FAMU Law School

[fllaw]

I am glad people attending the school are having a good time, and that they are appealing to people from around the world.  I do hope they rise, and that their graduates give back by providing opportunities for internships and post-grad employment to the ones behind them.  And I can see there was a real need for folks in Orlando to have a law school accessible to them (plus, unlike many of the rest of non-Miami Florida law schools, it's actually located in a city with an international airport).  UF and FSU might be the highest ranked, but they really do not have any curb appeal being in rather racist small town locations.

I wouldn't consider it because of previous experience with FAMU's administrative side...(and not wanting to live in Orlando). 

How have you found the experience with financial aid and such?

I am not a native Floridian, but have lived in various part of the state. When my wife and I moved to Miami in the 80's we never experienced any issues at all. We both are from NYC and harbored some stereotypical thoughts about how an interracial couple would fare in the South. So anyone concerned about going to the either of the top ranked law schools in Florida should not use the poster's comments as a factor in their decision.

I think generalizations about a city or town being "racist" are uncalled for. Tallahassee and Gainsville in 2010 are not the same as the "old South"

[nde78]

I got my undergrad degree at FSU and lived there five additional years and I can say as a black female who lived in Tallahassee, I never experienced any racism.  Racisms exists everywhere so I wouldn't let that deter me from attending any school.

On another note, FAMU is notorious for giving students the run around about financial aid. having had family graduate from there I can attest to that fact.  Lol, my coworker, who is a FAMU grad, and i were discussing that very issue at work today.

[christylove]

I got my undergrad degree at FSU and lived there five additional years and I can say as a black female who lived in Tallahassee, I never experienced any racism.  Racisms exists everywhere so I wouldn't let that deter me from attending any school.

On another note, FAMU is notorious for giving students the run around about financial aid. having had family graduate from there I can attest to that fact.  Lol, my coworker, who is a FAMU grad, and i were discussing that very issue at work today.

You are correct about the fin aid....lol....

[Warbird07]

My ex Girlfriend graduated from FAMU COL in 2008 She had the worst trouble with her financial aid "Mrs Washington" there was total chaos at that school. She scored a 153 on her LSAT. She was weight listed at the other Schools in Fl. that she applied for, except Nova SE where she was accepted at $40,000 a year. I don't know about now, but there was so much dysfunction at FAMU. She sent so many letters out to Law Firms for her L2 summer internship and barley got one. I would definitely find some 3L students and pick their brain for information before sending in a application. I have been dating a girl recently that graduated from Stetson, and she had no problem what so ever with her three years there. She passed the BAR on the first try; unlike most of the FAMU grads. I know that FAMU had a hard time finding good Professors to teach for them. I do hope they get their act together, because they could be a very good solution for working class people who can't afford the bigger Universities.

[legalized]

I am glad people attending the school are having a good time, and that they are appealing to people from around the world.  I do hope they rise, and that their graduates give back by providing opportunities for internships and post-grad employment to the ones behind them.  And I can see there was a real need for folks in Orlando to have a law school accessible to them (plus, unlike many of the rest of non-Miami Florida law schools, it's actually located in a city with an international airport).  UF and FSU might be the highest ranked, but they really do not have any curb appeal being in rather racist small town locations.

I wouldn't consider it because of previous experience with FAMU's administrative side...(and not wanting to live in Orlando). 

How have you found the experience with financial aid and such?

I am not a native Floridian, but have lived in various part of the state. When my wife and I moved to Miami in the 80's we never experienced any issues at all. We both are from NYC and harbored some stereotypical thoughts about how an interracial couple would fare in the South. So anyone concerned about going to the either of the top ranked law schools in Florida should not use the poster's comments as a factor in their decision.

I think generalizations about a city or town being "racist" are uncalled for. Tallahassee and Gainsville in 2010 are not the same as the "old South"

Say what you want but with a black school pumping out graduates by the truckload, and many with good grades/resumes at that, seeing tallahassee full and overflowing in the government and public sector with FSU GRADS at every level kind of quietly, subtly bunks your claim.

EDUCATED black people are not getting ahead in Tallahassee compared to other cities that have an HBCU in their midst (DC metro, Atlanta metro, e.g.) nor compared to FSU grads and if you check out the more family friendly side of town with good schools (Killearn) versus where most of the black people in town live (SE side off Lake Bradford/Roberts areas) you realize what I am saying.  There is a bias in hiring practices there for any REAL jobs that a college graduate would be angling for that favors light, bright, and white FSU grads.  And that's saying a lot since the place is not that sharp of a job market to begin with.

As an actual student though who has none of these real world concerns, or as a family with two working people (any kind of job), this doesn't matter...the college side of town has tons of fun no matter the colour, and families can find affordable housing on the NE side of town where the good public schools are if they are both working.

But when it comes to law school the point is to look at not just IF anyone is getting jobs in the area you want to live and work after you get your JD, but WHO is getting the jobs...

Same way i looked at around at OVERALL (not the exceptions) who gets ahead in Tallahassee...there is a majority black school right there the town should have much better representation at all levels of professional and government life of that ease of access to educated talent.  A ton of companies have great relationships with FAMU and come every year and scoop up folks...most of the blacks that stay in tallahassee are stuck in a rut of a life, and the only way to progress out of it is to use any experience they got while there to transfer out of town.

Being able to have an interracial relationship in a college town doesn't prove anything about the racism that affects people getting ahead with that first foot in the door professionally and financially.  The amount of interracial sex going on between the major college campuses and even the minor ones, I don't know that anyone would know the difference between the casual sleeping around buddies and the husband and wife types unless they were looking for the ring.  Racism is everywhere but it's more pronounced in smaller places and I have friends that have encountered racism in Gainesville they didn't see in Tallahassee, and thats going from a masters program to a PhD.  Not from the school from the people in the community and at their child's school.

I have encountered some nasty condescending attitudes and lack of professionalism and competence from FSU's law school so definitely I wouldn't apply there personally if my life depended on it, but I wasn't even talking about the schools themselves when i said racism I meant underlying things observed with the towns and reports from the upwardly mobile (or trying to be) in these towns.

[legalized]

My ex Girlfriend graduated from FAMU COL in 2008 She had the worst trouble with her financial aid "Mrs Washington" there was total chaos at that school. She scored a 153 on her LSAT. She was weight listed at the other Schools in Fl. that she applied for, except Nova SE where she was accepted at $40,000 a year. I don't know about now, but there was so much dysfunction at FAMU. She sent so many letters out to Law Firms for her L2 summer internship and barley got one. I would definitely find some 3L students and pick their brain for information before sending in a application. I have been dating a girl recently that graduated from Stetson, and she had no problem what so ever with her three years there. She passed the BAR on the first try; unlike most of the FAMU grads. I know that FAMU had a hard time finding good Professors to teach for them. I do hope they get their act together, because they could be a very good solution for working class people who can't afford the bigger Universities.

Yeah it's a bigger risk than the law school loans at a poorly ranked school to be attending FAMU at some campus where you can't walk yourself physically in the financial aid office and grab a few people by collar (so to speak). lol.  I won't take that risk at ALL.

[nde78]

I hate to say it, but FAMU's law school has the lowest passage rate for the Bar Exam.  I don't think I've checked the stats since 2010, but it was about 20% below the next lowest ranked school in FL.  Good grades in law school don't mean a thing if the program isn't equipping you with the knowledge to pass the bar exam.  When I worked at the FL Board of Bar Examiners I felt bad for some applicants because they racked up all that student loan debt and couldn't pass the bar exam after several attempts.  Hopefully, FAMU"s program has gotten better...I really hope it has. 

[FalconJimmy]

I hate to say it, but FAMU's law school has the lowest passage rate for the Bar Exam.  I don't think I've checked the stats since 2010, but it was about 20% below the next lowest ranked school in FL.  Good grades in law school don't mean a thing if the program isn't equipping you with the knowledge to pass the bar exam.  When I worked at the FL Board of Bar Examiners I felt bad for some applicants because they racked up all that student loan debt and couldn't pass the bar exam after several attempts.  Hopefully, FAMU"s program has gotten better...I really hope it has.

Don't you think that has more to do with the students than the school, though? 

I remember a quote that I thought was poignant:  "Law School is not a 3 year Barbri course".

A lot of high prestiege schools have lower bar passage rates than a lot of fiesty 3T and 4T schools.

If a school has a liberal admissions policy, then that means they're admitting a lot of folks who would not have gotten in to other schools.  As such, it does stand to reason that fewer of them would pass the bar.

At that point, philosophically, you have to ask yourself:  should law schools ONLY admit those who have an almost certain chance of passing the bar? 

Some schools are clearly like that.

However, some other schools want the opportunity to admit some folks who don't fit the mold.  At that point, it's up to those students to make the most of the opportunity.

I think you're right:  it's more of a long-shot, but not so much because of the Law school, but because of the student.

I just don't see that it's right to tell somebody who really, really, really wants to be an attorney:  "Well, you probably have what it takes to finish law school, but upon graduation, you only have a 70% chance of first-time bar passage.  So, you're too stupid to take a chance on.  Sorry, but we're going to prevent you from getting this opportunity."

[bigs5068]

Yea 59% of students passed the bar and if 59% of people in the same position as you are capable of doing something then the problem lies with you. No law school guarantees you will pass the bar and the bar is a standardized test. If 10% of the class was passing then it might be an issue and 59% is not great and why they have the provisional accreditation, but 59% of people were capable of passing on the first try so it is far from impossible.

[nde78]

I'm in no way saying it's impossible for FAMU grads to pass the bar exam.  I'm just saying that their passage rate for first time test takers is low.  I don't know if it's the admission guidelines or the program itself, or the students...just pointing out a fact for those who weren't in the know.  Yes, it's a standardized test, one that must be passed to practice law in the state of FL.  Just something to consider.