Princeton Op Ed: "Go to law school." Forum

[TatteredDignity]

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When a presumably smart undergrad student can do some research into the wisdom of going to law school and still come to the conclusion that it's a good idea (mostly because of what seems to be a variation on the special snowflake argument (princeton students are smart! and we have 3 SCOTUS justices!)), what hope can we have for ordinary 0Ls to figure it out?

[dr123]

According to University of Chicago law professor Brian Leiter

Stopped reading there.

[HankBashir]

Wow. This op-ed is awful.

[Xifeng]

According to University of Chicago law professor Brian Leiter

Stopped reading there.

[A. Nony Mouse]

Wow. This op-ed is awful.

Abysmal. "Applications to law schools are going down because the job opportunities for lawyers are declining. So smart Princetonians can get in and turn this around!"

[Bronck]

Apparently it's the "LSATs" not the LSAT.

What an awful op ed.

Oh, and apparently law is "a somewhat neglected niche." Hah

[Samara]

the room being created for young talent is expanding. There has not been a better time to go to law school in recent memory.

lol, just lol

Total jobs are fewer than they were in 2004, but the space for highly qualified lawyers is expanding

Space in the unemployment line, I suppose.

[laxbrah420]

This guy only writes bad articles.

I might detail them all or not.

Here's the first one he wrote:
"Outdated Stereotypes" (LinkRemoved)
Princeton has the stereotype of being exclusive. But not in the SAT vocab word definition sense. In the diversity sense. When I was contemplating schools to go to, my parents and others were worried about how I might maintain my Jewish identity amongst the homogeneity of Princeton. This stereotype is probably from 1958 which isn't too long ago because 15 of the 23 people who didn't get into an eating club were Jewish. BUT ACTUALLY NOW THAT I'VE BEEN HERE FOR A SEMESTER I'M HAPPY AND I'M NOT A VICTIM OF ANTI-SEMITISM.

[laxbrah420]

Article 2: Legalize Marijuana (LinkRemoved)

Direct excerpt:
"Another vital issue to take into consideration is that legalizing marijuana would directly and unequivocally reduce its price. A decrease in product cost could directly correlate to an increase in consumption. This is not necessarily a bad trend if marijuana consumption accompanied a decrease in alcohol consumption."


Article 3 is the worst article ever.
The proclivity to give back (LinkRemoved)

...
If community service is considered great and those who “give back” are admired, why should we not institutionalize incentives to perform further community service? I am not suggesting that the United States make national service mandatory — the American emphasis on maintaining personal freedom is too high. It is sad, however, that the only two institutionalized manifestations of American democratic citizenship are voting and paying taxes, especially when only 50 percent of Americans take advantage of their democratic right to vote. The American government would be remiss to use the proverbial stick of compulsory mandates, but it could use some form of carrot.

The government could, for example, allot $10,000 for college or professional training to every student who chooses to take a year off after high school to complete a community service regimen. This step would be the equivalent to the US government putting $4,000 aside for each baby born into a 19-year zero-coupon government bond, earning 5 percent per year, amounting to a maximum of $40 billion per year if all four million soon-to-be college students decide to take the year off to work on behalf of the community. It would also be possible for a post-undergraduate student to take a year off after college for an incentive of $12,500. In reality, a small fraction of students would opt for this service program, because the socially accepted progression of middle school to high school to college would not be altered overnight. This delay could give the government time to build the infrastructure, involve the private sector to cost share and increase potential opportunities.



...

[HankBashir]

The author/lemming could have bolstered his already great analysis by stating that a law degree is "super awesome" and can grow into a giant beanstalk when planted in the yard behind the unemployment office

The comment section in this op-ed is a thousand times better than the op-ed itself.

[jd20132013]

"The whole economics of law has changed since the 1980s, which aids us in understanding the current trend."

This is a really bad sentence...I don't know why I'm so surprised

[ManOfTheMinute]

The author/lemming could have bolstered his already great analysis by stating that a law degree is "super awesome" and can grow into a giant beanstalk when planted in the yard behind the unemployment office

The comment section in this op-ed is a thousand times better than the op-ed itself.

So true. Horrible article.

[Davidbentley]

The author/lemming could have bolstered his already great analysis by stating that a law degree is "super awesome" and can grow into a giant beanstalk when planted in the yard behind the unemployment office

The comment section in this op-ed is a thousand times better than the op-ed itself.

So true. Horrible article.

Indeed.

Incidentally, I read some of the other articles on that site. What the fuck Princeton?

[EvilClinton]

Yeah the author should kill himself.

(Did I do it right? Is this the line for the bandwagon? I am glad we all posted our disgust separately because it really wasn't clear whether it was a well written article after the first 5 posts attacking it.)

[Davidbentley]

Yeah the author should kill himself.

(Did I do it right? Is this the line for the bandwagon? I am glad we all posted our disgust separately because it really wasn't clear whether it was a well written article after the first 5 posts attacking it.)

Forgot to quote. Slacker.

[ManOfTheMinute]

That being said, I really enjoy the comment from the "Unemployed Top 4 Law School Grad." Hmmm, I wonder which law school he went to... hmmm. And then he tries to compare HLS and CLS as if they have the same prestige and employment opportunity.

[elterrible78]

Since Princeton students tend to have the focus, resolve and problem-solving skills to successfully make it in the world of law, perhaps 2013 can be the year that starts the reversal of the trend.

They apparently tend not to have the writing and reasoning skills, though.

I'm literally (and I mean literal in the literal sense of the word) stunned at how bad this is, and on how many levels.

[elterrible78]

The government could, for example, allot $10,000 for college or professional training to every student who chooses to take a year off after high school to complete a community service regimen. This step would be the equivalent to the US government putting $4,000 aside for each baby born into a 19-year zero-coupon government bond, earning 5 percent per year, amounting to a maximum of $40 billion per year if all four million soon-to-be college students decide to take the year off to work on behalf of the community. It would also be possible for a post-undergraduate student to take a year off after college for an incentive of $12,500. In reality, a small fraction of students would opt for this service program, because the socially accepted progression of middle school to high school to college would not be altered overnight. This delay could give the government time to build the infrastructure, involve the private sector to cost share and increase potential opportunities.

The economics of feeding yourself wouldn't be altered overnight either, I imagine. It's kind of cool how the privilege shines through the fucking abysmal prose.

[ManOfTheMinute]

The government could, for example, allot $10,000 for college or professional training to every student who chooses to take a year off after high school to complete a community service regimen. This step would be the equivalent to the US government putting $4,000 aside for each baby born into a 19-year zero-coupon government bond, earning 5 percent per year, amounting to a maximum of $40 billion per year if all four million soon-to-be college students decide to take the year off to work on behalf of the community. It would also be possible for a post-undergraduate student to take a year off after college for an incentive of $12,500. In reality, a small fraction of students would opt for this service program, because the socially accepted progression of middle school to high school to college would not be altered overnight. This delay could give the government time to build the infrastructure, involve the private sector to cost share and increase potential opportunities.

The economics of feeding yourself wouldn't be altered overnight either, I imagine. It's kind of cool how the privilege shines through the fucking abysmal prose.

one could even say, through el terrible prose...

[guano]

If the quality of this article is indicative of what Princeton Law would be like, it'd be right up there with the ABCs (Appalachian, Barry, Cooley)

[scruffy556]

I really hope one of you faked the "old lawyer" post with the classic shitboomer shtick and that's not a real person

[TheFutureLawyer]

Apparently it's the "LSATs" not the LSAT

Oh god. I understand when they say it like that on tv. It's a common enough misconception, and as far as I can tell most/a lot of laymen think that's how you say it. But to actually write it in a fucking piece encouraging people to go to law school? Jesus fuck.

[worldtraveler]

Over/Under on whether this kid had significant help writing his college essays to get into Princeton?

[laxbrah420]

Over/Under on whether this kid had significant help writing his college essays to get into Princeton?

Probably .5...like all binary questions

If you're going to call someone stupid...

[spleenworship]

The logical reasoning and the writing in this piece are sooooo effing atrocious. I guess I should've gone to Princeton or something instead of my local state school. I would've been an effing rock star.

"Every educated person, says, don't go to law skool, is bad. They has experience and understand smatistics. Therefore, we must go law school nao.
Sincerely,
Legacy Admit Overcompensating for Low IQ."