From Touro to Hofstra

[TransferMan]

Same here.  I think the highest you typically can transfer out to is Fordham.  Other than that, you should keep your eye on winding up at schools comparable to Hofstra, Brooklyn (maybe), Cardozo, NYLS and St. John's.

I really do not see any difference in the education offered at Touro when compared to that offered by other schools.  The only things you are picking up are stronger alumni, much better name recognition, pride, and better job connections.  Not to mention your peers are brighter, which means higher bar passage rates.

[jtech]

I am realize that Tuoro offers a quality education and that Hofstra is not to be confused with Harvard. Regardless of these facts, Hofstra will provide many more opportunities.

The legal industry is governed by an unoffcial caste system. This system is based on school rank and then class rank.
Unfortunately Touro occupies the systems' lowest level. I realize that this is not fair and actually hypocritical for a discipline that considers itself to be the ideological gate keepers of our society.

The bottom line is, fair our not we don't make the rules. So go wherever you will be provided with greater opportunties. The profession is competitive, so don't accept a handicap if you don't have to.

[amityjo]

I'm at Hofstra now, and I really love it. I'm interning at the Federal Court in Islip with several Touro students, as well as students from all area law schools. Frankly, I see no difference between the quality of student from the various schools, and the Touro students have received just as much recognition for their legal work with our judge as anyone else. So I think the level of your legal education at Touro is just fine.

But it's about the stigma and depth of alumni. Trust me, Hofstra has its own issues (as does every other law school), but the closer to NYC you want to work, the harder it will be for you to get one of the big jobs. Keep in mind that a Hofstra degree is no guarantee for those jobs either, but for some reason, it's seen as more "legit." Also, Hofstra gives you an instant advantage if you want to work on Long Island because so many graduates stick around (like I will) and the alumni connection is pretty fierce. Touro, rather unfairly, is still kind of seen as a joke, even on the island. But I do think that will change over time. Also, I find that Touro alums, because of the unfair stigma, stick together and help each other out a lot. So again, over time, the alumni base will get stronger. But I'm not sure that will do you any good now.

If you decide to make the jump, I don't think you'll be disappointed. Some of the professors are truly, truly excellent and make me wonder "what the hell are they doing at Hofstra?" I've been very happy with the involvement of the professors - they show up to all of the student organization events, seem to develop real friendships with the students, and are really invested in making the school a better place. But the student body is what attracted me most to the school. I'm an older student (12 years out of college), and I just didn't want to deal with uber-competitive note-stealing crazy people at school. Hofstra students are VERY friendly, and are almost always willing to help each other out. My computer crashed at the end of last semester, right before finals, and I lost EVERYTHING for one of my classes (thought I had backed it up, but I didn't). People I didn't even know were offering me their notes. Another girl in the class got in a terrible car accident half way through the semester, and was really banged up. People offered to take notes for her and carry her books to class. It's just a really nice community, and I'm really happy here.