South Texas College of Law

[TLS_user]

Law School Programs >> Texas Law Schools

stcl.edu
South Texas College of Law is located in Houston, TX.

Please "post a reply" and add any comments you have about the South Texas College of Law. Many generations of prospective law students will benefit by the information you share.

[jt403]

whoops, posted it under the wrong school.... yeah south texas is a fine fine law school. my bad... [moving the post to TSU's forum]

[jenisnotmyname]

Okay, maybe I'm missing something. TSU is NOT related in any way to South Texas College of Law, right?

[neskerdoo]

Not remotely, considering that South Texas has managed to keep itself 80% caucasian.

[whitness]

I applied to South Texas & will likely end up there if I don't get into Houston.
I'm from NC so I don't really know its local/regional reputation... anyone have any input?

[EricC/O'11]

Very well-know regionally. It is the city's oldest law school.

[whitness]

but is it respected?

[EricC/O'11]

I would say so. I know someone partnered at Baker Botts in his early 30's from STCL. You just have to make sure you are at the top of your class. FYI, I hear a lot of UH kids complain that STCL kids get more attention from their professors and receive just as good as an education.

[whitness]

ooh, that's some pretty juicy information.
i guess i prefer UH because its ranked way higher & my boyfriend's mom talks shit about south texas.
are you from houston?

[EricC/O'11]

PM'd.

[whitness]

PM'd?

[EricC/O'11]

PM'd= Personal messaged. Check your inbox.

[Grad_Student]

I'm headed to South Texas.

[whitness]

Congrats!
When did you apply & when did you find out?
:]

[Grad_Student]

I applied in Nov. and heard back in Jan. Still waiting on scholarship info.

[blackacre]

anyone have anything current to add to this thread? I'd like to hear more about this school and its placement in Houston, and Houston in general.

[rbrucethomson]

For what it's worth:

I'm a 2L at STCL. If you're interested in litigation, there's no better program, as evidenced by our consistent rankings in the top 10 for advocacy and 100 national titles. No other school has ranked in the Top 10 as consistently as South Texas. No other school has as many national titles. Both the writing and advocacy programs have been recognized as among the best for actually preparing students for practice.

By and large, general rankings are good for determining which schools have professors who turn out scholarly articles with regularity. Classroom discussion tends to be policy-heavy at the top schools, having little bearing on what is tested on exams, or what is necessary for success as an attorney. If you want to be a professor, go to Harvard. If you want to kick a Harvard-educated lawyer's a** in court, go to South Texas.

The following is from US News' website. http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/grad/law/trial

Law Specialty Rankings: Trial Advocacy
Ranked in 2008
1 Stetson University
Gulfport, FL
2 Temple University (Beasley)
Philadelphia, PA
3 Northwestern University
Chicago, IL
4 Washington University in St. Louis
St. Louis, MO
5 Georgetown University
Washington, DC
6 Loyola Marymount University
Los Angeles, CA
South Texas College of Law
Houston, TX
8 Baylor University (Umphrey)
Waco, TX
9 American University (Washington)
Washington, DC
New York University
New York, NY
University of Texas--Austin
Austin, TX

But don't take my word for it - res ipsa loquitur.

[rbrucethomson]

South Texas College of Law is located in downtown Houston, TX, the nation's fourth largest city.

If you like sports, Houston has NFL, MLB, NBA, MLS, pro hockey, arena football, as well as college athletics. If you're into culture, Houston is among the few cities with major opera, symphony, ballet, and theater. Top recording artists, rock bands, comics, etc., come to Houston with regularity.

Several major law firms have their principal offices in Houston (most do on-campus interviews at STCL), as well as numerous Fortune 500s, most of which are energy-related. There is no shortage of employment opportunities, either during or after law school. The school is in close proximity to the courts (the First and Fourteenth Courts of Appeals are in the same building as STCL), shopping, and night life.

There's more info at http://www.stcl.edu.

[Grad_Student]

The school is in close proximity to the courts (the First and Fourteenth Courts of Appeals are in the same building as STCL)

LoL, I find it interesting when I can see prisoners going up the elevator in the morning while I'm buying a redbull to go to Crimlaw.

[Snooker]

STCL has a sterling reputation in Houston among lay people, probably due to the narcissism of its graduates, probably a better lay reputation than University of Houston. Despite being a solid T1/T2 law school, UH is a TTT University, so only UH graduates really seem to know that the law school is any good.

In the legal field, STCL has a pretty weak reputation. Baylor / UH are considered "great" law schools for Texas, while UT - Austin enjoys a reputation just shy of Harvard here.

I think anyone interested in STCL would be totally fine going there, despite it being a TTT. In fact, if you have TTT numbers, I URGE you to apply there. The tuition is only 12k a year (!!!), and living costs will only be 14k. When you get out of school, there'll be plenty of decent, albeit not biglaw, jobs waiting for you -- but at such a bargain, that's really no problem! People applying to other TTT schools like NY Law School or St. John's with their 30k+ tuitions need to seriously consider STCL.

There's lots of legal work to be done in Houston and not a whole lot of competition for legal services. The cost of living is low and tuition is cheap.

If you want a job at Baker Botts, Fulbright, or Susman Godfrey, you really need to look into UT - Austin, but if you want a soft landing into the world of small law and can't get into a better school, STCL is just the school you need.

[joonix]

STCL has a sterling reputation in Houston among lay people, probably due to the narcissism of its graduates, probably a better lay reputation than University of Houston. Despite being a solid T1/T2 law school, UH is a TTT University, so only UH graduates really seem to know that the law school is any good.

In the legal field, STCL has a pretty weak reputation. Baylor / UH are considered "great" law schools for Texas, while UT - Austin enjoys a reputation just shy of Harvard here.

I think anyone interested in STCL would be totally fine going there, despite it being a TTT. In fact, if you have TTT numbers, I URGE you to apply there. The tuition is only 12k a year (!!!), and living costs will only be 14k. When you get out of school, there'll be plenty of decent, albeit not biglaw, jobs waiting for you -- but at such a bargain, that's really no problem! People applying to other TTT schools like NY Law School or St. John's with their 30k+ tuitions need to seriously consider STCL.

There's lots of legal work to be done in Houston and not a whole lot of competition for legal services. The cost of living is low and tuition is cheap.

If you want a job at Baker Botts, Fulbright, or Susman Godfrey, you really need to look into UT - Austin, but if you want a soft landing into the world of small law and can't get into a better school, STCL is just the school you need.

Actually, STCL tuition is $12k per SEMESTER, so it's $24k a year. I disagree about it having a better reputation than UH. At most, they are equal. UHLC's rep is harmed by the undergrad reputation a bit, but really, lay prestige won't mean anything if you're unemployed.

[amorfati42]

They had an open house this morning, did anyone else go? A few professors and students spoke, and they did a pretty good job on selling the school. One of the big points is that the professors have an 'open door' policy, and really go the extra mile to help students. I also didn't get the feel that it was a competitive environment. Employment prospects seem decent, though it would be nice to hear students take on jobs that aren't on an open house panel The school isn't much to look at on the outside but it's pretty nice inside, especially the library.

This may sound silly but one of my concerns is parking... yes there's a parking lot but it doesn't seem at all big enough for all of the students there, and I would hate to try and find metered parking in DT Houston on any given day. *shudders*

[happy187]

Went to the open house as well. I thought it was well organized, and free of too much fluff. Student panel made me laugh, especially with the question:

Moderator: "What did you do to prepare for law school"

Answer from legally blonde girl: "I partied alot".

As far as parking it looked like they had a lot set aside for students and faculty but like you said it was scary small and DT traffic about as enjoyable as jumping on a bike with no seat. I have an office at One Shell Plaza, my plan will be to walk and take advantage of the fee parking work provides. Since I have to keep a roof over my head I could only apply to PT programs in Houston, so I really hope I get accepted.

[bwehmeyer]

I went to the open house as well. I can say that after going it may be my choice over UH. (I want to stay in Houston and go to a part time program.) The part timer of the student panel gave me some encouragement when he explained his day-to-day schedule.

Should get my apps. in for both UH and STCL by the end of the week.

[happy187]

I went to the open house as well. I can say that after going it may be my choice over UH. (I want to stay in Houston and go to a part time program.) The part timer of the student panel gave me some encouragement when he explained his day-to-day schedule.

Should get my apps. in for both UH and STCL by the end of the week.

i think you should only apply to UH, thereby helping my chances for STCL. jk good luck, i already got denied at UH so I am hoping to get into STCL and transfer to UH with good grades. Not because of the prestige of UH but as a Veteran I get more benefits at a state funded school. Ultimately, I just want to get in with STCL my last chance I may be retaking the LSAT.