Rutgers-Camden Law School Class of 2014 Forum

[NJcollegestudent]

how long does it take to get an online status checker? I sent my app in ( with cc payment) a week ago, and still havent heard anything yet, other than the email stating that I have all parts of the application in and complete.

You should receive it two weeks after you are complete, that is how long it took for me.

[MrMisiu]

Does anyone know how easy it'll be to get out of NJ with a JD from Camden? I know it's regional, but I saw some people did manage to get out to firms in CA. I got a great scholly which makes RU look more attractive then ever, but if I have to stay in NJ for years after school, I'd rather pay the extra 15k to go to a school in CA.

[HeavenWood]

Does anyone know how easy it'll be to get out of NJ with a JD from Camden? I know it's regional, but I saw some people did manage to get out to firms in CA. I got a great scholly which makes RU look more attractive then ever, but if I have to stay in NJ for years after school, I'd rather pay the extra 15k to go to a school in CA.

Rutgers Camden will keep you confined to the Philadelphia, Wilmington, and South Jersey markets. Don't go there hoping to practice in California.

[keg411]

Congrats to everyone who has gotten in! I'm a 1L here in the middle of exams, but I will come back to answer questions. After my first semester, I definitely feel like I made the right decision to come here .

To the 153/3.98 - there are a lot of splitters here (reverse and standard). So they always need high GPA's to compensate for low GPA's. I will not be surprised if you get in at least via the summer jump start program.

Also: HeavenWood is right that Camden is mostly a Philly/South Jersey/Delaware school, but you can probably take it back to North Jersey if you have connections up there. I'm originally from North Jersey, and I chose Camden over Newark (though I have kind of unique reasons since both of my parents graduated from Rutgers-Camden law school). I was accepted at all three NJ law schools. However, I am not dead set on North Jersey and am pretty much willing to go wherever I am able to get a job.

I will be back after finals to try and answer questions .

[NJcollegestudent]

Thank you for providing me with that information. I hope i receive admissions from both Rutgers-Newark and Rutgers-Camden.

I hope you get all A's on the finals, and do just as well in spring.

[HeavenWood]

Also: HeavenWood is right that Camden is mostly a Philly/South Jersey/Delaware school, but you can probably take it back to North Jersey if you have connections up there.

You could take most TT schools in other parts Northeast/Mid-Atlantic to North Jersey if you have connections up there (those connections being entirely contingent on your employability, among other things, such as a stellar class rank).

[NJcollegestudent]

Also: HeavenWood is right that Camden is mostly a Philly/South Jersey/Delaware school, but you can probably take it back to North Jersey if you have connections up there.

You could take most TT schools in other parts Northeast/Mid-Atlantic to North Jersey if you have connections up there (those connections being entirely contingent on your employability, among other things, such as a stellar class rank).

I actually saw this in the UPenn thread, and wanted to congratulate you on your acceptance. It is a great school and i hope you do well.

I did have a question, when you do ED, how do you withdraw an app that is submitted and not decided on. I ask as you did not have a Rutgers-Camden decision yet you have to withdraw the app.

[HeavenWood]

Also: HeavenWood is right that Camden is mostly a Philly/South Jersey/Delaware school, but you can probably take it back to North Jersey if you have connections up there.

You could take most TT schools in other parts Northeast/Mid-Atlantic to North Jersey if you have connections up there (those connections being entirely contingent on your employability, among other things, such as a stellar class rank).

I actually saw this in the UPenn thread, and wanted to congratulate you on your acceptance. It is a great school and i hope you do well.

I did have a question, when you do ED, how do you withdraw an app that is submitted and not decided on. I ask as you did not have a Rutgers-Camden decision yet you have to withdraw the app.

Thanks for the congrats!

I just e-mailed all the schools I applied to. They all got back to me within a day, except for Emory and Cornell (Cornell actually deferred me from EA after I sent them my withdrawal email).

[NJcollegestudent]

Also: HeavenWood is right that Camden is mostly a Philly/South Jersey/Delaware school, but you can probably take it back to North Jersey if you have connections up there.

You could take most TT schools in other parts Northeast/Mid-Atlantic to North Jersey if you have connections up there (those connections being entirely contingent on your employability, among other things, such as a stellar class rank).

I actually saw this in the UPenn thread, and wanted to congratulate you on your acceptance. It is a great school and i hope you do well.

I did have a question, when you do ED, how do you withdraw an app that is submitted and not decided on. I ask as you did not have a Rutgers-Camden decision yet you have to withdraw the app.

Thanks for the congrats!

I just e-mailed all the schools I applied to. They all got back to me within a day, except for Emory and Cornell (Cornell actually deferred me from EA after I sent them my withdrawal email).

Interesting, as when it came to ED, i was not initially aware of the immediate withdrawal of applications. I initially though the "Penn" thread was the "Penn State" thread and was posting in there for a while.

[MrMisiu]

Oooh, that's such disheartening news. I appreciate the super informative stuff though, guys. I'm about to finish up my UG in 2 weeks, and after schooling in south Jersey for 3.5 years, I definitely can not live/work there for the rest of my life

[HeavenWood]

Oooh, that's such disheartening news. I appreciate the super informative stuff though, guys. I'm about to finish up my UG in 2 weeks, and after schooling in south Jersey for 3.5 years, I definitely can not live/work there for the rest of my life

If Philadelphia and Wilmington sound equally unappealing, I would suggest looking elsewhere for law school.

[NJcollegestudent]

Oooh, that's such disheartening news. I appreciate the super informative stuff though, guys. I'm about to finish up my UG in 2 weeks, and after schooling in south Jersey for 3.5 years, I definitely can not live/work there for the rest of my life

If Philadelphia and Wilmington sound equally unappealing, I would suggest looking elsewhere for law school.

South Jersey is not so bad in terms of job opportunities, and again after a few years in the legal market, you can go anywhere you want.

[HeavenWood]

Oooh, that's such disheartening news. I appreciate the super informative stuff though, guys. I'm about to finish up my UG in 2 weeks, and after schooling in south Jersey for 3.5 years, I definitely can not live/work there for the rest of my life

If Philadelphia and Wilmington sound equally unappealing, I would suggest looking elsewhere for law school.

South Jersey is not so bad in terms of job opportunities, and again after a few years in the legal market, you can go anywhere you want.

Besides Cherry Hill (which largely consists of branches of Philly firms) and Atlantic City, where are there legal jobs in South Jersey? Between those two cities, South Jersey is mostly farmland (with the exception of Vineland, but that's barely a city).

[NJcollegestudent]

Trenton would as be a good area to find a job.

[HeavenWood]

Trenton would as be a good area to find a job.

That's more Central Jersey, but I suppose Rutgers grads could get work there as well. New Jersey isn't a big legal market to begin with. Excluding NJ-based branches from New York and Philadelphia firms, there are only several independent NJ big law firms, all of which are in Newark.

[keg411]

Trenton would as be a good area to find a job.

That's more Central Jersey, but I suppose Rutgers grads could get work there as well. New Jersey isn't a big legal market to begin with. Excluding NJ-based branches from New York and Philadelphia firms, there are only several independent NJ big law firms, all of which are in Newark.

HeavenWood, congrats on Penn. There is a huge difference between going to Penn and going to Rutgers in that NO ONE should go to either Rutgers school looking for BigLaw employment. You can't confine the legal market to BigLaw when you go to any school outside of the T13. And NJ has a legal market outside of BigLaw. I would hope most of the people ITT understand that. Most of my connections in NJ are way outside of BigLaw. I've also read the scamblogs and I read JDU (though I'm afraid to post there haha). Believe me, I know the deal. I also worked for 5 years after undergrad, so I made my decision to go to law school very, very carefully. It is not a decision that should be taken lightly by anyone.

I would urge anyone looking at this thread that is "BigLaw or Bust" to re-take ASAP. Put off law school for a few years, make some money, do real work. If you still want to go to law school, pay as much $$$$ as possible to get the best private LSAT tutor in your area. Especially if you have a high GPA. With my GPA, I don't think I could have gotten into Penn with a 180. But on the flip side, I'm not even going to go into $100k in debt, so there's that .

Anyway, I'm getting off because I have a CivPro exam. Good luck to everyone ITT.

[NJcollegestudent]

This is why Rutgers is prefect for me in that sense. I do not want a big law job at all, rather a position within the state, county, or federal government. Most of those are based in Newark, also my current location for school, and the area is a short commute for me as well.

keg411, what area of work do you want to go to? Also, are you allowed to do clinic work your first year?

[HeavenWood]

I'm not trying to put you guys down. I hope you know I'm not a T14-or-bust elitist (I was EXTREMELY lucky to get into Penn, and my acceptance hasn't changed my attitude).

I'm just trying to help people like MrMisiu, who didn't seem aware of Rutgers' regional limitations.

NJCollegeStudent and Keg: You both have reasonable expectations and know what you're doing. With your goals in mind, Rutgers is a decent investment with in-state tuition. Even out-of-state, I'd much rather go to Rutgers with a goal to work in NJ PI than go to Brooklyn looking for NY BigLaw.

Good luck guys!

[keg411]

I'm not trying to put you guys down. I hope you know I'm not a T14-or-bust elitist (I was EXTREMELY lucky to get into Penn, and my acceptance hasn't changed my attitude).

I'm just trying to help people like MrMisiu, who didn't seem aware of Rutgers' regional limitations.

Obviously that makes sense. Congrats again on Penn!

[northwood]

Just got the acceptance e-mail. Application sent 12/2. Will be getting an acceptance packet within 5-7 days.

thats a quick turnaround

[tooold]

Regarding the geographic limitations of Rutgers-Camden or any school - I have been practicing 25 years now, on both coasts, and have hired 25+ attorneys during that time, at both large (150+) firms and in-house corporate law departments, and I have not seen the geographic restraints many are talking about. For instance, the difference between how Rutgers-Camden, Rutgers-Newark and Seton Hall Grads get hired anywhere in Jersey is minimal, if there is a difference. Get the degree from a school you like, get that first job and go from there.

[MrMisiu]

I'm just trying to help people like MrMisiu, who didn't seem aware of Rutgers' regional limitations.

I was aware the limitations were there, I was just curious how restrictive they really were. I don't have any interest in BigLaw really, and I was just trying to see if I could get out of the state sooner or later (preferably sooner), like NJcollegestudent said was possible.

[MBskier]

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[MBskier]

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[keg411]

This is why Rutgers is prefect for me in that sense. I do not want a big law job at all, rather a position within the state, county, or federal government. Most of those are based in Newark, also my current location for school, and the area is a short commute for me as well.

keg411, what area of work do you want to go to? Also, are you allowed to do clinic work your first year?

You can not do clinic work until your third year.

Also, half of the members of Law Journal would be very grateful to get a government job. This is not meant to discourage you from going to Rutgers because I think it is doing better than many similar schools but this is just how bad the economy is.

Out of the top 3 students only one has a job for their 2L summer.

Wait, do you go here? Because my LS "Big Brother" is a 2L nowhere near the top 3 students (not on LR and he told me his GPA was about a 3.4), and has a job for 2L summer (and had it lined up when I met him this fall). Maybe he's the only one in the class, but that's really weird.

ETA: Also, Camden is in the Philly market, not the NYC market. It's more like Temple/Nova than SHU/RU-N. Are you sure you're not supposed to be in the Rutgers-Newark thread? Because I'm pretty sure we can do clinics here 2L year and they aren't only reserved for 3L's.