Drexel, WNEC - possibly UConn? Forum

[lmncow]

g'afternoon all - first time poster, long-time lurker. Just heard from a bunch of schools very recently - looking to see what might make the most sense for me (I live and work in Hartford, CT):

-WNEC with $30k/yr scholly (top 70% to renew)
-Drexel with $10k/yr scholly (top ~50% to renew)
-Possibly UConn - waitlisted

ALSO,
-In at NESL with no $
-In at Syracuse with no $
-In at Widener with $20k... but I really have no interest in their school now that WNEC called me with their offer.

I'm thinking it probably looks like WNEC$$ over Drexel$$, and UConn sticker over both of them (assuming I can get in)? Thoughts?

[mrtoren]

Honestly, UConn or probably do not go. I hate when people say that, but in this instance, its true. Drexel is not even fully ABA-approved and is a fairly new law school. No alumni base, no approval, no real job prospects. WNEC is the bottom of the bucket in a state that is saturated with great law schools. Suffolk is tough enough, but WNEC? No way. Syracuse would be a decent option, but definitely not at sticker price. NESL is also at the bottom of the Massachusetts bucket and will leave you with debt and poor job prospects.

Widener with $20k is also a poor choice, but I would place it behind UConn if you HAVE to go to law school this year. That would leave you with about $14k/year. Find out more about stipulations. Widener is still a questionable school, but at least it corners the market in its state.

Do some more research on the legal market right now. Its pretty scary and you don't want to end up with an unmanageable amount of non-dischargeable debt.

[dpk711]

Even if you get into UConn you will probably be paying sticker or close to it. TCR is that you should retake/reapply or don't go.

[snapdragon]

Even if you get into UConn you will probably be paying sticker or close to it. TCR is that you should retake/reapply or don't go.

If he lives in Hartford, sticker in-state at UConn is about $20k. IMO, that's not a bad deal.

[scammedhard]

In-state at UConn or Don't go.

[Grizz]

In-state at UConn or Don't go.

[arvcondor]

Man, I just did this. We need to just sticky a topic that admonishes against Drexel.

[lmncow]

Thank you all for taking the time to reply to my post. I feel like I should clear up / add a bit more.

Concerning the Widener scholarship... I would need to maintain a 3.0 GPA to renew it each year, and if I'm not mistaken their curve is somewhere around a 2.3. While I'm pretty confident that I would finish in the top 20ish% at Widener, I'm not 100% sure (as no 0L can truly be 100% sure of such things), and I certainly don't want to be stuck paying sticker there and/or graduating anywhere outside of the top 10%.

As for my career prospects, I've graduated from UConn ugrad two years ago and have since been working on political campaigns (a gov race and local state rep races) and have since been clerking at the Capitol in Hartford. I really have no interest in working for any kind of biglaw - I'd like to continue working in gov't, or possibly in PI.

UConn (at in-state tuition) looks like it would be a no-brainer should I be accepted, especially considering all of the connections I've made thus far... but I obviously can't assume acceptance right now. It looks like the first batch of waitlisted UConn law applicants will be hearing back sometime in mid-late June.

Let's also assume, for the sake of this thread, that I will be attending SOME law school this Fall (I still may actually decide to wait a year, but I'm curious if my preference for gov't and/or PI makes a difference at all).

[Grizz]

Let's also assume, for the sake of this thread, that I will be attending SOME law school this Fall (I still may actually decide to wait a year, but I'm curious if my preference for gov't and/or PI makes a difference at all).

Wait a year and retake unless you get into UConn due to bad job prospects.

[snapdragon]

LMN, with your connections in Hartford, experience in campaigns/gov't and goals, you are really doing yourself a disservice if you go anywhere besides UConn.

WNEC has scary employment stats to begin with (16.4% unemployed for class of 2009) and is low on the totem pole of MA law schools (behind Harvard/BU/BC/Northeastern/Suffolk and debatable with NESL). Basically you'll be behind a LOT of other grads for jobs in either MA or CT.

Drexel is a big unknown even in Philly, and the scholarship really isn't enough IMO to make the gamble worthwhile. You'd still be paying a LOT to go to a school that is behind Penn/Temple/Nova/Penn St in the reputation department.

UConn is in the state capital, fairly reasonable with in-state, and would put you in school where you already have experience & connections.

Would you mind sharing with us an idea of your GPA, LSAT and when you applied? If you applied late and/or your LSAT was the weakest part of your app, I'd really recommend waiting out the waitlist and re-applying if need be. I think you will have a MUCH better chance getting a job from UConn than WNEC or Drexel. It'd be helpful to see if you were a "Probably would get in to UConn if you applied in Sept/increased the LSAT by a few points" applicant or a "Probably lucky to get WLed" applicant.

[lmncow]

snapdragon,

Certainly. 3.48 GPA/158 LSAT. I also did apply late... literally at the deadline for most schools, including UConn. I hadn't consciously made the decision that law school was indeed worth the investment until late December early January, which gave me about a month to study for the LSAT. I decided that I should apply late for the Fall 2011 cycle rather than wait out the summer to apply at the beginning of the Fall 2012 cycle, just to see if I could strike gold and/or at the very least have some options. One other note about UConn... I also was the student elected Trustee for two years during my undergrad... so I was sortof hoping that kind of "soft" would give me at least a bit of a leg-up.

Thoughts? Am I more of a "probably would get in if I applied earlier" or "probably just lucky" app?

[snapdragon]

snapdragon,

Certainly. 3.48 GPA/158 LSAT. I also did apply late... literally at the deadline for most schools, including UConn. I hadn't consciously made the decision that law school was indeed worth the investment until late December early January, which gave me about a month to study for the LSAT. I decided that I should apply late for the Fall 2011 cycle rather than wait out the summer to apply at the beginning of the Fall 2012 cycle, just to see if I could strike gold and/or at the very least have some options. One other note about UConn... I also was the student elected Trustee for two years during my undergrad... so I was sortof hoping that kind of "soft" would give me at least a bit of a leg-up.

Thoughts? Am I more of a "probably would get in if I applied earlier" or "probably just lucky" app?

In my totally unprofessional 0L opinion, applying early definitely would have helped but you're probably still borderline. If you can study for the Oct test and break into the 160s, I think your chance would improve a lot. Also, if you're open to PT, that might help too. (if you are a URM, this would be slightly different).

Honestly, though, you only studied for the LSAT for a month. If you aim for the Oct test, you have time to get on a solid study plan, and really improve your score. The LSAT is a test you can learn. Remind yourself that just five more points will give you much stronger options than the ones you have now, ten more points will put you in a whole different ballgame. Even with taking the Oct test, you can still get your apps sent by early November. You applied last minute this year, and frankly got last minute results. I respect that you took a lot of time to decide whether to make this investment - you should take the same amount of time/effort putting yourself in the best position possible to get a good return for your money.

this is the LSN for UConn: http://uconn.lawschoolnumbers.com/stats - it's pretty sparsely populated, but may be able to give you some idea of how people's applications went this year.

[lmncow]

Well, FWIW, UConn called me on Friday afternoon and offered me a seat in the day division . I'm somewhere between 90-100% certain that even if WNEC or Drexel offered me a full ride at this point UConn is still way ahead at in-state tuition (~$20k/yr)... but I called WNEC and Drexel to let them know I'd be attending UConn and neither one seemed very inclined to put up a fight to get me to reconsider, so I guess its a moot point. Thanks all for the earlier advice!

[Temple11]

Just an FYI: Drexel has been ABA approved as of Friday, August 5th.

[johnnyutah]

Just an FYI: Drexel has been ABA approved as of Firday, August 5th.

Another FYI: Don't go to Drexel.

[beach_terror]

Just an FYI: Drexel has been ABA approved as of Firday, August 5th.

And on Firday, Drexel will be a good school to attend. Until Firday comes however, do not go to DrexeLOL.

[HeavenWood]

Just an FYI: Drexel has been ABA approved as of Firday, August 5th.

Another FYI: Don't go to Drexel.

Bingo.

[johnnyutah]

Just an FYI: Drexel has been ABA approved as of Firday, August 5th.

Another FYI: Don't go to Drexel.

Bingo.

At least we agree on something

[HeavenWood]

Just an FYI: Drexel has been ABA approved as of Firday, August 5th.

Another FYI: Don't go to Drexel.

Bingo.

At least we agree on something

Well, you do troll a bit hard for Temple.

[johnnyutah]

Well, you do troll a bit hard for Temple.

I do, but only because I was victimized by the Temple Mafia when searching for jobs in Philly. I felt their power.

[HeavenWood]

Well, you do troll a bit hard for Temple.

I do, but only because I was victimized by the Temple Mafia when searching for jobs in Philly. I felt their power.

Since Villanova has very similar (read: almost identical) employment statistics, where do you perceive them as coming into play? They're certainly not finding legal employment elsewhere.

[johnnyutah]

Well, you do troll a bit hard for Temple.

I do, but only because I was victimized by the Temple Mafia when searching for jobs in Philly. I felt their power.

Since Villanova has very similar (read: almost identical) employment statistics, where do you perceive them as coming into play? They're certainly not finding legal employment elsewhere.

I mean, I guess since you've seen the stats, I'll trust you over my personal experience. I just found several positions I had applied for given to Temple students (by Temple alums), and I never had that experience with 'nova.

Plus, 'nova is a Big East rival, so fuck them

[HeavenWood]

Well, you do troll a bit hard for Temple.

I do, but only because I was victimized by the Temple Mafia when searching for jobs in Philly. I felt their power.

Since Villanova has very similar (read: almost identical) employment statistics, where do you perceive them as coming into play? They're certainly not finding legal employment elsewhere.

I mean, I guess since you've seen the stats, I'll trust you over my personal experience. I just found several positions I had applied for given to Temple students (by Temple alums), and I never had that experience with 'nova.

Plus, 'nova is a Big East rival, so fuck them

Here's the LST data, and I doubt things have significantly changed since 2009. Temple has a slight edge in Article III clerkships, but other than that it really is a wash:

--LinkRemoved--
--LinkRemoved--

Were you applying for corporate or PI positions?

[johnnyutah]

Here's the LST data, and I doubt things have significantly changed since 2009. Temple has a slight edge in Article III clerkships, but other than that it really is a wash:

--LinkRemoved--
--LinkRemoved--

Were you applying for corporate or PI positions?

I applied for corporate, PI, government, and area clerkships. The only instances where I knew who got the job over me were for Philly government/DA/PD positions, and in those instances they went to Temple people.

[HeavenWood]

Here's the LST data, and I doubt things have significantly changed since 2009. Temple has a slight edge in Article III clerkships, but other than that it really is a wash:

--LinkRemoved--
--LinkRemoved--

Were you applying for corporate or PI positions?

I applied for corporate, PI, government, and area clerkships. The only instances where I knew who got the job over me were for Philly government/DA/PD positions, and in those instances they went to Temple people.

I think that's because Temple tends to be more PI-oriented. It's probably a self-selection thing, although I wouldn't put city government employers past cronyism.