Creighton Vs. Regent.... Very stressed Forum

[Jphodges]

Very Stressed out here... Help!

I recently graduated with a BPS (Bachelors of Professional Studies) largely compiled of science courses with some splashes of economics and criminal justice courses. GPA = 3.6 LSAT = 152

I applied to 58 law schools after graduation (yes I know, quite a few) due to fear that I would not get accepted.

Several acceptances/rejections/waitlists/no responses later, the following schools are ones that have given me the proverbial thumbs up:

Appalachian
Ohio Northern University
Regent
Creighton
New England Law - Boston
Charlotte Law
Oklahoma City University
Widener

7 total, and none of them stellar (ranking wise strictly, not knocking the school)


I do however feel that If I had to choose, I would choose Creighton or Regent. Regent for its location, nice values, and somewhat national recognition (which I have heard both positive and negative things about). Creighton for its highest ranking of any on my list (T3), and decent patent law program.

I have a minor scholarship at each school, but nothing to write home about.

I am determined that I will be attending law school in the fall, and do not plan on retaking the LSAT.

I would really like to be a patent attorney, and to quote a well informed source on this board

Patent lawyers are in demand more than ever so if one has a technical background and is interested in patent law there are no concerns about a slowdown of any sort. Patent prosecution (filing the applications) requires a technical degree and that one pass the patent bar, but patent litigation (which I have done) does not require passing the patent bar. A great article about passing the patent bar is at:

http://www.top-law-schools.com/patent-bar-prep.html

A scientific background is not required for copyright or trademark prosecution (filing the applications and strategizing over risk analysis of various trademarks, which I do a lot of).

However, trademark work is down for everyone as the creation and protection of brands becomes less important when a company is worried about staying in business. Trademark and copyright law are definitely impacted when the economy slows down and are cyclical (as opposed to bankruptcy law which is counter cyclical and booming right now).

For those entering law school now, I think the economy will be much better in 3 years and copyright and trademark attorneys will again be in demand, but the guarantee is that patent attorneys will always be in demand because so few attorneys have the requisite technical background.

Derived from this thread http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... patent+law

However, I do understand that ambitions may change once in law school, so I am not bound to patent law specifically.

Having recently spent spring break in Virginia Beach, I can say that I would love living in that area. Ive never been to Omaha, so I cant knock the area til' I have tried it.

I would really appreciate someone who has any information or opinion on either school speaking up as my deadline to drop a seat deposit at Regent is April 1, and Creighton April 15.

Thank you for your responses

Respectfully,

Patrick

[Jphodges]

Night bump

[Danteshek]

Are you sure you can deal with the religiosity at Regent? But I think Widener is probably your best option.

[JamMasterJ]

Pat Robertson is an asshole. Case closed.

[SupraVln180]

Are you sure you can deal with the religiosity at Regent? But I think Widener is probably your best option.

Widener still has competition from Temple and Rutgers for Philly Big Law. It is a little tougher to break into. I think Creighton is the best option here, if you can stomach living in Nebraska for 3 years. Regent still has better schools like Richmond it is competing with it, as well as median students at George Mason, Washington & Lee and William & Mary who are migrating south b/c they struck out in the DC/NoVa area. But honestly, the job prospects aren't much different, go where you will be happy.

[Grizz]

Retake or don't go

[Danteshek]

Are you sure you can deal with the religiosity at Regent? But I think Widener is probably your best option.

Widener still has competition from Temple and Rutgers for Philly Big Law. It is a little tougher to break into. I think Creighton is the best option here, if you can stomach living in Nebraska for 3 years. Regent still has better schools like Richmond it is competing with it, as well as median students at George Mason, Washington & Lee and William & Mary who are migrating south b/c they struck out in the DC/NoVa area. But honestly, the job prospects aren't much different, go where you will be happy.

Seriously? OP applied to over 50 schools. You honestly think that OP would actually go to Nebraska, or that it would be in his best interest?

Delaware has a thriving legal community, and Widener is the only law school in Delaware.

But of course, you know everything. Since you're a 0L and all.

[Alex-Trof]

58 applications *$60= $3,450. That's a lot of money spent on applications. Sorry for not being helpful, but you should have spent that money on LSAT prep.

[SupraVln180]

Are you sure you can deal with the religiosity at Regent? But I think Widener is probably your best option.

Widener still has competition from Temple and Rutgers for Philly Big Law. It is a little tougher to break into. I think Creighton is the best option here, if you can stomach living in Nebraska for 3 years. Regent still has better schools like Richmond it is competing with it, as well as median students at George Mason, Washington & Lee and William & Mary who are migrating south b/c they struck out in the DC/NoVa area. But honestly, the job prospects aren't much different, go where you will be happy.

Seriously? OP applied to over 50 schools. You honestly think that OP would actually go to Nebraska, or that it would be in his best interest?

Delaware has a thriving legal community, and Widener is the only law school in Delaware.

But of course, you know everything. Since you're a 0L and all.

That's my mistake, I thought Widener fed into Philly. The point of my post was the same as the other post I made that we argued over. Pick an isolated region and go for it. A TTT in an isolated region could be better than a T2 in a saturated market. As for going to Nebraska why would OP was 70 bucks and apply to a school he had no intention of going to, why even waste 12 bucks if he obtained a fee waiver? Either way, moral of the story, all these schools are bad options, go where you will be happy/is warm.

[Fred_McGriff]

Re-take the LSAT and re-apply next cycle.

[RockyIII]

Retake and reapply. We aren't just saying this to be mean either. You will be 1000x happier if you do, trust me.

[gwuorbust]

7 total, and none of them stellar (ranking wise strictly, not knocking the school)

I'll knock those schools, they all suck. seriously, you would be lucky to be making 50k graduating from any of those schools. and you will have 150k+ debt. retake.

[krad]

Retake and reapply. We aren't just saying this to be mean either. You will be 1000x happier if you do, trust me.

[TommyK]

flame!

[gwuorbust]

flame!

this could be a very good call

[eudaimonia]

It all depends on where you want to practice. If it doesn't matter to you, I would go for Creighton. Especially since 99% of what I've heard about Regent is negative.

Keep us updated. Let us know your final decision once it's made.

[rebexness]

[OldManHunger]

.

[northwood]

figure out where you want to live- prep for the test, and send out the applications on day 1. I doubt that you applied to 58 law schools, but if you did ( thats a ton of money), then you need to invest some time in your prep and narrow down the regions you want to live. IF you cant do this by the deposit deadline- dont go this year, and dont apply until you have done so. Once you get that done, study for the lsat, take it, and get the applications in asap ( like before thanksgiving).

Dont waste your time applying to 58 schools. Even if thats a joke, you should only apply to schools you would consider going, or would ove to go to.

[yuzu]

I would really like to be a patent attorney

If you want to practice patent law make sure your degree meets the requirements (see page 7 of the PDF, "Category B") to take the patent bar. If you don't qualify (your degree sounds like it may not necessarily) then getting a job in patent law will be next to impossible, particularly from these schools. Even though not legally required, in practice membership in the patent bar is strongly preferred for patent litigation. And even though Ken was able to work in patent litigation, he did go to a much higher-profile school than Creighton/Regent.

You might want to apply now to the USPTO with your official transcripts to make sure they will let you take the patent bar before you go into tons of debt. Better to find out now than 3 years later. If you are eligible, you might take the patent bar now and try to get a job with a patent firm to help pay your tuition. Also keep in mind that pass rates for the patent bar are only 50%-60%, and you may have some trouble passing it - you should definitely use a prep course (I took PLI).

If you find your degree does not meet the requirements, you may be able to fix this by taking more science/engineering courses.

And even though patent prospects from TTTT schools are better than non-patent prospects, they are still not very good. You ought to put some serious thought toward improving your LSAT. For most people it is doable; I improved 9 points after a month of studying.

[dr123]

Bachelors of Professional Studies? wtf is that?

[Fred_McGriff]

Bachelors of Professional Studies? wtf is that?

It's what most professional athletes majored in undergrad. The SEC has some top programs.

[Wholigan]

Bachelors of Professional Studies? wtf is that?

Some schools will also issue these to people who go back to school after some time away whose main goal is just to get a degree. Like if you have a bunch of random credits but not enough credits in one particular area of study to have a major in that area.

[Danteshek]

Harvard calls it "General Studies"

[mighttransfer]

OP: I seriously think a retake is in your best interest. Not to knock any of your options, but they frankly are not stellar. You have a very solid GPA. Pull your LSAT up to at least a 160 and you will likely gain admission to some solid T2 schools. In all seriousness, think very hard before attending any of these schools. Best of luck to you!