REVIEWS of the CLEO Six-Week Pre-Law Summer Institute?! Forum

[mydasmarie]

Greetings.

Reviews? Below is the description...

"The CLEO Six-Week Pre-Law Summer Institute is designed to "demystify" the law school experience. Preparation builds self-assurance and participants enter law school more confident in their ability to succeed.

A full-time program, held on two law school campuses during June and July, the Institute is both rigorous and demanding.

The Institute focuses on legal methods and techniques that help to develop students’ abstract thinking, analysis, and synthesizing skills. The Institute has an impressive track record of success. Nearly 9,000 diverse and/or economically disadvantaged students have been oriented to law school through the Institutes since 1968. More than 90% of the students who attend the institute enter law school in the fall."

Here is the webpage: http://www.cleoscholars.com/index.cfm?f ... 2&nodeID=2

[objctnyrhnr]

Greetings.

Reviews?

Here is the webpage: http://www.cleoscholars.com/index.cfm?f ... 2&nodeID=2

For some background,
- in at RU newark, full tuition (not including dorming, but in state so might commute)
- in at Temple, 90k but will likely withdraw
- in at washington and lee, with a small 15k scholarshi[
- pending: Duke, Emory, Upenn, Fordham, BC

what the hell is this thing

[mydasmarie]

for the above: The CLEO Six-Week Pre-Law Summer Institute is designed to "demystify" the law school experience. Preparation builds self-assurance and participants enter law school more confident in their ability to succeed.

A full-time program, held on two law school campuses during June and July, the Institute is both rigorous and demanding.

The Institute focuses on legal methods and techniques that help to develop students’ abstract thinking, analysis, and synthesizing skills. The Institute has an impressive track record of success. Nearly 9,000 diverse and/or economically disadvantaged students have been oriented to law school through the Institutes since 1968. More than 90% of the students who attend the institute enter law school in the fall.

[objctnyrhnr]

for the above: The CLEO Six-Week Pre-Law Summer Institute is designed to "demystify" the law school experience. Preparation builds self-assurance and participants enter law school more confident in their ability to succeed.

A full-time program, held on two law school campuses during June and July, the Institute is both rigorous and demanding.

The Institute focuses on legal methods and techniques that help to develop students’ abstract thinking, analysis, and synthesizing skills. The Institute has an impressive track record of success. Nearly 9,000 diverse and/or economically disadvantaged students have been oriented to law school through the Institutes since 1968. More than 90% of the students who attend the institute enter law school in the fall.

so is the goal to ensure good grades?

[chuckbass]

This is bullshit

/thread

[mydasmarie]

This is bullshit

/thread

you've heard bad things? I am just wondering if this is "worth" the 2,000 it costs...the ABA set this up and has been a long running program but I am still hesitant about the price tag...

[chuckbass]

This is bullshit

/thread

you've heard bad things? I am just wondering if this is "worth" the 2,000 it costs...the ABA set this up and has been a long running program but I am still hesitant about the price tag...

I haven't heard anything, and neither would anyone on this site. It is not worth it if it was free. Enjoy your summer before law school. None of these people will be your professors and therefore none of these people will be grading any real exam you take, therefore this program is pointless. They're clearly preying on insecure 0Ls.

[mydasmarie]

for the above: The CLEO Six-Week Pre-Law Summer Institute is designed to "demystify" the law school experience. Preparation builds self-assurance and participants enter law school more confident in their ability to succeed.

A full-time program, held on two law school campuses during June and July, the Institute is both rigorous and demanding.

The Institute focuses on legal methods and techniques that help to develop students’ abstract thinking, analysis, and synthesizing skills. The Institute has an impressive track record of success. Nearly 9,000 diverse and/or economically disadvantaged students have been oriented to law school through the Institutes since 1968. More than 90% of the students who attend the institute enter law school in the fall.

so is the goal to ensure good grades?

It is designed as a jump start program for 1L students. They also help place students into schools they have been waitlisted at (if they are member schools). In previous years they had scholarship/grants available to attendees but I am not sure if they will give these out again. it occurs on two campuses w/ about 40 students each so a total of 80 students participate.

[mydasmarie]

This is bullshit

/thread

you've heard bad things? I am just wondering if this is "worth" the 2,000 it costs...the ABA set this up and has been a long running program but I am still hesitant about the price tag...

I haven't heard anything, and neither would anyone on this site. It is not worth it if it was free. Enjoy your summer before law school. None of these people will be your professors and therefore none of these people will be grading any real exam you take, therefore this program is pointless. They're clearly preying on insecure 0Ls.

Alright, thank you for the advice.

[chuckbass]

I know I sound harsh, but I'm trying to be blunt and honest with you. I don't think any active poster on this site would tell you otherwise.

[mydasmarie]

I know I sound harsh, but I'm trying to be blunt and honest with you. I don't think any active poster on this site would tell you otherwise.

Blunt is what I look for at TLS

[A. Nony Mouse]

I haven't heard anything, and neither would anyone on this site. It is not worth it if it was free. Enjoy your summer before law school. None of these people will be your professors and therefore none of these people will be grading any real exam you take, therefore this program is pointless. They're clearly preying on insecure 0Ls.

I've heard of it; it's a thing. It's directed particularly at minority/low-income/disadvantaged students. I think in a previous era (i.e. when people got jobs easily and schools weren't so predatory), it wasn't an especially bad thing. I think it would probably be sort of helpful for a student body that hasn't come from especially strong academic background (intellectually or culturally) who needs some help acclimating to the demands of a professional school. (The webpage talks about being aimed at students with marginal LSAT/grades and helping them get into law schools.)

Now that the legal market has collapsed, and awareness of the predatory nature of the schools to which many of the students are likely to end up, I think it's not remotely worth the money. It's not really aimed at students who are going to schools that are understood here to be good returns on your investment (look at the list of partner/supporting schools: http://cleodivercitynetwork.org/index.c ... 7&nodeID=1). There's no point in spending money to get the opportunity to pay full price at most of these schools.

(I get the need to diversify the legal profession but I don't think a program like this really does that very effectively, if it's just enabling minority/low-income/disadvantaged students to go to crap law schools. A free program training such students to improve their LSAT scores would be much more effective.)

[yossarian]

I know I sound harsh, but I'm trying to be blunt and honest with you. I don't think any active poster on this site would tell you otherwise.

Caveat: I think they can be valuable for a few reasons.

1) In my state, the program is free & it provides about $20k in scholarships to each of the 30 selected to attend.
2) They help to set up research positions for 1L summers. Not ideal work, but since almost all 1L SA gigs are gone in my state, it's a good fall back.

I agree with scottie in that I doubt it really prepares students for law school. At least, if so, only marginally. But yeah. I wouldn't pay for it.

[AAJD2B]

[(I get the need to diversify the legal profession but I don't think a program like this really does that very effectively, if it's just enabling minority/low-income/disadvantaged students to go to crap law schools. A free program training such students to improve their LSAT scores would be much more effective.)

There were minorities who participated in CLEO's Summer Institute who deposited at HYSCCN and other T14s. I believe last year had a Stanford Law student.

CLEO serves as a valuable purpose and mentorship opportunity.

OP have you applied and were you admitted?

[itachiuchiha]

Apply online by February 15, 2014, for the Six-Week Pre-Law Summer Institute

/thread

[AAJD2B]

Greetings.

Reviews?

Check out last year's thread of TLS members who partook in the program. I think they are in a better position to assess the pros and cons of the program. Some are still active on TLS:

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... hilit=CLEO

[A. Nony Mouse]

[(I get the need to diversify the legal profession but I don't think a program like this really does that very effectively, if it's just enabling minority/low-income/disadvantaged students to go to crap law schools. A free program training such students to improve their LSAT scores would be much more effective.)

There were minorities who participated in CLEO's Summer Institute who deposited at HYSCCN and other T14s. I believe last year had a Stanford Law student.

CLEO serves as a valuable purpose and mentorship opportunity.

OP have you applied and were you admitted?

Should have added that my impression could be completely wrong.

That said, the thread below doesn't contain any substantive information/reviews of the program itself - you'd probably need to bump it/PM people to get more info.

[MacMahon]

Anyone here plan on attending Cleo this summer at ole miss?

[yossarian]

Had my interview for ICLEO in IN yesterday and think I botched it. Anyone else looking at that?

[Metaplay]

Mississippi... Not exactly a premier destination.

[ms2dai]

Just did this program. If anyone needs feedback PM me.

[dreamerchic19]

I found it helpful after attending