Thinking about going to University of Richmond Law? Don't. Forum

[Rina814]

1) There is no one left in the Career Services office because everyone quit. Even when they actually HAD employees, they did not offer any assistance or advice in obtaining a summer internship, nor did they return phone calls or emails. The Richmond job bank website has 6-7 unpaid positions posted at any given time - most of which are not even in the Richmond area. The Richmond job market is beyond lackluster - any distinguished firms in the area are hiring UVA students.
2) They ran out of funding and were not able to provide the stipend for government/public interest internships for students as they promised.
3) The facilities (classrooms, library, etc.) are inadequate and cannot accommodate the amount of students that have been admitted.
4) There is an incredibly limited number of classes offered, which does not give students the opportunity to explore areas of interest beyond basic substantive law courses.
5) Richmond offers very few clinic opportunities and networking events in order to gain hands-on experience for real world practice.

I can go on forever about why Richmond is poor investment. I am genuinely trying to inform prospective students about my 1L year at Richmond Law - these are all things I wish I was aware of when I was making my decision. Now that I know better, I would be happy to answer any questions that prospective students have about the Richmond experience.

[Tom Joad]

Why would you need to deal with the admissions office if you were a 1L?

[Aqualibrium]

Why would you need to deal with the admissions office if you were a 1L?

You don't have to, but I suppose it'd be pretty sobering to find out that people you thought you were connecting with were just acting and don't even know your name. That's probably the way it is with any recruiting/hr type job though...that's why I'm personally always weary of people in those positions--they're always so damn bubbly. Really though, business is always going to involve pretending to like/identify with/connect with people you don't really care for or care about, but it's just bad business to not even remember those people's names when you know you'll have to see them again.

[North]

Why the hell did you go there in the first place?

[Rina814]

Why would you need to deal with the admissions office if you were a 1L?

The Dean of Admissions came to my city to take myself and other admitted students to dinner in order to convince us to attend Richmond. That personal touch was one of the reasons I decided to accept, but as soon as I did, no one would even acknowledge me. It's a small school (my class was only 149 people).

Richmond tends to "run out of money". They offer a small stipend for summer internships if the student is working with a government or nonprofit agency. When I was offered a government internship, they had conveniently "run out of funding", and people who just happened to secure internships before I did were able to receive that money for the same exact type of job. So glad my tuition money is being fairly disbursed and is benefiting some students and not others.

[JCFindley]

Wow, so how do you really feel?

I am sure some future prospects will be quite thankful for this post.

FWIW, the admissions folks where I go know me by name and have been extremely helpful and personable well after I put down my deposit and even after the start of school. One thing a Dean of Admissions can do for you after you start is confirm to a potential landlord the amount of the housing allowance someone on the GI Bill will get since NO ONE else that I know of at school both knows the specifics and is accessible and anyone that deals with the VA knows THEY are at least an hour on hold before you get anyone that may or may not help.

[HeavenWood]

Why the hell did you go there in the first place?

[WanderingPondering]

Why the hell did you go there in the first place?

It sounds like he went there because the Dean hugged and praised him and made him feel good.

[hichvichwoh]

Why the hell did you go there in the first place?

Obviously this discredits the advice. Sorry OP, your well-meaning attempt to teach others from your mistake and to prevent them from making the same one is somehow invalid...because you made the mistake in the first place?

[Tom Joad]

Why the hell did you go there in the first place?

It sounds like he went there because the Dean hugged and praised him and made him feel good.

I think the moral of the story is when dealing with adcomms, the only actions that should influence you to attend a school should include dollar signs.

[dowu]

Why the hell did you go there in the first place?

[HeavenWood]

Why the hell did you go there in the first place?

Obviously this discredits the advice. Sorry OP, your well-meaning attempt to teach others from your mistake and to prevent them from making the same one is somehow invalid...because you made the mistake in the first place?

Or maybe a school with U Richmond's employment prospects should only be attended for free, or next-to-free (and from the sound of it, the OP paid sticker), irrespective of how fucked up its administration may be.

[tim.janitor]

Why the hell did you go there in the first place?

It sounds like he went there because the Dean hugged and praised him and made him feel good.

I think the moral of the story is when dealing with adcomms, the only actions that should influence you to attend a school should include dollar signs.

Job prospects. That's it. Even TTT/T give out large dollar signs. You go to law school to be an attorney.

[Tom Joad]

I think the moral of the story is when dealing with adcomms, the only actions that should influence you to attend a school should include dollar signs.

Job prospects. That's it. Even TTT/T give out large dollar signs. You go to law school to be an attorney.

I don't totally disagree. I just think an applicant should have some idea about job prospects without interacting with admissions officers. And big money can definitely and should definitely be measured against job prospects. If a person takes sticker at Penn over a full ride at Cornell I think they are probably a dummy.

[HeavenWood]

If a person takes sticker at Penn over a full ride at Cornell I think they are probably a dummy.

I can't think of a single plausible scenario in which that would even be possible.

[Tom Joad]

If a person takes sticker at Penn over a full ride at Cornell I think they are probably a dummy.

I can't think of a single plausible scenario in which that would even be possible.

Basically happened to me. A near full ride offer from Cornell and nothing from Penn.

Scholarships are kind of random sometimes.

[HeavenWood]

If a person takes sticker at Penn over a full ride at Cornell I think they are probably a dummy.

I can't think of a single plausible scenario in which that would even be possible.

Basically happened to me. A near full ride offer from Cornell and nothing from Penn.

Scholarships are kind of random sometimes.

Nothing or near-nothing?

[Tom Joad]

If a person takes sticker at Penn over a full ride at Cornell I think they are probably a dummy.

I can't think of a single plausible scenario in which that would even be possible.

Basically happened to me. A near full ride offer from Cornell and nothing from Penn.

Scholarships are kind of random sometimes.

Nothing or near-nothing?

Nothing. Although I never asked for anything since I had other options and Penn wasn't a top choice for me. Not hating on Penn, it is a great school.

[fatduck]

Nothing or near-nothing?

Nothing. Although I never asked for anything since I had other options and Penn wasn't a top choice for me. Not hating on Penn, it is a great school.

well that explains it. everyone knows penn likes to see a "Why Money?" supplemental essay.

[HeavenWood]

I can't think of a single plausible scenario in which that would even be possible.

Basically happened to me. A near full ride offer from Cornell and nothing from Penn.

Scholarships are kind of random sometimes.

Nothing or near-nothing?

Nothing. Although I never asked for anything since I had other options and Penn wasn't a top choice for me. Not hating on Penn, it is a great school.

Not accusing you of hating on Penn, that just sounds like an extremely rare set of circumstances. Normally, someone with a near-full ride at Cornell would be looking at half-ish scholly at Penn.

[tim.janitor]

If a person takes sticker at Penn over a full ride at Cornell I think they are probably a dummy.

I can't think of a single plausible scenario in which that would even be possible.

Basically happened to me. A near full ride offer from Cornell and nothing from Penn.

Scholarships are kind of random sometimes.

If you actually chose Penn, I would of loved to sit with you while you were making that decision. Just to hear your thought process

[Rina814]

Hey future lawyers of America - I know we're all Type A personalities, but I'm trying to make sure no one makes the mistake of attending Richmond Law. I'm at a great Tier 1 school now too, so I get it - but I also know that I'm lucky to have escaped from such a joke of an institution. If you're considering either Cornell or Penn, then you shouldn't care about this thread at all! Just sayin. Anyone who is seriously considering Richmond Law, please comment on this thread and ask me any questions. I'm happy to answer anything I can.

[HeavenWood]

Hey future lawyers of America - I know we're all Type A personalities, but I'm trying to make sure no one makes the mistake of attending Richmond Law. I'm at a great Tier 1 school now too, so I get it - but I also know that I'm lucky to have escaped from such a joke of an institution. If you're considering either Cornell or Penn, then you shouldn't care about this thread at all! Just sayin. Anyone who is seriously considering Richmond Law, please comment on this thread and ask me any questions. I'm happy to answer anything I can.

I commented because your post focuses on all the wrong reasons why a Richmond law degree is a poor investment under the vast majority of circumstances.

[Rina814]

.

[HeavenWood]

1) There is no one left in the Career Services office because everyone quit. Even when they actually HAD employees, they did not offer any assistance or advice in obtaining a summer internship, nor did they return phone calls or emails. The Richmond job bank website has 6-7 unpaid positions posted at any given time - most of which are not even in the Richmond area. The Richmond job market is beyond lackluster - any distinguished firms in the area are hiring UVA students.
2) They ran out of funding and were not able to provide the stipend for government/public interest internships for students as they promised.
3) The facilities (classrooms, library, etc.) are inadequate and cannot accommodate the amount of students that have been admitted.
4) There is an incredibly limited number of classes offered, which does not give students the opportunity to explore areas of interest beyond basic substantive law courses.
5) Richmond offers very few clinic opportunities and networking events in order to gain hands-on experience for real world practice.

I can go on forever about why Richmond is poor investment. Like I said, I am genuinely trying to inform prospective students about my 1L year at Richmond Law - these are all things I wish I was aware of when I was making my decision. Now that I know better, I would be happy to answer any questions that prospective students have about the Richmond experience.

Reasons 1) and 2) are legitimate. The rest are pretty superficial, and in fact, are problems many top schools exhibit in varying degrees. I'm not trying to rain on your parade. It's just very important to remember that in many respects, law schools don't greatly differ across the spectrum.