Rutgers Merger of Camden and Newark Forum

[acr440]

As a prospective student searching for law schools I feel I would be crazy not to consider Rutgers Law as a viable option given that I live in NJ. I will be graduating RU-New Brunswick in 2015 and the merger has been mentioned for 2014.

Does anyone think that the merger for the law schools will make Rutgers Law a better option? Move the school up in rankings? A better regional if not national reputation? Worth debt in general? etc etc

General relevant opinions appreciated....

[Monochromatic Oeuvre]

As a prospective student searching for law schools I feel I would be crazy not to consider Rutgers Law as a viable option

You would be crazy to spend any more time thinking about that shameful joke of a law school.

Do not, under any circumstances, attend Rutgers.

[DaRascal]

Rutgers will be a T14 in no time. Merger magic, baby!

[rickgrimes69]

Rutgers will be a T14 in no time. Merger magic, baby!

Why aren't you banned yet

[ronanOgara]

As a prospective student searching for law schools I feel I would be crazy not to consider Rutgers Law as a viable option

You would be crazy to spend any more time thinking about that shameful joke of a law school.

Do not, under any circumstances, attend Rutgers.

You have quickly become one of the most annoying poasters on TLS. Christ, the kid lives in Jersey; Rutgers is his state school.

OP, I wouldn't bank on Rutgers rising in the rankings because of the merger..it will just keep Rutgers-Camden afloat.

[paintbynumbers]

rankings either rising or falling wont do a thing to affect the employment stats at Rutgers bc they are so regional, so doesnt really matter if it will rise or fall 10 spots. still gonna have 5-8% in philly big law and 45-55% in state clerkships

[ronanOgara]

^ agreed..OP don't get too worked up about the ranking of Rutgers. Focus on the employment outcomes of the schools. Always have employment opportunities & cost in your mind. Pre-law advisors are the ones that focus on the rankings..and they are useless. I had a pre-law advisor tell me to go to Alabama instead of Temple because it was ranked higher..and this was after he knew I wanted to live in Philadelphia.

[acr440]

Someone sent message thought i would share some info i gave if anyone wants to go a little more in depth to "my choice and Rutgers" vs "Rutgers in general".

No have not taken LSAT yet, but will be lightweight studying this summer and going heavy next summer with prep course plus prof does extra prep hours. Yes for URM, double major History and Political Science w/ 3.875 gpa thus far. Parents unable to contribute.

Some law topics interest me/ looked into: Constitutional, International, procedure, criminal, public interest
Really aiming towards appellate litigation or position on a bench (state or fed) career wise.

appreciate the input so far everyone.

Am I a bit naive when it comes my goals career wise? These are quite hard positions to get and would require top of class I am guessing?

[untar614]

Someone sent message thought i would share some info i gave if anyone wants to go a little more in depth to "my choice and Rutgers" vs "Rutgers in general".

No have not taken LSAT yet, but will be lightweight studying this summer and going heavy next summer with prep course plus prof does extra prep hours. Yes for URM, double major History and Political Science w/ 3.875 gpa thus far. Parents unable to contribute.

Some law topics interest me/ looked into: Constitutional, International, procedure, criminal, public interest
Really aiming towards appellate litigation or position on a bench (state or fed) career wise.

appreciate the input so far everyone.

Am I a bit naive when it comes my goals career wise? These are quite hard positions to get and would require top of class I am guessing?

URM wit ha 3.875 GPA? Forget about Rutgers. Just work on that LSAT and blanket T14.

[ronanOgara]

No have not taken LSAT yet, but will be lightweight studying this summer and going heavy next summer with prep course plus prof does extra prep hours. Yes for URM, double major History and Political Science w/ 3.875 gpa thus far. Parents unable to contribute.

Some law topics interest me/ looked into: Constitutional, International, procedure, criminal, public interest
Really aiming towards appellate litigation or position on a bench (state or fed) career wise.

appreciate the input so far everyone.

Am I a bit naive when it comes my goals career wise? These are quite hard positions to get and would require top of class I am guessing?

Keep that gpa up and score in the high 160s-170s and you'll have great schools begging you to enroll. Your career goals are a bit broad, but you've got plenty of time to figure that out. One thing though..that little part of your brain that is thinking about international law, don't listen to it. The more time you spend on TLS, the more you'll realize that international law is a made-up fairytale.

In all honesty though OP, if you have above a 3.8 and a great lsat score, forget about Rutgers.

[acr440]

URM wit ha 3.875 GPA? Forget about Rutgers. Just work on that LSAT and blanket T14.

I think Rutgers would be a good safety. I would not want to apply just to top schools and then face the possibility of being shut out. Mostly a loans issue, if I do not go straight to law school I have to begin payments as soon as I graduate. There is no grace period with NJClass loans.

[acr440]

One thing though..that little part of your brain that is thinking about international law, don't listen to it.

hahaha yes i understand. Even in PoliSci classes we are told to view international law the same way we view speed limit signs.

[untar614]

URM with a 3.875 GPA? Forget about Rutgers. Just work on that LSAT and blanket T14.

I think Rutgers would be a good safety. I would not want to apply just to top schools and then face the possibility of being shut out. Mostly a loans issue, if I do not go straight to law school I have to begin payments as soon as I graduate. There is no grace period with NJClass loans.

First off, don't worry about that now. Prep ur ass off for the LSAT while keeping that GPA up, then get back to us. Second off, regarding the loans, suck it up. I and most others got a job and made some payments on our loans in the interim and will go back on deferment once law school starts. If for some reason you have the numbers but don't get in as a K-JD, you will be better off with some work experience and applying really early the following year. Dropping from T14 to Rutgers is not worth a 1 year head start. Rutgers doesn't have great employment, and you'd be seriously selling yourself short.

[acr440]

Thanks everyone. Great advice. Look forward to posting again after I take the LSAT next summer.

[jbagelboy]

As a prospective student searching for law schools I feel I would be crazy not to consider Rutgers Law as a viable option

You would be crazy to spend any more time thinking about that shameful joke of a law school.

Do not, under any circumstances, attend Rutgers.

This isn't fair. Do you know about the legal market in the tristate area and philly? Rutgers might blow shits for biglaw, but it punches above its weight for local positions in state gov, state clerkships, PD/DA offices, ect. just like CUNY. These schools serve a vital purpose that CLS and Penn cannot, since their grads paid $250K for school and these publics are cheap and accessible by comparison.

Also historically speaking, Rutgers is one of the oldest schools in the nation.. its basically luck and a few bad weeks in the War of 1812 that the College of New Jersey (now Princeton) overtook Rutgers in prestige and value.

[Myself]

.

[jbagelboy]

You would be crazy to spend any more time thinking about that shameful joke of a law school.

Do not, under any circumstances, attend Rutgers.

This isn't fair. Do you know about the legal market in the tristate area and philly? Rutgers might blow shits for biglaw, but it punches above its weight for local positions in state gov, state clerkships, PD/DA offices, ect. just like CUNY. These schools serve a vital purpose that CLS and Penn cannot, since their grads paid $250K for school and these publics are cheap and accessible by comparison.

Also historically speaking, Rutgers is one of the oldest schools in the nation.. its basically luck and a few bad weeks in the War of 1812 that the College of New Jersey (now Princeton) overtook Rutgers in prestige and value.

I can't tell if you're joking or serious.

Well, let me be clear. I'm not joking: don't go to Rutgers: whatever-their-new-name-is.

I was perfectly serious, both with regards to Rutgers employment and history

[ronanOgara]

As a prospective student searching for law schools I feel I would be crazy not to consider Rutgers Law as a viable option

You would be crazy to spend any more time thinking about that shameful joke of a law school.

Do not, under any circumstances, attend Rutgers.

This isn't fair. Do you know about the legal market in the tristate area and philly? Rutgers might blow shits for biglaw, but it punches above its weight for local positions in state gov, state clerkships, PD/DA offices, ect. just like CUNY. These schools serve a vital purpose that CLS and Penn cannot, since their grads paid $250K for school and these publics are cheap and accessible by comparison.

Also historically speaking, Rutgers is one of the oldest schools in the nation.. its basically luck and a few bad weeks in the War of 1812 that the College of New Jersey (now Princeton) overtook Rutgers in prestige and value.

I can't tell if you're joking or serious.

Well, let me be clear. I'm not joking: don't go to Rutgers: whatever-their-new-name-is.

Right..... If OP wants to be an attorney, it would be outrageous for him to consider his state's public law school.