Widener (Delaware campus).....

[Jemma]

So is Widener a total *&^% school or do the grads have a chance in hell shot at jobs?  Do Widener grads work in surrounding states or usually just Delaware?

This school search is a pain in the ass.

[Ninja1]

Well... It seems like as long as you're top 80% or so, you're cool to get SOME kind of job. Quality of employment is another question. Generally speaking, you should avoid them like the plague.

[TimMitchell]

I live and work about 10 min away from the school and about 80% of the lawyers I meet come from there plus I know several of the students. Most have said the school is fine but you really have to bust your ass to be at the top of the class, some have said it's not too difficult because a lot of people slack off and don't take it seriously. All of the grads from there have said Temple/Nova/Rutgers is a much better choice. I doubt you'll much portability outside DE/PA. One student I spoke with said that basically everyone who was serious was trying to be in the top of the class to transfer out, and that was last year when the economy was good.

[Ninja1]

I live and work about 10 min away from the school and about 80% of the lawyers I meet come from there plus I know several of the students. Most have said the school is fine but you really have to bust your ass to be at the top of the class, some have said it's not too difficult because a lot of people slack off and don't take it seriously. All of the grads from there have said Temple/Nova/Rutgers is a much better choice. I doubt you'll much portability outside DE/PA. One student I spoke with said that basically everyone who was serious was trying to be in the top of the class to transfer out, and that was last year when the economy was good.

I've long suspected that it's ~25% of the class at any given school that bust their ass competing with each other and everyone else has a "put in the basic amount of work and let the chips fall where they may" sort of attitude.

[Contract2008]

Well... It seems like as long as you're top 80% or so, you're cool to get SOME kind of job. Quality of employment is another question. Generally speaking, you should avoid them like the plague.

I would like to elaborate what "some" means. It includes a McDonald's job. 

[TimMitchell]

Well... It seems like as long as you're top 80% or so, you're cool to get SOME kind of job. Quality of employment is another question. Generally speaking, you should avoid them like the plague.

I would like to elaborate what "some" means. It includes a McDonald's job. 

And Panhandling

[SweetAsCandy]

I'm from PA and it has a GREAT rep amoung lay people in the area. Whenever I mention to someone that I'll be attending law school, they all chime in that I should "go to Widener!"  Late last year my father told his doctor that I was applying to law school and he told my dad that, "Widener is a great school for law, one of the best choices in PA-- tell her to go there!"  LOL.  Lay people think so highly of Widener because it's true that a very large % of lawyers in PA graduated from Widener. Their alumni base is large and very loyal. If you want to practice in the area, I don't think it's a terrible choice.  However, go to the best school that accepts you, and by "best" I mean the school that's ranked the highest.

[SuaSponte11]

I'm from PA and it has a GREAT rep amoung lay people in the area. Whenever I mention to someone that I'll be attending law school, they all chime in that I should "go to Widener!"  Late last year my father told his doctor that I was applying to law school and he told my dad that, "Widener is a great school for law, one of the best choices in PA-- tell her to go there!"  LOL.  Lay people think so highly of Widener because it's true that a very large % of lawyers in PA graduated from Widener. Their alumni base is large and very loyal. If you want to practice in the area, I don't think it's a terrible choice.  However, go to the best school that accepts you, and by "best" I mean the school that's ranked the highest.

I agree with this statement.  It all matters where you want to practice.  If you want to practice in Delaware or South Eastern PA it is an OK choice.  It is the only law school in Delaware and you can probably get a pretty good gig in Wilmington with a Widener degree.  However,  if you can get into one of the better South Eastern PA schools, Temple, Villanova, Rutgers, Penn of course I would recommend those over Widener. 

Widener has a good lay reputation but it has a murderous curve (2.2 - 2.7 I think I've seen).  Many of the students there will be looking to transfer which may make the first year more difficult.  To put things in perspective,  I was accepted to Widener Law School last year with a full tuition scholarship, plus they were offering a $5,000 stipend.  I turned it down to attend Temple.  I turned down the opportunity at Widener for two reasons, the scholarship was conditioned on a 3.0 GPA (see murderous curve) and I want to practice in Philadelphia.  Temple is IN Philadelphia and also has great lay prestige as well as a good reputation in the legal community.

A little more information about your situation would help, what do you want to do after law school, where do you want to practice etc...?