Suffolk/New England Law/Western New England Law/Northeastern Forum

[bostonlawguy]

Hey Guys,

My LSAT is 157, my undergrad GPA is 3.74, I'm white, and I have been at my current job for 3 years and plan on staying there while going to school in the evening. Does anybody have an opinion of what kind of merit scholarship I can expect (if any at all)? I'm trying to get my finances in order and get a conservative idea of what it all may cost.

Thank you!

[TheColonel]

First of all, not entirely sure of your scholarship prospects at each of those schools so if that's all you're looking for stop reading here.

Where is your job? What sort of job is it? Is it portable enough to be able to go to school in Springfield?

Take some time and look through http://www.lstscorereports.com/?r=ma. It'll give you a good idea of what the job prospects are out of those schools.

With your GPA, you can get in to every law school in the country, save maybe Yale. I'll be the first on this board to tell you that you need to retake the LSAT. Spend some time over in the LSAT sub-forum. With time, you can raise your LSAT enough to where full rides at these schools are likely or you could go to a significantly better school. Since it sounds like you haven't applied yet, why not study for the next 5 months, take the LSAT in June, and apply next fall?

[rad lulz]

Don't go to any of those toilets.

[Bildungsroman]

This thread title is a good list of some terrible schools that you shouldn't attend.

[Cellar-door]

If you got money from Northeastern it wouldn't be that terrible, employment scores are basically the same as BU.
Suffolk is probably next best, but you'd need a LOT of money from them to bother (basically a full ride)
The other two are probably not worth attending for anything less than free (maybe not even then)

[Bildungsroman]

If you got money from Northeastern it wouldn't be that terrible, employment scores are basically the same as BU.
Suffolk is probably next best, but you'd need a LOT of money from them to bother (basically a full ride)
The other two are probably not worth attending for anything less than free (maybe not even then)

None of these law schools are worth attending for free. It's three years of opportunity cost.

[bostonlawguy]

Hey Guys,

I appreciate your responses.

To the critics of the schools I listed, can you explain why you despise them so? Did you attend these schools and have trouble finding a job after, etc.? Are you currently a lawyer and don't bother hiring from these schools?

I appreciated negative responses as they do help me; but it's not as helpful if I don't know your reasons for disliking these schools so much. If you can forward some more detail that would be great.

Thanks!

[Bildungsroman]

Hey Guys,

I appreciate your responses.

To the critics of the schools I listed, can you explain why you despise them so? Did you attend these schools and have trouble finding a job after, etc.? Are you currently a lawyer and don't bother hiring from these schools?

I appreciated negative responses as they do help me; but it's not as helpful if I don't know your reasons for disliking these schools so much. If you can forward some more detail that would be great.

Thanks!

Terrible job stats and expensive.

[banjo]

Take some time and look through http://www.lstscorereports.com/?r=ma. It'll give you a good idea of what the job prospects are out of those schools.

Yeah, this. Or get it straight from the ABA: http://employmentsummary.abaquestionnaire.org/. Look at Suffolk, and then look at Columbia. No better incentive than that to get your score up 15 points.

[timbs4339]

...without a huge scholly

[LSTfan]

.

[cinephile]

None of those are good options for getting a job. But if you don't care about being employed, then I'd vote for Suffolk. It's a beautiful building in a great part of town.

[Icculus]

...without a huge scholly

ftfy

[bostonlawguy]

To the critics of the schools I listed, can you explain why you despise them so?

In the OP, you said you already have a job. You are better off than 23.6% of last years grads at Western New England. Presumably, your job is also full-time. That makes you better off than another 9.8% of last years grads. Presumably, you also work for an employer that provides a steady paycheck. That makes you better off than another 3.9% of last years grads that had to go solo. So you are already in a much better position than 37.3% of last years grads.

And just in case you are wondering, for the other 62.3% of the class, salaries are sh*t.

Edit: Just noticed that not one graduate from last year got a job at a firm with more than 10 attorneys. Run from this place.

Thanks again for the comments as they are all helping me out- Perhaps some additional details of my plans/career may help with my decision and your responses too...

I have a decent job that I'm happy with, but I would like to grow in our in-house legal department (having a JD would help). My long term goal is to litigate or use alternative dispute resolution (in a greater capacity than I do now) to resolve claims with plaintiffs. My intention isn't to go to Law School for 3 years, graduate with unbearable debt, and struggle in a market that simply can't sustain the amount of graduates/schools out there. With that being said, I'm curious as to whether it would be worth it to attend New England Law/Suffolk Law/Northeastern/Western New England IF (that's a big 'IF') they're willing to provide financial assistance in which it would be low-cost for me to go. I don't expect a JD Diploma to bring my riches beyond my dreams, but I like working in a high paced legal environment and would like the opportunity to become a greater part of it. However, I've done my homework and I don't want to put myself in a financial bind that could really wreck my life as many recent Law Graduates are sadly experiencing. I only want to go to Law School if I can AFFORD to go, not just because I want to go.

I have a very good undergrad GPA, a decent LSAT score (not my absolute best as my practice scores were in the 158-162 range, but OK), and great real-world legal experience to work with. I'm not sure if Suffolk, New England Law, Western New England, & Northeastern have attractive merit scholarships for someone like me... that's the reason why I'm writing to all of you to see if you, or someone you may know, has had any similar experiences with them or know about the types of financial assistance packages that are available. I'm trying to get all my finances in order, but I don't know what to expect.

Any help or thoughts would be great. Thanks, again for everybody's quick responses. I've followed these forums for the past year or so and I'm amazed at how helpful everyone is. Thanks!

[ks2499]

.

[bostonlawguy]

also forgot in my last comment- I live within reasonable commuting distance to these schools (I have family near all of them). I wouldn't have any additional living expenses than I have now or have to do a major cross-country move etc... I'm assuming I can expect some high parking costs though and additional gas $$$ for driving though.

[ks2499]

also forgot in my last comment- I live within reasonable commuting distance to these schools (I have family near all of them). I wouldn't have any additional living expenses than I have now or have to do a major cross-country move etc... I'm assuming I can expect some high parking costs though and additional gas $$$ for driving though.

If you have the option of going full-time, why not BU or BC? Is your relationship with your employer strong enough that they would rehire you after you complete LS?

[Icculus]

If you are looking to get into alternative dispute resolution/mediation you do not need a JD.

Suffolk would only be worth it if you essentially got close to a free ride and could continue working while you went to school and your employer guaranrteed you would keep your job. Also, if this is so you can work in your current emnployer's legal department are they willing to foot the bill.

I personally don't think any of these schools are worth anything more than bare minimum tuition (and I am from Boston originally). Suffolk was great back during the boom times at placing people in Boston, esp. in state givernment. However, in the current financial situation Suffolk is not worth it anymore but it is the best of the schools you've listed.

[timbs4339]

If you commute, I would pay no more than 30K total for Suffolk or Northeastern, and make sure to be very aggressive negotiating and getting the scholarship stipulations removed or changed to "good standing."

[CanadianWolf]

My best guess is that you work in an insurance company claims department. Apply to all of these schools & see what scholarship offers you receive. Since you're not seeking a new job, placement stats are not of utmost importance to you.
Seems like you could do well by attending law school part-time on a scholarship if your employer will reimburse your cost of tuition, fees & books. Also, aim higher (UConn ?) if your company offers tuition reimbursement.

[Cellar-door]

If you got money from Northeastern it wouldn't be that terrible, employment scores are basically the same as BU.
Suffolk is probably next best, but you'd need a LOT of money from them to bother (basically a full ride)
The other two are probably not worth attending for anything less than free (maybe not even then)

None of these law schools are worth attending for free. It's three years of opportunity cost.

So would you say the same about BU?
Outside of big law Northeastern actually has slightly better employment than BU (way less in school funded for example). Now if he were paying for it the big law numbers would be a big deal, with money though? If he is looking to go into public interest Northeastern is likely better, for anything else outside big law in the Boston market it's probably about a wash.

[B90]

OP, are you saying you want to go to law school part time while you work? Neither BU nor Northeastern have part time programs.

[CanadianWolf]

OP wants to attend part-time in the evenings after work.

[kjones0127]

Suffolk is one of those schools where it is really easy to network with local lawyers/government since it's located downtown (the only Boston law school to be).

[B90]

OP wants to attend part-time in the evenings after work.

That is what I thought, too. So to be clear, if you want to attend law school part time in Boston, Suffolk and NESL are the only schools where that is possible.

(sorry about the formatting of the quote; it's my first time, and I'm sure I didn't do it right)