Law School Discussion Forums
https://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/
https://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=116901
I wouldn't exactly characterize this situation as weird so much as...unfortunate.dreamz01 wrote:Im in a weird situation. If I dont get off waitlist at some other schools, I have to choose between Cal Western and Whittier.
Which school would you choose and why?
haha this is funny! I know it's unfortunate but i'm trying to look at the bright side mr/ms pessimistic! hahahaAlways Credited wrote:I wouldn't exactly characterize this situation as weird so much as...unfortunate.dreamz01 wrote:Im in a weird situation. If I dont get off waitlist at some other schools, I have to choose between Cal Western and Whittier.
Which school would you choose and why?
thank you for this comment. i was actually wondering about the schools reputation by surrounding peopleKilpatrick wrote:If these are honestly your only two options (if retake and reapply is not an option) go with Cal Western. I don't know much about it, but it can't be worse than Whittier. Whittier is like a DeVry for law school. My mom used to work in a building across the street from the Whittier building. And I remember even as a kid thinking "Is that a real law school?" It's not. Don't go there.
These are good points. Thank you!quadsixm wrote:Cal Western has a decent rep in its region (San Diego). Cal Western and USD are a notch above Thomas Jefferson in that small market.
Can't say the same for Whittier - it is co and also UCLA and USC for the OC & LA markets. They don't compare favorably.
You don't seem thrilled at the prospect of attending either which is going to impact your performance once you are in. If nobody is threatening your life to attend one of these schools this year, perhaps it would be better to reapply to schools you would be happy to attend.dreamz01 wrote:haha this is funny! I know it's unfortunate but i'm trying to look at the bright side mr/ms pessimistic! hahahaAlways Credited wrote:I wouldn't exactly characterize this situation as weird so much as...unfortunate.dreamz01 wrote:Im in a weird situation. If I dont get off waitlist at some other schools, I have to choose between Cal Western and Whittier.
Which school would you choose and why?
To the contrary, I'm am really happy that I got accepted SOMEWHERE due to my very low lsat score. I'm just trying to figure out which one I should settle for if I dont get off waitlist at some higher ranked schools that are closer to where I currently live.GATORTIM wrote:You don't seem thrilled at the prospect of attending either which is going to impact your performance once you are in. If nobody is threatening your life to attend one of these schools this year, perhaps it would be better to reapply to schools you would be happy to attend.dreamz01 wrote:haha this is funny! I know it's unfortunate but i'm trying to look at the bright side mr/ms pessimistic! hahahaAlways Credited wrote:I wouldn't exactly characterize this situation as weird so much as...unfortunate.dreamz01 wrote:Im in a weird situation. If I dont get off waitlist at some other schools, I have to choose between Cal Western and Whittier.
Which school would you choose and why?
I dont think so. I think that I will get the most at whatever school I attend and that is EDUCATION. I really dont care about the money, I just care about learning.disco_barred wrote:
Thendreamz01 wrote:haha this is funny! I know it's unfortunate.....
does not computedreamz01 wrote:To the contrary, I'm am really happy that I got accepted.....
you said i dont seem thrilled.... i took that as me not being appreciative of being accepted to law school when i am. it may not be the highest ranked school in california which makes it unfortunate, but it's nevertheless a school that i can have a chance to attend.GATORTIM wrote:Thendreamz01 wrote:haha this is funny! I know it's unfortunate.....
does not computedreamz01 wrote:To the contrary, I'm am really happy that I got accepted.....
I love your avatar!General Tso wrote:both are really bad, but Cal Western is less bad
These are all good points to think about.Ryou wrote:OP you may be right that the education quality isn't inferior and that after we pass the bar we will all be attorneys. But neither of those facts is relevant to how desirable you will be for employers. The point about burning money isn't about the education being a waste it's about the investment. If you end up with a low paying job then all law school gets you is a lot of student loan debt.
This is a story I related in the recent thread about TTT and TTTT law schools.
Justice Scalia was at a lower rank law school for some event. A student asked him what it would take for her to clerk at the Supreme Court. Scalia basically said it was impossible. He explained that he recruited from the top schools for his clerks because, "You can't make a sow's ear out of a silk purse."
Scalia reasoned that if the top schools recruit the best and brightest, then their graduates will be the best and brightest. He acknowledged that the level of instruction at the premiere law schools was not necessarily superior, but argued the quality of instruction was irrelevant. In the end he believed students were not going to be "ruined" by the instruction, so the most qualified matriculating classes would be also the most qualified graduating classes.
I'm not trying to argue whether or not Scalia's logic is sound or justified, I'm trying to illustrate the current reality of the world. Rightly or wrongly, the presumption will be that the reason you didn't attend a top school is because you couldn't get into one, which will then translate to the presumption you are less qualified -- regardless of bar passage. These sorts of mindsets exist and you will have to deal with it. There is a reasonable risk that many employers will think the same way.
Prestige cannot just be brushed off as elitism, even if it would be right to do so. It's a reality that you will have to seek a job and that the institution your degree comes from matters a lot in that search. Now if you have special circumstances, connections and such, it may not matter. But in a shrinking market the people that will be affected the worse are those at lower ranked schools.
Well done. Quite subtle, yet it drives the point home. +1D. H2Oman wrote:Powerscore.
CmonSD wrote:1.) Do NOT go to Thomas Jefferson
2.) Go to Cal Western ONLY with a scholarship and understand that you can get a job, you just may not get an associate position.
- Cal Western has a good reputation in San Diego, but there aren't a lot of jobs. A woman I met who finished her JD, couldn't get a job so she got her LLM and is currently a paralegal because she still can't get a job.
I personally turned down Cal Western with a scholarship and if I don't get into USD I will be studying my ass off for the LSAT again in September. If you want a study partner, let me know!
jetlagz28 wrote:Go with Cal Western because it has the best reputation out of the three. Ignore everyone giving you [strike]$hit[/strike]good advice.
He should ignore people giving good advice?Kilpatrick wrote:jetlagz28 wrote:Go with Cal Western because it has the best reputation out of the three. Ignore everyone giving you [strike]$hit[/strike]good advice.