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Thoughts on STCL
Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 9:14 am
by maxm2764
What are you guys' thoughts on South Texas? I know it's a T4 and very regional but it seems that it still places relatively well and its rankings may not do it justice. I'm a Houston resident and my numbers are 158/3.5 so it's definitely a school that I'm considering. It does seem to make a lot of sense and if I do well enough I don't think that it would be the end of the world employment-wise. But then again I could be totally wrong and misinformed, I'm just really unsure.
What does everyone else think? Worth it? Not?
Re: Thoughts on STCL
Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 9:23 am
by dominkay
maxm2764 wrote:What are you guys' thoughts on South Texas? I know it's a T4 and very regional but it seems that it still places relatively well and its rankings may not do it justice. I'm a Houston resident and my numbers are 158/3.5 so it's definitely a school that I'm considering. It does seem to make a lot of sense and if I do well enough I don't think that it would be the end of the world employment-wise. But then again I could be totally wrong and misinformed, I'm just really unsure.
What does everyone else think? Worth it? Not?
Retake?
Re: Thoughts on STCL
Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 9:28 am
by merichard87
I second the retake.
But I'm a Houston resident as well and I talked to a STCL rep at a Law School Forum and he gave me some things to think about. STCL is a draw for non-trad students and because of that many of them have a nice amount of WE. For me, when I was coming right out of UG with no fulltime WE other than internships, this would have put me at a disadvantage and could possibly cause me to be looked over by firms for students with WE.
Eventually I took them off my list but I do think it is a great school for someone looking to stay in Houston who needs some flexibility in their school.
Re: Thoughts on STCL
Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 9:31 am
by maxm2764
dominkay wrote:maxm2764 wrote:What are you guys' thoughts on South Texas? I know it's a T4 and very regional but it seems that it still places relatively well and its rankings may not do it justice. I'm a Houston resident and my numbers are 158/3.5 so it's definitely a school that I'm considering. It does seem to make a lot of sense and if I do well enough I don't think that it would be the end of the world employment-wise. But then again I could be totally wrong and misinformed, I'm just really unsure.
What does everyone else think? Worth it? Not?
Retake?
Yeah I've definitely thought about it but I just don't know how much more I can do. I did the LR/LG bibles, Princeton Review class and took 25 or so PT's. I also went back and reviewed answers and why/how I got them wrong. I made a lot of improvement but I was PTing in the 158-162 range for the last 5 or so tests. So I guess, for those reasons, I am leaning towards not retaking.
So I guess I'm just looking to move on to the application process and see where that takes me. Any thoughts? And thanks for the response dominkay, sorry if it seems like I'm shunning your advice I've just been thinking about it since I got my score back and haven't been able to convince myself to retake.
Re: Thoughts on STCL
Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 9:39 am
by dominkay
maxm2764 wrote:dominkay wrote:maxm2764 wrote:What are you guys' thoughts on South Texas? I know it's a T4 and very regional but it seems that it still places relatively well and its rankings may not do it justice. I'm a Houston resident and my numbers are 158/3.5 so it's definitely a school that I'm considering. It does seem to make a lot of sense and if I do well enough I don't think that it would be the end of the world employment-wise. But then again I could be totally wrong and misinformed, I'm just really unsure.
What does everyone else think? Worth it? Not?
Retake?
Yeah I've definitely thought about it but I just don't know how much more I can do. I did the LR/LG bibles, Princeton Review class and took 25 or so PT's. I also went back and reviewed answers and why/how I got them wrong. I made a lot of improvement but I was PTing in the 158-162 range for the last 5 or so tests. So I guess, for those reasons, I am leaning towards not retaking.
So I guess I'm just looking to move on to the application process and see where that takes me. Any thoughts? And thanks for the response dominkay, sorry if it seems like I'm shunning your advice I've just been thinking about it since I got my score back and haven't been able to convince myself to retake.
I just don't see any reason not to retake, given your score. It's not like it can hurt you, and I think a 162 would be a whole lot better than a 158. Have you figured out what exactly you're having trouble with?
Re: Thoughts on STCL
Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 9:57 am
by maxm2764
No I completely agree with you, a 162 would have been nice. Maybe I'm just burnt out and it's dissuading me from retaking or maybe I'm just done with the whole LSAT process. I don't know I guess we'll see, maybe I'll end up retaking.
Re: Thoughts on STCL
Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 12:11 pm
by deadpanic
I say retake, get 161 and go to Houston.
IIRC, STCL's class size is one of the biggest in the country, so that is something to think about. It is probably a good choice for those that are 1. Non-traditional 2. Have full scholarship or close to it and 3. Know they want to work in Houston in small law.
Re: Thoughts on STCL
Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 12:20 pm
by General Tso
deadpanic wrote:I say retake, get 161 and go to Houston.
Re: Thoughts on STCL
Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 12:22 pm
by kalvano
deadpanic wrote:I say retake, get 161 and go to Houston.
Re: Thoughts on STCL
Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 12:23 pm
by upfish
Would anyone ever take a full scholarship at STCL over sticker at UH?
I've got a 168/2.75 URM and I'm batting around the idea of doing STCL if they give me a full ride.
The biglaw firm that my company uses is populated by STCL grads (granted, they are ancient ones, and i don't know anything about how they got there), and EVERYONE who asks me where i want to go brings up STCL and is surprised at UH.
(Obviously any kind of UH or UT scholly will pwn this entire post.)
Re: Thoughts on STCL
Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 12:26 pm
by merichard87
Thats a tricky question. STCL is shit but its respectable shit in Houston (depending on where you are in the class). But UH will give you a smidge better mobility but I doubt I would pay sticker at either. And UH > STCL.
Re: Thoughts on STCL
Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 4:03 pm
by rdcws000
The bottom line is some of us didn't get into UH. There are some Texas schools that I would not go to based on their reputation, but mention of STCL has always garnered me postive responses from people in Houston. It is not a "Top Law School" nationally, which means your questions will always be answered somewhat negatively by folks on this site, but I can say I am honestly feeling good about going there.
I have 12+ years work experience and a solid plan for what I will do with the JD. This makes a bit of a difference as well.
I got rejected from UH with 159 and 3.5 so you should know unless you are very interesting, can write an awesome PS, or you're URM, our numbers are a bit low for a safe bet into UH.
Re: Thoughts on STCL
Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 4:26 pm
by rdcws000
I read my last comment
you should know unless you are very interesting, can write an awesome PS, or you're URM, our numbers are a bit low for a safe bet into UH.
and thought "Man, what a negative jerk". I hope you know I just meant that with your numbers (very similar to mine) you should be optimistic about UH, but consider very seriously that STCL is a likely offer for you.
Re: Thoughts on STCL
Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 4:29 pm
by john titor
a couple questions -
what makes you think that STCL still places 'relatively well'? what do you really know about job prospects for people who have graduated from there recently?
do you really think it's a good idea to be shooting for "not the end of the world, employment wise"? I mean if that's your best case scenario....yikes.
Re: Thoughts on STCL
Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 4:31 pm
by john titor
if you go to STCL, take a class from this guy:
--LinkRemoved--
hes awesome.
Re: Thoughts on STCL
Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 6:16 pm
by rdcws000
john titor wrote:if you go to STCL, take a class from this guy:
--LinkRemoved--
hes awesome.
What makes you say that?
Re: Thoughts on STCL
Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 7:22 pm
by maxm2764
john titor wrote:a couple questions -
what makes you think that STCL still places 'relatively well'? what do you really know about job prospects for people who have graduated from there recently?
do you really think it's a good idea to be shooting for "not the end of the world, employment wise"? I mean if that's your best case scenario....yikes.
Well, I know a few people who have graduated from there (granted they did well while in school) and have good jobs at good firms. Sorry for not clarifying that earlier.
What I meant by not end of the world should have been clarified earlier too, my bad. What I meant was that consensus on TLS is that one should avoid T4's and that going to one is employment suicide. So that's what I meant, but I do think that STCL has a good reputation in Houston and it is definitely a viable option for me.
Re: Thoughts on STCL
Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 7:28 pm
by maxm2764
rdcws000 wrote:I read my last comment
you should know unless you are very interesting, can write an awesome PS, or you're URM, our numbers are a bit low for a safe bet into UH.
and thought "Man, what a negative jerk". I hope you know I just meant that with your numbers (very similar to mine) you should be optimistic about UH, but consider very seriously that STCL is a likely offer for you.
No worries, I got what you were trying to say. As I posted before this, I think STCL's reputation in Houston outshines its ranking. I am honestly considering it if U of H doesn't work out. I am Hispanic, have sort of a history with U of H, and my GPA is only low due to my first semester in college. So I might have a little bit going for me in that aspect, but I understand that I am by no means a shoe-in or even a strong consider.
But thank you for that information, it definitely helps me to evaluate STCL a little more clearly. I've heard good things and known some successful people who have graduated there so I by no means think it's a bad option.
Re: Thoughts on STCL
Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 7:32 pm
by maxm2764
And rdcws, I like you and your optimism.
Re: Thoughts on STCL
Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 7:41 pm
by Lucidity
It's the oldest law school in Houston. This means that it's been pumping out lawyers forever, and most of their graduates stay in Houston. Therefore, the school has a lot of respect inside the city. Outside of Houston, its just another t4, but if you want to stay in Houston, stcl performs much better than it's ranking would suggest.
Re: Thoughts on STCL
Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 7:46 pm
by maxm2764
Lucidity wrote: if you want to stay in Houston, stcl performs much better than it's ranking would suggest.
I love me some Houston.
Re: Thoughts on STCL
Posted: Tue Jul 06, 2010 7:51 pm
by Stringer Bell
A couple of thoughts here.
First, comparing STCL with $$$$ vs. UH sticker is pretty much moot because I believe STCL is pretty stingy with money.
As far as the post grad prospects coming from STCL, it's tough to say, especially ITE. I know of some extremely successful grads from there, plenty who have been unable to find any job in the legal field, many that work in the DA and PD offices in Houston and surrounding areas, and many that do family law/traffic defense/etc. UH does substantially better for biglaw, although ITE it's going to be really tough to acheive that from either school.
Retaking and trying to get into UH is probably TCR here.
Re: Thoughts on STCL
Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2010 12:02 am
by rdcws000
After UH dinged me I put some serious thought into retaking. I studied probably about 60% as hard as I should have and completely stressed myself out by taking the test at a foreign campus where I had a hard time finding a place to buy pencils the morning of the test (damn UF campus).
What made me decide to ride it out with STCL was my age (30) family situation (2 kids and wife) which kind of led me to a now or never syndrome, plus my employment goals which are to work for the company I already work for. STCL prides itself on being accessible to working adults, it has been a core principle of theirs since their inception. 1st year PT students at STCL go 3 nights a week, and at UH they go 4. It makes a difference.
Like I've said many times, I would have preferred UH and I was let down when I got rejected, but I am not at all miserable about the thought of going to STCL.
Re: Thoughts on STCL
Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2010 11:42 am
by john titor
rdcws000 wrote:john titor wrote:if you go to STCL, take a class from this guy:
--LinkRemoved--
hes awesome.
What makes you say that?
I had him for civil procedure my 1L year and I know from experience dude
Re: Thoughts on STCL
Posted: Wed Jul 07, 2010 12:26 pm
by rdcws000
john titor wrote:rdcws000 wrote:john titor wrote:if you go to STCL, take a class from this guy:
--LinkRemoved--
hes awesome.
What makes you say that?
I had him for civil procedure my 1L year and I know from experience dude
DUDE, my question was entirely innocent. You didn't provide a whole lot of info and I didn't know if you were at STCL or not.