SUNY, Rutgers Camden, and Syracuse - Deposit Decision Help! Forum

[ceberus]

So far I have been accepted to SUNY Buffalo, Rutgers Camden and Syracuse (waitlisted from most other schools....ugh ). Deposit dues are coming, and I need to make some intermediate decision before sending my deposit money.

Here's what I want to do after law school: I want to work for a firm (I'm not dying to go to biglaw - also interested in in-house and midlaws as well) with a focus on East Asian market.

Bit of background: I am a South Korean citizen, and I speak several East Asian tongues fluently (grew up mainly in Midwestern America though). I have a bit of work experience in South Korea. Some of you might ask why I just don't stick in South Korea and go law school there, but 1) I just can't cope with local business culture, I had enough and 2) law school system here is...pretty messed up. I didn't do best in my last LSAT, but I used up my thrice in 2 years test slots. I might transfer, but that's the story of future.

So given this info, which of the three should I consider seriously?

Just some of my impressions:
SUNY has reasonable tuition and the living cost there is good, but it seems it's far from everything and I don't know I can get the international exposure as much as I want.

Rutgers Camden seems nice given that it's right next to Philly; but then Camden isn't the nicest area to live, maybe especially so for a woman.

Syracuse is...I know Syracuse doesn't have the best reputation, and I think the tuition is way too expensive for what they are offering. But it seems like there are a lot of Asian international alums, which can't be overlooked.

Decision is never easy...any thouhts would be appreciated!!!

[tennisking88]

So far I have been accepted to SUNY Buffalo, Rutgers Camden and Syracuse (waitlisted from most other schools....ugh ). Deposit dues are coming, and I need to make some intermediate decision before sending my deposit money.

Here's what I want to do after law school: I want to work for a firm (I'm not dying to go to biglaw - also interested in in-house and midlaws as well) with a focus on East Asian market.

Bit of background: I am a South Korean citizen, and I speak several East Asian tongues fluently (grew up mainly in Midwestern America though). I have a bit of work experience in South Korea. Some of you might ask why I just don't stick in South Korea and go law school there, but 1) I just can't cope with local business culture, I had enough and 2) law school system here is...pretty messed up. I didn't do best in my last LSAT, but I used up my thrice in 2 years test slots. I might transfer, but that's the story of future.

So given this info, which of the three should I consider seriously?


Just some of my impressions:
SUNY has reasonable tuition and the living cost there is good, but it seems it's far from everything and I don't know I can get the international exposure as much as I want.

Rutgers Camden seems nice given that it's right next to Philly; but then Camden isn't the nicest area to live, maybe especially so for a woman.

Syracuse is...I know Syracuse doesn't have the best reputation, and I think the tuition is way too expensive for what they are offering. But it seems like there are a lot of Asian international alums, which can't be overlooked.

Decision is never easy...any thouhts would be appreciated!!!

Wow. None. I know that doesn't help but boy those are some awful, awful options for what you want to do. I'm from Upstate NY and going to either SU or SUNY Buffalo would AT BEST land you a job in Upstate NY. Unless you have some good ties to a law firm that would hire you elsewhere, be prepared to stay Upstate if you go there. I can't speak for Rutgers but your chances at landing a good job from there are slim too.

You won't get "international exposure" - whatever that means - at any of these choices. If that means working with multinational corporations, then your best option is BigLaw, which is practically unattainable from any of these schools. And this is just employment prospects. I shudder at the thought of anyone taking out loans, especially to Syracuse for 65k a year, to go to these schools.

[booboo]

Realistically, employment prospects at all of those schools will not be great.

If you could list costs of attendance, I think it will help others give better input to which school is best. You will most likely try to minimize the total cost of attending law school (tuition plus cost of living plus earnings that have been foregone) when you attend any of those schools.

It also doesn't appear you have any market preference. At schools like the ones you listed, they are usually meant for students who will be working within the near community. Is there any market you prefer?

[tennisking88]

If you honestly, seriously think that your LSAT performance was not your best, then for the love of God, wait a year and retake. You may not reach Harvard, but at least you won't have to pay so much for such poor options.

[ceberus]

Yeah, I know But I am just trying to make best out of what I have, and transfer is in my mind.

I guess it would have been a bit easier if I had citizenship or green card and plan to work only in the States...being a non-citizen always puts me into a strange category so scarce of resource. It's generally true that people have better prospective for a job if you come from higher ranking school (not just law), but being a non-citizen that really did not apply to me, as well as others like myself. @_@ I've seen so many international people that their shining diploma from schools with great reputation meant nothing when it comes to job market, all because they don't have right visa or green card. On the other hand, I've also seen plenty of international people who didn't graduate from the best schools out there or lacks good grade, but landed on a pretty good job in/out of the US.

That being said, I guess working nearby community has a different meaning to many others here. To my knowledge, NJ, Philly and New York state all have a large Asian population as well as businesses related to Asian market so I'm just putting my hope there (and also why I applied from the beginning). Things might be different if I hear from one of those waitlisted schools, but I'm not thinking about that far; at the moment I think it's better for me to just focus on what I have.

Oh and as of the LSAT, I don't know it's the best idea - I already took a rather long gap year since I last worked.

[Artistry]

Yeah, I know But I am just trying to make best out of what I have, and transfer is in my mind.

I would not just assume that you can transfer law schools on a whim; if you choose a school, make sure it's one you can be happy to graduate from. Transferring isn't exactly easy.

[tennisking88]

Yeah, I know But I am just trying to make best out of what I have, and transfer is in my mind.

I guess it would have been a bit easier if I had citizenship or green card and plan to work only in the States...being a non-citizen always puts me into a strange category so scarce of resource. It's generally true that people have better prospective for a job if you come from higher ranking school (not just law), but being a non-citizen that really did not apply to me, as well as others like myself. @_@ I've seen so many international people that their shining diploma from schools with great reputation meant nothing when it comes to job market, all because they don't have right visa or green card. On the other hand, I've also seen plenty of international people who didn't graduate from the best schools out there or lacks good grade, but landed on a pretty good job in/out of the US.

That being said, I guess working nearby community has a different meaning to many others here. To my knowledge, NJ, Philly and New York state all have a large Asian population as well as businesses related to Asian market so I'm just putting my hope there (and also why I applied from the beginning). Things might be different if I hear from one of those waitlisted schools, but I'm not thinking about that far; at the moment I think it's better for me to just focus on what I have.

Oh and as of the LSAT, I don't know it's the best idea - I already took a rather long gap year since I last worked.

1. Agreed with what the poster above said about transferring. It's ludicrous to go to one school planning to transfer to another.
2. Just because you know people who did poorly or went to bad schools and still ended up OK doesn't mean that it will happen to you. In fact, the reason why the schools you list above are so bad is that most of the people that go DON'T get good work.

[rad lulz]

.

[tennisking88]

I really think some ppl know what they're doing isn't smart, like taking out hundreds of thousands in loans to go to a 3rd tier school, but do it anyway, because they either really want to go to school, and feel like they're progressing by getting another degree, or know person X who's a lawyer who went to a shitty school and is successful, or have some sort of anecdotal success story they cling to for hope. Or both. Or their parents are aboslutely sure that you are a golden child and a lawyer is a respected occupation (totally unchanged since 1950), and how could their golden child possibly fail? Therein lies the tragedy.

[Gleason]

Go to British Columbia.

Or Hawaii.

That's what you're looking for.

[dixiecupdrinking]

You are very unlikely to work in anything relating to East Asia from any of these schools. More like personal injury work in Rochester. Don't go to law school, your expectations are not realistic.

[shintopig]

If I had to choose between Syracuse & RU I would choose Rutgers. Despite the drop in rankings Rutgers Camden has a reputable name and good regional placement for jobs. Again its not the best but its 22k (in-state) per year vs the 44k for Syracuse. So I mean if you're going to a school with a ranking thats a bit lower, you shouldn't pay as much. Even out of state it's still cheaper; which is important considering that they're both the same rank. Also Rutgers has some better employment prospects (I'd say due to its strong name & reputation in-state and in the region).

Also Rutgers Camden has a really odd selectivity (like 22%) vs Syracuse's 40%. So you can expect a more select group of students at Rutgers than Syracuse, which is a nice thing that you can keep in mind. I believe RU has some better employment too.

Last, if you've been following the news Gov. Chris Christie has said that Rutgers Camden Law will be changed to Rowan Law. But, for the incoming class the degrees will still say Rutgers, so that's only if it matters to you.

I don't know too much about SUNY Buffalo; they're still a better option than Syracuse (cheaper in & out of state). If you had in-state tution I'd go there. But again if you're in NJ go to Rutgers.

Also keep in mind that if you waited improved you LSAT you'd have a much better chance of getting into a better law school than if you were to transfer. You have to be in the top 5-10% to be a competitive transfer. As it is; these schools are all heavily regional; meaning that employment will mostly be north-east & mid-atlantic to begin with. Hope this helps.

Best of luck & TLS people will always be negative; keep that in mind but be realistic.

[NoJob]

So far I have been accepted to SUNY Buffalo, Rutgers Camden and Syracuse (waitlisted from most other schools....ugh ). Deposit dues are coming, and I need to make some intermediate decision before sending my deposit money.

Here's what I want to do after law school: I want to work for a firm (I'm not dying to go to biglaw - also interested in in-house and midlaws as well) with a focus on East Asian market.

Bit of background: I am a South Korean citizen, and I speak several East Asian tongues fluently (grew up mainly in Midwestern America though). I have a bit of work experience in South Korea. Some of you might ask why I just don't stick in South Korea and go law school there, but 1) I just can't cope with local business culture, I had enough and 2) law school system here is...pretty messed up. I didn't do best in my last LSAT, but I used up my thrice in 2 years test slots. I might transfer, but that's the story of future.

So given this info, which of the three should I consider seriously?

Just some of my impressions:
SUNY has reasonable tuition and the living cost there is good, but it seems it's far from everything and I don't know I can get the international exposure as much as I want.

Rutgers Camden seems nice given that it's right next to Philly; but then Camden isn't the nicest area to live, maybe especially so for a woman.

Syracuse is...I know Syracuse doesn't have the best reputation, and I think the tuition is way too expensive for what they are offering. But it seems like there are a lot of Asian international alums, which can't be overlooked.

Decision is never easy...any thouhts would be appreciated!!!

Withdraw from all three now.

[dixiecupdrinking]

Best of luck & TLS people will always be negative; keep that in mind but be realistic.

It's really not unduly negative to point out that Rutgers, Buffalo and Syracuse are all terrible choices for someone who wants to work in a law firm on Asian matters. This is not a question of prestige-whoring, it's an issue of whether the OP is likely to make a huge financial mistake.

[tennisking88]

Best of luck & TLS people will always be negative; keep that in mind but be realistic.

It's really not unduly negative to point out that Rutgers, Buffalo and Syracuse are all terrible choices for someone who wants to work in a law firm on Asian matters. This is not a question of prestige-whoring, it's an issue of whether the OP is likely to make a huge financial mistake.

+1. It's the kind of remark that doesn't at all address the substance of our arguments.

[Easy-E]

Syracuse for 65k a year

Jesus 'effing Christ, is that for real? That's sickening.

OP, it sounds like none of these options will get you what you want, but almost 200k in debt with an extremely low shot at BigLaw is an awful idea. Retake, retake, and please, retake.

[quiver]

I hate to say it, OP, but the above posters are correct. The schools you are considering will almost certainly not get you where you want to go. Two options: 1) wait as long as you must to retake the LSAT and get into better school or 2) change your goals/expectations.

With respect to transferring, never go to a school unless you'd be happy graduating from there; anyone on here will tell you that. A worthwhile transfer from any of these schools (into the T14) is an unrealistic and extremely unlikely expectation.