ALBANY LAW vs. NEW ENGLAND LAW BOSTON??!! Forum

[saramendo]

I have finally completed my law school search and now I am at the most crucial part: "The
Decision". By far this is the biggest decision of my life, and I am at a loss, needless to say.

I have gotten into a decent amount of schools, but only 2 have truly caught my attention due to
different reasons the two I am choosing between are Albany Law and New England Law Boston

Albany is the better school (Tier 3) and is in the more respected state for bar exam (NY 2nd
hardest bar after CA). Also Albany has more notable graduates ( two being U.S. President
William McKinley graduated from Albany, as did the former CEO of Time-Warner, Richard
Parsons). Also Albany has the monopoly in the area being the only law school so the students get
the first picks of all the great opportunities offered in the state capitol of which the school
resides. However, the tuition is OBSCENE at over $40,000 a year (not including living expenses
and books) and they gave me nothing. Also I am fearful because my LSAT is lower than most
students (at a 153) there however my GPA is higher than what they get from their median students. This feeds into how I will perform in a curve at this school. Also I disliked the area, it is
“shitty” to say it nicely. haha

And well NELB isn't the best school by far, lower job employment rate than Albany (by almost
10%) and my bar passage about the same. It also is in a more competitive area (Boston having
law schools such as Harvard and Boston U) BUT NELB is lower in tuition and also gave me
$15,000 a year for scholarship. Also hope to be in the top percentage of the class there bc it is not
as competitive and more suitable to the grade I have on the LSAT....

SO the question (FINALLY haha) is what school would you choose if you were me?

[McBean]

No way this is real

[td6624]

 Also I know I will be in the top of my class there since I am a
merit scholarship student there as well has have a much higher GPA and somewhat higher LSAT
than most their student....

lol wut

[saramendo]

what do you mean its "not real"? yes it is...what is so weird about it that it can't be real??

[brianmck16]

Ok first of all: don't listen to the idiots on here. Most of them don't have real lives so they spend their time bothering people who come on here for actual advice. Ignore them and they eventually go away.

Second of all, I applied and got into both schools. I actually just visited NESL last week. Loved Boston, liked the school. I spoke with a few students there, and none had any complaints. Only thing that turned me off was the facilities. They were a little small, and kind of old. If that stuff doesn't bother you then nevermind that.

As for Albany, I haven't visited yet but plan to. The thing with Albany is that there isnt much competition around. In Boston, you'll be competing with students from BU, BC, Suffolk...etc. Albany is the only school in the area. I don't know much about the alumni network...but I do know Albany has a strong rep. than NESL.

There are a lot of factors you have to look at...no one can make your decision for you. You have to look at each school and weigh the pros and cons. On the face, I'd say Albany. But thats just me.

[hannibalhamlin61]

By '....etc' do you mean Harvard?

[General Tso]

isn't NESL the Red Sox tv channel?

[Leeroy Jenkins]

isn't NESL the Red Sox tv channel?

thats nesn

[firebreathingliberal]

Albany has really nice facilities. Just visited there and I like the school. Nice classrooms, comfortable seats, decent library yada yada yada.

I suppose it would depend on where you want to practice. If you go public interest, I would say Albany. You finance through the Federal Gov't and then after 10 years they will forgive your loans. If you want to do corporate/Biglaw/anything else I would say go where the scholarship is because with both of these schools you will have a hard time getting a 'good' job after graduation.

[reverendt]

For one thing...you can't assume anything about your performance based on your GPA/LSAT. As a default, assume you will perform at median where ever you go. Maybe a little higher if you have tremendous faith in your work ethic.
The difference between the abilities of your classmates at either of those schools is negligible at best.
If you compare the abilities between students at Columbia and t3/t4, you will probably see a noticeable difference. But between Albany and NELB there will be no difference.

I would say go to Albany. It's a better school, and at least it has a market that it somewhat owns.

[darknightbegins]

For one thing...you can't assume anything about your performance based on your GPA/LSAT. As a default, assume you will perform at median where ever you go. Maybe a little higher if you have tremendous faith in your work ethic.
The difference between the abilities of your classmates at either of those schools is negligible at best.
If you compare the abilities between students at Columbia and t3/t4, you will probably see a noticeable difference. But between Albany and NELB there will be no difference.

I would say go to Albany. It's a better school, and at least it has a market that it somewhat owns.

Pretty much hit the nail on the head. I haven't been to either school but I do have a friend that lived in Boston all his life that said New England Law is great at providing shitlaw jobs and that is about it. If it were down to me I take Albany then try to get my loan's forgiven through federal government employment.

[brick295]

I got into both schools as well. I chose Albany and don't regret it. The faculty is top notch and the opportunities for employment here are much greater due to the lack of competition in the upstate NY market. I know several friends who went to schools such as Duquesne (Pittsburgh) and Widener (harrisburg) and they could not even find an unpaid 1st year summer internship, let alone a summer 2L job. I know lots of people making 15-20 dollars an hour here in the summer and they did not all do that well first year.

As for the tuition, its steep, but email admissions and tell them your first choice is Albany Law and you really love it and want to come but the price is a real concern. Then tell them that you have received scholarship offers of up to xx% tuition from similarly ranked schools in the area. I did this exact same thing and went from no scholarship to $20,000/yr (contingent upon staying in top half of class... not hard to do if you aren't stupid) by simply sending an email. It won't hurt to try and you could end up saving yourself tens of thousands of dollars over three years.

[Dotson525]

I got into both schools as well. I chose Albany and don't regret it. The faculty is top notch and the opportunities for employment here are much greater due to the lack of competition in the upstate NY market. I know several friends who went to schools such as Duquesne (Pittsburgh) and Widener (harrisburg) and they could not even find an unpaid 1st year summer internship, let alone a summer 2L job. I know lots of people making 15-20 dollars an hour here in the summer and they did not all do that well first year.

As for the tuition, its steep, but email admissions and tell them your first choice is Albany Law and you really love it and want to come but the price is a real concern. Then tell them that you have received scholarship offers of up to xx% tuition from similarly ranked schools in the area. I did this exact same thing and went from no scholarship to $20,000/yr (contingent upon staying in top half of class... not hard to do if you aren't stupid) by simply sending an email. It won't hurt to try and you could end up saving yourself tens of thousands of dollars over three years.

I just noticed this thread. I'm interested in Albany Union (want to continue work with fed. govt.). Not to pry, but for 20,000 what was the GPA/LSAT like (doesn't need to be yourself, maybe others you know of?

Answers and thoughts greatly appreciated

[BarbellDreams]

By '....etc' do you mean Harvard?

Maybe its cause its 1 in the morning and I am slap happy from writing my bench memo all day that i due tomorrow morning but this comment made me laugh out loud uncontrollably. Seriously, well done.

Oh, and to the original poster, please please be a flame. If not, good luck, you're gonna need it.

[ResolutePear]

--ImageRemoved--

[thexfactor]

--ImageRemoved--

??? wait what?????

To OP:
Please read the NYT article on law schools. If you still want to go, study hard and retake.

[northwood]

I checked out Albany Law
their tuition is 45k a year. With cost of living added in, it will be around 60k a year. They do not give out need based aid, only merit based aid ( talked to a financial aid counselor). The school is very small, only 2 buiildings. Outside classes, journals, and other educational activities, there is nothing else to do. Albany law shares its campus with the Pharmacy and Medical Schools. A lot of your tuition goes to the administration. The grounds are nice, but the law school is basically renting from the pharmacy and medical schools. Its a for profit private school. Yes, it does place well in Albany, but if you are not in the top 5%, you will be in Albany. Its main competition is Syracuse and Buffalo ( for the thruway cities)- and its one of many schools trying to compete for NYC. While the governor is an alumn- the government in ny state is a horrendous mess.

If you get a nice sholarship to Albany Law School of Union College, and can get no strings attached, give it a shot. If you will have to pay sticker, it would beehove you to think twice about it. If you are considering boston, cross off albany. There is very little chance you will get there.

Hate to be so blunt, but really look things through. What your gpa in UG is, does not coorelate to success in law school. People mature after UG, and everyone in law school is smart. You have to think that you will end up around median- not top percentile.

Best of Luck!

[cindy66]

NELB is lower in tuition and also gave me
$15,000 a year for scholarship

Good luck with your decision! I know it's tough.

Just curious, was the 15k scholarship from NESL for their full time program, or part-time?

I ask because I applied there as well.

[Grizz]

[Informative]

This has to be flame. No one would actually consider attending these schools, especially at cost. Maybe on a full ride, but there is absolutely no reason to actually PAY for either of these schools.

[northwood]

NELB is lower in tuition and also gave me
$15,000 a year for scholarship

Good luck with your decision! I know it's tough.

Just curious, was the 15k scholarship from NESL for their full time program, or part-time?

I ask because I applied there as well.

it wasnt me who posted that. just so you know

[AboveTheLawSchool]

Do you read reddit, rad law?

[Grizz]

Do you read reddit, rad law?

No. Should I?

[Emma1]

This has to be flame. No one would actually consider attending these schools, especially at cost. Maybe on a full ride, but there is absolutely no reason to actually PAY for either of these schools.

You are an idiot for the above remarks!
I would go to Albany Law school. Their tuition is high but they have a corner on the market and it is in the capitol of New York State. The building is very nice and close to the medical center and pharmacy schools.The govenor Andrew Cuomo is also an alumni.

[northwood]

This has to be flame. No one would actually consider attending these schools, especially at cost. Maybe on a full ride, but there is absolutely no reason to actually PAY for either of these schools.

You are an idiot for the above remarks!
I would go to Albany Law school. Their tuition is high but they have a corner on the market and it is in the capitol of New York State. The building is very nice and close to the medical center and pharmacy schools.The govenor Andrew Cuomo is also an alumni.

albany law is a 2 building private school. Albany pharm and medical has nothing to do with albany law. The school consists of classrooms and a library, and another building for administrative stuff. At 44k a year, plus col, it is very expensive. Yes, Cuomo is a grad, and albany is the only school in the capitol, but there is a lot of competition for jobs there. There is not a whole lot else going on at the school besides classes. Have you visited the school? check it out for yourself, and see how it fits. It may be for you, but i would not call anyone an idiot on here for saying that its not worth the sticker price.