Manash wrote:
Hmmm I too went to last week's ASD and I echo the sentiments that Brooklyn came off pushy and defensive. Your post that the current students that were complaining had probably done poorly seems rather unlikely as these were the same students that the Brooklyn Administration had chosen to lead the tours and speak to prospective students.
It was apparent that while the administrative staff were present the students talked up the Brooklyn "perks" which seemed relatively limited to its location, location, and location. Not job prospects but BLS' great views, proximity to court houses, and its relatively short train ride to Manhattan. Hardly overwhelming reasons to attend the law school but one that had surely been beaten into the heads of the staffers and minions alike. Not one for being clouded with this rehearsed routine, I waited till the housing tour commenced and pulled one student after the other aside, asking them to be quite frank with me. The general feeling at that point was one in which I was told that coming to Brooklyn was a HUGE gamble. There simply no jobs out there for BLS students that finish mid to bottom and slightly less jobs for those who finish just below the top. Finish in the top of your class and the sky is potentially the limit. This was evident in one of BLS' recent alumni - a top student and current judicial clerk [headed for Simpson Thacher], who joined the panel of other alumni that had gathered in the moot court to speak to us.
The panel itself was perhaps the best insight into one's job prospects. 4 people were chosen to speak. One being an ADA with Kings County, another a Legal Aid Attorney, another being a current associate at Jones Day and the last being the aforementioned current Clerk. The Jones Day chap [who was 15 min late for the talk and kept grinning throughout] and the Clerk both came off as quite content and relieved that their gamble paid off. The ADA appeared to have settled into her routine of being an ADA and all in all she appeared to want to bat for the school without reference to the downside of going to BLS. Her bias was so apparent that even when asked about the potential downside of attending BLS she went off topic and began comparing BLS' career services to that of Cardozo's [hmm..I noticed the death stares from some of the Admin staff in her directly lambasting another rival school]. The Legal Aid Attorney came off as one who had grudgingly accepted to speak when they couldn't get anyone else to fill the spot. She noted that the loans were a constant strain on her life and never once mentioned whether she liked her job, the extent of her duties or the extent to which her BLS education had set her upon the path of success. Bitter perhaps? She simply answered questions and other than to fill us in as to her activities while at BLS, she stayed mum -- well it was her that I wanted to speak with personally but all 4 were quickly ushered out upon the completion of the talk. Why her? Because I believe she is more representative of the alumni base at BLS.
All in all the ASD was an eye opener. Oh as for the guaranteed housing at Feil hall.. well that will run you $20k, but not to fret it's guaranteed! I'm sure you will not find it hard to find any home owner in Brooklyn who will provide you with the same guarantee at that rate. But to BLS' defense the place is furnished.
I had briefly considered going to BLS but the ASD pretty much sealed the deal for me in making me realize that it is not the place for me. Even with the merit scholarship I received, with what I'm trying to do in life, I just cannot take the gamble.
yeah, I absolutely was not saying its not a gamble. You can't graduate below median. I was just saying that hearing a few people say they wish they hadn't come doesn't mean anything--you will find those same people at every school. And I would have asked those people "so what made you decide to lead a tour?"--like these are [as far as I know] volunteer positions...so if you hate the school so much, why are you leading tours? I don't think the school went around hand picking people to do tours..if they had, they would have asked the people at the top of class, of which I haven't seen any leading tours or even mention that they were asked. They are either work-study people or else volunteers, which lends nothing to the argument that if they were at the bottom of the class the school wouldn't let them lead tours. Point being, nobody that does well regrets being at a school unless they really just hate law school in general.
That said, its all about fit. If you think the school is not a good fit for what you want for the future, then thats respectable as well. If I was big law or bust, i would probably feel a little shaky coming to brooklyn as well. My only point in that post is that random anecdotal stories about unhappy law students at a school really says nothing about the school or how the general student body feels.