Accepted to Saint Louis University

[kevinpepperdine]

I received a large white envelope with a $10,000 per year scholarship offer from SLU, only have to stay in good standing (2.0) to keep it. 

[upgrade]

I visited the school yesterday and was impressed.  Having only seen the law school building from Lindell prior to my visit, I can definitely say that the approach from the main campus is much more aesthetically pleasing.  Just some random thoughts from my time there...
The students I spoke with seemed to enjoy the program and were confident in their job prospects after school. 
The halls seemed to be much more lively compared to other schools I have visited. 
I noticed that most of the OCIs, with large firms in St. Louis, that were posted on the door of the CSO were for 1Ls, I guess that makes sense with 1L first semester grades coming back.
Class was enjoyable, but I have never been to a class as a visitor that I disliked.

Since my visit I have been collecting data from NALP firms online and have found that SLU appears to place just as many associates per graduate as does MU for the entire state.  SLU has about 70% more per graduate in St. Louis and MU has about 100% more per graduate in Kansas City.  In terms of total associates in St. Louis, SLU has about three times as many as MU and in Kansas City, MU has a slight edge, but both are subsidiary to KU and then UMKC.  The "per graduate" placement is my attempt to take into account the class size, and is the ratio of employment numbers per school divided by the ratio of class size per school.

I did not collect data from Shook, Thompson Coburn, or Shughart because their websites were too complicated to quickly extract the data from.  I collected, primarily, data from attorneys who were labeled as associates or who graduated from law school in 2000 or later.  I guess this is not related to the thread's purpose, but hopefully someone finds this useful. =)

[hurley325]

Upgrade, thanks for the review.  The building/campus look pretty nice from the pictures that I have seen, but I haven't been able to visit.  We'll see what kind of scholarship I get, but it would take a pretty big one for me to pick SLU over Tulane or Mizzou.  What schools are at the top of your list so far?  You've got some great acceptances.

Have you had a chance to visit MU's law school?  Sorry to get off-topic but this could help out others as well since most people who applied to SLU probably applied to MU as well

[upgrade]

Upgrade, thanks for the review.  The building/campus look pretty nice from the pictures that I have seen, but I haven't been able to visit.  We'll see what kind of scholarship I get, but it would take a pretty big one for me to pick SLU over Tulane or Mizzou.  What schools are at the top of your list so far?  You've got some great acceptances.

Have you had a chance to visit MU's law school?  Sorry to get off-topic but this could help out others as well since most people who applied to SLU probably applied to MU as well

I live in Columbia and have visited MU's law school.  I would guess the classes at MU are going to be smaller because there are fewer students and I do not recall seeing any large lecture rooms similar to the one I visited at SLU.  The MU building seems newer and more spacious than the SLU building.  The SLU building did not feel cramped, but it felt more like an urban environment, which makes sense.

WUSTL is my ideal school, but I don't think I am going to make the cut there.  Even if I did, full price at WUSTL compared to MU or SLU with significant financial assistance, may be a difficult decision.  With my recent research into large firm placement in St. Louis, which is where I would like to end up if I stay in Missouri, I think SLU is a good choice.  The prime consideration, for me, will be cost versus options after graduation.  I will probably schedule a meeting with someone in the CSO at each school in a few weeks to discuss employment prospects and see what I think of their responses.

[kevinpepperdine]

Thank you for the information upgrade.  I was able to visit SLU in July.  I was not able to attend a class since it was the summer, but with my graduate school schedule I was somewhat limited with the times I had available to visit.  I met with a couple of professors and both were very friendly and helpful with my questions.  One of the professors even walked me to a coffee shop right off campus as he gave me an informal tour of the area.  I found the admissions staff, the professors, and the other staff members that I encountered to be very helpful and friendly with all of the applicants visiting that day.

WUSTL is also my ideal school, but with my numbers (158/3.67) I feel as though I am just donating an application fee to them.  Have to try though right?  The more I look at things I realize that SLU is probably a better choice for me anyway.  I plan to focus on Health Law and would like to stay in the SL area.  SLU seems to place well in SL, most likely because WUSTL students have a higher tendency to leave the area leaving a stronger SLU alumni base.  SLU also has a strong Health Law program.

Out of curiosity has anyone heard from KU (if you applied there)?  I was sure that I would hear from them before some of the others and I have not heard a thing.
   

[hurley325]

I applied to KU in October and haven't heard anything.  They seem to be taking their time this cycle.

[upgrade]

I plan to focus on Health Law and would like to stay in the SL area.  SLU seems to place well in SL, most likely because WUSTL students have a higher tendency to leave the area leaving a stronger SLU alumni base.  SLU also has a strong Health Law program.

I have read that only 30% of WUSTL graduates stay in Missouri (it may have been St. Louis).  Almost every SLU/MU graduate with a job at these firms graduated with honors, was on law review, and/or moot court.  So, if you are aiming for a shot with a larger firm in St. Louis, you will probably have to be at the top of the class.  Approximately 40% of the WUSTL graduates had nothing significant mentioned in their profile, however, several of those without law school accolades did have advanced degrees or highly prestigious undergraduate institutions.

[kevinpepperdine]

I am looking more towards mid-sized firms.  I am not really into the BIGLAW idea.  Ideally, I would love to work in house at a hospital, but I know that will require some experience and connections to get that kind of position.  I wonder what opportunities an advance degree (clinical psychology) combined with a SLU degree would present at mid-sized firms in SL?  I know class rank will play into the game, but that is not something I can really predict that well. 

Thanks for the info on KU.  I sent my app in November, hopefully we will hear before I am mentally committed to SLU, or Wash U (if a miracle occurs and they accept me based on soft factors).
 

[upgrade]

I am looking more towards mid-sized firms.  I am not really into the BIGLAW idea.  Ideally, I would love to work in house at a hospital, but I know that will require some experience and connections to get that kind of position.  I wonder what opportunities an advance degree (clinical psychology) combined with a SLU degree would present at mid-sized firms in SL?  I know class rank will play into the game, but that is not something I can really predict that well.

I was not really considering these firms BIGLAW given the base pay is substantially lower than other offices, but I guess that most of them are fairly large. How many medium sized firms do you think there are in St. Louis?  Other than NALP, Martindale, and Infirmation, I am not sure where to look up this kind of information.  None of those sites cater to medium sized firms or do not allow you to search on the criteria necessary to focus on medium sized firms.  If the national distribution of the quantity versus salary amount is any indication of the mid-sized firm job market in St. Louis, it would seem that mid-sized firms are not very common.  Also, from the practicing attorneys I have spoken with, there seems to be a shift towards a stratification primarily of large firms versus small firms, with many of the medium sized firms merging with larger firms.

I know several people who see the competition for BIGLAW and resign themselves to not wanting BIGLAW thinking that if they stay above the 50th percentile their job search at a mid-sized firm will be relatively easy.  Without having engaged in the process, I can only use the few anecdotes that I am privy to that show the job market can be very tough and the jobs 1Ls thought they would be competitive for did not exist.  I am not saying your plans are unreasonable, but it does seem difficult to really gauge opportunities after graduation from schools outside the top twenty.

[wtracing]

Was accepted to SLU earlier this week, turned in my 1843 Scholarship Essay for full tuition scholarship. Still not sure how I feel about SLU, probably going to go to the March visit day for sure. Waiting to hear on my Tulane Scholarship.