And FYI for those jerks on this board that think they're all that going to the top 20 school. I got news for you. You're not all that. Most of you had easier majors that the law school admins don't consider and were nothing compared to the science and engineering classes I had to endure so get off your high horse and be a little bit more respectful. I am sick of this crap.
Well after much soul-searching and visiting the three different schools, I have finally decided on PSU-Dickinson (Unless Richmond or Catholic takes me off their waitlists). For those of you who care, I will list my reasons:1. Syracuse is a depressing little speck of a city in northern New York. It is ten hours from my family in Virginia. It has a rather high crime rate. It is run-downed, depressing and cold. The high this past weekend was 55, and there were only a few leaves on the trees. I am moving from Tennessee, where it has actually been spring since March. Syracuse averages 114.6 inches of snow between October and April. No thanks! And in January of 2004, they received 14 feet in one month.2. Syracuse University was nice. The law school was okay. A bit rundown, and my fiance said it had a funny smell. They have boot scrappers at the entrances, another bad sign. The campus is beautiful, and carrier dome is quite cool, but who cares. I am studying law, not looking for sports. The students I talked too were depressed, and overall wished they had gone elsewhere. Most of them hated the dean, and thought the faculty was too aloof. And i got the impression from students that things were not looking better for the near future. Far cry from Dickinson people who seemed excited about the upward movement in rankings, and general changes ongoing there.3. In my opinion, Syracuse is an inferior program. There faculty isn't as respected, job placement is lower, bar passage is below the NY average, average starting salary is lower, smaller library, fewer seminars offered, higher student/faculty ration, more students and on average 10,000 dollars more expensive per year for a program that i did not find impressive. 4. Seton Hall was nice, but i was accepted part-time. I don't want to spend the next 4 years going through law school when i can go for 3 years at a nice school, that is cheaper in the long run. 5. I want to live in Maryland, PA or Virginia when I am finished. And PSU has a better job placement in those areas. Many graduates live in southern PA, and in Philly. I like that better than New York.I think when it comes down to it, PSU is more bang for the buck. I am not spending 30,000 more for a school that can not seem to convince me that it is worth the cost. Seton Hall is great, and I liked the school a lot. I am just want to get moving and done as soon as possible. Part time would be great if I were married, or if i were older, say in my thirties. But i am 25, no career to speak of at this time, and would like to be finished before i reach my decade anniversary of entering college.
Kilroy, your obeservations of Syracuse are dead on. It is ashame how bad the law school is considering that Syracuse University has otehr departments that are ranked nationally. (i.e the government school is ranked #1 in the U.S ahead of Harvard)I did not go to Syracuse but have extensive experience with the school (too long to explain why) and the general consent from the stduent body is that they made a big mistake going to Syracuse Law considering the very high tuition they charge. The real problem behind the school is the fact that of teh 30,000+ $ per year you pay , less than half goes back to the law school, most of the rest goes to the main university. This is an antiquated system that many other law schools have stopped doing. In other words, many other law schools that charge 30,000$ for tuition get to keep most of it in the law school for hiring better teachers and buildinging better facilities. The other problem is that since the law school has been ranked so low for so long, recruiters have given up on the school. I have visited recruiting night at Syracuse, it is basically a bunch of tables like a fair with local lawyers talking about how they got into their field - no one was really hiring. Thats it. That is recruiting at syracuse. No makor firms, no hiring, no call backs. I dont know about your other alternatives but most schools scehdule On grounds interviews with firms that come and actually hire the students they interview. They take the students to dinner, they put on cocktail parties, they wind down a list of 30 interviewees to 5 who get call backs, pay their flight and hotel to visit the law firm and then select 2-3 for the summer class. This process may only be done at the top 20 schools.But if you see that it is done at any other schools you are considering it is an indication of a much more respected law school and a law school that cares more about its students. Syracuse should be the last on your list.
ugh.i most likely will be attending syracuse university in the fall.reading this was pretty discouraging.
Quote from: biolawgirl on May 17, 2005, 09:57:51 PMAnd FYI for those jerks on this board that think they're all that going to the top 20 school. I got news for you. You're not all that. Most of you had easier majors that the law school admins don't consider and were nothing compared to the science and engineering classes I had to endure so get off your high horse and be a little bit more respectful. I am sick of this darn. Wow...someone's a little cranky. First, I don't understand why you're posting this rant on this thread...did anyone on this thread claim that all that matters is going to a top 20 school? I think most people on LSD are VERY supportive...much more so than you'll find on oxo. And there are quite a few people on here who had hard majors or other darn to deal with. Burgh and ReindeerS come to mind as applicants who took science/engineering classes and still got into excellent schools. And, I think that many, if not most, LSDers are not going to be attending top 20 schools. Some turned down top 20 schools for lower ranked schools. There is a wide range of schools...and LSDers are going everywhere from top 10 to 4th tier.Look, I understand it is hard when people are knocking the school you will be attending. But I still don't get why you're so upset...and choosing to post this little rant on this thread.
And FYI for those jerks on this board that think they're all that going to the top 20 school. I got news for you. You're not all that. Most of you had easier majors that the law school admins don't consider and were nothing compared to the science and engineering classes I had to endure so get off your high horse and be a little bit more respectful. I am sick of this darn.
First of all. I don't understand all the dissing of syracuse. Quite frankly I have a cousin and some friends that went and go there that are VERY happy with the school. Second of all. I also considered kilroy's other choice Dickinson and I fournd it of no comparison to Syracuse. First of all at Dickinoson the career fair lady told me they help you only if you're the top 15% of the class otherwise forget it you're on your own. SEcond of all all the students were from sub par undergrads and most seemed barely smart enough to go to college let alone graduate school. I got a MUCH better feel from the students and prospective students at Syracuse. Much more intellectual and successful. Third of all, the library at Syracuse far surpassed the library at Dickinson. Dickinson tour guides said they felt they didn't need an adequate library because everything is online. I think that'sw crazy! Plus it's the oldest law school in PA so talk about run down. The school smelled of old moth balls and reminded me of a funeral home. Also, you want to talk about national reputation. Quite frankly as far as penn state goes. I think it's a crappy school that's way overrated and really out of PA it doens't hold much weight. I have grown up in multiple parts of the country and the only place that thinks it's a good school is the PA area. It's fine if you want to go to PS Dickinson, but just realize not everyone holds the same opinion as Al and the others of Syracuse. I am proud to be attending there and had many other choices. And FYI for those jerks on this board that think they're all that going to the top 20 school. I got news for you. You're not all that. Most of you had easier majors that the law school admins don't consider and were nothing compared to the science and engineering classes I had to endure so get off your high horse and be a little bit more respectful. I am sick of this darn.
QuoteSyracuse has a national reputation. While Penn State is considered to be a decent school I don't think it has as national a reputation. I have lived in three different places (CA, PA, and VT). ONly in PA was Penn state regarded as a great school. I know syracuse's reputation might be based on basketball, but to be known nationall for whatever reason is very helpful. I have experienced this first hand when dealing with my undergraduate education.Quote
Quote from: kilroy55 on May 17, 2005, 08:02:40 AMWell after much soul-searching and visiting the three different schools, I have finally decided on PSU-Dickinson (Unless Richmond or Catholic takes me off their waitlists). For those of you who care, I will list my reasons:1. Syracuse is a depressing little speck of a city in northern New York. It is ten hours from my family in Virginia. It has a rather high crime rate. It is run-downed, depressing and cold. The high this past weekend was 55, and there were only a few leaves on the trees. I am moving from Tennessee, where it has actually been spring since March. Syracuse averages 114.6 inches of snow between October and April. No thanks! And in January of 2004, they received 14 feet in one month.2. Syracuse University was nice. The law school was okay. A bit rundown, and my fiance said it had a funny smell. They have boot scrappers at the entrances, another bad sign. The campus is beautiful, and carrier dome is quite cool, but who cares. I am studying law, not looking for sports. The students I talked too were depressed, and overall wished they had gone elsewhere. Most of them hated the dean, and thought the faculty was too aloof. And i got the impression from students that things were not looking better for the near future. Far cry from Dickinson people who seemed excited about the upward movement in rankings, and general changes ongoing there.3. In my opinion, Syracuse is an inferior program. There faculty isn't as respected, job placement is lower, bar passage is below the NY average, average starting salary is lower, smaller library, fewer seminars offered, higher student/faculty ration, more students and on average 10,000 dollars more expensive per year for a program that i did not find impressive. 4. Seton Hall was nice, but i was accepted part-time. I don't want to spend the next 4 years going through law school when i can go for 3 years at a nice school, that is cheaper in the long run. 5. I want to live in Maryland, PA or Virginia when I am finished. And PSU has a better job placement in those areas. Many graduates live in southern PA, and in Philly. I like that better than New York.I think when it comes down to it, PSU is more bang for the buck. I am not spending 30,000 more for a school that can not seem to convince me that it is worth the cost. Seton Hall is great, and I liked the school a lot. I am just want to get moving and done as soon as possible. Part time would be great if I were married, or if i were older, say in my thirties. But i am 25, no career to speak of at this time, and would like to be finished before i reach my decade anniversary of entering college. hey man,congrats on your decision to attend dickinson. however, i'd just like to present a counterargument.you mentioned that some of the current students you talked to regretted their decision to attend syracuse. i think you'll find students who regretted their law school choice at any school. i know of a few people who go to the university of minnesota school of law and are looking to transfer down (one of them mentioned wanting to transfer to davis). does that mean that minnesota is an inferior law school? i highly doubt it, considering their record speaks for themselves. i talked to a plethora of students at syracuse. some had positive opinions, some had neutral, some had negative. you will find this at any school...furthermore, you state that the law building is run down. man, i don't know where you went to undergrad and what your standards for "run down" are, but the law school is actually quite decent. i've visited tier one schools which are equal in the quality of facilities. the only area in which i would agree with your assessment is the library stack. other than that, i was rather impressed with the law buildings at syracuse.you also state that syracuse job placement is lower than dickinson's. however, the difference is marginal. 92% are employed after 9 months at cuse whereas 96% are employed after that same time period at dickinson. considering the size of a graduating law class is only a few hundred people, 4% is negligible. furthermore, dickinson is a smaller school so when looking at absolute numbers, probably more syracuse grads are employed after 9 months. additionally, you argue that syarcuse's bar passage rate is lower than the state average. the state average is 75% and according to the most recent statistics, the passage rate at syracuse is 80%. you also have to take into account that new york arguably has the hardest bar exam in the nation.lastly, i don't mean to be a stickler for details, but you say you'll be saving $10K by going to dickinson. you'll actually only be saving $5K. besides, all the private law schools in new york are expensive.Albany: $29,963Brooklyn: $32,950Cardozo: 32,950Hofstra: $30,824New York: $36,480Pace: $31,159so its not like the cost of attending syracuse is THAT outrageous in comparison to other law schools in new york state. i didn't bother listing columbia, nyu, cornell, etc because those are understandably even more expensive than syracuse...Quote from: Al on May 17, 2005, 08:38:18 PMKilroy, your obeservations of Syracuse are dead on. It is ashame how bad the law school is considering that Syracuse University has otehr departments that are ranked nationally. (i.e the government school is ranked #1 in the U.S ahead of Harvard)I did not go to Syracuse but have extensive experience with the school (too long to explain why) and the general consent from the stduent body is that they made a big mistake going to Syracuse Law considering the very high tuition they charge. The real problem behind the school is the fact that of teh 30,000+ $ per year you pay , less than half goes back to the law school, most of the rest goes to the main university. This is an antiquated system that many other law schools have stopped doing. In other words, many other law schools that charge 30,000$ for tuition get to keep most of it in the law school for hiring better teachers and buildinging better facilities. The other problem is that since the law school has been ranked so low for so long, recruiters have given up on the school. I have visited recruiting night at Syracuse, it is basically a bunch of tables like a fair with local lawyers talking about how they got into their field - no one was really hiring. Thats it. That is recruiting at syracuse. No makor firms, no hiring, no call backs. I dont know about your other alternatives but most schools scehdule On grounds interviews with firms that come and actually hire the students they interview. They take the students to dinner, they put on cocktail parties, they wind down a list of 30 interviewees to 5 who get call backs, pay their flight and hotel to visit the law firm and then select 2-3 for the summer class. This process may only be done at the top 20 schools.But if you see that it is done at any other schools you are considering it is an indication of a much more respected law school and a law school that cares more about its students. Syracuse should be the last on your list. what you mentioned about career services at syracuse concerns me. however, do you think dickinson fares any better?Quote from: Tis Another Day on May 17, 2005, 08:10:34 PMugh.i most likely will be attending syracuse university in the fall.reading this was pretty discouraging. well lisa, thats only a few people's opinion and they're entitled to it. jen and i would beg to differ... hope this helps...Quote from: kristay on May 17, 2005, 10:27:38 PMQuote from: biolawgirl on May 17, 2005, 09:57:51 PMAnd FYI for those jerks on this board that think they're all that going to the top 20 school. I got news for you. You're not all that. Most of you had easier majors that the law school admins don't consider and were nothing compared to the science and engineering classes I had to endure so get off your high horse and be a little bit more respectful. I am sick of this darn. Wow...someone's a little cranky. First, I don't understand why you're posting this rant on this thread...did anyone on this thread claim that all that matters is going to a top 20 school? I think most people on LSD are VERY supportive...much more so than you'll find on oxo. And there are quite a few people on here who had hard majors or other darn to deal with. Burgh and ReindeerS come to mind as applicants who took science/engineering classes and still got into excellent schools. And, I think that many, if not most, LSDers are not going to be attending top 20 schools. Some turned down top 20 schools for lower ranked schools. There is a wide range of schools...and LSDers are going everywhere from top 10 to 4th tier.Look, I understand it is hard when people are knocking the school you will be attending. But I still don't get why you're so upset...and choosing to post this little rant on this thread.kristay,yes i would agree that the people here are much nicer than xoxo. however, thats not saying much and things said here can be pretty harsh as well... i feel the rant was justified. just my opinion though...
Discussion
Resources
