St. John's Opinions? Forum

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streiman

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St. John's Opinions?

Post by streiman » Sat Apr 10, 2021 1:31 pm

So far I have gotten into USD and St. John's (full ride) & am still waiting to hear from 8 schools. St. John's has their deposit due on April 15th and I do not know what to do. Any opinions on St. John's? They are pretty lowly ranked, but I have heard that they have really good connections. I do not want to settle for a shitty school so I am debating if it is worth it to wait another year and reapply or if St. John's really is a good school and would give me good opportunities. Please help!

crazywafflez

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Re: St. John's Opinions?

Post by crazywafflez » Sat Apr 10, 2021 2:32 pm

Do you want to live/work in NYC or SoCal? St. John's for free is a fine outcome if you have modest goals in NYC. Same for U of San Diego in San Diego. After ranks 13-20 or so, nobody cares about the rankings at it is super regional.
As I said in another post, nobody in Atlanta cares that Arizona State or Minnesota are ranked higher than Emory or UGA, they are going to be hiring from Emory and UGA over those ASU or Minnesota folks.
In NYC, you've got the T14 schools that'll dominate, then Fordham; but firms in NYC don't care that Pepperdine, Baylor, KU or U of Arizona are ranked higher than SJU, they are gonna go for the SJU folks.
Find out where you wanna live and practice, and if your school makes those goals possible, and debt level from that school given average outcomes, and pick. Don't look to see if SJU is ranked 70 and Baylor is 58- next year this could change that SJU is ranked 44 and Baylor 59. I mean, just look at UTk, 3 years ago or something it was ranked in the 60s, then in the 80s, and now in the 60s or something again- nobody in Knoxville cares; the school hasn't changed remarkably in any way. Folks in Knoxville are still hiring these folks over folks with degrees from U of Richmond, even if it is ranked higher.
Find out the costs of the school, location of where you want to practice, and if the school's average outcomes match your desired goals/debt level- that's really it- don't focus on the rankings so much.

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cavalier1138

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Re: St. John's Opinions?

Post by cavalier1138 » Sun Apr 11, 2021 10:05 am

Yeah, this is impossible to assess without knowing your career goals. In general, I wouldn't go to SJ or USD for anything more than cost-of-living, and I definitely wouldn't go there with any ambitions beyond small firm practice or local government in their respective regions.

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