Is Drexel a school to avoid? Forum

[redfox7]

So I've read some older posts about Drexel that were less than flattering to say the least. It seems to be that it's a newer law school in a market that doesn't really need it. However most of the critical posts were in regards to getting a job with "big law" in Philadelphia. Other than that is it a school to avoid if your goal isn't to work for a big firm in Philadelphia?

[Hutz_and_Goodman]

Drexel and Temple are both very tough to justify. Even if you are top 10% or 20% you can easily end up without a job.

[jchiles]

I can't imagine a situation where going to Drexel would make sense given that Temple exists.

[Sera Numquam]

I live in Philadelphia and I'll say this: If you want Big Law, Penn is obviously your best bet. You can still get a Big Law job if you attend Temple though. My best friend's brother did and he's doing very well for himself.

[Clemenceau]

I can't imagine a situation where going to Drexel would make sense given that Temple exists.

Agree with this. Temple at least has a robust alumni network in Philly. Drexel has none such.

[ymmv]

Not if your other option is getting eaten by a bear.

[Johann]

Yeah you are going to need to talk a lot more about your goals and gpa/lsat to justify Drexel.

[redfox7]

Yeah you are going to need to talk a lot more about your goals and gpa/lsat to justify Drexel.

Say I would want to work for a law firm in PA in a class three size city such as York, Lancaster, or Reading. Not necessarily those but not somewhere, that I could imagine at least, would not have a close knit alumni network of certain schools.

[A. Nony Mouse]

I think the concern is that Drexel hasn't been around long enough to have a big enough alumni network to help anyone (not enough grads and they're all early in their careers).

[TLSModBot]

If you're relying on the school (either its reputation, alum network, or career services hiring events like OCI), then avoid Drexel.

If you already have a plan/connections to a particular job in Pennsylvania (and closer to Philly, the better) for which a JD would actually be useful, then maybe it's OK provided the financials work out for you.

[Johann]

Yeah you are going to need to talk a lot more about your goals and gpa/lsat to justify Drexel.

Say I would want to work for a law firm in PA in a class three size city such as York, Lancaster, or Reading. Not necessarily those but not somewhere, that I could imagine at least, would not have a close knit alumni network of certain schools.

what are you doing now? how is the career advancement prospects? are you using law to become a lawyer only or would you be happy in JD advantage jobs (e.g. compliance jobs)? How many times have you taken LSAT?

[redfox7]

Yeah you are going to need to talk a lot more about your goals and gpa/lsat to justify Drexel.

Say I would want to work for a law firm in PA in a class three size city such as York, Lancaster, or Reading. Not necessarily those but not somewhere, that I could imagine at least, would not have a close knit alumni network of certain schools.

what are you doing now? how is the career advancement prospects? are you using law to become a lawyer only or would you be happy in JD advantage jobs (e.g. compliance jobs)? How many times have you taken LSAT?

Finished undergrad in 2014, working my second year healthcare as a customer service rep. Career advancement prospects... they may not be terrible but they're not raising eyebrows either. I would be quite happy as a lawyer but at the same time I'd gladly look into JD advantage jobs. It's the classic response, "I'm keeping my options open." Meaning I don't know.

I take the LSAT the first time on December 5.

[Johann]

I graduated from a similarly ranked school, and the people I graduated with fall into a couple different categories:
JD advantage jobs - they made more initially started around 55k after graduation and are probably in the $75k range 3/4 years later. They have paths to $100k careers after about 10 years all in.
Lawyers - they started very low, most in the $40k range. 3/4 years later most are getting close to $80k a year all in comp. Thats including people in private practice with shitty benefits and government people with lower salaries and great benefits. They have pretty clear paths to the $100k-$130k range, but again, all the lawyers not in government are leaving because being a lawyer is not fun.

If you are making $50k now, I'd pass on law. If you have a chance to be making $75k in the next 3-5 years, I'd pass on law. If you are making $35k and might be at $50k in 5 years, probably worth it to roll the dice on law. It's also important to consider, people graduated into much harsher economies 7 years ago and have rebounded decently without pursuing more education. It's tough to always the long term picture, but somehow you do a good job and keep getting promoted and new opportunities arise if you are slightly social and mostly ocmpetent.

[psu2016]

Yeah you are going to need to talk a lot more about your goals and gpa/lsat to justify Drexel.

Say I would want to work for a law firm in PA in a class three size city such as York, Lancaster, or Reading. Not necessarily those but not somewhere, that I could imagine at least, would not have a close knit alumni network of certain schools.

If your goal is small-city law, you should really check out penn state/dickinson.

[redfox7]

I graduated from a similarly ranked school, and the people I graduated with fall into a couple different categories:
JD advantage jobs - they made more initially started around 55k after graduation and are probably in the $75k range 3/4 years later. They have paths to $100k careers after about 10 years all in.
Lawyers - they started very low, most in the $40k range. 3/4 years later most are getting close to $80k a year all in comp. Thats including people in private practice with shitty benefits and government people with lower salaries and great benefits. They have pretty clear paths to the $100k-$130k range, but again, all the lawyers not in government are leaving because being a lawyer is not fun.

If you are making $50k now, I'd pass on law. If you have a chance to be making $75k in the next 3-5 years, I'd pass on law. If you are making $35k and might be at $50k in 5 years, probably worth it to roll the dice on law. It's also important to consider, people graduated into much harsher economies 7 years ago and have rebounded decently without pursuing more education. It's tough to always the long term picture, but somehow you do a good job and keep getting promoted and new opportunities arise if you are slightly social and mostly ocmpetent.

Thank you, the information is very much appreciated.

My undergrad is sadly a bit of a limitation for me career wise. Which is history.

[redfox7]

Yeah you are going to need to talk a lot more about your goals and gpa/lsat to justify Drexel.

Say I would want to work for a law firm in PA in a class three size city such as York, Lancaster, or Reading. Not necessarily those but not somewhere, that I could imagine at least, would not have a close knit alumni network of certain schools.

If your goal is small-city law, you should really check out penn state/dickinson.

How competitive is PSU for law? Both main and Dickinson.

[psu2016]

Yeah you are going to need to talk a lot more about your goals and gpa/lsat to justify Drexel.

Say I would want to work for a law firm in PA in a class three size city such as York, Lancaster, or Reading. Not necessarily those but not somewhere, that I could imagine at least, would not have a close knit alumni network of certain schools.

If your goal is small-city law, you should really check out penn state/dickinson.

How competitive is PSU for law? Both main and Dickinson.

Unclear yet as the school just split and they haven't released separate admissions data yet. Carlisle is probably better, though, since they are close to Harrisburg and have a better historical alumni network.

[jchiles]

Yeah you are going to need to talk a lot more about your goals and gpa/lsat to justify Drexel.

Say I would want to work for a law firm in PA in a class three size city such as York, Lancaster, or Reading. Not necessarily those but not somewhere, that I could imagine at least, would not have a close knit alumni network of certain schools.

I know those cities well and you have to realize that, between those three, there are probably no more than 15 entry level associate jobs each year, and they will largely be paying on the low end of private sector salaries. I get that you aren't necessarily looking at those cities but when you move outside of the Philly or Pittsburgh area there isn't much available.

[psu2016]

Yeah you are going to need to talk a lot more about your goals and gpa/lsat to justify Drexel.

Say I would want to work for a law firm in PA in a class three size city such as York, Lancaster, or Reading. Not necessarily those but not somewhere, that I could imagine at least, would not have a close knit alumni network of certain schools.

I know those cities well and you have to realize that, between those three, there are probably no more than 15 entry level associate jobs each year, and they will largely be paying on the low end of private sector salaries. I get that you aren't necessarily looking at those cities but when you move outside of the Philly or Pittsburgh area there isn't much available.

Yeah, this is completely accurate. Also, if you want to go to York/Reading/Lancaster, etc...you need ties to the community. The perception, to put it nicely, is that no one wakes up when they're a child and says, "Gee, I'd really like to settle down in Reading, PA when I grow up," or "Isn't York just such a great place to raise a family?"

And there are about three to five medium-size firms in central PA, and the starting salaries at these firms is not six-figures. Everything else is a <25 person operation. There is a reason the state of PA is described as a mini replica of the US. The middle of the PA is not like Phila and Pitt. There are very, very few openings in the private market out there (government opportunities aren't atrocious, though).

But FWIW, Dickinson is giving out ridiculously good scholarships, so if that's something you really want to do, then small firm salary isn't such a bad option if you have only c-o-l debt.

PM me if you have more questions.

[R2D7point5]

Month old thread, but as somebody who grew up in (and currently lives in) York and frequents Lancaster I found this interesting. From what I've seen, many or most of our lawyers here came from either Temple or Dickinson. I haven't heard about any Drexel grads around here and I've talked to quite a few lawyers from the major firms around here. I'd imagine that Dickinson and Temple are decent choices for Lancaster/Reading too but I don't know that with any certainty.

[Manali]

I can't imagine a situation where going to Drexel would make sense given that Temple exists.

How about a full-tuition scholarship + stipend?