NY Public Service/Government: CUNY Law vs Hofstra vs SUNY Buffalo

[JLaw18]

Greetings,

I am currently looking for any and all opinions on which law school to attend. I am interested in a career as a lawyer with a criminal justice agency/district attorney's office and am wondering which schools I should consider.

Top Choices:

CUNY Law- Toured and sat in on a contracts class. Enjoyed the atmosphere. Found extra-curricular activities especialy athletics to be a bit limited.

Hofstra Law- $20,000 Scholarship (Top 40% of class requirement)

SUNY Buffalo- $5,000 Scholarship (Unconditional) High rank and low tuition but the location really puts me off.

Other Choices:

St John's University- No Scholarship

Pace Law: $22,000 Scholarship (B Average Requirement)

Thank You for your time!

[JLaw18]

Any opinions would be appreciated 

[bigs5068]

CUNY is probably the best buy, I worked in the New York City Law Department and a ton of CUNY Grads worked there. With the tuition being so cheap it is still cheaper than those schools that offered you scholarships.

[JLaw18]

Thanks for the advice. I negotiated up a 5k admissions tuition so that choice looks even brighter. Not free but getting close.

[sspeev]

Just out of curiosity, how did you negotiate with CUNY?  By letter, email, phone, in person?
I didn't think they gave out scholarship $$...

[JLaw18]

Asked to be reconsidered for scholarship via email with other school's offers scanned and attached to the file.

I didn't think they gave out scholarship either until they emailed me back.
They told me it was good only for the year and they will reconsider depending on funding for the next. Either way, a single email for $5,000 isn't that bad.

Guess it never hurts to ask politely. I should be heading to CUNY Law after seeing the friendly environment and half off tuition for my first year.

[THickey2010]

I would NOT go to Hofstra. I hated the campus with a passion... the area is horrible.

[xyz123]

Let me start by saying I graduated from Buffalo Law School. I too was hesitant to attend because of location. However, by the time I left I really loved Buffalo (although I don't live there now). Based on the type of work you want to do, cost should definitely be one of your primary considerations (quite frankly, it should be for any prospective law student). That is why I think UB is a great choice for you, particularly if you're leaning towards public service work. UB is one of the most well connected law schools in the Northeast for public service jobs. Admittedly, it's not quite as good at landing you those BigLaw jobs,  but for what you're looking for, I can think of no better choice.

I truly loved my experience at UB Law and proudly recommend it to anyone. In law school, as a 1L I interned at the Erie County DA's Homicide Division. During my 2L year, I worked at the US Attorney's Office. I then spent four years doing public service work after graduation and am now in private practice. I have much lower debt than most of the attorneys I work with. My law firm has lawyers from over 20 law schools and the UB grads are the ones always bragging about how little debt they have, yet they hold the same job as all those who went to those other law schools.

BTW--UB has a really nice basketball arena and a respectable men's program. Football is coming along and there is a very nice social scene in downtown and near South Campus. You won't be disappointed.

Best of luck to you, I'm sure you'll do great no matter where you decide to attend.

[CJScalia]

I'd probably recommend CUNY out of those schools. Good luck!

[bigs5068]

So true what XYZ said really be careful of costs before going into law school.  At the end of the day if you go to an ABA school you go to an ABA school and you have a J.D. and hopefully pass the bar. If you can do this with minimal debt you will be a lot happier.  Obviously, if you have the option of Harvard for full price or Buffalo full scholarship then go to Harvard. However, if you get into CUNY or Buffalo and also get into Brooklyn Law although it is higher ranked Brooklyn Law is not really going to open up that many more doors. If you do well in school and do good in summer jobs you will get a good job when you graduate.  DO NOT GET CAUGHT UP IN RANKINGS WHEN MAKING YOUR DECISIONS!!!!! U.S. NEWS IS A BLATANT SCAM!!!! ADAMANTLY DISAPPROVED BY THE ABA, AALS, LSAC and every single official law school organization. U.S. NEWS IS A PRIVATE COMPANY USING UNIDENTIFIED INDIVIDUALS SUBJECTIVE OPINION TO RANK SCHOOLS. So for the love of god use common sense when picking your school.  Harvard is a good school and you shouldn't need U.S. news to tell you that. However, there really is no difference between Gonzaga and Chapman or Williamette and Florida International and down the line. They are all regional schools at the end of the day.