California Western School of Law
Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2010 6:03 pm
I'll toss my impressions out there for others to browse. There is a heavy representation for the same list of higher ranked schools out there, and I think some input on the lower tier schools is still important.
The facilities:
- The main building houses the classrooms and moot court room, and I believe faculty offices and maybe some assorted offices and resources (student clubs, etc). The main building is a nationally registered historic landmark, and in some parts of the building you will certainly be reminded of this with the aesthetic. The moot court room is beautiful and large, with Spanish style design. The classrooms and other assorted areas are decent, but little details like the carpet being stained/worn, and lackluster details are noticeable. Clearly the look of a school is not the primary reason to go, but I don't think Cal Western really goes either way, for the good or bad, with this.
- The library is a lot newer and very clean and modern. It's a few floors and seems to have adequate study space and a lot of windows. On a Saturday morning there were a handful of students in there studying and they all seemed to have the space and comfort needed.
- There is a more modern looking administration building with a food court/area, but I didn't get to go inside. It seems to be more like the library: modern and clean.
Location:
- The school is in downtown San Diego, immediately off of the 5 freeway and a handful of blocks from the 163 (these are both major freeways). Parking, as explained to us, is difficult, so the use of public transit is probably a good idea (or living nearby).
- Downtown San Diego isn't a very dense, populated area in the traditional "downtown" for bigger cities. San Diego County has a lot of people, but it's spread out through a lot of sprawling suburbs. Walking around downtown on a Saturday evening still seemed fairly empty, except for a few blocks in the gaslamp (a nightlight/shopping area).
- The city is pretty clean and with the addition of Petco Park a few years ago, more and more is being economically developed (that area used to be rundown).
- There are a wide array of areas to live and still have a reasonable commute to San Diego, including more quiet suburbs or younger, beach-bum style towns.
Other thoughts:
- After visiting a few other schools (generally T2's), I was actually impressed with the accepted students day. The students that were there, as well as faculty and staff, all seemed very accessible and fairly open (more so the students in that regard). They held an alumni panel with some successful alumni and I felt that it was done very well and gave a lot of insight into careers that can be sought and the path they took.
- Everyone seemed upbeat and pretty happy to be there. I spoke with students who came for scholarship, and generally their response for attending the T4 school over possible T1/T2's was to be in San Diego, and then the money. They didn't feel entirely constrained by the school's rank and they seemed to have moderated goals (big law was not uttered).
Overall:
- With my skepticism for T3/T4's, I felt that Cal Western was fairly impressive and a legitimate option for school. The reputation of the school within San Diego is not a poor one. Although, a student would be remiss not to investigate the grading curve (academic attrition in 1L is high), those that make it through end up earning the school an impressive bar passage rate.
- They focus on professional training rather than academic training. I don't mean this in the "academic theory vs. practical skill" as much as the manner in which they view the students and their goal of being there.
- If you are looking to go to school and work in San Diego, it would be a mistake to overlook Cal Western for at least a preliminary consideration, with other options like USD.
The facilities:
- The main building houses the classrooms and moot court room, and I believe faculty offices and maybe some assorted offices and resources (student clubs, etc). The main building is a nationally registered historic landmark, and in some parts of the building you will certainly be reminded of this with the aesthetic. The moot court room is beautiful and large, with Spanish style design. The classrooms and other assorted areas are decent, but little details like the carpet being stained/worn, and lackluster details are noticeable. Clearly the look of a school is not the primary reason to go, but I don't think Cal Western really goes either way, for the good or bad, with this.
- The library is a lot newer and very clean and modern. It's a few floors and seems to have adequate study space and a lot of windows. On a Saturday morning there were a handful of students in there studying and they all seemed to have the space and comfort needed.
- There is a more modern looking administration building with a food court/area, but I didn't get to go inside. It seems to be more like the library: modern and clean.
Location:
- The school is in downtown San Diego, immediately off of the 5 freeway and a handful of blocks from the 163 (these are both major freeways). Parking, as explained to us, is difficult, so the use of public transit is probably a good idea (or living nearby).
- Downtown San Diego isn't a very dense, populated area in the traditional "downtown" for bigger cities. San Diego County has a lot of people, but it's spread out through a lot of sprawling suburbs. Walking around downtown on a Saturday evening still seemed fairly empty, except for a few blocks in the gaslamp (a nightlight/shopping area).
- The city is pretty clean and with the addition of Petco Park a few years ago, more and more is being economically developed (that area used to be rundown).
- There are a wide array of areas to live and still have a reasonable commute to San Diego, including more quiet suburbs or younger, beach-bum style towns.
Other thoughts:
- After visiting a few other schools (generally T2's), I was actually impressed with the accepted students day. The students that were there, as well as faculty and staff, all seemed very accessible and fairly open (more so the students in that regard). They held an alumni panel with some successful alumni and I felt that it was done very well and gave a lot of insight into careers that can be sought and the path they took.
- Everyone seemed upbeat and pretty happy to be there. I spoke with students who came for scholarship, and generally their response for attending the T4 school over possible T1/T2's was to be in San Diego, and then the money. They didn't feel entirely constrained by the school's rank and they seemed to have moderated goals (big law was not uttered).
Overall:
- With my skepticism for T3/T4's, I felt that Cal Western was fairly impressive and a legitimate option for school. The reputation of the school within San Diego is not a poor one. Although, a student would be remiss not to investigate the grading curve (academic attrition in 1L is high), those that make it through end up earning the school an impressive bar passage rate.
- They focus on professional training rather than academic training. I don't mean this in the "academic theory vs. practical skill" as much as the manner in which they view the students and their goal of being there.
- If you are looking to go to school and work in San Diego, it would be a mistake to overlook Cal Western for at least a preliminary consideration, with other options like USD.
