University at Buffalo Forum

[legal_eagle]

I rarely ever see this law school mentioned on the forums. I would really like some information on the school especially about admissions, requirements, what the school is like and especially living in buffalo.

[legal_eagle]

bump for replys

[rklafehn]

The UB law library is pretty nice. Plenty of space to study. However, I am not sure how most law school libraries are but everyone at UB has access to it (I studied there all the time as an undergrad). Additionally, the law building (O'Brien) is located right in the middle of the undergrad campus. Also, do not know how this differs from other law schools, but there undergrad classes in the free rooms in the law building and there is a lot of undergraduate traffic.

The weather is Buffalo is unpredictable. However, you can always anticipate it being really cold for the majority of the time that you have classes.

Nightlife in Buffalo is as good as you want to make it. There are always specials at the downtown bars and there is always a decent crowd at the bars on South Campus. Additionally, you can attend Sabres and Bills games (if you enoy sports) generally for discounted ticket prices if you buy the tickets through the school.

Admissions at Buffalo are not bad. You can see their 25/75 percentile numbers for GPA and LSAT on many different websites. Furthermore, since UB is stuck in the lower part of T1, they only look at and take your highest LSAT score because they are trying to boost their numbers.

Lastly, while their is not much to do on North Campus, the law building is on North Campus and you should definitely try to find housing on North Campus in my opinion. Many of my friends lived on South Campus even though they had classes on North Campus and may have other opinions, but I believe that when the whether becomes poor, the commute from campus to campus is a pain in the ass. There are plenty of housing options on campus and around North Campus.

Sorry for the randomness of the post. It is not organized at all. I was simply addressing issues regarding Buffalo as they came to mind. If you have any more questions, just ask. Hope this helps.

Note: I went to UB undergrad and know a few people that are currently in / have graduated from UB with a law degree.

[hiromoto45]

1. Just had a huge rankings drop; basically swapped positions with Syracuse

But I wouldn't worry too much about the new ranking. Buffalo is the top school for Upstate NY. You can place in NYC.

2. Location: In Amherst, NY, a suburb.

3. Weather: If you are going to suffer through an upstate winter why not make the most of it and go to Cornell.

4. If you want to stay in NY state and surrounding parts of PA then UB is a cost-effective option.

[legal_eagle]

Thanks for the imput.

I'm a new york state resident. My GPA is 3.22 I'm taking the LSAT in oct. My cold practice test (with no studying) gave me a 154. It looks like a 160 would be the magic number to give me good odds of getting in. The instate tuition is a major factor in deciding on buffalo. The instate tuition coupled with the low cost of living really seems like a winning combination. If anyone else has any info definitely post it here and thanks to hiromoto and rklafehn for bumping this thread with info.

[reverendt]

I considered UB and looked into it fairly extensively.
I think if you want to live and work in upstate, particularly western NY, it's a good place to go.

[NewLobo]

Furthermore, since UB is stuck in the lower part of T1, they only look at and take your highest LSAT score because they are trying to boost their numbers.

U at Buffalo is now a T3 school. Also they were never T1.

[rklafehn]

It goes 1 - 50 = T1 and 51 - 100 = T2? Then T3 and T4.

I always thought that 1 - 100 was all considered T1. It makes more sense to have a T2 then to skip T2 and go from T1 to T3.

So ya, UB was T2, ranked around 85th I believe before their recent drop in ranking.

[legal_eagle]

I'm going up to visit for a few days next week. Does anyone have any recommendations or suggestions about what to ask the admissions officer i'm going to be talking to?

[bogart]

Funny, I, like most people in the world have always heard that Cuse was top school for upstate.

PS: what's a suny buffalo? Is it new? I've heard of Syracuse University and Cornell University. Anyways, glad to hear Canada has another law school.

[rklafehn]

SUNY = State University of New York.

Thus, SUNY UB = State Universtiy of New York University at Buffalo.

It is about 20 minutes (or so) from the Canadian border.

[bogart]

Oh, I get it. So, with in-state tuition and it being such an outstanding school (best in NY as one poster put it), it must be ranked really high. I'm at the office and don't have a copy of usnews with me, could somebody let me know their ranking; gotta be t30, right?

[rklafehn]

Who said it was so good? If you are referring to my post where I said it was in T1, I only said that because I thought T1 was the top 100 law schools. They were ranked 85th or so, but I believe they dropped.

Is there a reason why you are being an asshole?

[rklafehn]

Where does anyone say best in NY btw? Read before you post.

[ladyjane]

UB is really great if you want to work in Buffalo and the surrounding area. It's affordable so if you are a resident it is worth considering. That being said - their open house for admitted students was decidedly underwhelming. I really wanted to want to attend but the open house kind of killed it for me. I was not the only student who felt that way either.

[bogart]

1. Just had a huge rankings drop; basically swapped positions with Syracuse

But I wouldn't worry too much about the new ranking. Buffalo is the top school for Upstate NY. You can place in NYC.

2. Location: In Amherst, NY, a suburb.

3. Weather: If you are going to suffer through an upstate winter why not make the most of it and go to Cornell.

4. If you want to stay in NY state and surrounding parts of PA then UB is a cost-effective option.

Hope this helps.

[rklafehn]

Ha. Very well.

I would still go to UB over Syracuse (talking about upstate schools) because of tuition costs.

[hiromoto45]

I'm right

[bogart]

I'm right

No...no you are not. But good luck anyway, I know carrying the ub banner is not easy.

ps: where's coolkatz, that guy usually lives for this debate.

[woodstocker]

Ha. Very well.

I would still go to UB over Syracuse (talking about upstate schools) because of tuition costs.

Truth. Had to make this decision 2 months ago. Cuse's scholarship made it comparable to UB, but the contingency standard turned me off. To have 30,000 hanging in the balance with each year's conclusion is just not a healthy environment in which to learn. UB is liable to jump back up in the rankings for 2012, anyway. Just a slight hiccup, not enough to deter me from a solid education at a fixed, low price.

[hiromoto45]

I'm right

No...no you are not. But good luck anyway, I know carrying the ub banner is not easy.

ps: where's coolkatz, that guy usually lives for this debate.

lol. You haven't posted since last year and you pick this thread to come back to possibly debate.

If you check my info, I have nothing to do with UB. Don't derail this thread for people who want some insights into the school.

[bogart]

damn...scary stalker.

Anyways, slow day at office so I figured I'd try to set kids straight. What brought me out of retirement is the "top school in NY" crap. That's just not true.

Here is the truth, to help out OP and others:

ub, cuse, albany or practically all the same. they will all get you a job in NY. Cuse name is stronger outside of state, but that really doesn't matter as much as the most importanct factor--grades.
the reason I pick on buff, is because it is like the ugly little sister to syracuse university. I also feel bad for them that, even with their tuition at like 5 grand a year, they still can't outrank cuse with tuition at 100 grand a year.

All that being said, if OP or anyone else likes ub-cuse-albany, then go to that school. "better" does not apply here, the only thing that matters is grades. (and of course, who your parents are)

[apropos]

Just want to point out the obvious: "Top law school for Upstate NY" is a lot different from "Top law school in Upstate NY." The first is a little bit of an exaggeration, but not by that much, really. The second is obviously false. Going to UB is a really smart move if youre going to live in the area. All around Upstate and Western NY, they love the UB and love hiring UB grads.

That said. Buffalo is a terrible place. Edit: But still better than syracuse for upstate.

[sanpiero]

Buffalo is a terrible place.

beauty is in the eye of the beholder

[sanpiero]

"better" does not apply here, the only thing that matters is grades. (and of course, who your parents are)

false. albany is much better for albany. buffalo is much better for buffalo. syracuse is much better for syracuse and maybe rochester. all else equal i would never choose albany if i wanted to work in buffalo or choose buffalo if i wanted to work in syracuse. the reason ub is usually the best choice of the 3 is tuition. the education you will get at these schools is virtually identical. the kicker is that albany and syracuse have ridiculously overpriced tuition. ub understands that 95% of it's grads won't start out making over $80k, and has established its in-state tuition accordingly. otoh, if you pay sticker at syracuse or albany (and don't want to go into PI), you are a sucker. hth