said, study & do well on the LSAT. At the very least, you should go to USC over Charleston even though they do not offer a part time program. If you are even considering going into politics in SC, USC is the route to go.

Charleston School of Law is a for-profit law school designed to generate lots of $ for its owners similar to any other business. It is also unaccredited and the alumni network is virtually non-existent.

If you do really well and want to come back to Charleston, ED to UVA (or other T14) and return with no problem.