Philadelphia Forum

[HeavenWood]

Temple or Rutgers-Camden seem to be the viable options here. If you're a PA resident, Temple will be dirt cheap. If you're not, PA is a bitch and a half to get residency in and RU-C may be the better alternative to keep costs down. I believe they hand out in-state tuition from day one provided you show them a 12 month lease.

The problem with this is that you would have to actually live in NJ. I work in Camden and it's obviously a crap-hole of a city. The most convenient thing would be to live in Philly and commute over to Camden each day via mass transit, but that won't get you NJ residency. It's possible to live outside of Camden (in NJ) and commute in, but I'm not sure you would enjoy the mass transit on the NJ side of the river and driving your car down 130 or 38 would get real old, real fast.

I left RU-C off my list of schools. I'm still hoping to get some $$ from Temple.

You can easily commute into Camden from Collingswood or Cherry Hill West. Not a big deal, really. But all things being equal, Temple/Villanova are definitely better choices.

[johnnyutah]

Realistically I don't think the prospects are significantly better at any of the other area law schools... if Drexel offers you the best scholarship, go for it.

There is no way this can possibly be true. Come one, dude.

[HeavenWood]

Realistically I don't think the prospects are significantly better at any of the other area law schools... if Drexel offers you the best scholarship, go for it.

There is no way this can possibly be true. Come one, dude.

It's tarp. What do you expect? I asked a Drexel 3L how OCI went and he literally didn't know what "OCI" was.

[johnnyutah]

Realistically I don't think the prospects are significantly better at any of the other area law schools... if Drexel offers you the best scholarship, go for it.

There is no way this can possibly be true. Come one, dude.

It's tarp. What do you expect? I asked a Drexel 3L how OCI went and he literally didn't know what "OCI" was.

Odds that tarp is a Drexel Ad Com?

[JK910]

Driving, yes.... I wouldn't take mass transit from the suburbs into Camden city (except the Riverline... forgot about that).

Temple or Rutgers-Camden seem to be the viable options here. If you're a PA resident, Temple will be dirt cheap. If you're not, PA is a bitch and a half to get residency in and RU-C may be the better alternative to keep costs down. I believe they hand out in-state tuition from day one provided you show them a 12 month lease.

The problem with this is that you would have to actually live in NJ. I work in Camden and it's obviously a crap-hole of a city. The most convenient thing would be to live in Philly and commute over to Camden each day via mass transit, but that won't get you NJ residency. It's possible to live outside of Camden (in NJ) and commute in, but I'm not sure you would enjoy the mass transit on the NJ side of the river and driving your car down 130 or 38 would get real old, real fast.

I left RU-C off my list of schools. I'm still hoping to get some $$ from Temple.

You can easily commute into Camden from Collingswood or Cherry Hill West. Not a big deal, really. But all things being equal, Temple/Villanova are definitely better choices.

[johnnyutah]

Driving, yes.... I wouldn't take mass transit from the suburbs into Camden city (except the Riverline... forgot about that).

How come? Slow?

[keg411]

Temple or Rutgers-Camden seem to be the viable options here. If you're a PA resident, Temple will be dirt cheap. If you're not, PA is a bitch and a half to get residency in and RU-C may be the better alternative to keep costs down. I believe they hand out in-state tuition from day one provided you show them a 12 month lease.

The problem with this is that you would have to actually live in NJ. I work in Camden and it's obviously a crap-hole of a city. The most convenient thing would be to live in Philly and commute over to Camden each day via mass transit, but that won't get you NJ residency. It's possible to live outside of Camden (in NJ) and commute in, but I'm not sure you would enjoy the mass transit on the NJ side of the river and driving your car down 130 or 38 would get real old, real fast.

I left RU-C off my list of schools. I'm still hoping to get some $$ from Temple.

I went to Rutgers-Camden last year. People live in the following places in NJ:
1) The Victor Lofts/the Dorms - both are in Camden, but it's not terrible; the school is also building fancy new dorms; easy commute on the PATCO to Philadelphia; the new dorms will be less than a block from PATCO, so it will be a very short walk at night and max safety for students. PATCO runs 24/7.
2) Haddonfield/Collingswood/Haddon Township - on or an easy commute to the PATCO which will get you to school or to Philadelphia without hassle. You don't need to drive or take Riverline (River Line = )

tl;dr: living in NJ isn't so bad as to totally forgo a school that will give you a scholarship and similar access to the Philadelphia market (+ access to NJ, including North NJ) without having to worry about the strict PA residency requirement. Go to the cheapest of the three schools if you want Philly because the chances of getting BigLaw and being able to pay back a huge amount of loans is very small.

[HeavenWood]

Temple or Rutgers-Camden seem to be the viable options here. If you're a PA resident, Temple will be dirt cheap. If you're not, PA is a bitch and a half to get residency in and RU-C may be the better alternative to keep costs down. I believe they hand out in-state tuition from day one provided you show them a 12 month lease.

The problem with this is that you would have to actually live in NJ. I work in Camden and it's obviously a crap-hole of a city. The most convenient thing would be to live in Philly and commute over to Camden each day via mass transit, but that won't get you NJ residency. It's possible to live outside of Camden (in NJ) and commute in, but I'm not sure you would enjoy the mass transit on the NJ side of the river and driving your car down 130 or 38 would get real old, real fast.

I left RU-C off my list of schools. I'm still hoping to get some $$ from Temple.

I went to Rutgers-Camden last year. People live in the following places in NJ:
1) The Victor Lofts/the Dorms - both are in Camden, but it's not terrible; the school is also building fancy new dorms; easy commute on the PATCO to Philadelphia; the new dorms will be less than a block from PATCO, so it will be a very short walk at night and max safety for students. PATCO runs 24/7.
2) Haddonfield/Collingswood/Haddon Township - on or an easy commute to the PATCO which will get you to school or to Philadelphia without hassle. You don't need to drive or take Riverline (River Line = )

tl;dr: living in NJ isn't so bad as to totally forgo a school that will give you a scholarship and similar access to the Philadelphia market (+ access to NJ, including North NJ) without having to worry about the strict PA residency requirement. Go to the cheapest of the three schools if you want Philly because the chances of getting BigLaw and being able to pay back a huge amount of loans is very small.

How the hell does one afford to live in Haddonfield as a law student... by living with one's parents?

[keg411]

How the hell does one afford to live in Haddonfield as a law student... by living with one's parents?

There are rental houses/apartments all over that three-town area (plus Cherry Hill and Westmont; Westmont also has a PATCO station) on craigslist. I know because I was looking at them at one point. (I think the Haddonfield ones were close to/in the downtown area of Haddonfield and not where the super-nice houses are).

[HeavenWood]

How the hell does one afford to live in Haddonfield as a law student... by living with one's parents?

There are rental houses/apartments all over that three-town area (plus Cherry Hill and Westmont; Westmont also has a PATCO station) on craigslist. I know because I was looking at them at one point. (I think the Haddonfield ones were close to/in the downtown area of Haddonfield and not where the super-nice houses are).

I understand the other areas... Haddonfield is just very expensive by comparison.

[keg411]

How the hell does one afford to live in Haddonfield as a law student... by living with one's parents?

There are rental houses/apartments all over that three-town area (plus Cherry Hill and Westmont; Westmont also has a PATCO station) on craigslist. I know because I was looking at them at one point. (I think the Haddonfield ones were close to/in the downtown area of Haddonfield and not where the super-nice houses are).

I understand the other areas... Haddonfield is just very expensive by comparison.

Like I said, I'm just going by the little that I looked off Craigslist before I transferred. The homes in all of those towns are generally very expensive, but for some reason, there are apartments and rentals mixed in as well and there are deals to be had.

Anyway, my main point was that there are places to live in NJ that make for an easy commute (with no-little driving) to both Rutgers and Philadelphia and the other poster was wrong to leave off Rutgers solely for the reason that "Camden sucks". He/she should take the best $$ deal he can get out of Rutgers/Temple/Villanova since he/she will probably not get biglaw or be able to pay off six-figure debt from any of these schools.

[beach_terror]

What is all this garbage NJ talk doing in a thread about the wonderful city of Philadelphia.

Haddonfield is pretty cool though. I'm still bitter that I nailed my Archer interview and didn't get called back.

[geekrocker37]

What is all this garbage NJ talk doing in a thread about the wonderful city of Philadelphia.

Haddonfield is pretty cool though. I'm still bitter that I nailed my Archer interview and didn't get called back.

Don't worry,they were only hiring 3 goddamn SA's but calling back upwards of 25. GREAT ODDS (for me to poop on).

[Sherwood2014]

Of course Penn, being ivy league and highly ranked, would have the best opportunities in the city.

Outside of Big Law this is arguable.

Can you elaborate? Thanks.

BTW: On the part of this thread regarding travel. From Cherry Hill (by auto) to Philadelphia, on an average, the drive time is 40 minutes. There is also a $5 toll charge from NJ to PA. Does add up rather quickly.

[keg411]

Of course Penn, being ivy league and highly ranked, would have the best opportunities in the city.

Outside of Big Law this is arguable.

Can you elaborate? Thanks.

BTW: On the part of this thread regarding travel. From Cherry Hill (by auto) to Philadelphia, on an average, the drive time is 40 minutes. There is also a $5 toll charge from NJ to PA. Does add up rather quickly.

That's why you don't drive, except to PATCO. And PATCO is pretty cheap.

[Sherwood2014]

Of course Penn, being ivy league and highly ranked, would have the best opportunities in the city.

Outside of Big Law this is arguable.

Can you elaborate? Thanks.

BTW: On the part of this thread regarding travel. From Cherry Hill (by auto) to Philadelphia, on an average, the drive time is 40 minutes. There is also a $5 toll charge from NJ to PA. Does add up rather quickly.

That's why you don't drive, except to PATCO. And PATCO is pretty cheap.

Thanks. How far from Penn does PATCO drop you off (either in terms of distance or time)? Any safety concerns at dusk?

[johnnyutah]

Thanks. How far from Penn does PATCO drop you off (either in terms of distance or time)? Any safety concerns at dusk?

Getting to Penn on PATCO is a pain. If you don't want to have to walk at all, you have to transfer first to the orange line, then the green or blue lines. But no, there are no safety concerns.

[Wholigan]

Thanks. How far from Penn does PATCO drop you off (either in terms of distance or time)? Any safety concerns at dusk?

Getting to Penn on PATCO is a pain. If you don't want to have to walk at all, you have to transfer first to the orange line, then the green or blue lines. But no, there are no safety concerns.

You actually only have to transfer once from PATCO, at 8th and Market to the MFL (Blue Line). It would be about 20 minutes total from Camden, at least during peak hours when you don't have to wait long.

[johnnyutah]

Thanks. How far from Penn does PATCO drop you off (either in terms of distance or time)? Any safety concerns at dusk?

Getting to Penn on PATCO is a pain. If you don't want to have to walk at all, you have to transfer first to the orange line, then the green or blue lines. But no, there are no safety concerns.

You actually only have to transfer once from PATCO, at 8th and Market to the MFL (Blue Line). It would be about 20 minutes total from Camden, at least during peak hours when you don't have to wait long.

You can get on PATCO at 8th and Market?

This is my mind being blown.

[keg411]

You can get on PATCO at 8th and Market?

This is my mind being blown.

You didn't know that? That's the first stop in Philadelphia.

[HeavenWood]

Of course Penn, being ivy league and highly ranked, would have the best opportunities in the city.

Outside of Big Law this is arguable.

Can you elaborate? Thanks.

BTW: On the part of this thread regarding travel. From Cherry Hill (by auto) to Philadelphia, on an average, the drive time is 40 minutes. There is also a $5 toll charge from NJ to PA. Does add up rather quickly.

Cherry Hill to Philadelphia is not 40 minutes. Even during rush hour, you can avoid most of the traffic by taking Route 70 after crossing the bridge. I could generally get from my house on the Main Line to Voorhees (which is just East of Cherry Hill) in about that time.

[johnnyutah]

You can get on PATCO at 8th and Market?

This is my mind being blown.

You didn't know that? That's the first stop in Philadelphia.

I've never actually taken the PATCO. The only times I've gone to Camden I've either ridden my bike or been driven by someone else.

[Sherwood2014]

Thanks guys. SEPTA at 8th and Market is two blocks from the PATCO stop. SEPTA says it stops at UPenn ($2). Probably a great way to go on a snowy day (unless those two blocks are never-ending).

Cherry Hill to Philadelphia is not 40 minutes. Even during rush hour, you can avoid most of the traffic by taking Route 70 after crossing the bridge. I could generally get from my house on the Main Line to Voorhees (which is just East of Cherry Hill) in about that time.

I’ll give it a shot if I can find Route 70. At the moment I believe this is the route I take after the bridge. And yes, from Cherry Hill the map program claims it is a 20 minute trip. . . for me, not so much.

--ImageRemoved--

[HeavenWood]

Thanks guys. SEPTA at 8th and Market is two blocks from the PATCO stop. SEPTA says it stops at UPenn ($2). Probably a great way to go on a snowy day (unless those two blocks are never-ending).

Where in Cherry Hill are you coming from? West? East?

[Wholigan]

Thanks guys. SEPTA at 8th and Market is two blocks from the PATCO stop. SEPTA says it stops at UPenn ($2). Probably a great way to go on a snowy day (unless those two blocks are never-ending).

I'm sorry if I missed this elsewhere, but what is your situation? Are you considering living at home in Cherry Hill with parents and commuting to Penn? It's doable, but I wouldn't reccomend it if you can avoid it. If you're doing it just to save living costs, you might not save too much if you are willing to live with a roommate, and can get rid of your car completely and avoid gas/insurance/commute costs.

Also, the PATCO line stops at 8th & Market, not two blocks away. I believe that has been discussed already in this thread, but just want to be sure you know. The most logical way to get from PATCO to Penn is to take the MFL (underground subway line) from 8th & Market to 34th & Market, and then walk one block over to the law school. (MFL costs $1.55 per ride if you buy tokens). If it's a nice day and you have spare time, you can also take PATCO to the end of the line at 16th & Locust and walk to Penn, but that's about a 20 minute walk.