Philly Area Schools: Drexel vs. Villanova Forum

[sbs42]

So I just got word that I've been offered $20,000/yr at Villanova making it about $16,000-$17,000 a year in tuition. I have a $25,000/yr scholly to Drexel (plus an extra $1,000 off an an undergrad alum) making it $6,200 a year in tuition. I was pretty set on Drexel due to price and proximity (I will be living at home in south jersey and can take 2 trains to get there) and Nova not offering me any scholarship money at all. I have a ton of undergrad debt as it is, so is Villanova worth the extra $$? Originally it was my top pick but now doing the cost comparison I don't know.......arghhhh help me!!!!!

[Nicholasnickynic]

Nova has the best nlj250 placement of all schools in penn except for the ivy league UPenn.

[FCD]

Did you apply to Temple? Seems like you should have been able to get in if Nova gave you merit money. Temple would be almost as convenient for you as Drexel but places as well as Nova... Earle Marck is really just too new and not well established.

[03121202698008]

Have you visited? Nova's new building is amazing. Also, there is a train station literally next to true law school. Not sure how the lines run but I'm betting you could make it there by train. If you own a car, the law school has their own parking garage with about 3 spaces to every student.

[sbs42]

I haven't visited Villanova I had pretty much written them off due to lack of merit scholarship. I got into temple with a 12,000 a year scholarship making it still 16,000 + a year. I negotiated an extra $3,000/yr in scholarship money out of them which makes it still nearly 14,000/yr. For that kind of money I think I'd spend the extra to go to Villanova but Drexel is still REALLY appealling due to cheapness.

[FullThrottle]

Nova: better placement, opportunities, excellent school.

Congratulations.

[sbs42]

thanks everyone who responded. i've been getting advice left and right from people who have no idea about law school/practice and that tends to be overwhelmingly in favor of drexel because it is cheaper. can i really justify the extra $10,000 a year for nova? is it worth it?

[ze2151]

it's not my money so take my advice fwiw. pick villanova. it's an excellent school and has a great reputation. drexel is not in nova's league.

[splinter23x]

i created an account when I saw this, just to try to save you from a terrible decision. The people who are overwhelmingly telling you to take Drexel over Nova because of $10,000/yr are overwhelmingly wrong. They simply know nothing about law schools and the legal profession. You have a chance at solid employment at Nova, you have almost zero percent chance of solid employment at Drexel. Drexel has no alums and no reputation. Don't do it.

[xyzzzzzzzz]

.

[84Sunbird2000]

Wait, so why is Temple not on the table? This should be between Temple and Nova at similar price. If you want to stay in Philly, then I'd say Temple - they dominate Philly. Nova has more reach, though. Both are really good schools for their rank.

Don't go to Drexel. As others have said, they have no alumni base yet, and even in the future they likely won't be peers to Nova or Temple.

[Jones, Dow]

Wait, so why is Temple not on the table? This should be between Temple and Nova at similar price. If you want to stay in Philly, then I'd say Temple - they dominate Philly. Nova has more reach, though. Both are really good schools for their rank.

Don't go to Drexel. As others have said, they have no alumni base yet, and even in the future they likely won't be peers to Nova or Temple.

jones, dow, concurring

[Sean Bateman]

Nobody sticking up for Drexel?

I wouldn't be so quick to lump it in with all the other "brand new, unaccredited, going nowhere" schools. From my experience and research they really do have their shit together and are on track to be on par with the other Philly schools. Is that so impossible to believe that just because a school is new it can still be a good school?

Drexel is a well respected undergraduate institution and they have poured a TON of money into the lawschool. Job placement and bar passage (3rd in the state, 3% points behind Penn) are extremely impressive. I believe median LSAT is 160, the faculty and administration are amazing and are doing everything they can to make the students succeed. The co-op program isn't hurting students land jobs either. I'm from the other side of the country, Drexel is the only Philly school I even applied to. With the money they offered me and the moves they've been making so far, it honestly doesn't seem like a bad bet. I think OP will be find if they decide on Drexel.

At the end of the day...this is just my 2 cents, but i've done my research...try not to rip me a new asshole with your responses, thanks.

[r6_philly]

I stuck up for Drexel before and they almost wanted to burn me lol

I like Drexel. I visited all the area schools a couple of years ago while I was considering law school in general. I liked the presentation and the co-op program seemed like a great way to get area employment after school. I think if you are aiming for a local non-elite job your prospect is comparable with the other local schools other than Penn. If you want to do big law, well I don't know if I can trust Nova for that.

That said, I don't know if Nova is really worth that extra money. If you can finish near the top at nova you might have a decent shot of big law that you may not get at Drexel. If you got full tuition at Drexel it would have maybe made it easier though. In the end it is up to what you want out of your career and opportunities. If you want at least a shot at big law, you should probably go for Nova. If not Nova is probably not worth the extra $30-40k.

When I visited Drexel, they did present a few of their first graduating class. Most of them had job offers but they did not mention any big firm jobs. PI, industry and small firms.

[beach_terror]

Nobody sticking up for Drexel?

The co-op program isn't hurting students land jobs either.

Someone asked them this at an information session, and they said it's not at all common for students to get job offers out of their co-op. The lady's faced turned sour when she had to say that, but I applaud her for being honest.

[sbs42]

It seems like the general consensus is that there's going to be a pretty bleak outlook for jobs for drexel law grads. They are putting a ton of money and effort into the school but I'm not sure if that makes up for lack of connections/alumni base.
Temple's not on the table because I don't really want to go there. If I decide to spend that kind of money then I'm without a doubt going to go to Villanova. But it's the extra $30,000 more in total for Villanova that I'm worried about whether it's worth it. I don't think I'd be totally screwed if I went to Drexel in terms of a job but I'm not completely sure which is why I'm trying to get as many opinions as possible to make my decision. Keep the opinions coming!

[cc6148]

Bumping up this thread to see if anyone has any up-to-date opinions on this issue. My situation is very similar to the original poster and I am having a hard time deciding which school is a better option. I live in the city and have no plans to move away from it - I also want to practice in Philly. Is it worth the additional cost + commuting time and cost to go to Nova over Drexel? Or has Drexel proven itself over the past couple years since this thread was last visited?

[timbs4339]

How much UG debt?

What do you want to do when you graduate?

What minimum salary would you be satisfied with?

[cc6148]

How much UG debt?

What do you want to do when you graduate?

What minimum salary would you be satisfied with?

A decent amount of undergrad debt but nothing crippling. Very managable. Still debating what I want to do when I graduate, but I currently work at a big corporate firm in the city and given the opportunity would love to work here after graduation. I'm not sure exactly what minimum salary I'd be satisfied with, but I'm not really interested in going into the low-paying public interest positions. I'm aiming for a much higher salary than average.

[beach_terror]

The chances of getting a high paying job from either are not very good. In my class, there are maybe 30/240 of us making 6 figures come August/September.

[timbs4339]

How much UG debt?

What do you want to do when you graduate?

What minimum salary would you be satisfied with?

A decent amount of undergrad debt but nothing crippling. Very managable. Still debating what I want to do when I graduate, but I currently work at a big corporate firm in the city and given the opportunity would love to work here after graduation. I'm not sure exactly what minimum salary I'd be satisfied with, but I'm not really interested in going into the low-paying public interest positions. I'm aiming for a much higher salary than average.

Stay in your current job. Unless you'd be satisfied making around 40-50K in small firm private practice or as a PD/DA you need to retake and get into Penn. Nova places like 10% into big firms. It sounds like you're going to be six-figures in debt at the end of this. No, they aren't going to hire you into the big firm just because you worked there as a paralegal.

http://www.lstscorereports.com/?school=villanova

[cc6148]

How much UG debt?

What do you want to do when you graduate?

What minimum salary would you be satisfied with?

A decent amount of undergrad debt but nothing crippling. Very managable. Still debating what I want to do when I graduate, but I currently work at a big corporate firm in the city and given the opportunity would love to work here after graduation. I'm not sure exactly what minimum salary I'd be satisfied with, but I'm not really interested in going into the low-paying public interest positions. I'm aiming for a much higher salary than average.

Stay in your current job. Unless you'd be satisfied making around 40-50K in small firm private practice or as a PD/DA you need to retake and get into Penn. Nova places like 10% into big firms. It sounds like you're going to be six-figures in debt at the end of this. No, they aren't going to hire you into the big firm just because you worked there as a paralegal.

http://www.lstscorereports.com/?school=villanova

Thank you for your input. Trust me, I am not naive. I am aware that my firm may not just hire me because I work here now, hence why I said "given the opportunity." I plan on working my tail off in school and not just assuming I'll be offered a position anywhere. By the way, I'm not a paralegal.

I have wanted to be an attorney for my entire life and took a couple of years to work to make sure my decision to go to law school was the right one. While I appreciate your opinion, staying in my current job is not what I want to do. Does anyone have any other ideas on Villanova or Drexel?

[timbs4339]

How much UG debt?

What do you want to do when you graduate?

What minimum salary would you be satisfied with?

A decent amount of undergrad debt but nothing crippling. Very managable. Still debating what I want to do when I graduate, but I currently work at a big corporate firm in the city and given the opportunity would love to work here after graduation. I'm not sure exactly what minimum salary I'd be satisfied with, but I'm not really interested in going into the low-paying public interest positions. I'm aiming for a much higher salary than average.

Stay in your current job. Unless you'd be satisfied making around 40-50K in small firm private practice or as a PD/DA you need to retake and get into Penn. Nova places like 10% into big firms. It sounds like you're going to be six-figures in debt at the end of this. No, they aren't going to hire you into the big firm just because you worked there as a paralegal.

http://www.lstscorereports.com/?school=villanova

Thank you for your input. Trust me, I am not naive. I am aware that my firm may not just hire me because I work here now, hence why I said "given the opportunity." I plan on working my tail off in school and not just assuming I'll be offered a position anywhere. By the way, I'm not a paralegal.

I have wanted to be an attorney for my entire life and took a couple of years to work to make sure my decision to go to law school was the right one. While I appreciate your opinion, staying in my current job is not what I want to do. Does anyone have any other ideas on Villanova or Drexel?

Your posts seem to suggest that you would like a higher than average salary. Unfortunately, there really is no such thing outside of biglaw. Either you are the 10% or so of Nova students who has a shot at a big firm, or you are working at a small firm for 40-50K. There is little middle ground. You also don't seem to be interested in doing the kind of legal work that you will probably be doing out of either Nova or Drexel. For most kids at those schools, the "low paid public interest" positions are considered a good outcome.

You can't simply work hard and expect to get first-year grades in the top 10 or 20% of the class- there is a substantial amount of randomness and everyone is going to be working hard. You need to do some more research about how the legal employment market works before you pull the trigger.