Top Law Schools

I've read and seen on lsn that louisville's attrition is up there with the worst of 'em. I also read a post that stated this was not accurate. What are your opinions of the school, career opportunities, reputation, etc?

I've heard a lot of mixed reviews thus far and hope that you can help. Also, how would you compare it to midwest T3 schools? Is it worth a bit more debt?

citrus2010 wrote:I've read and seen on lsn that louisville's attrition is up there with the worst of 'em. I also read a post that stated this was not accurate. What are your opinions of the school, career opportunities, reputation, etc?

I've heard a lot of mixed reviews thus far and hope that you can help. Also, how would you compare it to midwest T3 schools? Is it worth a bit more debt?

I went to ASD, and I would not believe all of the "stats" and "data" you read on attrition rates unless they come directly from the admissions office itself. I recall a specific post about attrition rates that was from a source that was not reputable, and someone corrected it from the admissions office. If you're truly concerned, I'd call the admissions office. They're very nice and helpful.

I cannot speak to the comparison to other midwest T3 schools, as I know nothing about any of them. I can tell you I was extremely impressed with Louisville on ASD. The faculty was very impressive, tough but clearly there for the benefit of the students. I did not get the feeling that their sole reason for existence is to weed out the weaklings. I think they are there to promote student success and growth... which, of course, will still make the school quite difficult. And the student panel was refreshing-- they were normal and honest. Overall I had a great feeling about the school and the city. It is tough to gauge any school by job prospects in the current market, so I have put that on the side in my decision process.

If you have any more specific questions that I could answer, feel free to PM! I know I'm not a Louisville student but I have some knowledge! Good luck in the decision process.

hatteras1 wrote:

citrus2010 wrote:I've read and seen on lsn that louisville's attrition is up there with the worst of 'em. I also read a post that stated this was not accurate. What are your opinions of the school, career opportunities, reputation, etc?

I've heard a lot of mixed reviews thus far and hope that you can help. Also, how would you compare it to midwest T3 schools? Is it worth a bit more debt?

I went to ASD, and I would not believe all of the "stats" and "data" you read on attrition rates unless they come directly from the admissions office itself. I recall a specific post about attrition rates that was from a source that was not reputable, and someone corrected it from the admissions office. If you're truly concerned, I'd call the admissions office. They're very nice and helpful.

I cannot speak to the comparison to other midwest T3 schools, as I know nothing about any of them. I can tell you I was extremely impressed with Louisville on ASD. The faculty was very impressive, tough but clearly there for the benefit of the students. I did not get the feeling that their sole reason for existence is to weed out the weaklings. I think they are there to promote student success and growth... which, of course, will still make the school quite difficult. And the student panel was refreshing-- they were normal and honest. Overall I had a great feeling about the school and the city. It is tough to gauge any school by job prospects in the current market, so I have put that on the side in my decision process.

If you have any more specific questions that I could answer, feel free to PM! I know I'm not a Louisville student but I have some knowledge! Good luck in the decision process.

I am the 1L who previously corrected the erroneous attrition stats. Feel free to PM me with specific questions if you want. I was not a fan of the school during the initial application phase, but when I learned more I changed my tune and I am now very happy with my decision here. Juggling three summer job offers can't be all that bad, right?

- alex

citrus2010 wrote:I've read and seen on lsn that louisville's attrition is up there with the worst of 'em. I also read a post that stated this was not accurate. What are your opinions of the school, career opportunities, reputation, etc?

I've heard a lot of mixed reviews thus far and hope that you can help. Also, how would you compare it to midwest T3 schools? Is it worth a bit more debt?

1) Louisville is only newly T3. When I applied in 2007 it was ranked in the 70s. In my opinion, this is largely due to its (laudable) admissions policies that tend to embrace people who have "interesting" backgrounds over those who get a certain score on a certain test. Louisville attracts a fair number of former/current military personnel, for example (perhaps due to its proximity to Ft. Knox). It also has a program with the local community, the Harlan Scholars Program, that basically guarantees admission to a number of low income, first generation college students who graduate with a specific GPA at the University of Louisville Undergrad. These students are certainly above average from the high schools they come from, but tend to drag down averages considerably on the input metrics side of the USN Rankings because of their test scores and UGPAs.

2) Attrition is usually minimal. If the % seems high, it is due to the small entry class. My class lost one of the largest percentages, and the majority of those who left were night students who normally have careers besides law school and/or families. I think that year we lost 12 people out of an entry class of around 140. That hardly compares with Cooley or other schools with notoriously high attrition rates.

3) Louisville has pretty consistent above average bar passage rates. 2010, for example, was above 90% for the state bar, compared to 78% statewide.

I can't imagine that attrition rates are high, particularly when many schools in the tier 3 range automatically fail 20% of the class each year. At least from what I hear. Louisville makes you maintain a 2.5 gpa to stay off academic probation, and you can't continue if you fall below a 2.0 your first year. This only happens to a small number of people, and many that I personally know left after the first year for personal reasons (having kids, for example). I know of only one of the 12 that went to a different school, and it was a graduate program not a law program.

I am off to a D.C. School but now work for a well off louisville firm and can say that this firm does not respect such figures. The past phase the from hired a gtown grad a Boston c grad and three Louisville grad ... They all get paid the same ridicules salary.

bizjunkie4 wrote:

hatteras1 wrote:

citrus2010 wrote:I've read and seen on lsn that louisville's attrition is up there with the worst of 'em. I also read a post that stated this was not accurate. What are your opinions of the school, career opportunities, reputation, etc?

I've heard a lot of mixed reviews thus far and hope that you can help. Also, how would you compare it to midwest T3 schools? Is it worth a bit more debt?

I went to ASD, and I would not believe all of the "stats" and "data" you read on attrition rates unless they come directly from the admissions office itself. I recall a specific post about attrition rates that was from a source that was not reputable, and someone corrected it from the admissions office. If you're truly concerned, I'd call the admissions office. They're very nice and helpful.

I cannot speak to the comparison to other midwest T3 schools, as I know nothing about any of them. I can tell you I was extremely impressed with Louisville on ASD. The faculty was very impressive, tough but clearly there for the benefit of the students. I did not get the feeling that their sole reason for existence is to weed out the weaklings. I think they are there to promote student success and growth... which, of course, will still make the school quite difficult. And the student panel was refreshing-- they were normal and honest. Overall I had a great feeling about the school and the city. It is tough to gauge any school by job prospects in the current market, so I have put that on the side in my decision process.

If you have any more specific questions that I could answer, feel free to PM! I know I'm not a Louisville student but I have some knowledge! Good luck in the decision process.

I am the 1L who previously corrected the erroneous attrition stats. Feel free to PM me with specific questions if you want. I was not a fan of the school during the initial application phase, but when I learned more I changed my tune and I am now very happy with my decision here. Juggling three summer job offers can't be all that bad, right?

- alex

Could you describe the school a little bit more in detail? How does Louisville's reputation compare to UK's? How is the summer job market for 1L's? Would you describe the school as competitive in nature or more laid back? Is the majority of the student body from Kentucky/Ohio? How is loose is Louisville with scholarships?