Rutgers-Camden or U. of Pittsburgh?

[Lauren1213]

I'm sorry if this has been posted already, but are there any students from Rutgers or Pittsburgh that really enjoy/do not enjoy their school? 

Does anyone else have an opinion on the two? I'd really appreciate it!!

[swc5018]

I don't know much about Rutgers, but I did seriously consider Pitt before eventually deciding on Penn State. Not sure if you've gone to visit Pitt yet, but my impression of it was that it was a real dump that needed major upgrades to the law building. The city itself was cool, but the school definitely left me feeling very underwhelmed. As many of these decisions often do, I guess it really comes down to where you want to live/work for the next stage of your life.

[UnbiasedObserver]

I'm sorry if this has been posted already, but are there any students from Rutgers or Pittsburgh that really enjoy/do not enjoy their school? 

Does anyone else have an opinion on the two? I'd really appreciate it!!

Lauren,

If I were you, and both schools will be reasonably priced for you, I'd concentrate on where you want to live after graduation.  If you want to live in NJ or Philly, I'd stick with Rutgers.  If you like Pittsburgh or western PA, I'd go to Pitt.

[Lauren1213]

Thank you for responding!

swc5018,

I got into Penn State too, what made you decide there, if you don't mind me asking?

[UnbiasedObserver]

You are quite welcome. 

[Lauren1213]

I know this sounds overly ambitious and maybe even almost impossible, but I want to move to San Diego at some point after graduation.  I was going to go to Pacific McGeorge with a scholarship, but I didn't think that would really help me either.

Rutgers has a few firms from CA that do OCI, would it be unrealistic to want to move to CA after graduating from, say, Rutgers?

[UnbiasedObserver]

I know this sounds overly ambitious and maybe even almost impossible, but I want to move to San Diego at some point after graduation.  I was going to go to Pacific McGeorge with a scholarship, but I didn't think that would really help me either.

Rutgers has a few firms from CA that do OCI, would it be unrealistic to want to move to CA after graduating from, say, Rutgers?

Did you apply to University of San Diego then?" 

You're fighting an uphill battle choosing a school on the East Coast to land a job on the West Coast.  Lawyers there will probably have no clue about your school, and will be reluctant to hire from non-local schools, especially those very far away....

However, it CAN be done; just remember that the odds are stacked against you.  You're just going to have network a lot.  I'd recommend if you're going to do this to do a lot of research of Rutgers graduates who have moved to San Diego/surrounding area/CA and see if you can communicate with them and get some connections. 

Good luck!

[swc5018]

The biggest factor in choosing Penn State over Pittsburgh was that I just felt more comfortable there. The fact that I went to PSU for undergrad certainly helped, but they also just invested a ton of $$ into a brand new law building which was 100X better than what Pitt had to offer. In the end even though Pitt would have ended up costing a little less I decided on PSU because I felt it has a better upside, and is on its way up in the rankings. A lot of people think because PSU is in the middle of nowhere you should avoid it, but it still has a big name that hopefully will carry well throughout PA and NJ. All of the schools I was looking at were pretty close in the numbers (employment rate, starting salary, etc.) so in the end I just chose the school that had the best facilities and living environment (IMO).

[UnbiasedObserver]

The biggest factor in choosing Penn State over Pittsburgh was that I just felt more comfortable there. The fact that I went to PSU for undergrad certainly helped, but they also just invested a ton of $$ into a brand new law building which was 100X better than what Pitt had to offer. In the end even though Pitt would have ended up costing a little less I decided on PSU because I felt it has a better upside, and is on its way up in the rankings. A lot of people think because PSU is in the middle of nowhere you should avoid it, but it still has a big name that hopefully will carry well throughout PA and NJ. All of the schools I was looking at were pretty close in the numbers (employment rate, starting salary, etc.) so in the end I just chose the school that had the best facilities and living environment (IMO).

PSU is a great choice (assuming the cost isn't too high) if you want to practice law in central PA.  Pitt is a great choice if you want to practice law in Pittsburgh.  Philadelphia would be a tough market from either schools, but they do well in their respective regions. 

[LooneyBin]

When I originally applied to law school, I was waitlisted at both Pittsburgh and Rutgers-Camden. I would have LOVED to gone to either. However, I finally gave up the wait and decided to go with Syracuse instead, which has been a good decision for the most part. From what I gathered about both these schools (Pitt and RU) is that they have strong programs that are well recognized in the respective regions. It also doesn't hurt that both are associated with major research universities. Interestingly, these schools are very similar in many aspects. Rutgers-Camden may have a slight edge primarily because Rutgers' national rep. But, again, outside of the top 14, I would say that the best career prospects are regional for most law schools.

That said, I would say career prospects are only as good as your law school performance. A Pittsburgh Law or Rutgers Law-Camden diploma will definitely give you a bump but it is up to you how versatile that degree becomes.

Bottom line, I'd go with Rutgers-Camden for the combination of the value and the prospects. Just make sure that YOU like wherever it is are going.