Top Law Schools

The North Carolina Central University School of Law was founded in 1939 and has been accredited by the American Bar Association since 1950. Located in North Carolina’s famous research triangle and in the city of Durham, this public law school offers a pragmatic legal education at a very low tuition. For those interested in practicing law in North Carolina and seeking a law school with a diverse student body, North Carolina Central University Law School is an option to consider.

Admissions and Tuition for North Carolina Central University School of Law

North Carolina Central University Law School was originally geared to be a law school for African Americans and this history is still evidenced through African Americans constituting slightly over half of the student body. Seeking to admit a diverse student body, a lot of focus in the application is given to applicants’ law school personal statements and if they have overcome obstacles in their life. The percentage of students who are admitted is relatively low at 20-25%, yet the median GPA of a 3.15 and a median LSAT score of a 148 are amongst the lowest of any law school. Thus, North Carolina Central University Law School is a very popular while also being accessible. As a plus, the law school and law library just underwent and finished a complete renovation.

The popularity of North Carolina Central University Law School is likely due to the very low tuition of under $5,000 that it charges North Carolina residents. Out-of-state residents pay under $17,000 per year, an amount below that charged by private law schools.

Unfortunately, North Carolina Central University Law School is nearby the renowned law schools of Duke and University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. This competition will always result in the North Carolina Central University Law School being third in this small region and likely always in the bottom tier in national law school rankings.

Employment prospects coming from North Carolina Central University School of Law are fair. Generally, approximately 85% of graduates are employed within 9 months after graduating. As expected with a regional law school, the best employment prospects are in North Carolina, where the law school has the largest alumni base.

Although being located in North Carolina’s research triangle is benefit, the city of Durham is the weak link in this otherwise beautiful area. Durham is mainly home to many tobacco farms and other agriculture. Many North Carolina Central University Law School students socialize in nearby Chapel Hill, a more chic college town housing the University of North Carolina.

If one is accepted to and desires to attend North Carolina Central University Law School, you receive a cheap legal education in a relatively nice environment.

Contact North Carolina Central University School of Law at:

1512 S. Alston Avenue
Durham, NC 27707
(919) 560-5243

Read about detailed law school profiles at http://www.top-law-schools.com/profiles.html

See all of the 2007 law school rankings at --LinkRemoved--

Read about law school personal statements at http://www.top-law-schools.com/statement.html

Read an interview with the Dean of Admissions at UC Berkeley’s Boalt Hall at http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... .php?t=950

Or view the home page at http://www.top-law-schools.com

I just got accepted to NCCU Law. I'm very excited, and there's no doubt this is my first choice and I will be attending.

But if anybody has any feedback, I would still love to hear about your experiences.

thanks

TLS:

North Carolina Central School of Law is on the list of schools that I am considering.

Durham is a great place to live due to its diversity and community activities and NCCU School of Law is considered by some to be the legal triple crown. The Research Triangle Park is located in Durham so there is no way that Durham can be the weak link. I live in Durham and I haven’t seen a tobacco farm in decades. People who live or attend schools in other cities, such as Raleigh and Chapel Hill, come to the tobacco warehouse district to socialize.

The Durham Bulls Ball Park is loaded with these same visitors. Quite a few people have moved from other cities, including Chapel Hill, to live in Durham because they like it so much. Some of the warehouses have been converted to condominium lofts, shopping areas, and office buildings. It is not the backwards place that was brought to mind with this post, “Durham is mainly home to many tobacco farms and other agriculture.”

NCCU’s Turner Law School building is completely renovated and has state of the art classrooms. The state passing rate on the bar exam is 71 percent. According to the News and Observer (--LinkRemoved--) NCCU's graduates’ bar passing rate is 81 percent. The low tuition should be considered a great value rather than “cheap.”

JSASS wrote:I just got accepted to NCCU Law. I'm very excited, and there's no doubt this is my first choice and I will be attending.

But if anybody has any feedback, I would still love to hear about your experiences.

thanks

I just finished up my first year at NCCU (night program), and I will say that overall it's been a fairly positive experience.

The professors are - for the most part - excellent. I feel like we're getting a top-notch legal education that has a good balance between learning practical skills and traditional theory. Most professors teach Socratic to a certain extent - some are a little harder about it than others.

The law school building itself is brand-new and gorgeous. It's open and airy, with large stadium-seating classrooms, each desk has a power outlet. Wireless access can be spotty in certain areas of the building. IT staff is very friendly.

Overall, I've had a great experience so far. The education is great, the program is well respected in-state and is getting better recognition out of state. I was accepted to two other schools in the area, and I'm really glad I chose to go to NCCU.

Cheers!

I am a North Carolina resident non urm and wish to practice law in this state. I have a 3.8ish cumulative GPA and a 4.0 Degree GPA @ UNC-Wilmington. I took the June LSAT and did pretty horribly on games and RC earning me a 148. I think that these numbers + my NC residence should make this school a very safe bet, unless someone disagrees?

I am wondering if anyone can comment on the career prospects for NC Central law students? Do the top 10% of these students have good opportunities at medium sized law firms in state or is everything gobbled up by Wake/chapel hill/Duke?

TruthVsComfort wrote: I am wondering if anyone can comment on the career prospects for NC Central law students? Do the top 10% of these students have good opportunities at medium sized law firms in state or is everything gobbled up by Wake/chapel hill/Duke?

Duke grads don't stay in NC, and half of Wake's don't either, so don't worry too much about them. Our comp is really coming from UNC, and mostly Campbell.

If you're talking top 10%, yeah your prospects are going to be good. The top few seem to be getting NLJ 250 jobs
http://www.law.com/img/nlj/charts/composite.pdf

After that it's dicier. NCCU seems to have very good legal training, but that means high attrition (note graph above). The grads/students I've met were VERY sharp. The grad I met was in the top half of her class, and she doesn't have a job yet (postponed search while studying for the bar). Point is: don't count on being in the top 10% of the class just because NCCU doesn't have the "top law" brand name like Duke or Carolina.

NCCU is very Public Interest oriented, from application to clinics, to placement.

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I talked to career services at NCCU, and they said point blank that most of the "firm" placements are really grads hanging a solo shingle in rural-exurbian areas as general practitioners (which, in my mind is really just an extension of Public Interest).

I'm really excited about going to NCCU, but my goal is specifically to practice in Public Interest-Legal Aid, so my prospects should be good. If your goal is to get mid-size or higher firm placement, you might be better off retaking the LSAT, getting a few points higher, and applying to Campbell.

Some of the NCCU students getting into the better NC Law firms may have science/engineering backgrounds boosting their profile. I have heard that NCCU's night program is popular among people currently in tech jobs in RTP. If you are not looking to do patent work, these individuals may overstate the job market for NCCU grads. However, you should inquire further, I am not an authority on NCCU.

Rayster wrote:Some of the NCCU students getting into the better NC law firms may have science/engineering backgrounds boosting their profile. I have heard that NCCU's night program is popular among people currently in tech jobs in RTP. If you are not looking to do patent work, these individuals may overstate the job market for NCCU grads. However, you should inquire further, I am not an authority on NCCU.

Absolutely true. my neighbor was a chemistry undergrad now doing the NCCU Law night program with patent bar aspirations.

There is nothing diverse about that student body. Lots of minorities, yes, but diverse -- definitely not.

Just clearing that up.

I am considering NCCU Law for the Fall 2010 term. Could anyone give me any advice on the school?

kimmie wrote:I am considering NCCU Law for the Fall 2010 term. Could anyone give me any advice on the school?

Hopefully you like da blak folk

lawhawk wrote:There is nothing diverse about that student body. Lots of minorities, yes, but diverse -- definitely not.

Just clearing that up.

Actually untrue--NCCU LAW is about 48% white...the Undergraduate institution does not reflect that law school one bit!