Law School Discussion

So to circle back around to everyone and put closure on this discussion....

After visiting both Rutgers-Camden and UNLV, UNLV came out on top. I mean, the biggest drawback was the fear that I might like living out there too much to want to move back east!  So my seat deposit was submitted to UNLV...

...and then I withdrew the seat deposit when I was accepted to Temple! (UNLV really is wonderful, they were great and agreed not to deposit my check).  So in the end, I'm starting at Temple Univ Beasley School of Law in August. Funny how things work out!

Does anyone know if any of the law school reading materials are available as mp3 / podcasts/CDs ?  Books, casebooks, study aides, etc...any of it available in this format?

Thanks for the input!

I'm going to Temple!

Temple.

Temple is a far better school than any of the others you listed. USF and Pacific-McGeorge are far from SoCal. I visited Pacific-McGeorge this past summer and liked it well enough...but I talked with a recent grad who was there studying for the bar and I can still picture him as he said to me "Go to the top school you get into, regardless of the price". And while I don't necessarily suggest taking that advice to the "t", it does show a recent Pacific grad who is clearly frustrated in his job search. He went there over a much higher ranked school because of the scholarship he received, and he definitely did not seem pleased with the decision. In other words, Pacific (and likely USF) will probably be just as hard, if not harder, to get a job in SoCal as it would be from Temple.

And Rutgers-Newark....well it's in Newark. I realize Temple is in North Philly, but it's still better than Newark. Depending on where in NJ your family is, you may be closer to them being at Temple anyway.

Temple is generally considered among the top public law schools in the country, and is always listed as one of the top bargain schools. A drawback is definitely its location...don't get me wrong, Philly is great (its my hometown), but the area where Temple is can be fairly rough and it's definitely very different from majority of SoCal (unless you're in LA).

Myself, I'm still waiting to hear from Temple. Don't know if that's a good or a bad thing...but if I got in I'd likely be going there.

Best of luck in your decision. And I definitely encourage you visiting Temple (and the other schools) before putting your seat deposit down. It could make up your mind for you.

another quick follow up.

For the OP's situation, that GPA is definitely harsh, but being so far removed helps tremendously. As long as you can show all the experience you have since then, that you've matured, etc it will help mitigate the low gpa.

and RE-TAKE THE LSAT!!  Even a few points higher will bump you into a different category of applicant, and make the adcomms take a second look at your app. And as a non-trad, that's what you need. Make them see everything else you've done and that the GPA does not portray the type of law student you will be nor does it accurately reflect your academic capabilities (assuming that it doesn't, of course).


Also, to your relative's point about the quality of a legal education... I visited a lot of law schools across the country last summer and talked to a lot of students and employees (law librarians, etc). One guy hit it on the nail for me and I saw it true at every school I visited thereafter. The "better" law schools teach you legal theory. They teach you how to think about the law and analyze the law. They teach you philosophy and theory so that you learn how to apply it. The "lesser" ranked law schools teach you HOW to be a lawyer....the classes focus on filing and the procedures of how to act like a lawyer. Of course those things are useful and needed, but you can also learn that during the first internship or clerkship you have. It's not to often you see good legal research papers coming from a Cooley grad...