Hofstra (Full ride) vs. St. Johns (Full ride) Forum

[play2win]

Which is better? I'm waiting to hear back from Brooklyn and Fordham still (among other schools), though I'm expecting no money from stingy Brooklyn and realistically a wait-list at best from Fordham.

I understand that Hofstra and St. Johns do not place graduates nearly as well as the other law schools in New York, but if I got no money from Brooklyn I think I would likely choose a free education over 60K a year for minimally better prospects. Fordham is obviously a different story.

TLS description of the two schools is less than promising, but I was wondering if somebody had first-hand knowledge on this matter, or simply if somebody could provide me with useful information in making a decision.

If this has been covered elsewhere, thanks in advance for directing me to the appropriate thread.

[alexanderhamilton]

Keep in mind that it's technically not free, you still need to take into account housing, cost of living, transportation etc....full tuition only covers the tuition and New York is an expensive place to live. But of the two I think St. John is better in terms of prospects and reputation. You'll have stiff competition and prospects aren't that great in either. Forget the T14, you'll be facing Fordham, Brooklyn, and Rutgers Newark which all place better.

[jaredlevy]

I would beg to differ with the previous poster. If I had to chose between Hofstra (full-ride) and St. John's (full-ride) I would choose Hofstra (which I did, incidentally).

St. John's reputation was good, for quite some time. However, they have been tanking in the rankings of late and I know graduates of St. John's that were a) not happy with the quality of their education and b) still without a job a year out of graduation.

Speaking as somebody who's at Hofstra (full ride) , and chose it over St. Johns (full ride) and Brooklyn (no money), I'm happy with the choice I made.

Hofstra's Rankings the last three years according to U.S. News: #100 (2010) --> #86 (2011) --> #84 (2012). Noticing an upward trend, perhaps?

St. John's Rankings the last three years according to U.S. News: #87 (2010) --> #72 (2011) --> #95 (2012). Dropped 23 spots this year, that's a big drop.

[YankeesFan]

As someone who grew up on Long Island I can say that Hofstra has a much better reputation on LI and in Manhattan, but St. John's is Queens university. If you want LI go to Hofstra, if Queens go to St. Johns. Manhattan- slight edge to Hofstra.

[sundance95]

Any stips on the schollys?

[Wholigan]

As someone who grew up on Long Island I can say that Hofstra has a much better reputation on LI and in Manhattan, but St. John's is Queens university. If you want LI go to Hofstra, if Queens go to St. Johns. Manhattan- slight edge to Hofstra.

I have spent a lot of time in the greater NYC area, although I am not from the city itself. Maybe I am wrong, but it seems kind of silly to me to extend the regionalism thing to actually make a decision based on whether you want Queens or Long Island (of which Queens County is technically a part of). Considering the proximity of one to the other and that most of the jobs in either place are in small law firms, wouldn't there be a great deal of overlap? I would think the decision should be based more on stips on the scholly, comfort level at the school, etc.

Hofstra's Rankings the last three years according to U.S. News: #100 (2010) --> #86 (2011) --> #84 (2012). Noticing an upward trend, perhaps?

St. John's Rankings the last three years according to U.S. News: #87 (2010) --> #72 (2011) --> #95 (2012). Dropped 23 spots this year, that's a big drop.

Sorry, but this is ridiculous. 100 --> 86 --> 84 is not any different than 87 --> 72 --> 95. They are probably separated at all times by fractions of a point in the USNWR methodology.

[MTal]

I hear attending Hofstra is like going to school with the cast of Jersey Shore.

[YankeesFan]

Quote
"I have spent a lot of time in the greater NYC area, although I am not from the city itself. Maybe I am wrong, but it seems kind of silly to me to extend the regionalism thing to actually make a decision based on whether you want Queens or Long Island (of which Queens County is technically a part of)"

Hahah Queens is defintely not part of Long Island (I know it geographically is but politically it is a borough of NYC). As for the regionalism, it is important to remember that each little region (LI vs Queens vs Manhattan) serves a tremendous amount of people. There are almost 3 million people on LI, Queens has 2 and Manhattan has 1.6. Each school claims its respective "region" as they are almost insular sub-markets within NY.

There is also a comfort level involved as Wholigan points out. Hofstra is much more a suburban lifestyle while St. Johns is a bit more city-esque.

[Wholigan]

I have spent a lot of time in the greater NYC area, although I am not from the city itself. Maybe I am wrong, but it seems kind of silly to me to extend the regionalism thing to actually make a decision based on whether you want Queens or Long Island (of which Queens County is technically a part of)

Hahah Queens is defintely not part of Long Island (I know it geographically is but politically it is a borough of NYC). As for the regionalism, it is important to remember that each little region (LI vs Queens vs Manhattan) serves a tremendous amount of people. There are almost 3 million people on LI, Queens has 2 and Manhattan has 1.6. Each school claims its respective "region" as they are almost insular sub-markets within NY.

There is also a comfort level involved as Wholigan points out. Hofstra is much more a suburban lifestyle while St. Johns is a bit more city-esque.

lol, I am well aware Queens is politically part of NYC, and that someone from Queens isn't going to say they are from "Long Island." I was just pointing out that it's kind of a seamless transition between the two from my experience, although that changes the more you get out on LI. Just saying that I would think that someone whose family is from Great Neck or something is not going to have a problem commuting into somewhere in Queens for a better legal job, or vice versa.

I guess it's reasonable to say that if you plan to live out in Holbrook or something, you might have a better network with Hofstra. I haven't spent a ton of time on LI, but I think you might be confusing undergrad name recognition with LS. I honestly think even all the way out on LI, in small law, you'll find an assortment of Hofstra, St. John's, NYLS, BLS, Cardozo, and Touro people.

[taxnstuff]

.

[play2win]

Thank you for the responses, guys. I live on Long Island so I would commute to either St. Johns or Hofstra. The cost of living is not really an issue.

Both scholarships came with stips, the usual ones like blah blah remain in top 40%.

I have not heard back from Fordham but at 167 3.14 this late in the cycle I do not think my prospects are very good. As for Brooklyn, it seems as though they are giving out 1/3 tuition scholarships to people with similar stats, which is not enough to seriously consider attending.

[enron123]

Did you only apply NYC? Why no Rutgers?

[play2win]

Did you only apply NYC? Why no Rutgers?

I guess I really didn't do my homework. I really should have applied to Rutgers.

I also applied to William & Mary (axed), Ohio St. (UR) and George Washington.

[enron123]

To be honest I would work for a couple years retake the LSAT and come back. Even if you don't improve you'll run away from you GPA a bit in the eyes of Admissions (I did).

Don't know your situation but it sounds like your coming out of school now obviously I could be wrong. Helpful to have an updated page on LSN when asking questions.