Hofstra vs. John Marshall

[belushi]

Okay, so I just got into Hofstra.  I'd pretty much given up on getting in anywhere else at this point, but it was a nice suprise to actually have a choice in law schools now. ...I was also accepted at John Marshall in Chicago. Still waiting to hear back from Seton Hall, and I've been waitlisted at DePaul...but I'm not putting to much hope in getting off a waitlist from DePaul (apparently they wait list a ton).  I applied to 9 schools and the ones that accepted/rejected me are quite weird.  I had a 2.38 GPA and a 161 LSAT at U of I (GO ILLINI!)...spent three years studying nuclear engineering before I came to my senses and changed majors.  {coming to your senses involves not only hating the subject you are studying, but getting a few Fs along the way and getting thrown on academic probabtion....boy was that a fun little thing to check "yes" to and fill out on all these apps.}  Anyway, I first heard back from Northern, Southern, Valparaiso, and Michigan State.  ALL OF THEM WERE DENIALS!  I was crapping myself.  Those were the four schools lowest on my list...thought I'd get into at least a couple of them.  Then fortunately I got into John Marshall and was all set to go there (after also getting rejected by Rutgers...my reach school).  I basically gave up on Hofstra and Seton Hall...didn't think I had a chance after getting all those rejections.  Today I find out I got into Hofstra and now comes the decision time.

What do you guys think?  As far as rankings go Hofstra seems like the obvious choice.  But so many things say not to pay any attention to rankings and to also look at regional rankings.  And I've read things about Hofstra students not being able to compete in the job market with the students from other NY law schools because the big firms don't recruit to heavily from Hofstra.  John Marshall isn't that bad as far as recruitment from the big Chicago firms (it is afterall right in the middle of downtown Chicago).  Is it really that big of a problem at Hofstra?  Tuition is pretty much the same at both schools...I'm getting 6,000 a year at John Marshall but on the grand scheme of things that isn't too much...so tuition isn't one of my deciding factors.  What I would like to have to option to do also is try to eventually transfer to a top 25 school...which I know I shouldn't be thinking about at this point, but it's still on my mind.  Would it look better on a transfer app if I'm coming from Hofstra as opposed to John Marshall?  I'm not decided or set on transfering, but I'm just thinking here.  Anyway, the average starting salaries are also quite different between the two schools too...about 20,000 different....(which I know shouldn't be a factor....but I like money...can't help it).  I'm from central illinois, so the size of either place is going to be comparable.  But I feel fairly comfortable with Chicago and the East Coast kinda scares me...I was in DC once and everybody out there seemed a little mean and snobby.  Again, not a big deal, but going all the way to the East Coast from Illinois is something that is in the back of my mind as being kinda unnerving.  Anybody have any opinions/suggestions/info?  Should this be an obvious choice based on the rankings?  Anybody go to either of these schools and have any first hand advice about the school.  Thanks in advance to anybody that could help me out here.

[fooseball22]

Your decision should really hinge on where you want to practice.  If you go to Hofstra you're probably going to stay in NY and if you go to JM you're probably going to live in chi-town.  As for job prospects i think hofstra is the best overall.  Keep in mind both markets are saturated with lawyers BUT, hofstra has alot of clout on long island and if you do well in school you can hack it in NYC.  On a side note, to work at a big firm in either of these cities you probably have to at least be in the top 20% of your class.  Meaning, do not kid yourself into thinking that you have a better shot at a big firm at one law school or another(HLS and yale do not apply here), it really depends on how you do as a student.  location location location.

[JManning]

Agreed.  It really comes down to where you want to liva and practice after you graduate from law school.  As a fellow recent U of I grad, I can see where this dilemma comes from choosing between Chicago and East Coast; proximity to people you know already or starting over from scratch in a new place.  Visit both schools and hopefully this will clarify the situation slightly.

[footlong]

John Marshall isn't that bad as far as recruitment from the big Chicago firms (it is afterall right in the middle of downtown Chicago).

JM sucks ass, actually!

[ascb]

They say UIC will acquire the John Marshall Law School. The internal discussions at UIC say that the plan is to acquire John Marshall and to spend from $12-15 million dollars a year in taxpayer dollars to subsidize the John Marshall Law School so that it can substantially improve its faculty and so that the tuition would be about a third of what it is now. The notion is that the Illinois taxpayers would subsidize legal education at John Marshall.

[CoxlessPair]

With your Illinois undergrad, a John Marshall JD would have you well set up in terms of alumni connections in Chicago. There are a ton of Illini alum in the city (am a Chicago native) and combined with JM, I think your ability to network would be significant. While it might not be enough to counter JM's ranking, combined with good grades, you will be ahead of the pack.

That is all a moot point if you don't want to live in Chicago of course.

[ConLawBlows]

Not sure what the deadline is this year, but apply to Case if you still can.  The app is free, and I had a similar situation to yours.  I changed majors, finished with a 2.98 in mechanical engineering, and got a 162 on my lsat.  Case accepted me within 2 weeks of my March 1 application last year and gave me 13k per year in scholarship funds. If it's not too late I would give it a shot.  Summer job wise, first year is tough coming out of Case to get to Chicago, but 2L summer is much easier from what I have seen as far as my 2L friends go.  Case also has decent placement in Chicago if that is where you want to be.  Also, Case is a good platform school for transferring because it used to be ranked much higher. 

[allwrit]

They say UIC will acquire the John Marshall Law School. The internal discussions at UIC say that the plan is to acquire John Marshall and to spend from $12-15 million dollars a year in taxpayer dollars to subsidize the John Marshall Law School so that it can substantially improve its faculty and so that the tuition would be about a third of what it is now. The notion is that the Illinois taxpayers would subsidize legal education at John Marshall.

That's a very good thing! With the attrition rates and bar passage rates JM has (respectively 30% and 75%) it is a shame it makes its students pay $30,000 in tuition! Now if the tuition would be $15,000 I'd understand why many students would go there despite its horrible stats!

[6mcdanie]

Hello,

I realize this is an old post, but I want to state for the record, related to a couple of the comments in this string, that: 1) UIC does not plan to purchase John Marshall Law School in Chicago, so JM will remain an independent school; and 2) our bar pass rate is excellent, and at least comparable to other local schools:

"Greetings, 

I've just received the letter from the Illinois Supreme Court stating that The John Marshall Law School first time pass rate on last July's exam was 90%. These results are a tribute to the hard work our students put in and to the confidence they had in themselves, and in their law school education, to pass this exam.  I know our students studied hard and their work paid off.

So congratulations to our July 2007 bar takers. This is a great achievement for them and an inspiration for all current JMLS students.  For the last three exams, our first time pass rates have been:  86%; 89%; and 90%.  This is excellent work.  And now of course, all of us will have to work even harder to make sure we continue to meet or better this high standard.

The overall pass rate for first time takers was 90%.  The overall pass rate for all takers was 86%.

Sincerely,

John Corkery
Dean
The John Marshall Law School"

Thank you!

Lori McDaniel
Web Site Manager
The John Marshall Law School
www.jmls.edu
6mcdanie@jmls.edu

[KrazyNazi]

both schools suck ass, you won't get a job coming from either. 

your best option now is to kill self.