North Carolina Central vs Duke

[falkies]

I am most likely going to NCCU next fall, but what I am worried about is after graduation competing with grads from Duke, which is practically next door.  Does anyone know how NCCU grads fair over Duke grads? 

[The Knight]

If you're going to hang your own shingle right out of the gate, then that's awesome.  I wish you the best of luck.

However, If you're interested in working for a larger firm in Greensboro, Raleigh, Winston, etc. I hate to take a crap on your parade, but it is going to be rough.

Here in North Carolina we have a somewhat challenging situation: Five (almost six and a half if you want to count schools that are under review as a half, I guess) law schools, three of which are T1.

I'm not sure about you, but I hear that locally, if you're going to stay in NC, and you can't get into one of the big three, then go to Campbell.

With all that out of the way, to answer your question "how NCCU grads fair over Duke grads?"  They don't.

[The Knight]

I can almost guarantee you that you will not be competing with Duke grads for the same jobs

That's a nicer way of saying it.

[bloomlaw]

Umm.. you're screwed both ways

Duke = rapists
NCC = lying strippers

[soundsgood]

In response to your points:

Get a job, you don't need your parents to support you for this year.  You won't be studying around the clock, but work at a law firm or something to pay bills and study on a regular basis to try to improve your LSAT score. 

There are a ton of schools in the southern half of the US.  If you can raise your LSAT score a few points you could shoot for a school like Ole Miss or South Carolina.  Those schools are the best in their state, opposed to being the 5th school in North Carolina. 

I understand the money aspect - but it is important to figure out what you want out of a JD.  I have a feeling you won't be beating out Duke, UNC, WF grads for Raleigh/Charlotte bigger firm jobs (no idea if that is your goal).  Saving 40k sounds awesome now, but saving money isn't worth it if you can't get a satisfactory job out of school.  Better schools may cost more, but they also lead to better jobs and more money.

And I'm sure the education there is great, certainly comparable with many higher ranked schools.  But the truth of the matter is, no one really cares - they care about the name of the school and the grades you got there.  Regardless, good luck with your decision.

(note: if you want to hang your own shingle, or just want the academic experience of law school, go right ahead)

[Boyce Baylor]

In response to your points:

Get a job, you don't need your parents to support you for this year.  You won't be studying around the clock, but work at a law firm or something to pay bills and study on a regular basis to try to improve your LSAT score.  

There are a ton of schools in the southern half of the US.  If you can raise your LSAT score a few points you could shoot for a school like Ole Miss or South Carolina.  Those schools are the best in their state, opposed to being the 5th school in North Carolina. 

I understand the money aspect - but it is important to figure out what you want out of a JD.  I have a feeling you won't be beating out Duke, UNC, WF grads for Raleigh/Charlotte bigger firm jobs (no idea if that is your goal).  Saving 40k sounds awesome now, but saving money isn't worth it if you can't get a satisfactory job out of school.  Better schools may cost more, but they also lead to better jobs and more money.

And I'm sure the education there is great, certainly comparable with many higher ranked schools.  But the truth of the matter is, no one really cares - they care about the name of the school and the grades you got there.  Regardless, good luck with your decision.

(note: if you want to hang your own shingle, or just want the academic experience of law school, go right ahead)

The bolded is the credited reponse.

[sassafrass]

Falkies,
did you decide on NCCU for sure?!  I'm also going to NCCU.  I know this is an old thread, but I thought I'd chime in.

Don't worry about Duke grads, they all leave the area.  Seriously.  it's weird. They ALL leave.

lots of Wake and Carolina grads do too.  WFU is 50% UNC a bit less.

It'll be another year+ before Campbell relocates it's campus to the Triangle area, so that helps as well.

Bottom line is this: a lot of your job prospects and anxiety surrounding will depend on your expectations.  A lot of responses here are from 85 percintile+ LSAT scorers going to T14-50 and they are simply going to have a much different perspective on what outcomes law school provides.

If you do well at Central, you'll get a job.  will it be lined up prior to grad?  probably not?  will it be bigLaw in Charlotte of Greensboro?  very unlikely.  But the PI clinics are very good, DA-PD offices all over NC are loaded with Central grads, if you're near the top of your class you'll get some Mid-law opportunities.

And I know, my good friend is a 3L/recent grad.  She does have her gig lined up with Orange Co. PD office.  She has a friend who graduated near the top of her class last year that got a MidLaw job in Charlotte starting at 65K/year. 

So it's not all horror stories, you just have to make sure your expectations match reality. 

[sassafrass]

^aba data shows 81% first time passage rate.  Just a % or 2 below Carolina's.  It's remarkable considering NCCU's 25-75 LSAT range.  Central does a good job of coaching the bar. 

It'll never have the name recognition, but you'll get good legal training at Central.

[LuvHurtz]

A majority of Duke grads do not stay in NC so I would not be concerned about them. The largest legal market in NC is Charlotte. Most of the attorney's there seem to be from UNC, Vandy, some Wake and mostly the t-14. As far as the other legal markets in NC, Greensboro and Raleigh, I'm really not sure how NCCU grads place. If you are really concerned about job placement in either of those areas e-mail their career services or a member of the student body (such as the BLSA president) and ask them. An actual NCCU student would be able to tell you better than any of us can. Also do a nalp search of law firms in the area and look at the schools where their attorneys come from. Most NCCU alumni that I know do not work in law firms but rather do a lot of PI work.

NCCU has a great reputation in NC and does have the highest bar passage rate in the state (at least it did a year ago I'm not sure about now). NCCU has an extremely high attrition rate but if you make it past the first year you can be sure that you are receiving a quality legal education.

[soundsgood]

Oh c'mon JusBlaze08

I'm not one that normally harps about "T14 or bust" but you can't actually tell me that anyone really thinks of NCCU as equivalent to Duke, even forgetting the rankings.

Duke and Wake students definitely "earn" their grades just as much as an NCCU student does.  If you haven't figured it out, class rank is really all that matters, not one's GPA.  Whether a 3.2 is Top 10% or middle of the class doesn't really matter - employers still look at class rank to get a feel for how the student has done in the classroom.

Additionally, bar passage rates are a pretty flawed way to judge the excellence of a school for several reasons.  First, lower-ranked schools kick out the bottom of their class after first year.  The people that would be likely to fail the bar are therefore gone, and won't hurt the bar passage rate.  Compare that to Duke, where I'm sure no student is kicked out for grades.  Second, I would say the vast majority of the "top" Duke students don't even take the North Carolina bar.  Of the students that do take it, most are probably towards the bottom of the class.  So you are comparing the bar passage rates of the bottom Duke students vs. the top NCCU students.  Finally, and most importantly, many lower-ranked schools "teach to the bar."  The classes focus on North Carolina state law, and on subjects that will appear on the bar.  Classes in the T14/T25 have a much broader focus (both geographically, and the fact that they are more theory-based).

This being said, I'm not saying NCCU is a horrible school, or that no one should go there.  I'm sure if you work hard, save money, and recognize that Biglaw may be out of reach, it could be a great place to go to school.  But the attempt to favorably compare NCCU to Duke or Wake is just insane.