University of Arizona ASD April 16th Forum

[cool of law]

Not being an arizona native, but having visited the campus, Tucson seems like a reasonable place...

...am I wrong?

(I will not be there on the 16th, but will almost definitely be attending in the Fall)

[ColomboHeat]

define reasonable

[david787]

Pima county is lefty for some that's reasonable and for some it is not.

[seaboot]

I'll be there on the 16th... a little unsure about the event on the 15th. 98% sure I'm attending.

I'm living in Tucson right now so if anyone has any questions send me a PM, I'd be happy to talk tucson.

[istara]

See some of you at the "party" tomorrow night. I suppose I should do laundry tonight so that I can come across as somewhat presentable..

[ColomboHeat]

See some of you at the "party" tomorrow night. I suppose I should do laundry tonight so that I can come across as somewhat presentable..

--ImageRemoved--\


long jacket + cane or bust

[mala2]

anyone who went to the open house thing want to comment?

[istara]

I haven't gone to visit any other schools, so hopefully someone else can compare experiences, but I can try and sum up what I got out of it.

In a nutshell, they want you to know that Arizona is small, cooperative, and laid back. They also want to emphasize that even though the law school is small, there are benefits to being attached to a large research university. But overall, the plan seemed to be to emphasize the friendly/casual atmosphere of the school.

As far as ASU versus UA: the ASU debate was mostly avoided by the faculty but it did come up somewhat with the student panels. Anecdotally, Arizona grads seem to be hired 50/50 compared to ASU grads at Phoenix firms with partners who graduated from UA tending to prefer other UA grads. Who knows how common or true that is. Some students wanted to suggest that UA actually has better portability than ASU, but there was no real evidence of this. The only really emphasized difference between the two was the idea that ASU will privatize, which could mean more substantial differences between the two schools in the future.

Compared to schools other than those in Arizona, they really did not have much to say. There are no optional classes in 1L at UA and they require Criminal Procedure instead of Criminal Law during 1L, but there are not many other significant differences in the curriculum. The faculty seems willing to add classes/clinics when there is student interest in specific study areas that they don't already have an established program for. They emphasized some connections/opportunities to work on projects with the business school.

That's pretty much it off the top of my head. No earth-shattering promise to give everyone a six-figure job or other ridiculousness. It was fun, there were some cool people there, the weather was nice, and the wine was tasty.

[sab0tage]

Well said. I also didn't find the daytime stuff all that informative/influential. The only thing I would add is that the dean's house was fucking tits.

[david787]

istara summed it up nicely, I think the school has some very strong points, the faculty seems to be great, it does seem like a more relaxed atmosphere compared to other schools, there are more clinics/other opportunities than I've seen elsewhere (better chance at being involved in something if you want to).

I think for employment in AZ it's probably equal to ASU, I'm sure some firms/agencies will prefer one to the other but not significantly. It also seems to travel well to the surrounding states (especially Nevada). For those people that want to work in CA I think it's a decent option but not as good as a CA school, they are much better focused and connected in Arizona and only have one real competitor. A lot of the students who claim to have great jobs in CA got them through personal networks.

Overall I was impressed, I think the school really cares about the students and the (relatively) new Dean is excellent, I think he's taking the school in the right direction.

Criminal procedure seems much more interesting than criminal law (to me).

Tucson on the other hand is possibly the s*******t place I have ever seen, I know some people love it but I have no idea how I could live there for three years.

[mala2]

thanks for the info, I couldn't make it. haha David you've never been to El Paso have you? It depends what you like to do, there are things to do in Tucson and there are some interesting people. What do you like to do?

If you just thought that area was run down, you'd probably like the foothills area.

[sab0tage]

thanks for the info, I couldn't make it. haha David you've never been to El Paso have you? It depends what you like to do, there are things to do in Tucson and there are some interesting people. What do you like to do?

If you just thought that area was run down, you'd probably like the foothills area.

And the streak continues. I have never heard anyone refer to el paso in a positive light. Ever. Must be a wonderful place.

[david787]

Yeah it's just the general run-downess of the area that was a disappointment. The foothills are probably the best bet for me even though it's a little bit of a drive (but they have that nice big garage a block away).

I think the people and the program are far more important than the location, but it is a bit of a turnoff. Plus scorpions = scary.

I would say as a prospective student the ASW was extremely informative and gave me a more positive impression of the program than I had before I went (besides Tucson).

[mala2]

And the streak continues. I have never heard anyone refer to el paso in a positive light. Ever. Must be a wonderful place.

On the positive side, it's better than ciudad Juarez

[ColomboHeat]

random fact - 1L's (and many 2Ls & 3Ls) have lockers nearby to all of the classrooms. I thought the locker room was silly on the tour, but thinking back it was kind of neat.


the Dean of Career Services inspired some confidence if you ask me. She seemed very knowledgeable and on top of things. I don't know if maybe I have set a low bar for administrators (anybody else have a different impression?) because I was impressed LOL

[istara]

I actually thought the dean of career services was a bit off-putting, but I may be basing that more on a previous tour I took and/or my skepticism regarding employment is just that overwhelming right now.

Downtown Tucson is really pretty ugly, but the foothills or Oro Valley or the northeast side are all very pretty in certain areas. I think Tucson would be hard transition from anywhere that is green or anywhere that qualifies as a real city. Tucson is spread out and brown/dead looking if you aren't used to desert scenery. I came from the northwest and I hated it here for about 4 years (extreme culture/climate shock). It wasn't until my job post-undergrad that I really started to warm up to it. YMMV.

[david787]

It seemed to me that the UofA career prospects are actually fairly strong (relatively speaking), assuming you are willing to stay in Arizona (it's a regional school after all). With only ASU to compete with you've got great access to the local markets, and a lock on Tucson (if you want to be there, maybe 1L summer?).

I will say that when outside the earshot of the admins our tour guide (at the end) said his one complaint about the school was as soon as he told career services he wanted to work in California they turned off. Now this is one person's opinion, but I think it's worth being aware that career services is going to have the most access to Arizona jobs, it just makes sense to me anyways. That being said, this student was able to secure a great position in CA through his own legwork, I do think UofA has some name recognition in CA, just bear in mind how many Tier 1 schools are in CA that will compete with you.

[boat343]

It seemed to me that the UofA career prospects are actually fairly strong (relatively speaking), assuming you are willing to stay in Arizona (it's a regional school after all). With only ASU to compete with you've got great access to the local markets, and a lock on Tucson (if you want to be there, maybe 1L summer?).

I will say that when outside the earshot of the admins our tour guide (at the end) said his one complaint about the school was as soon as he told career services he wanted to work in California they turned off. Now this is one person's opinion, but I think it's worth being aware that career services is going to have the most access to Arizona jobs, it just makes sense to me anyways. That being said, this student was able to secure a great position in CA through his own legwork, I do think UofA has some name recognition in CA, just bear in mind how many Tier 1 schools are in CA that will compete with you.

UofA is a Pac 10/12 school--don't sleep on their ability to place in Cali. You will be at an obvious disadvantage with powerhouses like, UCLA, USC, Cal and Stanford (going wherever the hell they want), but UofA can get in that market. Like the individual you mentioned, it might require a little more legwork, but you will definitely be able to get in there.

UofA's alumni base is HUGE in San Diego, OC, and fairly solid in L.A. I think if someone really desired to work in Cali, they could get there, no problem. Just my opinion; however, I also personally know a couple of UofA law guys that landed jobs in Cali: one in the OC and the other in the Inland Empire--both real decent jobs.

[cool of law]

hey boat, did you go to the ASD?

[boat343]

hey boat, did you go to the ASD?

No, I didn't go. I did RSVP, but ended up stuck at work pretty late. Did you go?

[cool of law]

I had to work as well. I don't live within driving distance (CA). Think you're gonna go?

[boat343]

Yea, I am definitely going. UofA is pretty legit. Real fun place to spend three years of your life. The law school is a pretty close-knit group too.

[david787]

For you guys/gals that are already pretty sure you want to go, the ASD probably would have just confirmed your reasons. It is certainly "legit" and then some, it seems like a great program and will provide a very good legal education. The job prospects are good for its ranking, since it has a good regional presence plus a fairly good local market to fall back on. The only interesting trivia points were 1) there's no food service in the law school building and 2) the writing assignment at orientation is actually required.

[cool of law]

I wasn't at the ASD. What is this writing assignment?
_____

No food!!?!?

[david787]

apparently you are given a writing assignment during orientation that is later collected, if you do not do it during orientation you end up with a double assignment the first week or something like that. fairly minor but apparently it wasn't 100% clear to our tour guides when they were at orientation last year that it was in fact a required assignment and it was their "1 suggestion" for us 0Ls.

yeah no food, they said there's a small sandwich place in the B-school next door otherwise you have to go to the undergrad campus for lunch, seems like a major time burglar. unless you bring your own - there's fridges and microwaves of course.