Page 1 of 1

NKU v. Elon Law

Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 11:39 am
by coupdayta
So here's my situation. I was hoping someone could give me some advice about what to do because I'm kind of stuck. I'm admitted to both Northern Kentucky University and Elon law with full rides. I'm not sure where to go. I've heard a lot of great things about Elon and everyone seemed friendly when I visited. However, I've heard just as many people say Elon law will never be as competitive some of the other schools in NC.

NKU on the other hand will only place in Cincinnati, where I'm from. I'm debating whether to stay here because I currently work in politics and don't want to waste the three years of connections I've built since graduating college. I could definitely see myself living in Cincinnati and being a part of the urban renewal that is currently taking place. I've talked to some folks in the legal profession here in Cincinnati and they seem to believe I shouldn't have a problem going to Elon and coming back and finding work because I am actually from this market. Where do you think I should go?

Also, I am waitlisted at a ton of schools. William and Mary, Washington and Lee, UNC-Chapel Hill, Villanova. If I get into one of those schools should I take the loans and go there, or should I just stick with the full rides?

Any advice would would be appreciated. Thanks!

Re: NKU v. Elon Law

Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 11:41 am
by stintez
coupdayta wrote:So here's my situation. I was hoping someone could give me some advice about what to do because I'm kind of stuck. I'm admitted to both Northern Kentucky University and Elon law with full rides. I'm not sure where to go. I've heard a lot of great things about Elon and everyone seemed friendly when I visited. However, I've heard just as many people say Elon law will never be as competitive some of the other schools in NC.

NKU on the other hand will only place in Cincinnati, where I'm from. I'm debating whether to stay here because I currently work in politics and don't want to waste the three years of connections I've built since graduating college. I could definitely see myself living in Cincinnati and being a part of the urban renewal that is currently taking place. I've talked to some folks in the legal profession here in Cincinnati and they seem to believe I shouldn't have a problem going to Elon and coming back and finding work because I am actually from this market. Where do you think I should go?

Also, I am waitlisted at a ton of schools. William and Mary, Washington and Lee, UNC-Chapel Hill, Villanova. If I get into one of those schools should I take the loans and go there, or should I just stick with the full rides?

Any advice would would be appreciated. Thanks!
I am from cincinnati as well. Did you apply to UC or OSU. Also what is your gpa and lsat score?

Re: NKU v. Elon Law

Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 11:44 am
by coupdayta
I applied to OSU, rejected there (which is fine, didn't really want to go). Waitlisted at UC. I probably won't go to UC even if I get in at some point because I would only go there if I was staying here in Cincinnati. In which case, I might as well take the full ride at Chase.

3.07 (oh freshman year parties), 160

Re: NKU v. Elon Law

Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 11:46 am
by stintez
coupdayta wrote:I applied to OSU, rejected there (which is fine, didn't really want to go). Waitlisted at UC. I probably won't go to UC even if I get in at some point because I would only go there if I was staying here in Cincinnati. In which case, I might as well take the full ride at Chase.

3.07 (oh freshman year parties), 160
I'll go with that, I also will be applying to NKU in hope of some $$$, Also I am going to apply to Dayton because it is one of the few schools that have a 2 year program. If you do not end up getting into any of those other schools take the $$$ and run. Go REDS.

Also what strings are attached for the scholly

Re: NKU v. Elon Law

Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 11:48 am
by romothesavior
Go Cardinals...

But yeah, if you think your connections are capable of landing you legitimate employment, then I would take the full ride. But if you are doubtful about the strength of your connections or you don't think they can get you a job, then you might want to take a WL offer it comes to you, or better yet re-take and re-apply.

Re: NKU v. Elon Law

Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 11:48 am
by jwells
nku. elon isn't even accredited, is it?

Re: NKU v. Elon Law

Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 11:57 am
by coupdayta
Elon is not accredited because it is new. It has been provisionally approved by the ABA and will receive full approval next June.

Also, Ron Burgundy, I have two full rides. Which should I take?

Re: NKU v. Elon Law

Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 11:58 am
by romothesavior
coupdayta wrote:Elon is not accredited because it is new. It has been provisionally approved by the ABA and will receive full approval next June.

Also, Ron Burgundy, I have two full rides. Which should I take?
The accredited one, without a doubt. But I'd still be wary of both. You better make damn sure that you can get a job from one of your contacts, because getting a job out of these schools will be tough without a connection.

Re: NKU v. Elon Law

Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 12:07 pm
by coupdayta
romothesavior wrote:
coupdayta wrote:Elon is not accredited because it is new. It has been provisionally approved by the ABA and will receive full approval next June.

Also, Ron Burgundy, I have two full rides. Which should I take?
The accredited one, without a doubt. But I'd still be wary of both. You better make damn sure that you can get a job from one of your contacts, because getting a job out of these schools will be tough without a connection.
I'll definitely be fine with NKU. It placed just as well as University of Cincinnati in the Cincinnati firms. The two are equal in terms of local employment prospects.

Re: NKU v. Elon Law

Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 12:08 pm
by deadpanic
NKU. From what I've seen, it is at least somewhat respected in the Cinci area and you'll be able to leverage your connections even more during law school there.

Elon is not accredited. Even if it is provisionally accredited and say they will get full accreditation next year, don't go. NC is full of much better law schools and chances are not one single person in Cincinnati has even heard of Elon Law School.

Re: NKU v. Elon Law

Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 12:10 pm
by stintez
deadpanic wrote:NKU. From what I've seen, it is at least somewhat respected in the Cinci area and you'll be able to leverage your connections even more during law school there.

Elon is not accredited. Even if it is provisionally accredited and say they will get full accreditation next year, don't go. NC is full of much better law schools and chances are not one single person in Cincinnati has even heard of Elon Law School.
+1

Re: NKU v. Elon Law

Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 12:12 pm
by stintez
coupdayta wrote:
romothesavior wrote:
coupdayta wrote:Elon is not accredited because it is new. It has been provisionally approved by the ABA and will receive full approval next June.

Also, Ron Burgundy, I have two full rides. Which should I take?
The accredited one, without a doubt. But I'd still be wary of both. You better make damn sure that you can get a job from one of your contacts, because getting a job out of these schools will be tough without a connection.
I'll definitely be fine with NKU. It placed just as well as University of Cincinnati in the Cincinnati firms. The two are equal in terms of local employment prospects.


What are the conditions of your scholly?

Re: NKU v. Elon Law

Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 12:21 pm
by coupdayta
stintez wrote:
coupdayta wrote:
romothesavior wrote:
coupdayta wrote:Elon is not accredited because it is new. It has been provisionally approved by the ABA and will receive full approval next June.

Also, Ron Burgundy, I have two full rides. Which should I take?
The accredited one, without a doubt. But I'd still be wary of both. You better make damn sure that you can get a job from one of your contacts, because getting a job out of these schools will be tough without a connection.
I'll definitely be fine with NKU. It placed just as well as University of Cincinnati in the Cincinnati firms. The two are equal in terms of local employment prospects.


What are the conditions of your scholly?
I honestly don't remember at the moment. But that's only because they were so low. Something like a 2.0 GPA maybe?

Re: NKU v. Elon Law

Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 12:23 pm
by D Brooks
coupdayta wrote:I'll definitely be fine with NKU. It placed just as well as University of Cincinnati in the Cincinnati firms. The two are equal in terms of local employment prospects.
LOL

Re: NKU v. Elon Law

Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 12:47 pm
by coupdayta
D Brooks wrote:
coupdayta wrote:I'll definitely be fine with NKU. It placed just as well as University of Cincinnati in the Cincinnati firms. The two are equal in terms of local employment prospects.
LOL
You got into UVA and I'm very proud of you for that. However, as someone who is actively involved in local politics and legal circles, I can say with confidence there is a large contingent of Chase alums filling up jobs at local big firms not to mention judgeships in Hamilton County. Again, you're obviously very smart and it's pretty cool you go to party with Rey Maulauga at Blackfinn (I hear he's very nice from other people, as is Peko), but you don't have to be rude. I created this thread seeking advice and if you don't have any, please stay away.

Re: NKU v. Elon Law

Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 1:22 pm
by coupdayta
Anyone else have any advice?

Re: NKU v. Elon Law

Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 2:09 pm
by D Brooks
coupdayta wrote:
D Brooks wrote:
coupdayta wrote:I'll definitely be fine with NKU. It placed just as well as University of Cincinnati in the Cincinnati firms. The two are equal in terms of local employment prospects.
LOL
You got into UVA and I'm very proud of you for that. However, as someone who is actively involved in local politics and legal circles, I can say with confidence there is a large contingent of Chase alums filling up jobs at local big firms not to mention judgeships in Hamilton County. Again, you're obviously very smart and it's pretty cool you go to party with Rey Maulauga at Blackfinn (I hear he's very nice from other people, as is Peko), but you don't have to be rude. I created this thread seeking advice and if you don't have any, please stay away.
Whoa, you researched the hell out of my post history.

TBF, I wasn't LOL'ing at you exactly, just at your position that Chase does/will place as well as UC does. I'm good friends with a rising 2L at UC who is splitting his summer as an RA and with one of the big three firms here and he's Top25% or so of his class. The rising 3L I'm friends with at Chase has a similar rank in his class but only landed a firm job because his dad is partner.

TBH, getting an SA position in Cincinnati that leads to an offer from either school ITE will be tough (I believe KMK only took 7 or 8 SAs total last summer) but UC definitely has a clear edge.

Re: NKU v. Elon Law

Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 2:12 pm
by jwells
"...it's pretty cool you go to party with Rey Maulauga at Blackfinn..."

HILARIOUS. Bonus points for you.

Even though Elon will be fully accredited next year, I would still go with NKU. It's been around longer and therefore has had more of a chance to develop a reputation, especially locally. If you stay in Cincy your NKU JD will go farther since it is local, and you'll only be competing with UC degrees and maybe some UK and OSU. I don't think an Elon JD would do well in Cincy. Additionally, if you decided to try to use Elon locally by staying in NC, there are way too many other superior schools to even try to compete with (UNC, Duke, Wake, even Campbell).

If you want to stay in Cincy, I would say go with NKU and don't look back.

If you want to practice in the Southeast, I would definitely accept admission off of the waitlist from any of your other schools except for Villanova. I say Elon is out in either situation.

Re: NKU v. Elon Law

Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 2:13 pm
by jwells
On a further note - If you happen to be a Reds fan, Chris "Rec Specs" Szabo currently attends NKU law. Pretty cool :)

Re: NKU v. Elon Law

Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 2:43 pm
by coupdayta
jwells wrote:"...it's pretty cool you go to party with Rey Maulauga at Blackfinn..."

HILARIOUS. Bonus points for you.

Even though Elon will be fully accredited next year, I would still go with NKU. It's been around longer and therefore has had more of a chance to develop a reputation, especially locally. If you stay in Cincy your NKU JD will go farther since it is local, and you'll only be competing with UC degrees and maybe some UK and OSU. I don't think an Elon JD would do well in Cincy. Additionally, if you decided to try to use Elon locally by staying in NC, there are way too many other superior schools to even try to compete with (UNC, Duke, Wake, even Campbell).

If you want to stay in Cincy, I would say go with NKU and don't look back.

If you want to practice in the Southeast, I would definitely accept admission off of the waitlist from any of your other schools except for Villanova. I say Elon is out in either situation.
Good point about the other schools I would be competing with for jobs out of Elon vs. the lower number with NKU in Cincy. I thought I had my mind made up about Elon because of the great things I've heard about its progress. I just don't want to drink the Kool-Aid and regret it in 5 years if the school doesn't pan out like people hope it will. But on the flip side, I would kick myself I chose NKU and Elon ended up being a really great school. And I didn't know that about Chris Sabo! He was always one of my favorites growing up.

Re: NKU v. Elon Law

Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 2:52 pm
by stintez
jwells wrote:On a further note - If you happen to be a Reds fan, Chris "Rec Specs" Szabo currently attends NKU law. Pretty cool :)
+1000000000000000000000

Re: NKU v. Elon Law

Posted: Tue Jun 01, 2010 3:04 pm
by jwells
"But on the flip side, I would kick myself I chose NKU and Elon ended up being a really great school."

This is something I battled with when I was actually considering applying to Charleston Law. However, an attorney in Charlotte that I am close with pointed out to me that unless the school develops a top-notch reputation within the next 3-5 years (not going to happen), it really wouldn't be very beneficial to me. It may take Elon 20 years to gain a solid reputation in NC and by then it wouldn't benefit you at all except for bragging rights. Once you land your first big job, especially if you are aiming for the private sector, it doesn't matter so much where you went to school as it does how your performance at the firm as an associate went. (This is advice from an attorney at Alston & Bird, I can't speak from experience on this).

Do you really see Elon gaining enough strength in the next 5 years or so to be considered a better school than Duke, Wake, UNC, or Campbell? I'm not trying to bash it, I just don't think it is realistic. Too much competition and too much pressure on a new school. If you already have connections in Cincy and would be happy practicing there, go to NKU. And get me an autograph, please.

All the best.

Re: NKU v. Elon Law

Posted: Thu Jun 03, 2010 10:40 am
by coupdayta
Bumpity bump. Still conflicted. Anyone else?

Re: NKU v. Elon Law

Posted: Thu Jun 03, 2010 10:44 am
by AsylumPB
NKU...out of those two schools, you will have the best prospects going there. Cinci is a nice city and NKU is known in the area. Also, you don't have as many top schools to compete with for jobs. You might not get a top position unless you are in the top 5-10% though, especially with schools like Cinci, UK, UL, IU, etc. competing for the same jobs.

Re: NKU v. Elon Law

Posted: Mon Jun 28, 2010 12:32 am
by calvinnn
Out of curiosity - and this is in no way intended to offend - what are the credentials of those making the assertion that it will "be really tough to find a job" as a graduate of NKU law? I am considering law school in SW Ohio and NKU/Dayton/UC are all options (which is why I'm reading this post).

I don't mean to hijack the OP...I'm just curious.