Which law school should I transfer to? Forum

[Ksurya]

I did my first year at Northeastern, but I have no interest in pursuing public interest and I definitely don't want to stay in the Boston area (I know, silly move. But they gave me a good bit of money). I don't necessarily want to do biglaw, but I don't want to be working for the state. I'd like to go to the school that gives me the best chance at employment in the private sector.

I'm still waiting to hear from Brooklyn, but I've been admitted at Cardozo and Seton Hall.

[Verity]

I did my first year at Northeastern, but I have no interest in pursuing public interest and I definitely don't want to stay in the Boston area (I know, silly move. But they gave me a good bit of money). I don't necessarily want to do biglaw, but I don't want to be working for the state. I'd like to go to the school that gives me the best chance at employment in the private sector.

I'm still waiting to hear from Brooklyn, but I've been admitted at Cardozo and Seton Hall.

How did you do the first year?

Doesn't really matter though. None of these schools will likely get you employed.

[Robespierre]

Dozo if you want NYC, SHU if you want Jersey. But how are you going to pay for it? Not through loans, I hope. Neither of those schools is worth going 100K+ into debt for.

[Ksurya]

Dozo if you want NYC, SHU if you want Jersey. But how are you going to pay for it? Not through loans, I hope. Neither of those schools is worth going 100K+ into debt for.

They've both offered me similar amounts of money. I will have to take out loans, but they will (thankfully) not be too large. I did very well my first year, but Northeastern doesn't have grades- we get written evaluations. So maybe "well" is more subjective than a hard and fast number.

My concern is really with Cardozo being so young, and not having a strong alumni network. Is that a really huge component of employment? On the other hand, I'm worried that at SHU I won't have any chance of getting into the NYC market at all. I honestly just want to go to the school that gives me the most options.

[Verity]

Dozo if you want NYC, SHU if you want Jersey. But how are you going to pay for it? Not through loans, I hope. Neither of those schools is worth going 100K+ into debt for.

They've both offered me similar amounts of money. I will have to take out loans, but they will (thankfully) not be too large. I did very well my first year, but Northeastern doesn't have grades- we get written evaluations. So maybe "well" is more subjective than a hard and fast number.

My concern is really with Cardozo being so young, and not having a strong alumni network. Is that a really huge component of employment? On the other hand, I'm worried that at SHU I won't have any chance of getting into the NYC market at all. I honestly just want to go to the school that gives me the most options.

WTF? How do employer's compare you to the rest of the class? Outside of Boston you guys probably have it rough to impossible.

Have you looked into whether you can actually participate in SHU's and Cardozo's OCI?

Have you applied other schools? Look, SHU is better in NJ and Cardozo is better in NYC, but if you want an honest answer, they're both not great for employment prospects. Even if you get interviews through OCI, your employers will be staring at your 1L "evaluations" which they'll have no way of knowing how to really evaluate.

[Ksurya]

Dozo if you want NYC, SHU if you want Jersey. But how are you going to pay for it? Not through loans, I hope. Neither of those schools is worth going 100K+ into debt for.

They've both offered me similar amounts of money. I will have to take out loans, but they will (thankfully) not be too large. I did very well my first year, but Northeastern doesn't have grades- we get written evaluations. So maybe "well" is more subjective than a hard and fast number.

My concern is really with Cardozo being so young, and not having a strong alumni network. Is that a really huge component of employment? On the other hand, I'm worried that at SHU I won't have any chance of getting into the NYC market at all. I honestly just want to go to the school that gives me the most options.

WTF? How do employer's compare you to the rest of the class? Outside of Boston you guys probably have it rough to impossible.

Have you looked into whether you can actually participate in SHU's and Cardozo's OCI?

Have you applied other schools? Look, SHU is better in NJ and Cardozo is better in NYC, but if you want an honest answer, they're both not great for employment prospects. Even if you get interviews through OCI, your employers will be staring at your 1L "evaluations" which they'll have no way of knowing how to really evaluate.

Yeah, that's basically why I'm transferring... I've realized how hard it's going to be getting a job in NY/NJ with three years of those grades.

I also got into Rutgers, where I do get in state tuition. But since they didn't give me any money, I didn't really consider it. I'm also waiting to hear from Brooklyn.

Oh, and yes- I can participate in both OCIs.

[swimmer11]

I am just curious, how does a written evaluation work? How do you know you did very well? Can each teacher only give very good comments to X amount of students? I.e: only five people can receive a very good evaluation.

[Ksurya]

I am just curious, how does a written evaluation work? How do you know you did very well? Can each teacher only give very good comments to X amount of students? I.e: only five people can receive a very good evaluation.

There are some key buzzwords, "good," "very good," "outstanding," "excellent," "competent," etc. I don't think there's a limit to the number they can issue (we don't have rank either), but people in school talk fairly openly about grades, since there isn't a constant struggle to get to the top. One of the many things I love about Northeastern, and will be very sad to leave behind for practical reasons.

[Verity]

Dozo if you want NYC, SHU if you want Jersey. But how are you going to pay for it? Not through loans, I hope. Neither of those schools is worth going 100K+ into debt for.

They've both offered me similar amounts of money. I will have to take out loans, but they will (thankfully) not be too large. I did very well my first year, but Northeastern doesn't have grades- we get written evaluations. So maybe "well" is more subjective than a hard and fast number.

My concern is really with Cardozo being so young, and not having a strong alumni network. Is that a really huge component of employment? On the other hand, I'm worried that at SHU I won't have any chance of getting into the NYC market at all. I honestly just want to go to the school that gives me the most options.

WTF? How do employer's compare you to the rest of the class? Outside of Boston you guys probably have it rough to impossible.

Have you looked into whether you can actually participate in SHU's and Cardozo's OCI?

Have you applied other schools? Look, SHU is better in NJ and Cardozo is better in NYC, but if you want an honest answer, they're both not great for employment prospects. Even if you get interviews through OCI, your employers will be staring at your 1L "evaluations" which they'll have no way of knowing how to really evaluate.

Yeah, that's basically why I'm transferring... I've realized how hard it's going to be getting a job in NY/NJ with three years of those grades.

I also got into Rutgers, where I do get in state tuition. But since they didn't give me any money, I didn't really consider it. I'm also waiting to hear from Brooklyn.

Oh, and yes- I can participate in both OCIs.

If you want to work in NJ, go to the cheapest school. Rutgers and SHU are basically equals. If you want to work in NY, go to the cheapest school. Brooklyn and Cardozo are basically equals.

Actually, I'd say they're all basically equals in terms of employment, but I know that alumni bases are different in each state. Usually doesn't make a difference though.