Day vs. Evening Division Program

[bLawb]

Suffolk is a 4th tier school, but has an evening division 'full time' program that is ranked 13th (I think?) in the country as far as evening division programs go. Does that look 'better' for an evening division program graduate at the end of the day?

[nerfco]

At the end of the day, your resume will say Suffolk on it whether you take the day or the evening program. I don't think it matters at all what time your classes are at, in terms of looking better. Suffolk is Suffolk, even at night.

[Matthies]

At the end of the day, your resume will say Suffolk on it whether you take the day or the evening program. I don't think it matters at all what time your classes are at, in terms of looking better. Suffolk is Suffolk, even at night.

Agreed. I just graduated from Denver part-time, and we were ranked #9 for part-time programs. It means nothing, and I did not put it on my resume or anything. Denver like Suffolk is a regional school, the same firms and lawyers that have hired from there in the past will continue to do so in the future. Firms that have never hired a grad from there won’t start hiring from there because of the schools US News ranking.

If you want to go PT, then go and take advantage of the opportunities that it offers, or go FT and do it the standard way, but don’t worry about US news ranking, it won’t really matter at all, and not near as much as doing the things that you should be doing to land a job anyway (like networking or doing legal work during the day if you go PT at night).

[jollyrog]

At the end of the day, your resume will say Suffolk on it whether you take the day or the evening program... Suffolk is Suffolk, even at night.

Look at the USNews rankings for PT programs this way: What is it, roughly 1 in 4 or 5 schools even have one? In my case, Stetson is geographically the closest (whoops, I forgot - deliberately - about Barry and FAMU) PT program. They're ranked 15th(?) for PT, but barely a T2 overall. OTOH, say I could get into GULC or GW PT program (Angels and ministers of grace...), you think having either of those on a resume, PT or otherwise, wouldn't mean something?

My point is the distance between 1 and 15 in PT rankings is the proverbial country mile farther apart than 1 and 15 overall.

[Ninja1]

At the end of the day, your resume will say Suffolk on it whether you take the day or the evening program. I don't think it matters at all what time your classes are at, in terms of looking better. Suffolk is Suffolk, even at night.

TITCR. It doesn't matter if you go FT or PT, your degree is from the same U. If Suffolk is a T4, it's a T4, not a T14.

[ashleighlaren]

At the end of the day, your resume will say Suffolk on it whether you take the day or the evening program. I don't think it matters at all what time your classes are at, in terms of looking better. Suffolk is Suffolk, even at night.

Agreed. I just graduated from Denver part-time, and we were ranked #9 for part-time programs. It means nothing, and I did not put it on my resume or anything. Denver like Suffolk is a regional school, the same firms and lawyers that have hired from there in the past will continue to do so in the future. Firms that have never hired a grad from there won’t start hiring from there because of the schools US News ranking.

If you want to go PT, then go and take advantage of the opportunities that it offers, or go FT and do it the standard way, but don’t worry about US news ranking, it won’t really matter at all, and not near as much as doing the things that you should be doing to land a job anyway (like networking or doing legal work during the day if you go PT at night).

What was your experience of the PT program? I have been admitted to DU PT and CU, but I would prefer working to minimize my debt. Did you work full-time? What was your schedule typically like?

[Thane Messinger]

Aloha, bLawb & All -

Suffolk has a solid reputation within Boston (and, to a somewhat lesser degree, within New England), so if you're inclined to practice there, the national rankings are relatively less important.  One reason Suffolk is well regarded are the adjuncts that it has access to in the area, its access to and focus in the local courts, and the degree of maturity and motivation of its students.  (As it happens, I know one of its graduates and worked with him as he was in law school.)

As to rankings, it's easy to see those as a national, linear guide, but in fact it is not hierarchial in the normal way we would use that, and especially not for part-time programs.  In essence, it matters as much what one wants to do with a law degree, and where one wants to practice, as it does what the law school's technical ranking is.  It's unfortunate that we tend to put the wrong weight in rankings, or that we tend to put a weight in a ranking that might not apply as well to a specific person or situation.  (Note: this is not to write that rankings are not important, only that they are often used to make decisions that might not be the best decision for that individual.)

As to the degree, yes it will be Suffolk.  Whether that will be "the same" is really dependent upon the degree to which one must rely on the school for an initial job, in which case the variables of grades and deportment are more prominent.  So, yes, after one is practicing it's unnecessary to say more than "X" for the law school.  But for most about to enter law school, the real question is the relative boost of that school toward one's first law job.  In the case of Suffolk, because of its solid reputation, all else being equal that should be a fair boost for a local firm.

I hope this helps,

Thane.