typ3 wrote:thewarflamingo wrote:Plus some of the students seemed bitter towards/threatened by DU students and even though I didn't apply to DU, it bothered me how they talked about them.
What was this about? Do CU students think they are high on the hog or what? I've heard mixed reviews from alumni about the two.
I took it in a slightly different light.
Every school, or more accurate the students in the school designate a rival, whether you're in middle school, high school, or college. Sometimes the rival is based on proximity, competition, etc. DU is the only other law school in Colorado and the only other significant feeder into the local job market. As someone in the admissions office put it, DU isn't a peer school to CU and wouldn't be a rival under different conditions. This person went to law school in DC and said that the competition between rival schools in that city is intense (far worse than the CU/DU).
I'm not sure if flamingo had other private discussions about DU with CU students, but DU was brought up by the student panel only after being asked a question about it. So in this situation it didn't seem to me to be overly hostile or bitter towards DU, beyond the typical rival speak, in which you would expect the whole "my school is better than your school routine." Which I think makes sense and is often justified. Obviously you would rather see one of your classmates/friends be offered a job over a student from another University you've never met.
To share a few points about the DU/CU debate I've heard over the weekend. This includes comments from current students, admissions, and alumni from CU only (so take from it what you want).
DU was praised for being the more practical teaching school (probably due to proximity to denver law firms)
CU is seen as being the better academic school, translating into a higher bar passage rate.
CU alum are seen as a "tighter" group, contributing to a stronger network. (maybe b/c DU is larger and has evening classes?)
The "implant firms" (that is, not local firms) in the denver legal market prefer CU grads (maybe because of ranking?)