How much should scholarships matter?

[bigs5068]

I don't know maybe FCSL has a different curve, but the  one at my school is listed below. I remember asking on my tour originally if they kicked out 25% of the class. They told me no of course not we honestly want the student's to stay we are a business and each student is paying them thousands of dollars. If they kick a student out they lose a ton of money, but they need to abide by ABA regulations. At my 10% of the class has to get a C+ that is the most lenient a professor can be. You need a 2.15 to continue, but looking at the curve below you can see it is not mandatory to cut 25% or 15% of the class. Again, no school wants to have attrition each student is paying them money. If someone is paying you money and capable of passing the bar you will gladly take 60,000 more dollars from them and let them boost your school's statistics by passing the bar. It would make 0 sense to kick out student's capable of passing the bar. So if 100% of the student's appear capable of passing the bar they will keep them around. That is just my school's curve obviously look at each individual school's handbook and look at the curve as I am sure it varies.


A- and above
20% Maximum
5%-Minimum
B- and above
70% Maximum
45% Miminum
C- and below
20% Maximum
10% Minimum
D and below
5% Maximum
0% Minimum

I agree there is a rank in a region and in Florida again going to Florida makes perfect sense it is in State Tuition and the cheapest school there is in the area. No question Florida is the place to go if you want to be in Florida. In the Bay Area this is a common trap there are 6 ABA schools and a few CBA ones. The ABA schools are Stanford, Berkley, Hastings, Santa Clara, USF, GGU. Then McGeorge and Davis are also very nearby. Many people transfer from GGU to Santa Clara, or from USF to Hastings.  However, no matter which of those schools you go to you will second fiddle in the bay area to Stanford, Berkley, and anyone that wants to come up from UCLA or USC. California there are a lot of schools and unless you go to Stanford, Berkley, UCLA, or USC. Nobody is going to be all that impressed so you might as well get out cheaply.

New York I imagine it is the same. NYU and Columbia dominate. NYLS, Brooklyn, Cardozo, Touro, all of those schools just compete against eachother, but OCI firms will go to NYU and Columbia. The other students will be left to find jobs on their own unless they are in the top 10-20% or so of their class and there is an 80%-90% chance that won't happen.

[louiebstef]

I agree that most schools are regional, but there is a ranking within each region that is important. In FL (in order): UF, FSU, UM, Stetson, T4s (total of 11 ABA approved law schools). UF/FSU can also do well in the bordering states and SE generally. The regional rankings do not change as often as the T2 rankings in USNWR. It is important to know where your school stands because employers to care. (I don't necessarily agree that it should be a big factor because I agree that people at T1s & T4s have both the potential to be great attorneys and the potential to be terrible attorneys, but unfortunately school reputation carries a lot of weight.)

You did it yet AGAIN, Cicero.  Completely agree with you on everything.  In fact, you have just called out my preference list, pretty much in order, LOL.

[bigs5068]

Are there some kind of published regional rankings?

[louiebstef]

Not that I know of.

I am lucky to be in one of the very few ABA-accredited paralegal programs in Florida.  My exposure to adjuncts that are practicing attorneys and judges has indicated that most of it revolves around the school's reputation in the profession.  They also much echo what Cicero said in terms of how the FL schools fare in that game.

[bigs5068]

I see it would at least make some sense if they did it locally and had people that actually were familiar with the schools ranking them, but it would be nicer to have a bet more in-depth analysis than a scantron of very good, good, average, or marginal. Of course the rankings do mean "something", but is getting a degree from Stetson worth 100,000 more than a J.D. from Florida International. Remember either will give you the same rights in court. I am a 2L so I obviously do not know much up to this point, but I know a lot of people in different fields and some went to great schools UCLA, USC etc and they do not have a job and I know others from UCLA, USC who are doing great for themselves. I also know people that went to Chico State and Fresno State one guy who never went to college who are doing very well for themselves. There are also people from Chico, Fresno, etc not doing so hot.. All I am trying to say is generally speaking education is what you make of it, and no matter what school you go to and what field you are in it is a bit of a rip-off, because no school guarantees you a job upon graduation. Yet you have to pay exorbitant amounts of money, so I always think you should get a legitimate degree as cheaply as you can. Any ABA school allows you to sit for the bar and become an attorney and if you are good it will get figured out. If you are not it will also get figured it out.

Honestly, I just really think they are GREAT schools Harvard, Yale, Stanford, which of course will open doors. However, schools like Stetson, Montana, FIU, Gonzaga, Hastings, Nebraska, Oregon, Michigan State, etc what will any of those do for you? Nobody is going to hand you a job from any of those schools you will likely be stuck in the region it is located, and I am sure the OCI at any of them is not amazing and you will need to do the job hunting yourself. All of those schools will teach you the law and allow you to sit for the bar. If Montana wants you to pay 100K and Gonzaga says we can teach you the law and allow you to sit for the bar for 30K then do that. You are either ELITE or your not. Florida might be an exception, because there are no ELITE schools in the state. So Florida and Florida State will probably do a good job for you and they are in-state tuition so if you want to live in Florida those are the schools to go to.

[louiebstef]

Bigs,

It has always been (and will always remain) the fact that success in ANY field can be attributed to: ABILITY, PASSION, and the two most important things: HARD WORK and NETWORKING.

I am only a 2nd term Junior (law school in 2012), and am already building a solid network in the local legal community.

My distinct advantage is the 25 years plus of real world grinding (and kicks in the ass) that have gotten my head properly in the game.
I agree with you that maybe T-14 makes a difference.  But after that, it's all about what you do with what you have.

just MY two cents (make that a PENNY with inflation)