District of Columbia vs Appalachian vs NC Central??

[beach bum]

I know these are not the most popular schools around but my options are limited. Can anyone share real experiences regarding these schools? Thanks.

[wiseowl]

i don't know a ton about these but I'll help with what I do know.

i live in Durham.  i'm taking my LSAT at NC Central on Monday.  out of your options, NCCU isn't a bad one.  it would be even better if you are an NC resident, but even if you aren't it's one of the lowest-priced schools in the country.  I wouldn't recommend living too close to campus as that can be a tough area, but there are plenty of reasonable options in Durham.  I pay $700 a month for a brand-new, 2 BR 2 BA with a sunroom.  The place I live is technically in RTP but there's a freeway between RTP and downtown (where Duke and NCCU are) that would make the commute only about 10-15 mins.  NCCU does have a difficult curve as I'm sure you realize many of these lower tiers do.  I don't know the exact numbers but anecdotally from people I know that went there roughly 15-20% of the 1L class does not return for 2L.

i know much less about the other two choices.  i have been to Grundy, VA where ASL is and i would definitely make sure to visit there before you commit to anything and possibly even before you apply.  it is the remotest of the remote.  easy to focus on your work, but if you want any kind of social scene you will be very, very depressed.  i assume you know that ASL and Appalachian State University are not at all connected...it would be much more fun if ASL was in Boone but it isn't anywhere close.

UDC will obviously be the most exciting place to live and maybe give you some more internship/employment options, but it will obviously also be the most expensive place to live.

always remember - where do you want to end up?  none of these schools has a very far reach outside of their immediate areas.  go with the place where you can leave with the least debt, bar none.  my guess is that will be NCCU but I don't know.  NCCU is actually getting fairly selective in admissions because the secret is out about how cheap it is, but if you can get in there, live well in Durham, and get a decent job somewhere in NC when you get done, that may work well for you.

[big - fat - box]

UDC's rep is far below that of any of the DC / Mid Atlantic schools. In recent years they had trouble with bar passage and were struggling overall. They may have improved a little bit recently due to increasing admissions standards and some other things, but I would advise staying away no matter what.

I think NCCU is the best of the 3. However, I wouldn't go there as an out of state student unless there is no possible way to establish residency before attending. The reason is, in-state tuition there is among the cheapest of the public law schools in the country. I would do whatever it takes to get that low tuition before setting foot in the school, even if that means living in NC for a couple of years.