Philadelphia Forum

[Sprite]

Ideally, I'd like to go to school in Philadelphia. Obviously...it goes without saying that the best school in the Philly area would be Penn...

...however; my numbers aren't quite at Penn level.

I was wondering if anybody knew anything about Drexel. From what I've heard, when it gets it's full accreditation, it's expected to be a solid T2 school. Would it be worth it to even apply, or should I just stick with the "safe" choices? (Temple, Villanova, Rutgers-C...)

[PurplePirate]

Ideally, I'd like to go to school in Philadelphia. Obviously...it goes without saying that the best school in the Philly area would be Penn...

...however; my numbers aren't quite at Penn level.

I was wondering if anybody knew anything about Drexel. From what I've heard, when it gets it's full accreditation, it's expected to be a solid T2 school. Would it be worth it to even apply, or should I just stick with the "safe" choices? (Temple, Villanova, Rutgers-C...)

With your numbers you should get a nice scholarship from Temple. Though not T14, it's a reputable school in the Philly area.

[Sprite]

Thanks.

Obviously I'm panicking about putting all my eggs in the Temple basket. Haha.

[PurplePirate]

That's understandable, but I big scholarship could mitigate that risk a bit. Then again, I don't really know your future plans.

[law4vus]

I was wondering if anybody knew anything about Drexel. From what I've heard, when it gets it's full accreditation, it's expected to be a solid T2 school.

Just stop there. You can get into an already solid T2 school in Philly and not have to gamble on projections.

In this economy, don't take risks on schools that aren't fully accredited or reputable.

[Aristone]

As someone who works at a large firm in Philadelphia, I know that we do recruit some people from Drexel. However, that school makes me nervous as there is no established alumni base or general sense of their long-term career numbers.

I would stick with the safe choices of Temple, Villanova and Rutgers-Camden. Try and take the school that will cost you the least, use a scholarship from one to boost another and absolutely make sure your scholarship is not grade-contingent (R-C is notorious for this and many of my friends who went there lost their scholarships after first year).

If you have any questions, please let me know. Thanks.

[crazyblink653]

I would say Temple would be your safest bet. If you have decent numbers you can get a pretty nice scholarship from them and if you are a PA resident their in-state tuition is a good deal even if you don't get money. if you finish in the ~top 15-20% you'll be a very good candidate for biglaw jobs in the philly area.

[num1cop]

BTW, Drexel got its full accreditation this year.

[Jah'rakal]

what about penn state?

[03121202698008]

what about penn state?

Penn State doesn't place well in Philly. It's a central PA school. I remember reading Temple was #2 after Penn.

[mrtoren]

Temple or Rutgers-Camden seem to be the viable options here. If you're a PA resident, Temple will be dirt cheap. If you're not, PA is a bitch and a half to get residency in and RU-C may be the better alternative to keep costs down. I believe they hand out in-state tuition from day one provided you show them a 12 month lease.

[tarp]

It's impossible to answer this question without knowing about your plans for after law school. Do you know what type of law you want to practice, and in what type of firm (large, public interest, solo)?

Here's my two cents: I'm a 3L at Drexel. They gave me almost a full ride. Also, they are now fully accredited. The educational quality is certainly on par with, or better than, other law schools. I really like the experiential learning opportunities - I did a year-long clinic as a 2L, and I'll be doing a semester-long co-op in the spring. The clinical opportunity is where I learned the most practical knowledge in law school, and being involved for an entire academic year was important to me. I have been able to follow one particularly interesting case even into this year. I have worked with students from Villanova as co-counsel and their clinics are only for one semester... it seems by the time a student becomes familiar with the area of law and the issues, they are ready to move on. As far as job opportunities go, it seems the hiring market is terrible all around so I am not sure how much of a difference it makes whether you graduate from Temple, Villanova, or Drexel. Of course Penn, being ivy league and highly ranked, would have the best opportunities in the city. I would say if it comes down to Temple, Villanova, or Drexel, make your decision based on total cost of attendance, your impressions of the school after visiting, accessibility/area (suburban Villanova vs. urban Drexel or Temple), and whether the school offers any concentrations or clinics that you find interesting.

[johnnyutah]

Of course Penn, being ivy league and highly ranked, would have the best opportunities in the city.

Outside of Big Law this is arguable.

[johnnyutah]

OP: Do not go to Drexel. The economy has been hard on everyone, but I have yet to meet even a single employed Drexel graduate from the class of 2011. I'm the the quality of education is stellar, but you will have measurably worse job opportunities compared to Temple or Villanova.

[beach_terror]

OP: Do not go to Drexel. The economy has been hard on everyone, but I have yet to meet even a single employed Drexel graduate from the class of 2011. I'm the the quality of education is stellar, but you will have measurably worse job opportunities compared to Temple or Villanova.

The job search is brutal here, I can only imagine what it's like at Drexel. Not trolling, just being honest.

[Wholigan]

To be fair, I do think some Philly firms are starting to consider Drexel to be on par with Temple/Nova/Rutgers, or at least close. However, if you are interested in generic Philly big firm work, there is one disadvantage to going to Drexel: Many of the big firms, about half, still have not hired a single Drexel grad. So unless they begin to consider employing Drexel grads between now and the start of your 2L year, which is a pretty big gamble, you are eliminating yourself from consideration for half or more of the biglaw slots available each year.

[beach_terror]

To be fair, I do think some Philly firms are starting to consider Drexel to be on par with Temple/Nova/Rutgers, or at least close. However, if you are interested in generic Philly big firm work, there is one disadvantage to going to Drexel: Many of the big firms, about half, still have not hired a single Drexel grad. So unless they begin to consider employing Drexel grads between now and the start of your 2L year, which is a pretty big gamble, you are eliminating yourself from consideration for half or more of the biglaw slots available each year.

And to lurking 0Ls, a big Philly class is 15-20 SAs total right now.

[tarp]

FYI, I am a 3L at Drexel and I didn't know too many members of last year's graduating class, but I know at least a handful who have achieved gainful legal employment. Really, any law school graduate has an uphill battle these days... as do people from most other professions, given the state of the economy. Realistically I don't think the prospects are significantly better at any of the other area law schools... if Drexel offers you the best scholarship, go for it.

[JamMasterJ]

go to Temple

[HeavenWood]

go to Temple

Or Villanova (they've been more generous with their scholly offers lately). Just pick whichever ends up cheaper between the two.

[top30man]

go to Temple

Or Villanova (they've been more generous with their scholly offers lately). Just pick whichever ends up cheaper between the two.

This. Peers are peers.

[mrtoren]

In the interests of consolidating threads, does anyone know how outsider-friendly the Philadelphia legal market is? I'm from the Chicago area and I'm looking at potentially moving out there for law school.

[HeavenWood]

In the interests of consolidating threads, does anyone know how outsider-friendly the Philadelphia legal market is? I'm from the Chicago area and I'm looking at potentially moving out there for law school.

If you go to law school here and work your 1L summer in the area, you shouldn't have much of an issue. The market is insular, but not that insular. Just make it clear that Philly is your first choice.

[beach_terror]

In the interests of consolidating threads, does anyone know how outsider-friendly the Philadelphia legal market is? I'm from the Chicago area and I'm looking at potentially moving out there for law school.

If you go to law school here and work your 1L summer in the area, you shouldn't have much of an issue. The market is insular, but not that insular. Just make it clear that Philly is your first choice.

This isn't enough. Many of my friends got grilled on the issue and couldn't give a particularly persuasive reason. I chose Villanova because I want Philly is not a good reason, and will leave a bad impression with quite a few big firms. Can't speak to PI.

FYI: I'm in the top 15% of my class and still offerless. Not dead in the water, but it's getting scary.

[JK910]

Temple or Rutgers-Camden seem to be the viable options here. If you're a PA resident, Temple will be dirt cheap. If you're not, PA is a bitch and a half to get residency in and RU-C may be the better alternative to keep costs down. I believe they hand out in-state tuition from day one provided you show them a 12 month lease.

The problem with this is that you would have to actually live in NJ. I work in Camden and it's obviously a crap-hole of a city. The most convenient thing would be to live in Philly and commute over to Camden each day via mass transit, but that won't get you NJ residency. It's possible to live outside of Camden (in NJ) and commute in, but I'm not sure you would enjoy the mass transit on the NJ side of the river and driving your car down 130 or 38 would get real old, real fast.

I left RU-C off my list of schools. I'm still hoping to get some $$ from Temple.

FYI, I also agree with the person who said to avoid Drexel. Your numbers are good enough that you shouldn't have to take the risk and go to Drexel. I'm sure in a few years (sooner, rather than later) Drexel will be close to Temple/Nova, but you're really going to fight an uphill battle to gain employment. If your heart is set on Drexel, good luck but begin networking immediately to try to make up for the lack of an alumni network.