Brooklyn v. Seton Hall Forum

[checojudo]

'm having a really tough time choosing between these two schools. My interests are immigration law and international law. Full ride to both, commute is pretty equal to both schools from where I am. I'm not opposed to practicing in nj ( I plan on taking nj and NY bars), but I definitely want to be marketable in NY. Do you think that one school is very different from the other in any big ways?

If anybody has any insight I would really appreciate it!

[HP5450]

Recognize that you're going to graduate and make no money, and that doing International law simply isn't going to happen. That's true for both of these law schools. It does't make much difference.

[Turtledove]

I really think you need to reexamine.

Both BLS and Seton Hall can be good choices if (1) you're going for near free and (2) you have the appropriate expectations. The most likely scenario from either school is that you will be doing small-firm law working with individual clients and making no more than ~$50k. Moreover you have a very substantial likelihood of never practicing law from both schools and a very small chance of landing a big-law, federal government or "prestige" PI position.

You haven't presented information about how much loans you'd be taking out to attend but if it's more than $50-75k you shouldn't attend either. Period.

Moreover, your expectations seem out of sync. Although immigration would be a reasonable option from either school you're not going to be doing the sort of work you might be imagining. Most likely, you will be reviewing and filing green card and citizenship applications and making money through volume of routine work rather than through complex cases. I'm not quite sure what you mean by "international law" but international law (to the extent it exists at all) is either not what you're thinking or incredibly difficult to obtain (and impossible from either of the schools you mention).

Without knowing your stats the best course of action is probably to retake or not go. At the very least you should carefully examine why you want to go to law school.

[justonemoregame]

lol brooklyn and seton hall

[20141023]

.

[Nova]

"international law" isn't gonna happen out of a regional school.

good luck getting a small firm job like almost everyone else.

[checojudo]

I really think you need to reexamine.

Both BLS and Seton Hall can be good choices if (1) you're going for near free and (2) you have the appropriate expectations. The most likely scenario from either school is that you will be doing small-firm law working with individual clients and making no more than ~$50k. Moreover you have a very substantial likelihood of never practicing law from both schools and a very small chance of landing a big-law, federal government or "prestige" PI position.

You haven't presented information about how much loans you'd be taking out to attend but if it's more than $50-75k you shouldn't attend either. Period.

Moreover, your expectations seem out of sync. Although immigration would be a reasonable option from either school you're not going to be doing the sort of work you might be imagining. Most likely, you will be reviewing and filing green card and citizenship applications and making money through volume of routine work rather than through complex cases. I'm not quite sure what you mean by "international law" but international law (to the extent it exists at all) is either not what you're thinking or incredibly difficult to obtain (and impossible from either of the schools you mention).

Without knowing your stats the best course of action is probably to retake or not go. At the very least you should carefully examine why you want to go to law school.

Thank you for the input! I understand that the kind of work I will be doing for immigration law will most likely be routine and I don't mind it. I've been doing it as a paralegal for the past few years, and, hey, you have to make a living. However, I look forward to the kind of work I will be able to do while actually in law school through the schools' immigrant rights and int'l human rights clinics. I figure I can at least study what interests me while in school and have a shot, if anything, at continuing that work in a paying job.

I'm not planning on retaking the LSAT. My score is about as good as its going to get for me. Of the schools that offered a full ride, BLS and SH are the best ranked. I got into other schools too that didn't offer me a full scholarship like GW, BU, Cardozo, waitlisted for Columbia. I'm pretty set on staying in NJ/NY and staying debt-free, so Brooklyn and Seton Hall are my best options. From what I can tell, these two schools have good reputations in NY and NJ firms, respectively, and if I do well enough I don't think I will have trouble finding a job. I'm not taking out any loans as I have enough in savings to cover rent and living expenses for the three years, assuming I find summer employment to cover expenses during those summer months.

About your last statement... Do you really suggest just NOT going with a full ride? I know they aren't the best law schools, but I figure all law schools are kind of BS, so why pay for it? I'm relying on getting top grades, and I would HOPE to be better off than forgoing the JD entirely. Thanks again for the response. I'll go wade through some statistics now to try to choose the right school.

[northwood]

what are the stipulations attached to those scholarships? If you don't meet the requirements, do you lose the scholarship in its entirety or just a portion of it ( and can you regain the lost scholarship if you do well).

[timbs4339]

I really think you need to reexamine.

Both BLS and Seton Hall can be good choices if (1) you're going for near free and (2) you have the appropriate expectations. The most likely scenario from either school is that you will be doing small-firm law working with individual clients and making no more than ~$50k. Moreover you have a very substantial likelihood of never practicing law from both schools and a very small chance of landing a big-law, federal government or "prestige" PI position.

You haven't presented information about how much loans you'd be taking out to attend but if it's more than $50-75k you shouldn't attend either. Period.

Moreover, your expectations seem out of sync. Although immigration would be a reasonable option from either school you're not going to be doing the sort of work you might be imagining. Most likely, you will be reviewing and filing green card and citizenship applications and making money through volume of routine work rather than through complex cases. I'm not quite sure what you mean by "international law" but international law (to the extent it exists at all) is either not what you're thinking or incredibly difficult to obtain (and impossible from either of the schools you mention).

Without knowing your stats the best course of action is probably to retake or not go. At the very least you should carefully examine why you want to go to law school.

Thank you for the input! I understand that the kind of work I will be doing for immigration law will most likely be routine and I don't mind it. I've been doing it as a paralegal for the past few years, and, hey, you have to make a living. However, I look forward to the kind of work I will be able to do while actually in law school through the schools' immigrant rights and int'l human rights clinics. I figure I can at least study what interests me while in school and have a shot, if anything, at continuing that work in a paying job.

I'm not planning on retaking the LSAT. My score is about as good as its going to get for me. Of the schools that offered a full ride, BLS and SH are the best ranked. I got into other schools too that didn't offer me a full scholarship like GW, BU, Cardozo, waitlisted for Columbia. I'm pretty set on staying in NJ/NY and staying debt-free, so Brooklyn and Seton Hall are my best options. From what I can tell, these two schools have good reputations in NY and NJ firms, respectively, and if I do well enough I don't think I will have trouble finding a job. I'm not taking out any loans as I have enough in savings to cover rent and living expenses for the three years, assuming I find summer employment to cover expenses during those summer months.

About your last statement... Do you really suggest just NOT going with a full ride? I know they aren't the best law schools, but I figure all law schools are kind of BS, so why pay for it? I'm relying on getting top grades, and I would HOPE to be better off than forgoing the JD entirely. Thanks again for the response. I'll go wade through some statistics now to try to choose the right school.

When people see International Law they tend to , especially when you mentioned the clinic. Know this right now, your chances of getting a human rights job are essentially nil. Zero.

But if you just want to do small firm immigration work, Brooklyn would be the safer bet since you'd be in the city and have access to a lot of small firms. After 1L year, make sure to get in touch with people and apply for part-time law clerk jobs to start building a network of practitioners in the city.

what are the stipulations attached to those scholarships? If you don't meet the requirements, do you lose the scholarship in its entirety or just a portion of it ( and can you regain the lost scholarship if you do well).

This.

[TheSpanishMain]

I wonder if people overestimate how hard "international law" is to do because they picture someone working at the ICC or balling out in Geneva or something. If OP means working on immigration issues, is that equally pipe dream-esque out of a non-HYS school?

OP, recognize that for a BLS or SH grad, getting any legal job at all is a win. I'd drop out if you lose your scholarship or don't do well your 1L year.