Temple Class of 2010 (entering in Fall 2007)

[savage_fred]

I know most people have already decided to attend Temple.  With that in mind, is anyone else concerned about the at graduation employment rate - Temple's being 65%.  9 months after grad employment rate is 95%  Theyre not bad, but i feel like those are not spectacular either. 

I'm not worried.

Why.

The nine month stats aren't too bad, but the at graduation stats are a bit shaky. I have accepted the fact that it is going to be difficult to find a decent legal job unless I build a sweet resume. Many students don't realize this horrible fact until after graduation, I know this going in so I'm prepared for the struggle and hopefully I succeed. I chose Temple because they offered me a good scholarship, my girlfriend got into medical school in Philly, and I think it's a high-quality school with good placement in the area. Just know that you'll have to excel academically or you may well have a hell of a time finding a job. 

[Temple Gator]

I know most people have already decided to attend Temple.  With that in mind, is anyone else concerned about the at graduation employment rate - Temple's being 65%.  9 months after grad employment rate is 95%  Theyre not bad, but i feel like those are not spectacular either. 

I'm not worried.

Why.

The nine month stats aren't too bad, but the at graduation stats are a bit shaky. I have accepted the fact that it is going to be difficult to find a decent legal job unless I build a sweet resume. Many students don't realize this horrible fact until after graduation, I know this going in so I'm prepared for the struggle and hopefully I succeed. I chose Temple because they offered me a good scholarship, my girlfriend got into medical school in Philly, and I think it's a high-quality school with good placement in the area. Just know that you'll have to excel academically or you may well have a hell of a time finding a job. 

And, that one-third of the graduates who don't have jobs at graduation probably includes many of the students who want to work in public interest, government, prosecution or public defender jobs. Those jobs typically don't hire until after you pass the bar, from what I've heard/read. And, Temple does have a disproportionate number of those types of students, I think.

Another factor I wonder about is the number of students going into clerkships. Are clerkships typically filled before graduation? I would think so. But, if not, that also holds down the at-graduation jobs number.

Just out of curiosity... Which schools were people on this board considering with better job placement numbers?

[Barbie22]

pitt, wisconsin, maryland.

I dont think anywhere near 35% of the class go for public interest, so i dont think that would account for the lower employment @ grad rate.  Im pretty sure clerkships are set before graduation. 

[Temple Gator]

Which schools did you turn down in order to attend the Beasley School of Law at Temple Univeristy? Why?

I guess the only other schools I could call contenders for my tuition would have been:

• Penn State Dickinson
• Albany Law School (scholarship offer)
• Michigan State
• Drake University

I know you think some of those are crazy to even consider in Temple's league, but they have some positive qualities (and I really like the town of Albany).

It has been a fairly easy decision at this point. I have a long list of schools where I've been admitted, but none of them come close to Temple in reputation/ranking and job placement/salary. For example, in ratings from lawyers and judges in the U.S. News rankings, Temple scored a 3.2 this year. The only other schools on my "admitted" list that come close to that are Penn State and Michigan State. Penn State is in temporary facilities for at least the next two years. After visiting the school, I just could not see myself learning well in that environment. Michigan State does not have very good job placement numbers. Plus, I don't have any special reason to live in Michigan.

Also, I think the Temple salary number is important, even if you don't plan to aim for the highest paying big law firm jobs. If 25% of Temple grads make $115k, then the most selective (biggest) firms are hiring a lot of Temple grads. That bodes well for people aiming for small or midsized firms as well.

Of course, there are plenty of other things I like about Temple, but I won't go into all that here.

[Temple Gator]

pitt, wisconsin, maryland.

I dont think anywhere near 35% of the class go for public interest, so i dont think that would account for the lower employment @ grad rate.  Im pretty sure clerkships are set before graduation. 

8% go into public interest and 11% into government. I'd assume most of those have to be hired after the applicant passes the bar (because of employer policies/needs), so that's about 19% of Temple grads who don't have a shot at the "at graduation" jobs. In that light, 35% of Temple grads waiting a while to secure jobs doesn't seem so bad.

[savage_fred]

My final six included Boston University, Brooklyn, Iowa, Kansas, Temple, and WUSTL. I felt that Temple gave me the best balance of quality + debt management...plus the whole girlfriend thing. 

[cmickey]

Hey, more Philadelphia related questions for people from the area.  We are flying in to look at houses probably next week and I wanted opinions on a couple of areas.  The areas that seem to be most affordable for us with an easy comute are Mt. Airy and Germantown.... how are these areas?  Also, my fiance is convinced that Fishtown is the next up and coming area and that would be the best investment but everyone I know from Philly told me there is absolutely no way we should live there.  Any input?

Thanks guys!

mt airy and germantown in general are not that nice. there are pockets that are nice.. commuting to temple via public transportation would be kinda annoying from those neighborhoods as well.

fishtown IS NOT the next up and coming area... he might be confused with northern liberties which borders the fishtown area... however even parts of northern liberties are hell holes that will never undergo gentrification.

neighborhoods in philly that i suggest living in: center city, old city, rittenhouse square, queen village, society hill, parts of fairmount, parts of university city and parts of northern liberties...

neighborhoods just outside of philly: roxborough, manayunk, overbrook, conshohocken.. and of course the outer suburbs if you have a car and dont mind driving

personally i have a 1 br loft in fairmount (broad and mt vernon), and am just three subway stops from the law school... if anyone has any questions about the city. feel free to shoot me a message.

[PhilaGirl]

Gator, the Temple name is recognized in upstate New York, in case you want to move up there after graduation.  My parents live a little over an hour south of Albany, and my mom works for a lawyer.  Everyone his office deals with is apparently pretty impressed with Temple and are telling her I made a good choice of schools.  Keep in mind that this is in a small town, not actually in Albany, but there are lots and lots of small towns very close to Albany, and people place a lot more weight on the fact that you're a lawyer (especially if you have any family/friends there) than they do on where you went to school.

[Temple Gator]

mt airy and germantown in general are not that nice. there are pockets that are nice.. commuting to temple via public transportation would be kinda annoying from those neighborhoods as well.

Can you explain why the public transportation from those areas is difficult? Are you talking about the regional rail lines?

[Temple Gator]

My final six included Boston University, Brooklyn, Iowa, Kansas, Temple, and WUSTL. I felt that Temple gave me the best balance of quality + debt management...plus the whole girlfriend thing. 

That's a pretty impressive list of schools to choose from. Based on those admits, I don't think you're going to beat me out of the least-qualified-student-at-Temple honor.