John Milton wrote:I hear Fordham has pretty solid employment statistics. Kind of need to know more about you and what your ideal endgame is.
There is a problem with the analysis that 25% get big law/clerkship (seemed lower for c/o 2014 based on Fordham OCI TLS thread and the general observation that hiring was down this year over last), 25% more get real jobs, and 1/3 go on welfare (putting aside the fate of the 1/6 above bottom third but below median?...I guess some are eaten up by the 57% referenced above but that still leaves ~10% unaccounted for - perhaps more like 40+% on welfare). The problem is that whether you end up in the 32% employed in non biglaw/clerkship or the 43% on welfare is unpredictable. The top of the class knows predictably that they can land big law or clerkship with a couple outliers. The other jobs aren't as focused on grades, though. The very bottom person in the entire class could be employed while someone above median but below top 1/3 is unemployed. There are some things you can do to try to mitigate the unpredictability - networking, working during the year to boost your resume and make contacts, applying for jobs like a mofo, etc. It is still very unpredictable, though.About a quarter get biglaw or fed clerkship, so you need to be at least top 1/3 to be competitive. Above median you should be able to find a real lawyer job. Bottom 1/3 goes on welfare.
I didn't mean it as an accurate guide, just a quick summation. The welfare joke should have been a dead giveaway.somewhatwayward wrote:There is a problem with the analysis that 25% get big law/clerkship (seemed lower for c/o 2014 based on Fordham OCI TLS thread and the general observation that hiring was down this year over last), 25% more get real jobs, and 1/3 go on welfare (putting aside the fate of the 1/6 above bottom third but below median?...I guess some are eaten up by the 57% referenced above but that still leaves ~10% unaccounted for - perhaps more like 40+% on welfare). The problem is that whether you end up in the 32% employed in non biglaw/clerkship or the 43% on welfare is unpredictable. The top of the class knows predictably that they can land big law or clerkship with a couple outliers. The other jobs aren't as focused on grades, though. The very bottom person in the entire class could be employed while someone above median but below top 1/3 is unemployed. There are some things you can do to try to mitigate the unpredictability - networking, working during the year to boost your resume and make contacts, applying for jobs like a mofo, etc. It is still very unpredictable, though.About a quarter get biglaw or fed clerkship, so you need to be at least top 1/3 to be competitive. Above median you should be able to find a real lawyer job. Bottom 1/3 goes on welfare.
If you don't get a scholarship (and Fordham is stingy with those, eg, my older sibling with 175/3.5 who got 5K a year), you are basically spending 200K+ for 10-20% chance of a predictably good outcome (top of the class) and an 80% chance at a 50/50 lottery for a less desirable job. That is scary, no matter how you cut it. Fordham does place well relative to its ranking, but that doesn't mean it places well in an absolute sense.
What Fordham, like basically every other school except Y and S (they should double LOL), should really do is cut its class in half. The market has been absorbing about half its class. It could increase its selectivity and its employment statistics. It would be way better for the students, too. Of course, revenue would plummet.
dingbat wrote:I didn't mean it as an accurate guide, just a quick summation. The welfare joke should have been a dead giveaway.somewhatwayward wrote:There is a problem with the analysis that 25% get big law/clerkship (seemed lower for c/o 2014 based on Fordham OCI TLS thread and the general observation that hiring was down this year over last), 25% more get real jobs, and 1/3 go on welfare (putting aside the fate of the 1/6 above bottom third but below median?...I guess some are eaten up by the 57% referenced above but that still leaves ~10% unaccounted for - perhaps more like 40+% on welfare). The problem is that whether you end up in the 32% employed in non biglaw/clerkship or the 43% on welfare is unpredictable. The top of the class knows predictably that they can land big law or clerkship with a couple outliers. The other jobs aren't as focused on grades, though. The very bottom person in the entire class could be employed while someone above median but below top 1/3 is unemployed. There are some things you can do to try to mitigate the unpredictability - networking, working during the year to boost your resume and make contacts, applying for jobs like a mofo, etc. It is still very unpredictable, though.About a quarter get biglaw or fed clerkship, so you need to be at least top 1/3 to be competitive. Above median you should be able to find a real lawyer job. Bottom 1/3 goes on welfare.
If you don't get a scholarship (and Fordham is stingy with those, eg, my older sibling with 175/3.5 who got 5K a year), you are basically spending 200K+ for 10-20% chance of a predictably good outcome (top of the class) and an 80% chance at a 50/50 lottery for a less desirable job. That is scary, no matter how you cut it. Fordham does place well relative to its ranking, but that doesn't mean it places well in an absolute sense.
What Fordham, like basically every other school except Y and S (they should double LOL), should really do is cut its class in half. The market has been absorbing about half its class. It could increase its selectivity and its employment statistics. It would be way better for the students, too. Of course, revenue would plummet.
Aside from that, I can see numerous problems with the above, but that's neither here nor there. If OP can get significant scholly money, Fordham is a good option. At sticker, it's very debatable, but so is every other school outside (and possibly inside) the T14
