Villanova 2011 Forum

[sdubs]

Just an FYI...

I work at a medium sized law firm about 20 minutes from Villanova and they hire a good amount of Nova grads. Today I was speaking with one of the partners who does the hiring for more than half the firm. He immediately brought up the scandal and the fact that the old dean used was caught in a prostitute scandal. He said this will really change the way employers look at Nova graduates, in a negative way. He was basically trying to talk me out of Nova law... and for the record this is one of those employers who previously said Temple and Villanova grads make better lawyers than do UPenn grads.

I'm not trying to be a Negative Nancy here... but I think candidates should know what employers think of everything thats gone down. I was offered full tuition scholarship, I am pretty sure I am going to withdraw.

[Bless]

Will I be refunded if I withdraw my app? Still at my first complete.

[ran12]

Will I be refunded if I withdraw my app? Still at my first complete.

They have no incentive to refund you.

[CChuff]

Just an FYI...

I work at a medium sized law firm about 20 minutes from Villanova and they hire a good amount of Nova grads. Today I was speaking with one of the partners who does the hiring for more than half the firm. He immediately brought up the scandal and the fact that the old dean used was caught in a prostitute scandal. He said this will really change the way employers look at Nova graduates, in a negative way. He was basically trying to talk me out of Nova law... and for the record this is one of those employers who previously said Temple and Villanova grads make better lawyers than do UPenn grads.

I'm not trying to be a Negative Nancy here... but I think candidates should know what employers think of everything thats gone down. I was offered full tuition scholarship, I am pretty sure I am going to withdraw.

One person at a mid-size firm. Who may be made up.

Anyway, Dean Gotanda has been in close contact with Philadelphia/Delaware/New Jersey NLJ 250 firms, and all of the employers have expressed support for Villanova and have indicated that this will no way effect their hiring at Villanova. They are happy with the attorneys that they have already hired from Villanova. They like the product and they are going to keep buying it.
Villanova's alumni is tight knit, if anything they will do even more to support Villanova graduates in light of this situation. Villanova is top 50 (39) in placement rankings and will continue to be in the top 50.

[ran12]

The firm may be made up but let's be realistic here. No matter how loyal a firm or alum say they are, due to the string of scandals at Nova lately, it's not exactly a school that people want to associate with. Plus, it's not like the Dean is going to say that firms are bouncing. If you have legit proof that these firms will stick around, then fine but most likely that won't be seen until a year or two down the line. People often say things and do the opposite. I know, real shocker.

Anyway, I liked Nova early in the cycle but after all this and their lack of communication, I decided to withdraw. Doesn't matter what anyone at Nova says, this scandal will lead to a lower quality incoming class and firms ditching Nova.

[CChuff]

The firm may be made up but let's be realistic here. No matter how loyal a firm or alum say they are, due to the string of scandals at Nova lately, it's not exactly a school that people want to associate with. Plus, it's not like the Dean is going to say that firms are bouncing. If you have legit proof that these firms will stick around, then fine but most likely that won't be seen until a year or two down the line. People often say things and do the opposite. I know, real shocker.

Anyway, I liked Nova early in the cycle but after all this and their lack of communication, I decided to withdraw. Doesn't matter what anyone at Nova says, this scandal will lead to a lower quality incoming class and firms ditching Nova.

Lower quality incoming class...maybe. Firms completely ditching Nova? Not a chance.

[ran12]

The firm may be made up but let's be realistic here. No matter how loyal a firm or alum say they are, due to the string of scandals at Nova lately, it's not exactly a school that people want to associate with. Plus, it's not like the Dean is going to say that firms are bouncing. If you have legit proof that these firms will stick around, then fine but most likely that won't be seen until a year or two down the line. People often say things and do the opposite. I know, real shocker.

Anyway, I liked Nova early in the cycle but after all this and their lack of communication, I decided to withdraw. Doesn't matter what anyone at Nova says, this scandal will lead to a lower quality incoming class and firms ditching Nova.

Lower quality incoming class...maybe. Firms completely ditching Nova? Not a chance.

Never said firms completely ditching Nova. There will be firms that stick with Nova but there could be a noticeable drop in firms recruiting.

[Aqualibrium]

Villanova is top 50 (39) in placement rankings and will continue to be in the top 50.

The unfortunate thing is that we really won't find out if there was any sort of hit in NLJ250 hiring for years. I mean most of the stats we rely on now are for the Class of 2009, who did OCI in 2007.

[CChuff]

Doesn't matter what anyone at Nova says, this scandal will lead to a lower quality incoming class and firms ditching Nova.

Lower quality incoming class...maybe. Firms completely ditching Nova? Not a chance.

Never said firms completely ditching Nova. There will be firms that stick with Nova but there could be a noticeable drop in firms recruiting.

I of course agree with your more recent statement. There could be. However, I do not think employers will make the determination that a previous Dean's bad actions outweighs their satisfaction with Villanova graduates and their long time affiliation with Villanova law. That does not make any sense. This is partly why I do not foresee any changes in recruiting at Villanova.

[aidez-moi]

Just an FYI...

I work at a medium sized law firm about 20 minutes from Villanova and they hire a good amount of Nova grads. Today I was speaking with one of the partners who does the hiring for more than half the firm. He immediately brought up the scandal and the fact that the old dean used was caught in a prostitute scandal. He said this will really change the way employers look at Nova graduates, in a negative way. He was basically trying to talk me out of Nova law... and for the record this is one of those employers who previously said Temple and Villanova grads make better lawyers than do UPenn grads.

I'm not trying to be a Negative Nancy here... but I think candidates should know what employers think of everything thats gone down. I was offered full tuition scholarship, I am pretty sure I am going to withdraw.

One person at a mid-size firm. Who may be made up.

Anyway, Dean Gotanda has been in close contact with Philadelphia/Delaware/New Jersey NLJ 250 firms, and all of the employers have expressed support for Villanova and have indicated that this will no way effect their hiring at Villanova. They are happy with the attorneys that they have already hired from Villanova. They like the product and they are going to keep buying it.
Villanova's alumni is tight knit, if anything they will do even more to support Villanova graduates in light of this situation. Villanova is top 50 (39) in placement rankings and will continue to be in the top 50.

I'm starting to think CChuff works in the admissions office.

[CChuff]

I'm starting to think CChuff works in the admissions office.

I am a second-year student at Villanova. Anyone with q's feel free to PM me.

[CJG9]

Just an FYI...

I work at a medium sized law firm about 20 minutes from Villanova and they hire a good amount of Nova grads. Today I was speaking with one of the partners who does the hiring for more than half the firm. He immediately brought up the scandal and the fact that the old dean used was caught in a prostitute scandal. He said this will really change the way employers look at Nova graduates, in a negative way. He was basically trying to talk me out of Nova law... and for the record this is one of those employers who previously said Temple and Villanova grads make better lawyers than do UPenn grads.

I'm not trying to be a Negative Nancy here... but I think candidates should know what employers think of everything thats gone down. I was offered full tuition scholarship, I am pretty sure I am going to withdraw.

One person at a mid-size firm. Who may be made up.

Anyway, Dean Gotanda has been in close contact with Philadelphia/Delaware/New Jersey NLJ 250 firms, and all of the employers have expressed support for Villanova and have indicated that this will no way effect their hiring at Villanova. They are happy with the attorneys that they have already hired from Villanova. They like the product and they are going to keep buying it.
Villanova's alumni is tight knit, if anything they will do even more to support Villanova graduates in light of this situation. Villanova is top 50 (39) in placement rankings and will continue to be in the top 50.

+1

[beach_terror]

I'm starting to think CChuff works in the admissions office.

He doesn't.

[northwood]

Villanova is top 50 (39) in placement rankings and will continue to be in the top 50.

The unfortunate thing is that we really won't find out if there was any sort of hit in NLJ250 hiring for years. I mean most of the stats we rely on now are for the Class of 2009, who did OCI in 2007.

this is off tangent- but is there a place to find more up to date hiring info for schools other than their own stats? the class of 2009 data is nice- but it is a few years old.

[sdubs]

Firm isn't made up... its an employment law firm that I've been a file clerk at since September but i won't release the town or name because I don't want the man who said it to get shit... but I am a Villanova undergrad student and I love Villanova trust me... I hate that this all happened because I was seriously considering it, but I feel like people should have full disclosure on what I've heard before they make a decision.

[Bless]

I find it hard to believe that firms will abandon Villanova over this scandal. I think people are blowing it way out of proportion, but who knows.

[kartal]

Based on my conversation with the admissions office, they will speed up their review process (after they cleaned up the house) and will make most of the decisions within next couple weeks.

[jlnoa0915]

If you've been admitted already and didn't get a scholarship offer then you prob won't get anything substantial. I was admitted in Dec and got my scholarship offer with the letter.

This is false. After I was accepted I did not get scholarship information until about March. Be patient, the admin office is going through a bit of a change right now and I am sure it is slowing down the already slow process.

Trust me I understand how you all feel, Nova was one of the last schools to get back to me and I stressed too. But looking back, whether I went here or not, it was a waste of time worrying about it. They will get back to you before seat deposits are due and you will be able to make plans to visit. Also there is nothing wrong with visiting any school before you get a response. I did that with a few schools and they appreciated my initiative (I was accepted to the ones I did that to with the exception of one waitlist).

As far as firms go, I've interviewed with a few well respected firms in the area and they didn't voice any concerns about what happened (whether I get the job or not is another story fwiw). Its only a few firms personally and all, but so far it hasn't seemed to be the doomsday scenario many have been talking about around here (not to down play it because it certainly pisses me off that we need to deal with the old administration's b.s. and it is undoubtedly a bad situation).

If any of you need advice or have questions to ask whether its Nova related or not PM me. Until then, back to my brief work. Good luck.

[kk19131]

I went from under review 12/9 to under review 2/11

What a joke.

[ect88]

Just had my "under review" date changed to yesterday. Some schools give a second under review date right before sending out a decision -- has Villanova been doing that this year?

[LSATclincher]

WL'ed on 2/11. I wasn't attending anyway due to cost and the recent news. I sent my app about a month ago. I think I had two complete dates. This was also the only school that required me to submit a more detailed criminal record addendum than the one I submitted. (I don't feel my record contains any abnormal offenses, so I thought that was odd). I know VLS stresses ethics and a religious-based focus, so maybe that had something to do with it.

A year ago, this was the school I wanted to attend. After almost a year in the legal field, I now realize Temple is a better fit for me, personally. Good luck to those still waiting.

[kjadkins]

WL'ed on 2/11. I wasn't attending anyway due to cost and the recent news. I sent my app about a month ago. I think I had two complete dates. This was also the only school that required me to submit a more detailed criminal record addendum than the one I submitted. (I don't feel my record contains any abnormal offenses, so I thought that was odd). I know VLS stresses ethics and a religious-based focus, so maybe that had something to do with it.

A year ago, this was the school I wanted to attend. After almost a year in the legal field, I now realize Temple is a better fit for me, personally. Good luck to those still waiting.

They asked me for more details about my code of conduct offense. I got drunk on campus when I was 19 and got caught. I didn't think that needed much more explanation.

[stayway]

WL'ed on 2/11. I wasn't attending anyway due to cost and the recent news. I sent my app about a month ago. I think I had two complete dates. This was also the only school that required me to submit a more detailed criminal record addendum than the one I submitted. (I don't feel my record contains any abnormal offenses, so I thought that was odd). I know VLS stresses ethics and a religious-based focus, so maybe that had something to do with it.

A year ago, this was the school I wanted to attend. After almost a year in the legal field, I now realize Temple is a better fit for me, personally. Good luck to those still waiting.

They asked me for more details about my code of conduct offense. I got drunk on campus when I was 19 and got caught. I didn't think that needed much more explanation.

They did that for my roommate back in college. He still got in. Same offence as yours.

[leefair123]

WL as well staying in florida anyway

[Patriot29]

Complete 1/5
Under Review 1/25
Waitlisted 2/14

The decision came within a reasonable time I would say. Then again, I have crappy numbers so I guess they just wanted to get me out of the way first.