Marquette 2013 Forum

[carman1880]

Attended the open house today and walked away disappointed. Marquette was at the top of my list before today, but I was not impressed with the feeling of the law school and its faculty. (Very stuffy) I was also not impressed with the admissions office. I got the feeling they truly believe attending Marquette is a privilege and worth the $150k price tag it comes with. A couple of weeks ago I requested a scholarship increase via letter and was quickly shot down, even after showing the offers I received from higher ranked schools. I approached admissions today and was told, in an extremely rude manner, that I wouldn't receive any more money even if scholarship money opens up after people withdraw.

The new building looks amazing and would be a great place to be for 3 years, but that was about the only bright spot of the day. I have attended 3 other open houses and left feeling like those schools really wanted me to be a part of their family, they went above and beyond to sell the school. Marquette's only selling point was the new building, and I think they knew that. They made no attempt to sell any other aspect of the school, which was truly disappointing.

They also had a student panel that was moderated by one of the deans. I felt the students were unable to give truly honest answers because of the dean standing in the room. Other schools had the faculty leave the student panel section, which gave the students a better opportunity to tell us how they really felt about their schools.

I really wanted to go to Marquette, but after today I have decided to withdraw. Good luck to everyone attending this fall.

[Kitzhof]

Thank you, carman for your report. I have been accepted to Marquette but was unable to attend the open house. Your information was very helpful.

[QW3R7Y]

Hey everyone! I am a current 1L at Marquette University Law School, who used these forums when I was in your position this time last year. Let me see if I can address some of the questions/posts I have seen so far...

Got 4K today... thats it Marquette? Really? My GPA is @ median and my LSAT is above your median and you give me a measly 4K when your school will cost 50K/year after all is said and done?! Will be withdrawing soon most likely. Good luck to all.

You should keep in mind two things. First, Marquette does not offer a lot of scholarships (this fact is easily discovered through a little bit of research on the school). Second, that $4,000 scholarship is not based on maintaining a specific GPA. In reviewing other scholarship offers, you will likely notice that most schools condition your scholarship on maintaining a certain GPA (above 3.0, or 3.2, or 3.5, etc.). Until you have experienced law school for yourself, you have absolutely no idea what GPA you will receive. In short, it's a gamble. Marquette offers scholarships that you can rely on, regardless of your subsequent GPA.

Remember, you may be highly intelligent, but your competition is going to be highly intelligent as well. Your GPA will be based on how you do in comparison to your classmates (on a forced grading curve) at almost all law schools, and there is simply no way to know how you will place among your fellow students until after you have committed to the school for the first year.

i think i'll be attending Marquette in the fall...looking into apartments around campus.

Anyone know where a lot of law students live?

It varies from student to student, but there is no one place in particular for first year law students. A lot of students prefer to live in apartments on the east side of the city. Other students will stay at places close to campus such as Library Hill, or 2040 Lofts. Be weary, the apartments close to campus do tend to have a higher saturation of undergraduate students than the ones located on the east side. The admitted students website should provide you with some guidance on housing. Make sure you tour the place before you choose to commit, because some of the recommended housing may not be up to your living standards. Because of the location of Marquette (less than 10 blocks from downtown Milwaukee), you should expect to pay rent accordingly.

If you are having trouble finding housing, feel free to shoot me off a message and I will see if I can assist you.

Attended the open house today and walked away disappointed. Marquette was at the top of my list before today, but I was not impressed with the feeling of the law school and its faculty. (Very stuffy) I was also not impressed with the admissions office. I got the feeling they truly believe attending Marquette is a privilege and worth the $150k price tag it comes with. A couple of weeks ago I requested a scholarship increase via letter and was quickly shot down, even after showing the offers I received from higher ranked schools. I approached admissions today and was told, in an extremely rude manner, that I wouldn't receive any more money even if scholarship money opens up after people withdraw.

The new building looks amazing and would be a great place to be for 3 years, but that was about the only bright spot of the day. I have attended 3 other open houses and left feeling like those schools really wanted me to be a part of their family, they went above and beyond to sell the school. Marquette's only selling point was the new building, and I think they knew that. They made no attempt to sell any other aspect of the school, which was truly disappointing.

They also had a student panel that was moderated by one of the deans. I felt the students were unable to give truly honest answers because of the dean standing in the room. Other schools had the faculty leave the student panel section, which gave the students a better opportunity to tell us how they really felt about their schools.

I really wanted to go to Marquette, but after today I have decided to withdraw. Good luck to everyone attending this fall.

It's unfortunate that you had such a terrible first impression at the open house; however, some of your comments are misguided.

First, the law building may have been the major selling point, but it is not all that Marquette has to offer. I don't know if they allowed you to tour our current facilities, but the building is a huge upgrade for the law school. Consequently, I think everyone here is really excited about it, and so they may have focused on the building a bit more than you would have liked. Beyond that, I suppose it comes down to preference in what each individual wants to hear at an open house. I met with a few admitted students who really enjoyed their open house experience (and no, I was not on the student panel that spoke; more on what I did below).

Second, admitted students did have the opportunity after the student organization fair to meet with current law students one-on-one (which is what I took part in). If you chose to do so, you would have had all of your questions answered in a social, informal setting where the Dean was not present. In lieu of you missing out on this opportunity, I would be more than willing to exchange some private messages with you about any questions you may have about MULS.

Lastly, as I said earlier in this post, Marquette does not offer a lot of scholarships. Any "returned scholarships" from students who choose not to attend Marquette is probably used to give other students the same opportunity that the University offered you. I'm not sure it is fair to speak poorly of an admissions committee and an entire law school just because you were denied your request for a greater scholarship. If you felt the admissions committee was being rude to your in-person request, you might consider the entire context in which it was made. You were offered a scholarship (something the committee does not offer lightly). Unsatisfied with the amount, you requested more via written mail. The committee took the time to write you back and deny your request (for whatever reason). Unsatisfied with their response, you approached them again to ask for more money, presumably without scheduling an appointment to see them. In fact, from your post, it actually sounds like you may have ambushed them on the issue. Are you really that surprised that the committee member whom you spoke with was taken aback by your approach? You shouldn't be.

Please understand I am not trying to take a stab at you with this post. I read your post and felt that your experience was truly unfortunate, but at that same time I do not want other admitted students turning away from the University based solely on your evaluation without hearing from someone on the other side.

Best of luck to all of you in continuing the application & acceptance process! If any of you have any further questions, don't be afraid to post them or send them to me in a private message.

[hibachi7_7_7]

I attended an abbreviated version of the open house (got there about halfway through the opening speech and had to leave before the 4th mock class thing to check out apartments), but I left with a very good impression. Attending the tips and tricks for law school survival was probably a mistake since all they told us was basically the key to doing well is balance achieved by eating, sleeping, and exercising (kinda obvious). I greatly enjoyed the property and sports law presentations I sat in on. The sports law program seems fascinating (one of the main reasons I applied to MU) and the property instructor probably led the most interesting discussion on eminent domain I've ever heard. He really seemed passionate about the topic and it made listening to something I've heard about a million times really engaging.

As for living around campus, I checked out 2040 lofts and Library Hill. 2040 Lofts were nice (although not as nice as the pictures on the website made it seem) but there were a couple problems that would prevent me from living there. First, I disliked how the whole thing is run like a dorm. Reading over the rules of living there, you have to sign guests in whenever they come to see you, which strikes me as a tremendous pain in the ass. Also no pets is kinda a bummer, since I'm considering getting a dog. The one bedroom I toured also didn't have any windows in the bedroom, which aside from being terribly depressing, is illegal I think. Library Hill was really nice though, I'm considering living there but I've read a lot of reviews online about how it's right next to a fire station and thus a lot of loud noise at all hours of the night. Still, that location is tough to beat.

[QW3R7Y]

I attended an abbreviated version of the open house (got there about halfway through the opening speech and had to leave before the 4th mock class thing to check out apartments), but I left with a very good impression...

As for living around campus, I checked out 2040 lofts and Library Hill. 2040 Lofts were nice (although not as nice as the pictures on the website made it seem) but there were a couple problems that would prevent me from living there. First, I disliked how the whole thing is run like a dorm. Reading over the rules of living there, you have to sign guests in whenever they come to see you, which strikes me as a tremendous pain in the ass. Also no pets is kinda a bummer, since I'm considering getting a dog. The one bedroom I toured also didn't have any windows in the bedroom, which aside from being terribly depressing, is illegal I think. Library Hill was really nice though, I'm considering living there but I've read a lot of reviews online about how it's right next to a fire station and thus a lot of loud noise at all hours of the night. Still, that location is tough to beat.

I'm glad to hear someone had a positive experience at the open house event! Let me say a couple things real quick about the housing comments...

As far as 2040 Lofts goes...
(1) While their policy is to sign in guests, it is absolutely not enforced.
(2) You are right in that there are no pets allowed.
(3) I cannot speak to the legality of the one bedroom, but it's an interesting thought you propose. Most of their units have windows in the bedroom, though. They also have a partnering up form where you can request to be placed with a fellow 1L student (something to keep in mind if you want a roommate).

As far as Library Hill goes...
I know students who live there and none of them have complained (about the noise or otherwise). In fact, many have resigned their leases for next year/semester.

In any case, hopefully you find a place that fits your needs!

[jasonac21]

Marquette's only selling point was the new building, and I think they knew that.

I really wanted to go to Marquette, but after today I have decided to withdraw.

Huh? So what happened? I mean, how can you really want to go to Marquette then say that Marquette's only selling point was the new building? Did you think they had something they didn't prior to the open house?

Wish I could have made the open house, but went to a different ASD instead. I like Marquette but can't justify the cost compared to my other offer. Good luck to everyone!

[wh3931110]

With regard to the living options did either of you consider the Catholic Knights Tower Apartments? It does seem a bit more expensive but that has been the primary place I have looked at living --

[twert]

is anyone else creeped out by that ghastly masonic temple down the street? that thing is weird.

[hibachi7_7_7]

With regard to the living options did either of you consider the Catholic Knights Tower Apartments? It does seem a bit more expensive but that has been the primary place I have looked at living --

I saw it, but didn't check it out. I'm leaning towards the Franklin right now since I'll have a car, but the ability to walk to class every day is very tempting.

[SportsFanatic]

Withdrew my application today ($$).... Good luck everyone.

[gvaugn12]

I actually had a great experience at the open house. Apart from being somewhat hungover (I have a friend at Marquette now who he showed me a night on the town), it was a really nice and fun time. I was able to meet with many current students and professors. All of the professors seemed really enthusiastic about their efforts to try and socialize with the students--whether chatting rather informally or offering career or general advice. It seems like they truly want every student to do well in the long run.

All of the students also mentioned how accessible the faculty and staff are. It seems like there are plenty of opportunities for students to form a relationship with professors and even the Dean himself. In fact, they are designing an open forum on the first floor of the new law school that is supposed to act as a sort of place of mingling between faculty and students. I took a hard-hat tour of the new building and they said that it will be a place where students will hopefully run into professors and the Dean and be able to talk with them in passing. They really do seem to have a strong commitment to student-faculty relationships.

As far as the new building goes, it is going to be amazing! I believe it really will be one of the best law school buildings in the country. At 85 million bucks it better be. There will even be a fitness center complete with locker room and showers! They will also have lockers for each student large enough for someone to fit inside comfortably. That's pretty cool considering every other law school I have toured had lockers that were smaller than my tiny high school locker.

Someone previously said that the building was the only thing the law school has going for them and that it didn't seem like they wanted students to be part of their family. I got the total opposite impression. They also had cocktails and conversation at the end of the open house, which I made sure to attend. There I was able to talk more with professors and students and I asked them every question I could think of--and no Dean was present to moderate. Some students mentioned the reality that Marquette is somewhat of a regional school, in the sense that you will have great chances in Wisconsin. But other students I talked to have actually procured jobs outside the state. Ultimately I got the feeling that Marquette Law (along with other law schools) is all about what you make of it, but that the opportunities are there for any student. Along the same line, they also have tons of student organizations on campus to get involved in. They don't have many law journals compared to some other schools I have looked at, but getting involved in student orgs is not going to disappoint.

I did receive a scholarship to Marquette, and a pretty generous one at that. I haven't made a decision yet, it's pretty much between Marquette and Temple (which I got a full ride to), but I can say I don't see much wrong with the school. Plus not having to pass the bar if you practice in Wisconsin is a nice plus. I would like to continue hearing what other people have to say about the place (or Temple), as it's almost about that time to really decide. Good luck to all.

[QW3R7Y]

Here are a few links to help those of you interested in locating housing in the Milwaukee area (including links to most of the places discussed above):

Library Hill: http://www.mandelgroup.com/apartments/a ... fm?n_id=50

2040 Lofts: http://www.2040lofts.com

Catholic Knights (Note: This is an undergraduate-free facility!): http://www.catholicknights.org/About/To ... tments.htm

Also, if you have not yet already visited the Housing Information portion of the MULS website, you should check it out: http://law.marquette.edu/cgi-bin/site.p ... ousingInfo

Finally, http://www.forrent.com lists, sometimes in more detail, all of the above housing locations plus more. Happy hunting!

[momo_08]

Marquette was one of my top five schools because of their dispute resolution program. Unfortunately I was was wailisted so I'm still waiting to hear back about that. Fortunately I was accepted to another one of my top five as well as wailisted at yet another one. (narrowed it down to top four) I'm starting to think about withdrawing from Marquette however because I'm already accepted to a school a top 10 dispute resolution program so it's only real appeal is no longer really relevant. Plus the cost AND the weather are just not so appealing to a SoCal girl..Will likely withdraw if i don't hear anything back my june at the latest. Good luck to everyone!

[AKAlicious]

Got 4K today... thats it Marquette? Really? My GPA is @ median and my LSAT is above your median and you give me a measly 4K when your school will cost 50K/year after all is said and done?! Will be withdrawing soon most likely. Good luck to all.

I got the same and was absolutely shocked. Got much more from other, better rated schools. I withdrew.

[Ford Prefect]

I applied late in the game, but, and this isn't a very Catholic thing, I absolutely covet a spot at Marquette. Never even been to Milwaukee, but I'll take it sight unseen.

I'm easy.

[lawcycle2010]

when is everyone planning on moving to mil?

[jjd06e]

How long did it take you to hear from Marquette? I applied there recently and it is one of the schools I am most interested in. I have a 3.25/156. Hope thats enough to get in. I know it doesnt matter much but I think my LOR and outside experience might give me a little boost.

[nowinGA]

Withdrew my admission and a big fat scholly today. Good luck, everyone!

[OnWisconsin]

Top 100 (T2) no longer. That sucks

[wh3931110]

I posted this on the rankings thread but to me dropping out of the top 100 is a big deal. I called the office and am waiting for a call back, I really would like some information about this.

What is everything else thinking?

[wh3931110]

I agree with you but do employers? I had gotten the impression there was at least some level of stigma for attending "TTT" from employers and to be frank I had thought if anything Marquette would be moving up, not down. Clearly I was wrong...

[lawcycle2010]

I agree with you but do employers? I had gotten the impression there was at least some level of stigma for attending "TTT" from employers and to be frank I had thought if anything Marquette would be moving up, not down. Clearly I was wrong...

I agree, please post when the office gives you some much needed answers.

[OnWisconsin]

I foresee some serious tightening of the belt in terms of admissions the next few cycles. Either that or the possible elimination of the part time program. This new policy of grouping PT in with FT for overall ranking really does a disservice to students who need to go to school part time. The policy serves as a disincentive for schools to maintain an admissions policy for part time that puts a greater emphasis on professional experience and life experience.

[LittleMzIvory]

withdrew w/ $19,000 scholarship... good luck all

[jjd06e]

Kind of caught me by surprise. Marquette and Syracuse were 2 of my top choices and they basically flipped in the rankings in the new version. Didnt expect the drop from Marquette, especially not out of top 100