Howard University School of Law Class of 2016 Forum

[maybemercer]

Accept to Howard w/no money (wtf). My heart was set on it but w/ tuition going up to nearly 35k/yr I may not go. Talking with a recent grad(2012) they said OCI is a joke w/many ppl getting interviews but with only a minuscule group (3) securing big law jobs. With that kind of debt load it very probable I will be headed to my state school.

[Kurohoshi]

Accept to Howard w/no money (wtf). My heart was set on it but w/ tuition going up to nearly 35k/yr I may not go. Talking with a recent grad(2012) they said OCI is a joke w/many ppl getting interviews but with only a minuscule group (3) securing big law jobs. With that kind of debt load it very probable I will be headed to my state school.

Umm how did you find out about the tuition hike? I mean a hike is standard but that much?! Kinda nuts.

@Naija @maybemercer I think I will probably be going to my state school as well. With scholly and last years prices, Howard is cheaper but housing costs would place them at an equal position. The difference is that my state school has less harsh scholly stipulations and has cheaper base price so less of a risk overall. I have some loans from undergrad left so I'm not looking to take on more debt that absolutely necessary.

[Naija]

@maybemercer Where exactly did you get the 35K figure? My paperwork from the school said the projected tuition for the 2013-2014 year is $31,640. But even still, that tuition without any scholarship money will leave you with a lot of debt.

@Ttly_not_sleeping Some parts of DC are quite expensive. Especially around the law campus. Living close to HUSL may be an option for you if you don't mind roommates. If you're looking for less pricey options, you can look for apartments in Maryland close to the red line (the subway line that goes to the school). Silver Spring is an affordable area. I'm currently looking on apartments.com and craigslist. To live within walking distance to campus with 2 roommates, I'm seeing rooms in the $1000 range with all utilities included.

[Law_Prospect]

35k seems like a huge hike in tuition!! I was having a hard time accepting sticker price at Howard with the their current tuition. Doubt I'll go with no scholarship... hope someone else who really wants to go gets the spot! Good luck with what is left of the cycle everyone.

[maybemercer]

@maybemercer Where exactly did you get the 35K figure? My paperwork from the school said the projected tuition for the 2013-2014 year is $31,640. But even still, that tuition without any scholarship money will leave you with a lot of debt.

31k may be the correct figure Naija. I wish I hadn't thrown away the acceptance letter to confirm the sticker price. I don't want to scare anyone into not attending...hell, I was a fervent supporter until I found out I would have to pay sticker. Nevertheless, I have gotten into better (higher ranked) school with a lower price tag and choose to go somewhere else to change the world. GL with the rest of your cycle. Hopefully my seat goes to someone and they are not forced to pay sticker.

[Kurohoshi]

@maybemercer Where exactly did you get the 35K figure? My paperwork from the school said the projected tuition for the 2013-2014 year is $31,640. But even still, that tuition without any scholarship money will leave you with a lot of debt.

31k may be the correct figure Naija. I wish I hadn't thrown away the acceptance letter to confirm the sticker price. I don't want to scare anyone into not attending...hell, I was a fervent supporter until I found out I would have to pay sticker. Nevertheless, I have gotten into better (higher ranked) school with a lower price tag and choose to go somewhere else to change the world. GL with the rest of your cycle. Hopefully my seat goes to someone and they are not forced to pay sticker.

Hopefully you at least tried to negotiate before giving up. As people withdraw there will be more scholarship money freed up. Also, don't just go by ranking as Howard has better (written) employment stats than many tier 2 schools. Though the numbers do seem fishy either way.

[Bluuu]

Hey everybody, guess I'm new to the party. Big ups to @howardgirl for starting this thread. I'm looking forward to seeing you all at the open house.

I think I have a slight advantage on what it's like living near Howard Law school. I attended my senior year at American University in literally the closest apartment SMACK NEXT to Howard Law school. Like, i could throw a rock from my apartments porch and it would fall on howard law's parking lot. lol.

For anyone apprehensive about the safety of "living in dc", i would say that as a dc-born, virtual native of the city, i honestly didnt know that a place this posh and nice existed until i transferred to American U. Youll be safe, i guarantee.

The apartment i lived in was called the Consulate And its pricey. But I shared a two bedroom aptmt with 3 other roommates so rent came to about 650 a month ($2500/month for the space)

I wouldn't mind having an arrangement in that apartment again for these law school years as long as my roommates are serious about that adult grind, cuz from what I hear, law school ain't nothing to play with.

Congrats on all of your acceptances! I'm 97% sure I'm going to Howard myself, unless my other schools hold me down better than Howard has promised to.

[Marshallyn]

Hi Everyone!

I will most likely be going to Howard. I applied in mid-late December got accepted early February with scholarship money which is a plus because I went there undergrad with none. I am looking for apartment and housing options now. Congratulations to everyone I'm really excited about being in DC again!

[turtlepower13]

@Marshallyn I'm in DC now looking at apartments. The price points are ridiculous!

[howardgirl]

Hey everybody, guess I'm new to the party. Big ups to @howardgirl for starting this thread. I'm looking forward to seeing you all at the open house.

I think I have a slight advantage on what it's like living near Howard law school. I attended my senior year at American University in literally the closest apartment SMACK NEXT to Howard law school. Like, i could throw a rock from my apartments porch and it would fall on howard law's parking lot. lol.

For anyone apprehensive about the safety of "living in dc", i would say that as a dc-born, virtual native of the city, i honestly didnt know that a place this posh and nice existed until i transferred to American U. Youll be safe, i guarantee.

The apartment i lived in was called the Consulate And its pricey. But I shared a two bedroom aptmt with 3 other roommates so rent came to about 650 a month ($2500/month for the space)

I wouldn't mind having an arrangement in that apartment again for these law school years as long as my roommates are serious about that adult grind, cuz from what I hear, law school ain't nothing to play with.

Congrats on all of your acceptances! I'm 97% sure I'm going to Howard myself, unless my other schools hold me down better than Howard has promised to.

Were you at the open house? I think I may have met you.

[Bluuu]

Indeed I was at the open house. Lol. I'm Neo. I asked the question about our legal writing professors being adjunct or full-time.

[csungrl09]

Congrats to everyone admitted! I've also been admitted and considering as a possibility.. the cost of living scares me a bit. I've also been admitted and considering UDC-DCSL (primarily due to $$$). I've never visited either campus but they both seem to be in the same general area in DC. Any idea how much an apartment can cost in that area??

are you still considering UDC? I am too. Howard is also on my list but I wasn't offered much money.

[komebackkid6]

LOng time lurker, just finally got to posting. I have been accepted to Howard Law and am excited about going as this is a huge opportunity for me. I went to the Open House and am sure I saw many of you. Good luck to everyone waiting, and looking forward to seeing those going in the Fall.

[csungrl09]

anyone going to the LA admitted students dinner on wednesday?

[howardgirl]

Indeed I was at the open house. Lol. I'm Neo. I asked the question about our legal writing professors being adjunct or full-time.

This is late but I think we sat at the same table at the lunch after the ASD. There was a girl at our table that just graduated and clerked and working at a firm.

I think I'm going to withdraw from Howard to attend WUSTL. Howard is too expensive for me and they didn't offer me any money. DC cost of living, Howard's ranking, and employment statistics also play a role in my decision. Good luck to everyone!

[Bluuu]

But you're the one who started this thread!

[komebackkid6]

Haaaa she def did start the thread. You would have thought that signaled some enthusiasm, at minimum, about attending. Women huh? C'est la vie, good luck at WUSTL

[Naija]

LOng time lurker, just finally got to posting. I have been accepted to Howard Law and am excited about going as this is a huge opportunity for me. I went to the Open House and am sure I saw many of you. Good luck to everyone waiting, and looking forward to seeing those going in the Fall.

YAY for another definite future classmate.

@Bluuu Has your 97% changed to 100% yet?

@Marshallyn Same here with no scholarship money when I went to HU for undergrad. And I'm excited about back in DC as well.

As you all can see, I'm still extremely excited (lol). Hopefully, more people join the HUSL Class of 2016 fb group so that we can match names with faces and "introduce" ourselves. I didn't get to meet everyone at the Open House so I look forward to meeting you all soon!

[PickMe!]

To all the late Howard applicants: Okay, I applied to Howard unusually late in the cycle. In fact, it was only after I started to feel some kind of way about not applying that I sent in an app - being a person of color (man v. self) ... deeper issues for another thread. In any event, my application was Received on the 13th of March, and Complete and Under Review on the 26th. On the 26th, I received an email stating the evaluation would take, at the very least, eight weeks. I don't think I'm an "exceptional" case, but it only took 13 days for my decision. In other words, I think this cycle is so shitty that even March apps are being considered. Good luck!

P.S.

If it helps, my numbers were / are good enough for Northwestern and Georgetown, but not worth a damn to NYU (Strong LSAT / BS GPA 3.1).

[Dmini7]

To all the late Howard applicants: Okay, I applied to Howard unusually late in the cycle. In fact, it was only after I started to feel some kind of way about not applying that I sent in an app - being a person of color (man v. self) ... deeper issues for another thread. In any event, my application was Received on the 13th of March, and Complete and Under Review on the 26th. On the 26th, I received an email stating the evaluation would take, at the very least, eight weeks. I don't think I'm an "exceptional" case, but it only took 13 days for my decision. In other words, I think this cycle is so shitty that even March apps are being considered. Good luck!

P.S.

If it helps, my numbers were / are good enough for Northwestern and Georgetown, but not worth a damn to NYU (Strong LSAT / BS GPA 3.1).

Your quick turnaround was only because of your numbers. I don't think Howard YPs either.

[Bluuu]

@ Naija

I am ready to send in my deposit. I visited Boston College this past week, and it'll hurt to turn down their offer, especially after meeting a lot of cool people up there, but I think Howard is the place to go.

But now, Howard is being funny with my financial aid. My acceptance letter offered 25K, but Bison Web is only showing $20,500. I swear, if this turns into a problem, I'll enroll to Boston College; I've heard some horror stories of Howard's Administrative staff.

[komebackkid6]

The same thing happened to me. You have to send in the scholarship letter, signing and initialing where appropriate for it to show up on the Bison Web.

The administration is HORRIBLE thus far and I imagine it will get worse. I take the "don't throw the baby out with the bathwater" approach. They had my date of birth wrong in the system, which made a mess getting into the bison web in the first place and wanted me to send in my birth certificate in order to fix their problem. WTF?????? On the phone saying, IF you birthday really is as you say. HUH????? SMDH

My thing is, it is only so long that we can bang our head against the brick wall before we realize it is not the wall that breaks, only our head. That my approach and lots of chamomile tea.

[Bluuu]

The same thing happened to me. You have to send in the scholarship letter, signing and initialing where appropriate for it to show up on the Bison Web.

The administration is HORRIBLE thus far and I imagine it will get worse. I take the "don't throw the baby out with the bathwater" approach. They had my date of birth wrong in the system, which made a mess getting into the bison web in the first place and wanted me to send in my birth certificate in order to fix their problem. WTF?????? On the phone saying, IF you birthday really is as you say. HUH????? SMDH

My thing is, it is only so long that we can bang our head against the brick wall before we realize it is not the wall that breaks, only our head. That my approach and lots of chamomile tea.

I like your Zen. lol. It's times like this when I say, "i wish a n***a woooouuuulld ___________"

Why do I have to prove something that YOU wrote on paper? I know we're not lawyers yet but... WHO should the burden of proof be on? smh, just like you. We'll see.

[BasedVol]

Long time lurker, just got accepted yesterday. Can any DC Natives or DC Experts suggest a neighborhood to live in while at Howard Law? I went to an SEC school, so I can deal with walking a couple of miles.

[Naija]

@Bluuu They haven't reduced your scholarship. The $20,500 that they're offering is a federal unsubsidized loan.

When you go into BisonWeb, go to the Financial Aid tab>>Award>>Award by Aid Year>>Award Overview tab. At the bottom, it shows that it's a loan. You can accept it on bisonweb if you want.

They haven't entered my scholarship into Bisonweb yet either. I'll give them a call tomorrow.