Is BC on a gradual decline? Forum

[imisscollege]

I know in 2000 or so it was right around #20 and I really don't like to put stock in USNWR's actually rankings at any given time, but a school's gradual decline such as BC's or to a lesser extent Fordham's (a rise then a decline, right?) almost causes me to worry. I have been accepted to schools ranked much higher and am debating staying on Gtown's PT waitlist but when it comes down to it, I just like BC better than them.

So I am wondering why BC has been declining and if anybody thinks this decline will hurt public sector employment opportunities for the summers and after graduation. I am happy that it has exactly the same peer assessment score as many schools ranked above it but I just don't understand why it's relatively so low now. Any opinions would be appreciated.

[bceagles182]

BC and BU both each fell this year by two spots. My inclination is to attribute the drop to the abysmal employment scene in Boston at the moment. Regardless, BC's LSAT median went up two points this year from 164 to 166. I wouldn't be worried.

[imisscollege]

BC and BU both each fell this year by two spots. My inclination is to attribute the drop to the abysmal employment scene in Boston at the moment. Regardless, BC's LSAT median went up two points this year from 164 to 166. I wouldn't be worried.

How abysmal is it and if you have links to cite, could you?

Are you at BC now?

[bceagles182]

No I'm not. I'm a prospective who went to BC undergrad. My evidence is anecdotal but I spoke with two hiring partners recently at Boston-based firms in search of some career advice and both told me that Boston was hit particularly hard. I also know several 2Ls at Suffolk who can't find anything right now even on a volunteer basis.

[OperaSoprano]

To answer the question in the title: No. BC is a wonderful school, and employers know this sort of fluctuation is designed to sell magazines and not an objective measure of student quality, given the many other factors (YP, anyone?) which are largely irrelevant. You should care about the quality of your education, and the school's relative career placement strength.

[tram988]

Posts likethese make me laugh. BC keep raising it's medians. The rankings fluctuate. BC has never since 1987 left the top 30 and I don't think it ever will. I still think bc is undervalued relative to it's nlj250 placement and federal clerkship data.

[tram988]

No I'm not. I'm a prospective who went to BC undergrad. My evidence is anecdotal but I spoke with two hiring partners recently at Boston-based firms in search of some career advice and both told me that Boston was hit particularly hard. I also know several 2Ls at Suffolk who can't find anything right now even on a volunteer basis.

I've heard this as well. I'm glad I'm not going to Suffolk/NESL

[imisscollege]

No I'm not. I'm a prospective who went to BC undergrad. My evidence is anecdotal but I spoke with two hiring partners recently at Boston-based firms in search of some career advice and both told me that Boston was hit particularly hard. I also know several 2Ls at Suffolk who can't find anything right now even on a volunteer basis.

I've heard this as well. I'm glad I'm not going to Suffolk/NESL

I was getting off the T at south station yesterday and there was some dude handing stuff out for NESL and talking about how good it was and I told him that "you guys should be ashamed of yourselves." He knew what I was referring to but didn't respond.

[tram988]

Yeah I actually have a friend starting there in the fa after being denied at Suffolk and everyother Boston school. Wouldn't catch me there.

[imisscollege]

Yeah I actually have a friend starting there in the fa after being denied at Suffolk and everyother Boston school. Wouldn't catch me there.

tram you are like the OS of BC Law

[tram988]

Hahaha. I love the school! I just think it doesn't receive the attention it deserves on TLS. We always seem to find ourselves in the same threads :p

[finn17]

I just think there are fewer ties higher up on the list than last year. BU, Emory, and Minnesota are all -2. Last year, a bunch of schools shared the 20 spot and this year it's 28. I think that as Indiana continues to settle back down, BC will rise up. I had to decide between Iowa and BC, and I am surprised to see Iowa hang on in this economy. In the end, I chose BC for job placement, not because of the rankings. I did get the vibe at BCs ASD that the school was a bit stagnant.

In deciding between BC and other schools, I felt that much of BCs faculty is focused on teaching rather than their own scholarship. There are pros and cons to that, but I decided their focus on students appeals to me. Their law review operation seems a bit second tier to me compared to schools like BU and Iowa. I think they could do more to make it a top tier journal.

[RVP11]

BC and BU both each fell this year by two spots. My inclination is to attribute the drop to the abysmal employment scene in Boston at the moment. Regardless, BC's LSAT median went up two points this year from 164 to 166. I wouldn't be worried.

LOL if you think short term changes in employment prospects affect the rankings that much.

[kams]

Posts likethese make me laugh. BC keep raising it's medians. The rankings fluctuate. BC has never since 1987 left the top 30 and I don't think it ever will. I still think bc is undervalued relative to it's nlj250 placement and federal clerkship data.

BC's still pretty good, although 28 doesn't look great. And you have to keep in mind that while BC is raising its medians, so are most schools.

I think it's actually kinda funny how if BU and BC had switched spots (BC had dropped from 20 to 22, and BU had dropped from 26 to 28) I think you would be all over BU about how it's declining and will soon be out of the T30, but BC over the last seven years years has been going strong between 19-22. Not saying that's how I feel, but I think you would. I just get that impression the way you jumped all over BU and posted like 50 times an hour when the mistaken NLJ placement rankings came out. But maybe I'm wrong.

[imisscollege]

Posts likethese make me laugh. BC keep raising it's medians. The rankings fluctuate. BC has never since 1987 left the top 30 and I don't think it ever will. I still think bc is undervalued relative to it's nlj250 placement and federal clerkship data.

BC's still pretty good, although 28 doesn't look great. And you have to keep in mind that while BC is raising its medians, so are most schools.

I think it's actually kinda funny how if BU and BC had switched spots (BC had dropped from 20 to 22, and BU had dropped from 26 to 28) I think you would be all over BU about how it's declining and will soon be out of the T30, but BC over the last seven years years has been going strong between 19-22. Not saying that's how I feel, but I think you would. I just get that impression the way you jumped all over BU and posted like 50 times an hour when the mistaken NLJ placement rankings came out. But maybe I'm wrong.

On that note, and similar to my OP, why is BU ranked so high (relatively)? Is it just the difference in GPA from BC? Their peer assessments are the same. I have seen evidence that says BC places better. Is it a scholarly faculty thing?

[tram988]

Posts likethese make me laugh. BC keep raising it's medians. The rankings fluctuate. BC has never since 1987 left the top 30 and I don't think it ever will. I still think bc is undervalued relative to it's nlj250 placement and federal clerkship data.

BC's still pretty good, although 28 doesn't look great. And you have to keep in mind that while BC is raising its medians, so are most schools.

I think it's actually kinda funny how if BU and BC had switched spots (BC had dropped from 20 to 22, and BU had dropped from 26 to 28) I think you would be all over BU about how it's declining and will soon be out of the T30, but BC over the last seven years years has been going strong between 19-22. Not saying that's how I feel, but I think you would. I just get that impression the way you jumped all over BU and posted like 50 times an hour when the mistaken NLJ placement rankings came out. But maybe I'm wrong.

50 times an hour? Hardly. I know it sucks not being able to say BU is a top 20 anymore though Can't blame me for posting information that seemed legit at the time. I find it sketchy that they went back and changed it so both BU and BC are placing at precisely 34.6%. I'm giving BC the attention is deserves. For the record, I dont think BC or BU will be leaving the top 30 anytime soon.

[tram988]

Posts likethese make me laugh. BC keep raising it's medians. The rankings fluctuate. BC has never since 1987 left the top 30 and I don't think it ever will. I still think bc is undervalued relative to it's nlj250 placement and federal clerkship data.

BC's still pretty good, although 28 doesn't look great. And you have to keep in mind that while BC is raising its medians, so are most schools.

I think it's actually kinda funny how if BU and BC had switched spots (BC had dropped from 20 to 22, and BU had dropped from 26 to 28) I think you would be all over BU about how it's declining and will soon be out of the T30, but BC over the last seven years years has been going strong between 19-22. Not saying that's how I feel, but I think you would. I just get that impression the way you jumped all over BU and posted like 50 times an hour when the mistaken NLJ placement rankings came out. But maybe I'm wrong.

On that note, and similar to my OP, why is BU ranked so high (relatively)? Is it just the difference in GPA from BC? Their peer assessments are the same. I have seen evidence that says BC places better. Is it a scholarly faculty thing?

BU is more selective with its GPA/LSAT

[imisscollege]

it's just gpa. same LSAT. so my question is--is that the only reason?

[tram988]

it's just gpa. same LSAT. so my question is--is that the only reason?

The peer review and peer assessment ranking remains the same as BU. The employed at graduation is difference-- BU (90%) BC (86%) . We all know those can be fudged easily though.

BU has raised their 25th LSAT to a 164, BC rose to a 163.


On another note to Kam, the reason I posted the NLJ250 numbers when they came out was because you, or someone else, said BC students have no statistics to back up their law firm placement when in fact we have an abundance of data to choose from.

[GobiasIndustries]

Well, I hope not.

I hear BU inflates their employed at graduation statistics. A lot.

[sullidop]

oh USNWR. They should really just place the schools into peer groups. Is there a measurable difference between BC and BU? Nope. Illinois and Fordham? Probably not. All the threads like this are so pointless--either you're t3, t14, fringe t14, t30ish, t50ish, t100.

BC has always been a t30ish school. Whether they choose to rank it 20 or 30 doesn't change a thing.

[UFMatt]

When I toured BU, it came across as very professional, yet the 3L giving the tour didn't have a job yet, nor did many of her friends apparently. I definitely got the sense that the Boston legal market was in the tank.

I didn't tour BC, so I can't compare.

[imisscollege]

When I toured BU, it came across as very professional, yet the 3L giving the tour didn't have a job yet, nor did many of her friends apparently. I definitely got the sense that the Boston legal market was in the tank.

I didn't tour BC, so I can't compare.

BC's tour guide was hooked up to do a federal clerkship and then all set up to work at Ropes and Grey after. So there's that? (Holy unrepresentative sample though, right?)

[doomed123]

oh USNWR. They should really just place the schools into peer groups. Is there a measurable difference between BC and BU? Nope. Illinois and Fordham? Probably not. All the threads like this are so pointless--either you're t3, t14, fringe t14, t30ish, t50ish, t100.

BC has always been a t30ish school. Whether they choose to rank it 20 or 30 doesn't change a thing.

+1

Year-to-year fluctuations within a mini-tier (like T20-30) are essentially meaningless. Over the years, BU and BC have switched back and forth in the rankings, but their placement has remained roughly the same.

[kams]

Posts likethese make me laugh. BC keep raising it's medians. The rankings fluctuate. BC has never since 1987 left the top 30 and I don't think it ever will. I still think bc is undervalued relative to it's nlj250 placement and federal clerkship data.

BC's still pretty good, although 28 doesn't look great. And you have to keep in mind that while BC is raising its medians, so are most schools.

I think it's actually kinda funny how if BU and BC had switched spots (BC had dropped from 20 to 22, and BU had dropped from 26 to 28) I think you would be all over BU about how it's declining and will soon be out of the T30, but BC over the last seven years years has been going strong between 19-22. Not saying that's how I feel, but I think you would. I just get that impression the way you jumped all over BU and posted like 50 times an hour when the mistaken NLJ placement rankings came out. But maybe I'm wrong.

50 times an hour? Hardly. I know it sucks not being able to say BU is a top 20 anymore though Can't blame me for posting information that seemed legit at the time. I find it sketchy that they went back and changed it so both BU and BC are placing at precisely 34.6%. I'm giving BC the attention is deserves. For the record, I dont think BC or BU will be leaving the top 30 anytime soon.

Yeah, in all honesty I did like the T20 label. T25 doesn't really have the same ring to it. Now people will get us mixed up with BC. Oh wait, BC is barely T30 now.

I'm saying this in fun. BC is a good school and I think deserves to be ranked higher. Just gettin ya back for your funny BU attacks when you thought that BU placed so much worse than BC. You can't blame me.