Who's Attending?

[BeerandLaw]

It is my understanding that Cal Western does not have a UGRAD program. Oh well, I have a question. I am on a waitlist at a few schools still and am in at Cal Western. But I think that I am going to be going to Cal Western. I have come across articles that state that Cal Western is now affiliated with UCSD as well as SDSU in a manner that allows people to get dual degrees and access to more services. I am too lazy to find the articles right now, but if my memory is not failing me it is a relativley new affiliation; 2002/2003? Does this mean that a rise in rankings is a possibility in the near future; as in the next three years.
I really like Cal Western. Good location, schools established since 1962, from what I can tell  prof.'s and buildings (I visited) are just fine. It is a little pricey but the way I think about it is why would I not take out loans to secure my future (im 23), even if I don't get a great-to-die-for-job right away it is not the end of the world (althought it would be nice to get a great job from the get go) Well, thats all I got right now.

[BeerandLaw]

Oh, I am from AZ, in response to the orginal question of the post.

[lmc08]

I was accepted but decided not to attend due to cost of tuition.
One thing that struck me the most is the friendliness of the people working & attending school there. I think of all the schools I've been accepted to, CW made the best recruitment effort. Everyone whom I spoke to were very helpful and incredibly enthusiastic. I don't know if that's due to the weather, or that's just the type of students the school attracts.

Good luck to you all!

[najniran]

Accepted, and will be Attending starting in August. I did my undergrad in Santa Barbara and I'm originally from the Bay Area...so moving to San Diego was almost a logical geographic progression. I'm excited as hell to be moving to SD!

[wufibug]

hey terrible lizard,
what was your 1L first semester schedule like?  Did you have classes everyday and all day?  CWSL's registrar is protecting the fall schedule like it hides the key to the holy frickin grail!

Were you able to put ANY hours in at work or did you live completely off loans?  I want to- check that, NEED to work at least a little to make ends meet, but I've heard horror stories like a 40% attrition rate with 80% of all drop-outs being people that tried to work at the same time.  Was the first semester THAT strenuous???

[williamgazillion]

Looks like I'm attending.  I'll move in probably around August 10th to give myself a couple of days to check out the city and get settled in.

Looking forward to start, see you guys there.

[terriblelizard]

hey terrible lizard,
what was your 1L first semester schedule like?  Did you have classes everyday and all day?  CWSL's registrar is protecting the fall schedule like it hides the key to the holy frickin grail!

Were you able to put ANY hours in at work or did you live completely off loans?  I want to- check that, NEED to work at least a little to make ends meet, but I've heard horror stories like a 40% attrition rate with 80% of all drop-outs being people that tried to work at the same time.  Was the first semester THAT strenuous???

Bug -

You will have classes every day during your first two semesters.  You will not, however, have classes all day.  They do schedule the classes so that you are stuck at school a lot though.  In my first semester, MW I had classes sporadically from 8am till 2:30pm.  But TR we were done at 1:00pm. 

As far as work goes, I'll preface my answer by saying that the ABA only allows first year law students to work 5 hours a week.  I thought I was going to have to work when I first got here as well.  However, I qualified for a Perkins loan that got me over the top, as long as I was pretty cheap about those miscellaneous items like, say...food.  My advice on this issue is pretty simple: Don't work unless you really have to.  For me, law school was an entirely new way of thinking and studying, and it took some getting used to.  Additionally, law school requires a lot of preparation for classes (lots of reading and briefing).  Finals require a ridiculous amount of preparation.  I think, however, that what you have to put into it really depends on you, and what you want.  If you want to be at the top of your class, you need to put a lot of effort in.  If you don't, you can probably get by with less effort. 

If you have to work, here's my suggestion: don't work much in the beginning of the semester, and don't work much at the end.  These are crucial times for a first year student.  I really can't imagine how I would have handled working near finals time!  I'm sure you can do it, but your time will be very limited. 

As far as the attrition rate, I'm not sure if those are mostly people that tried to work.  I had not heard that, and frankly, I wouldn't believe it even if I had.  A portion of our attrition rate is due to transfers and people who don't finish for their own reasons, and a portion is due to people who fail out.  The people who fail out didn't put the effort in or just weren't meant for law school.  The law does require a pretty specific set of skills, which you can learn and develop in school.  Some people just don't want to. 

Good luck with your first semester.  Try not to get overwhelmed.  Law school is rigorous, but it's fun too.

[williamgazillion]

How are the job prospects from Cal Western, coming from someone who actually attends the school?

[cconnoll]

How are the job prospects from Cal Western, coming from someone who actually attends the school?

LOL I know this last post is a little ancient...but it never got answered.