Top Law Schools

Didn't see a thread for Buffalo, so I decided to start one. Buffalo is in my top 3 and I am strongly considering going since I have lived hear my whole life. Who else is considering Buffalo?

I'm considering. Unfortunately, I think its going to be cheaper for me to go private. I have been offered pretty good scholarships from Syracuse and Albany. It's going to be a really tough choice.

Got in last week... Any idea when fin aid comes out? Would like to attend but only with considerable $$$ as I'm well above both 75%'s

GoBills wrote:Got in last week... Any idea when fin aid comes out? Would like to attend but only with considerable $$$ as I'm well above both 75%'s

I'm wondering about this as well.

I just got my admission packet in the mail, but nothing inside of it said anything about scholarships. Considering I've already gotten full ride offers from better ranked schools, I'm really going to need Buffalo to offer something or I won't be able to attend. I'd love to be closer to family again... Come on UB!

I received my scholarship information in an e-mail a few days after I was accepted via status checker. I only received $7500 but with their low tuition and low cost of living (I could live free with family for at least the first year) it may be the cheapest option for me

greggags2 wrote:I received my scholarship information in an e-mail a few days after I was accepted via status checker. I only received $7500 but with their low tuition and low cost of living (I could live free with family for at least the first year) it may be the cheapest option for me

$7500 a year or total for three years?

Either way, you're definitely right about it being decently affordable -- for those in-state. I'm jealous of your residency status! Even though I spent the majority of my life in UNY, that's not where my residency is so I'm stuck with out-of-state tuition.

greggags2 wrote:I received my scholarship information in an e-mail a few days after I was accepted via status checker. I only received $7500 but with their low tuition and low cost of living (I could live free with family for at least the first year) it may be the cheapest option for me

I don't know what your present situation is, but I know multiple people (> 10) currently enrolled at UB and they pretty much were all able to negotiate with the school to improve their aid packages. My pre-law advisor pretty much told me to expect a low ball first offer and be prepared to negotiate for more.

Feel free to PM if you want to talk about this further

irishamerican wrote:

greggags2 wrote:I received my scholarship information in an e-mail a few days after I was accepted via status checker. I only received $7500 but with their low tuition and low cost of living (I could live free with family for at least the first year) it may be the cheapest option for me

$7500 a year or total for three years?

Either way, you're definitely right about it being decently affordable -- for those in-state. I'm jealous of your residency status! Even though I spent the majority of my life in UNY, that's not where my residency is so I'm stuck with out-of-state tuition.

No, I recieived $7500 per year, but would like to get an increase in scholarship money and will be negotiating

I'm a 3L at UB if I can help you all out with anything.

(Edit: Sounded weird. That's not a conditional statement. I'm still a 3L regardless of whether I can help you. )

Recent UB Law Grad chiming in for some of my observations with the program:
Pros:
1) UB's tuition is affordable. Yes SUNY's tuition increases every year, and yes, out of state students do pay substantially more, but if you are a NY state resident and want to practice in NY- the tuition difference equates to approximately 1/2 of similarly ranked NYS private law schools outside NYC. As a state-funded law school, most employers will understand that this cost may have helped influence your decision to attend, but that being typed, you still have to do really well ( top 10% or better) to have a chance of getting an interview with these firms.
2) If you want to practice in Western NY and are from Western NY this is a great place to go. A lot of markets are very insular and you need to establish ties to have a chance at interviewing.
3) They offer a wide variety of clinics which can give you not only the required 50 hours of pro bono legal services needed to be admitted as an attorney, but also get some insight into a particular aspect of law that interests you.
4) The class sizes are smaller, and the students for the most part are really accommodating and helpful (minus the gunners of course- but that is probably the norm for many law schools).
5) If you want to do a journal, or do a clinic, or do mock trial/ moot court- you can. You can even do multiples of these activities ( so long as you can manage your time and stress effectively) if you want.
6) The classes and professors are similar to other law schools. I will not sugar coat it- law school is a lot of work, and a lot of suck. Especially 1L, when you not only have to grasp legal reading, research and writing, but also how to write a law school exam.
7) Career services seem to be helpful in providing you with contact information so you can get a cup of coffee/ have an informal interview session. But the onus is on you to get the job.
Off campus housing is affordable.
9) You have to try hard to fail out. Seriously, professors do not want to give out grades lower than a C… even though the grading table goes A, A-, B+, B, B- C, D, F. ( this raises a con of “If I wrote a C+ exam, I only get a C, but if you wrote a C- exam your grade gets a nice boost…)
Cons:
1) See number 6 above. This is law school, not undergrad. You are here to get the required education and skills to pass the bar exam, get a job and be successful. This is not something to do if you are unsure if law is for you. If this is the case, I would highly recommend taking some time off and either working or volunteering at a law firm/ legal aid society of some sort, pulling your sleeves up and getting into the thick of it as much as possible and then re-evaluate if necessary.
2) You have to take 3 required semesters of LRW. In my opinion, the third semester is a colossal waste of time and effort- as you will do similar things that you do in your second semester LRW- but with a different professor, who will tell you to write in a different style ( the only plus of this is that it demonstrates how research and writing styles (and what is considered “good”) can vary from individual to individual… but to me this is something to be expected.
3) OCI is pretty much non-existent. Especially if you are not in the top 10-15%. But the ones that do show up have ties to WNY- and they like UB law students (but perhaps not nearly as much as individuals from Top 14 schools with strong WNY ties and a very good reason for choosing that school..i.e. a good scholarship)
4) The law school is directly connected to the undergrads. This means that you will frequently see undergrads in the law library. Most of these grads are studious and quiet, but it can get unnerving/and well, they are undergrads so you have to deal with that.
5) If you live off campus, you will have to commute. For both school and to go out. A lot of people live downtown so that reduces/ eliminates the need to worry about getting home from the bars ( that close at 4AM), but you will need reliable transportation to get to class.
6) Its Western NY. There is a good amount of lake effect snow. It gets windy on campus, which makes it cold. If you are from the area, you already know this. If you are from out of state it may be something to think about (especially if you are from a warm-weather climate or hate snow/ cold) But on the good side, there are ample places to ski/snowboard/snowshoe, etc.
7) The portability of the name ends at the NY state lines. Did some people go out of state? Yes, but it was a lot of work, they did well, passed their state–respective bars the first time, and had targeted that market from the moment they decided to go to UB (why they didn’t go to the best school in that market in the first place is beyond me). So if you want to go into government, you better be wanting to go into NY state government, because there is a ton of competition to get a Fed. Government job in Washington D.C., and in my opinion UB isn’t as desirable of a school in D.C. as other law schools.
That’s pretty much all I got right now. If you have further questions, ask them here. I don’t TLS very often these days, but when I do, Ill answer them as best as possible. If you are wondering “Would you go there again?”, my answer would be definitely “Yes”. It’s a great program for those that want to stay in WNY and are open to working in any law-related field. If you are biglaw or bust, I would say “re-take/re-apply or re-evaluate your options”. I know there are a lot more cons than pros, but like I said above, law school is three years of stress and suckiness, only to be followed by 12 weeks of super-stress cramming (you learn 3 years of law school material in this time to be tested on a 2 day exam that is only administered 2 times a year, and if you fail you will be making loan-repayments while studying) no matter where you go.

northwood wrote:Recent UB Law Grad chiming in for some of my observations with the program:
Pros:
1) UB's tuition is affordable. Yes SUNY's tuition increases every year, and yes, out of state students do pay substantially more, but if you are a NY state resident and want to practice in NY- the tuition difference equates to approximately 1/2 of similarly ranked NYS private law schools outside NYC. As a state-funded law school, most employers will understand that this cost may have helped influence your decision to attend, but that being typed, you still have to do really well ( top 10% or better) to have a chance of getting an interview with these firms.
2) If you want to practice in Western NY and are from Western NY this is a great place to go. A lot of markets are very insular and you need to establish ties to have a chance at interviewing.
3) They offer a wide variety of clinics which can give you not only the required 50 hours of pro bono legal services needed to be admitted as an attorney, but also get some insight into a particular aspect of law that interests you.
4) The class sizes are smaller, and the students for the most part are really accommodating and helpful (minus the gunners of course- but that is probably the norm for many law schools).
5) If you want to do a journal, or do a clinic, or do mock trial/ moot court- you can. You can even do multiples of these activities ( so long as you can manage your time and stress effectively) if you want.
6) The classes and professors are similar to other law schools. I will not sugar coat it- law school is a lot of work, and a lot of suck. Especially 1L, when you not only have to grasp legal reading, research and writing, but also how to write a law school exam.
7) Career services seem to be helpful in providing you with contact information so you can get a cup of coffee/ have an informal interview session. But the onus is on you to get the job.
Off campus housing is affordable.
9) You have to try hard to fail out. Seriously, professors do not want to give out grades lower than a C… even though the grading table goes A, A-, B+, B, B- C, D, F. ( this raises a con of “If I wrote a C+ exam, I only get a C, but if you wrote a C- exam your grade gets a nice boost…)
Cons:
1) See number 6 above. This is law school, not undergrad. You are here to get the required education and skills to pass the bar exam, get a job and be successful. This is not something to do if you are unsure if law is for you. If this is the case, I would highly recommend taking some time off and either working or volunteering at a law firm/ legal aid society of some sort, pulling your sleeves up and getting into the thick of it as much as possible and then re-evaluate if necessary.
2) You have to take 3 required semesters of LRW. In my opinion, the third semester is a colossal waste of time and effort- as you will do similar things that you do in your second semester LRW- but with a different professor, who will tell you to write in a different style ( the only plus of this is that it demonstrates how research and writing styles (and what is considered “good”) can vary from individual to individual… but to me this is something to be expected.
3) OCI is pretty much non-existent. Especially if you are not in the top 10-15%. But the ones that do show up have ties to WNY- and they like UB law students (but perhaps not nearly as much as individuals from Top 14 schools with strong WNY ties and a very good reason for choosing that school..i.e. a good scholarship)
4) The law school is directly connected to the undergrads. This means that you will frequently see undergrads in the law library. Most of these grads are studious and quiet, but it can get unnerving/and well, they are undergrads so you have to deal with that.
5) If you live off campus, you will have to commute. For both school and to go out. A lot of people live downtown so that reduces/ eliminates the need to worry about getting home from the bars ( that close at 4AM), but you will need reliable transportation to get to class.
6) Its Western NY. There is a good amount of lake effect snow. It gets windy on campus, which makes it cold. If you are from the area, you already know this. If you are from out of state it may be something to think about (especially if you are from a warm-weather climate or hate snow/ cold) But on the good side, there are ample places to ski/snowboard/snowshoe, etc.
7) The portability of the name ends at the NY state lines. Did some people go out of state? Yes, but it was a lot of work, they did well, passed their state–respective bars the first time, and had targeted that market from the moment they decided to go to UB (why they didn’t go to the best school in that market in the first place is beyond me). So if you want to go into government, you better be wanting to go into NY state government, because there is a ton of competition to get a Fed. Government job in Washington D.C., and in my opinion UB isn’t as desirable of a school in D.C. as other law schools.
That’s pretty much all I got right now. If you have further questions, ask them here. I don’t TLS very often these days, but when I do, Ill answer them as best as possible. If you are wondering “Would you go there again?”, my answer would be definitely “Yes”. It’s a great program for those that want to stay in WNY and are open to working in any law-related field. If you are biglaw or bust, I would say “re-take/re-apply or re-evaluate your options”. I know there are a lot more cons than pros, but like I said above, law school is three years of stress and suckiness, only to be followed by 12 weeks of super-stress cramming (you learn 3 years of law school material in this time to be tested on a 2 day exam that is only administered 2 times a year, and if you fail you will be making loan-repayments while studying) no matter where you go.

Quick question,

I am from WNY and would eventually want to work in WNY or at least in NYS. I am choosing between UB and Penn State and both are going to cost about the same. As a recent grad which law school do you think will give the best job prospects for WNY?

I also want to do the JD/MBA program wherever I go because I would like to do corporate law. Do you know if the JD/MBA is worth the extra year/money?

I think UB would be better if you are sure you want to work in NYS after graduation. I cant speak to Penn State's job placement after graduation, but I know a few people who went to schools outside NYS who had difficulty getting summer jobs in small offices/non-profits because of their law school. If you have a compelling reason to go out of state or have substantial ties to the area and legal jobs/ attorneys- then this may not be an issue for you.


As for the JD/MBA- my personal view is that if you want to go into business- get an MBA. If you want to do law, get a JD. I don't see the value in staying an extra year. I know there are others that disagree, with that statement/ sentiment. If you are interested in corporate law your pre- law school work experience and taking as many business classes as possible will have a better value than 1 more year of school. Now if you are a K-JD then my question to you is- why do you want to go to law school? Why do you want to go to business school? Keep in mind that law school trains you to be a lawyer and business school trains you to be a business person. IF you are not sure what you ultimately want to do/ think you wan to do, then I would suggest taking some time and getting some hands on experience in both fields, in as many settings as possible to give you a better idea of what you are signing up to do (either law or business).

Just saw that UB raised their tuition for 2015-2016 to just over $26,000

Basically have decided on UB. Can't beat the price. All of my friends who paid sticker for schools just ranked a few higher are in crippling debt and that's scary.

hello everybody,

I have been wait listed for Fall 2015 for UB, I am wondering whether anybody else has been/ or knows of anyone wait listed? And has anybody been notified? I have been accepted at Boston, but I would rather stay in Buffalo because it's cheaper for me to stay at home.

Thanks and good luck everybody

Congrats/welcome to the incoming 1Ls. I'm a rising 2L, so if you have any questions or concerns, let me know.