Southwestern 2011 Forum

[littlepiggie818]

does anyone know if Southwestern has a mandatory attrition rate?

Southwestern doesn't have a mandatory attrition rate. But to be in good standing, you need at least a 2.33 (which is a C+) gpa. If you have a 1.8 gpa, I think you are automatically dropped from the school. The average in a class is a 2.9 and at least 15% of the class must be in the A range. In general, I heard this is a pretty fair curve.

[sanjola]

Anybody planning on going to the Information Session on 3/18?

[RAB]

Anybody planning on going to the Information Session on 3/18?

Were invites sent out or you just saw it on their website?

[justright157]

Is that the same info sessions they have been having every month or is it something different?

Anybody planning on going to the Information Session on 3/18?

[chango]

does anyone know if Southwestern has a mandatory attrition rate?

Southwestern doesn't have a mandatory attrition rate. But to be in good standing, you need at least a 2.33 (which is a C+) gpa. If you have a 1.8 gpa, I think you are automatically dropped from the school. The average in a class is a 2.9 and at least 15% of the class must be in the A range. In general, I heard this is a pretty fair curve.

I believe SWL has the toughest curve in Los Angeles. USC has a 3.3 mean, UCLA a 3.2, Loyola is a smidgen higher than a 3.0 (81 on a 100 point scale), and I recall hearing that Pepperdine has just under a 3.2, although I can't seem to confirm that.


We do not have a mandatory attrition rate, but our actual attrition rate over the past couple years has been around 6%. Rumor has it that this year may be as high as 9% (extrapolating from the % who have already dropped). My personal theory is that because of the bad economy, lots of people applied to law school who wouldn't otherwise have applied, and therefore quickly discovered it wasn't their cup of tea. My hunch is that other schools will see a similar increase in their attrition rate.

People who do not do well their first semester are "invited" into a class designed to boost their GPA (which seems to do the trick, anecdotally). All the upperclassmen I know who did poorly their first year have positive things to say about how Southwestern provided them with personalized attention to boost their grades. The administration and faculty does not have a "sink or swim" philosophy. There's tons of institutional help (mentorship program, writing center, Dean's Fellows, Academic Support Department, Exam Taking Workshops, etc.).

[adonai]

does anyone know if Southwestern has a mandatory attrition rate?

Southwestern doesn't have a mandatory attrition rate. But to be in good standing, you need at least a 2.33 (which is a C+) gpa. If you have a 1.8 gpa, I think you are automatically dropped from the school. The average in a class is a 2.9 and at least 15% of the class must be in the A range. In general, I heard this is a pretty fair curve.

I believe SWL has the toughest curve in Los Angeles. USC has a 3.3 mean, UCLA a 3.2, Loyola is a smidgen higher than a 3.0 (81 on a 100 point scale), and I recall hearing that Pepperdine has just under a 3.2, although I can't seem to confirm that.


We do not have a mandatory attrition rate, but our actual attrition rate over the past couple years has been around 6%. Rumor has it that this year may be as high as 9% (extrapolating from the % who have already dropped). My personal theory is that because of the bad economy, lots of people applied to law school who wouldn't otherwise have applied, and therefore quickly discovered it wasn't their cup of tea. My hunch is that other schools will see a similar increase in their attrition rate.

People who do not do well their first semester are "invited" into a class designed to boost their GPA (which seems to do the trick, anecdotally). All the upperclassmen I know who did poorly their first year have positive things to say about how Southwestern provided them with personalized attention to boost their grades. The administration and faculty does not have a "sink or swim" philosophy. There's tons of institutionalized help (mentor ship program, writing center, Dean's Fellows, Academic Support Department, Exam Taking Workshops, etc.).

This was very interesting and helpful. Can you attest to the employment situation at SW currently? I know it is tough everywhere, but I'd like to know how SW and its students are holding up relative to the general situation. Thanks for the info though.

[littlepiggie818]

This was very interesting and helpful. Can you attest to the employment situation at SW currently? I know it is tough everywhere, but I'd like to know how SW and its students are holding up relative to the general situation. Thanks for the info though.

I don't know how the situation is for the upperclassmen. But as for 1L summer employment, the 1L I know, who actually went out and applied for jobs, have already received an offer or are interviewing right now. But the 1Ls that I know came in with the focus on public interest or government work, so most of them have position with the DA or with a public interest organization. I even overheard a few classmates who are not even trying to look for summer position which I think is strange for someone who is attending law school. My crim professor also sent out an email inviting our section to apply for summer research assistant positions with him. I think for summer employment, there are positions available, you just have to go out there and apply for them.

[calililaw]

Are there a considerable amount of students interested in public interest? I personally have an interest in education/sped law.

[chango]

Can you attest to the employment situation at SW currently? I know it is tough everywhere, but I'd like to know how SW and its students are holding up relative to the general situation. Thanks for the info though.

No, I don't have any (reliable) data that would indicate how SW students fare relative to students at other schools. My hunch is that students from lower ranked law schools don't do as well as students from higher ranked law schools, at least in the short term, but that's the conventional wisdom, right?

As for finding 1L's summer employment, the career services and externship offices at SWL give tons of personalized attention. They've worked with me on my resume, cover letters, interviewing techniques, etc. Again, not a "sink and swim" sort of philosophy that I hear some other law schools employ.

[littlepiggie818]

Are there a considerable amount of students interested in public interest? I personally have an interest in education/sped law.

It's hard to say, because I don't talk to every 1Ls in our school. I just have a few people that I talk to regularly who happened to be interested in public interest like I am. We have been working for a while and decided to attend law school to pursue public interest. But most of the time, people come into law school without having a specific field of law in mind and I think this is more common with 1Ls who are going to law school directly from college (but I am probably overgeneralizing).

If you are interested in education law, are you looking to do more policy work or to provide benefits to students who are in special education? Or do you have something entirely different in mind? I actually interviewed with Mental Health Advocacy Services and they have a program that work specifically in special education. Here's the website. http://www.mhas-la.org/

Maybe it's something you can keep in mind if you want to work in providing direct services.

[chango]

Are there a considerable amount of students interested in public interest? I personally have an interest in education/sped law.

Absolutely.

http://swlaw.edu/studentservices/studen ... icinterest

[littlepiggie818]

Can you attest to the employment situation at SW currently? I know it is tough everywhere, but I'd like to know how SW and its students are holding up relative to the general situation. Thanks for the info though.

No, I don't have any (reliable) data that would indicate how SW students fare relative to students at other schools. My hunch is that students from lower ranked law schools don't do as well as students from higher ranked law schools, at least in the short term, but that's the conventional wisdom, right?

As for finding 1L's summer employment, the career services and externship offices at SWL give tons of personalized attention. They've worked with me on my resume, cover letters, interviewing techniques, etc. Again, not a "sink and swim" sort of philosophy that I hear some other law schools employ.

This is very true! After November 1, the career services provide so many workshops to help us work on our resume, our cover letter, interviewing techniques, networking, and even how to write thank you letters. I was so surprised to read on TLS that plenty of people don't even bother sending out thank you letters or they only sent out thank you emails. They were always very quick to response to my emails when I needed help with my cover letters and resume.

[calililaw]

Thanks for the insight- I am specifically interested in special education law. I saw that southwestern has a sped clinic which is a main reason why I applied. However, I also am interested in their street law program.

On another note, does anyone have insight on housing aside from what has been posted on the law school's website? Are there areas around the school that southwestern students live in or do people commute from all over? I'm not from la so I would rather live closer to campus, but I've read on other threads that the area is not quite safe?

Are there a considerable amount of students interested in public interest? I personally have an interest in education/sped law.

It's hard to say, because I don't talk to every 1Ls in our school. I just have a few people that I talk to regularly who happened to be interested in public interest like I am. We have been working for a while and decided to attend law school to pursue public interest. But most of the time, people come into law school without having a specific field of law in mind and I think this is more common with 1Ls who are going to law school directly from college (but I am probably overgeneralizing).

If you are interested in education law, are you looking to do more policy work or to provide benefits to students who are in special education? Or do you have something entirely different in mind? I actually interviewed with Mental Health Advocacy Services and they have a program that work specifically in special education. Here's the website. http://www.mhas-la.org/

Maybe it's something you can keep in mind if you want to work in providing direct services.

[ashle484]

haha is anyone going to the international beer tasting??

[balkibartakamoose]

..............

[chango]

On another note, does anyone have insight on housing aside from what has been posted on the law school's website? Are there areas around the school that southwestern students live in or do people commute from all over? I'm not from la so I would rather live closer to campus, but I've read on other threads that the area is not quite safe?

A copy and paste of my reply from another thread:

I love Koreatown (SWL neighborhood): it's one of the few LA neighborhoods with a late night scene, it's conveniently located, has fewer traffic nightmares than the west side, lots of good eateries, some nice apartment complexes, or if you're luckier, some craftsman homes which may be renting a room to a student....

But if ktown isn't your cup of tea, you're a 10-15 minute drive or subway ride (i.e. not a grueling commute by any stretch) from Hollywood, Downtown Los Angeles, South Park, Echo Park, Silverlake, or Melrose/Hancock Park (if you can afford it).

K-town is relatively safe, but it's certainly not crime-free, so use your good judgment and you should be fine.

[Chiznette]

Does anyone know if it's safe to walk at night from Southwestern to the Wilshire/Vermont (subway) Station at 8pm alone? Or if I can't find a friend to walk with me or drop me off, should I try to get to the W/V Station while it's still daylight? I know that the bus stop at Union Station to the bus station near my house is pretty safe because there's always plenty of people around.

[justright157]

In case you aren't aware, there was a murder at SW a few years ago. A professors daughter was followed I believe and she was murdered somewhere after she left the school. I'm sure you can find the story if you look it up, I think its on wiki too. The neighborhood is shitty where SW is at, and there is no need to live there. I wouldn't suggest being anywhere near there at night

Does anyone know if it's safe to walk at night from Southwestern to the Wilshire/Vermont (subway) Station at 8pm alone? Or if I can't find a friend to walk with me or drop me off, should I try to get to the W/V Station while it's still daylight? I know that the bus stop at Union Station to the bus station near my house is pretty safe because there's always plenty of people around.

[Chiznette]

In case you aren't aware, there was a murder at SW a few years ago. A professors daughter was followed I believe and she was murdered somewhere after she left the school. I'm sure you can find the story if you look it up, I think its on wiki too. The neighborhood is shitty where SW is at, and there is no need to live there. I wouldn't suggest being anywhere near there at night.

Yeah, I bumped into the story while researching crime stats. The kidnapping/murder happened during the middle of the day so I was hoping it was a "sh*t happens" type of thing and not indicative of what the area is usually like - but I guess it's better to be safe than sorry regardless.

[littlepiggie818]

Does anyone know if it's safe to walk at night from Southwestern to the Wilshire/Vermont (subway) Station at 8pm alone? Or if I can't find a friend to walk with me or drop me off, should I try to get to the W/V Station while it's still daylight? I know that the bus stop at Union Station to the bus station near my house is pretty safe because there's always plenty of people around.

I think that the security guard would be willing to take you to the station at night. I heard this is pretty common for people who stay late at school.

[Chiznette]

I think that the security guard would be willing to take you to the station at night. I heard this is pretty common for people who stay late at school.

That's exactly what I wanted to know. Thanks!

[chango]

In case you aren't aware, there was a murder at SW a few years ago. A professors daughter was followed I believe and she was murdered somewhere after she left the school. I'm sure you can find the story if you look it up, I think its on wiki too. The neighborhood is shitty where SW is at, and there is no need to live there. I wouldn't suggest being anywhere near there at night

Does anyone know if it's safe to walk at night from Southwestern to the Wilshire/Vermont (subway) Station at 8pm alone? Or if I can't find a friend to walk with me or drop me off, should I try to get to the W/V Station while it's still daylight? I know that the bus stop at Union Station to the bus station near my house is pretty safe because there's always plenty of people around.

My guess is that a person is statistically more likely to be killed in a car accident while driving through Beverly Hills than to be murdered in a "shitty" neighborhood, although I don't consider Koreatown "shitty." It's not as ritzy as Westwood, for example, but I've heard about some pretty heinous crimes that occurred near UCLA too.


Anyway, the security guards are omnipresent day and night, and are more than happy to escort you to the subway or to your car.

[Irrelephant]

In review since 1/21.

[sanjola]

Is that the same info sessions they have been having every month or is it something different?

Anybody planning on going to the Information Session on 3/18?

I just saw it on the website. Southwestern mailing out invites?

[RAB]

I just got in!!! (My bday is this week, so that was a nice bday gift!)