University of San Diego visit

[sunset1021]

Hello all!
I sat in on a class at USD yesterday and met with some people in the admin office.  I went to a 2L Criminial Procedure class.  It was actually very interesting that day...they covered the Miranda case.  The prof was very knowledgable (apparently he is the protege of the "granddaddy" of Miranda, one of the original guys who argued Miranda at the Supreme Court, that guy is also a prof at USD), and made relevant analogies and even jokes during the lesson.  In that class, he calls on people alphabetically by last name...the students I sat with said that they get called on that way in most of their classes, but there are a few where it is completely random so you have to be on your toes. 

So now the juicy stuff I picked up from the students I spoke with...
The Good: veryone was genuinely nice...they said the competition is not cut-throat, people work together and generally trust one another, and that the professors are amazing and very receptive to helping their students.  There are a plenty opportunities for people to get involved (but that's probably true for most law schools.)  USD also recently got rid of their confusing 91 (or is it 93?) grade scale...if you don't know what that is, don't worry, because they are on a standard letter-grading system now.

The Bad: For people who are interested in public interest, like myself, there aren't terribly too many opportunities.  I also heard mixed reviews on the career services office.  Also, for everyone who got the 1st year scholarships, the chances of getting one 2L and 3L...are more difficult 

Okay, that is all I can think of now.  I really liked the atmosphere there and of course, the location is beautiful...

[mememe]

thanks for the info! 

[danno51]

Thanks for the info sunset. I am going down there on Monday for admit day, it says something in the email about sitting in on "simulated classes" whatever that means.  im also really curious about career services, that is my major concern about USD is how big the San Diego legal market is

[tomas23t]

Thanks for the info!

[Dano]

So, basically, it is a nice school in a beautiful location with polite students and limited job opportunities?

My sis is considering the school for next year, but she is REALLY focused on lifestyle.  Maybe that is a good fit for her.

[tomas23t]

Does anyone know where to find info on the legal markert in San Diego?  Or can anyone shed some light on job prospects from USD?  Thanks for the help.

[danno51]

Yeah, im wondering about the market and job opportunuites as well.  Mahnoneit, have u looked at the USD page in the specific school section.  A few posters shed a little light on this.  hey anyone else going to the admit day on Monday?  I just got an email from USD with my homework for the simulated class that day.  Wow, i knew they satrted you off fast in law school but I didnt think there would be case reading before admit day

[danno51]

Mahoneit
This was posted by dumbme on a USD board re job prospects at USD.  Hope it helps some.

"I know 8 people that are graduation from USD this spring and all of them already have jobs lined up, most are from their summer jobs. None are going into "big law" but I would say the average salary for them is about 75,000. Five will be working in San Diego, two in the OC, and one in Sacramento (staff counsel for a California interest group). My mom is an attorney in San Diego and I've worked in various law offices and I would say that probably 60% of the attorneys in these firms are from USD. Then there is about 20% from TJ and Cal Western and the rest from various other firms. In general, I do not see a lot of competition from USC, Loyola, or UCLA in San Diego. The majority of non-San Diego schools represented here in San Diego are from the T-14. From the people that I know that USD, there isn't a lot of desperation in finding a job. They've told me that career services was helpful in finding summer jobs and most of their summer jobs have turned into associate offers."

[Starresky]

Yeah, im wondering about the market and job opportunuites as well. Mahnoneit, have u looked at the USD page in the specific school section. A few posters shed a little light on this. hey anyone else going to the admit day on Monday? I just got an email from USD with my homework for the simulated class that day. Wow, i knew they satrted you off fast in law school but I didnt think there would be case reading before admit day

I got that too. It was in my junk mail box so I almost missed it. Cardozo is doing the same thing for their admit day.

[danno51]

yeah its an interesting case, im just surprised.  So i guess the classes that we sit in on are just for the admitted students?  I wonder if we are gonna get an early crash course on the Socratic method