Law School in New Jersey (Rutgers Newark, Seton Hall, Rutgers Camden)

[TheLimaBeanKing]

Hello,

As you've likely discerned from the subject of this post, I am contemplating which New Jersey law school to attend in the fall.  I've been accepted to all of them: Seton Hall, Rutgers-Newark, and Rutgers-Camden.

Here is my reasoning so far:

I would want to work in either Northern NJ or NYC.  (I assume RU-NWK and Seton Hall have better Northern NJ job prospects and that RU-NWK has better job propsects in NY.)

Location of the law schools: Newark is a shithole, but Camden is so bad that you have to trick your car to drive to it.  ( I got lost once.   Trying to visit my friends in Philly, I accidentally crossed the bridge to Camden.  Zombie-like junkies roamed the streets slowly.  It was like a zombie movie. No joke.)

Rutgers-Newark has a beautiful, relatively new law building.  I could see myself comfortably spending the next three years there.

According to USNews Rankings this year: RU-Cam(65) > Seton Hall (73?) > RU-Nwk(80).  If I understand it right, Rutgers Newark was in the past ranked #40 (currently 80).    Most folks blame the change in rank on the school's minority student program.  By taking less academically qualified candidates, bar passage rates went down, etc.

Rutgers Newark does not calculate class rank.  I would assume, correct me if I am wrong, that employers take both GPA and class rank into account.  I would also assume that when dealing with a non top 14 law school, employers are risk-averse in their hiring practices.  I worry how much not having a class rank would hurt my job prospects.

-

I'm leaning towards Rutgers Newark, but the drop in USNews and noncalculated class rank freak me out.  Does anyone know if the alumni network is intact, or if the lower rank causes older Rutgers Newark grads to distance themselves from the school?  Does anyone have advice regarding which school to attend?  (I also have been admitted to Temple with $, but do not want to work in Philadelphia)

If you are attending a NJ school in the fall, please post which you chose, and your reasons for doing so!

[rider06]

Going to Seton Hall this fall...

Personally, I loved SHU when I visited it...the campus was bright and airy, everyone was friendly, and it seemed like a comfortable place to stay for a few years.  Also, it's a block from Penn Station, which will help me a lot because I'd rather take the train than drive to newark every day.  Also, Seton Hall's area seemed to be much better in terms of upkeep and appearance compared to RN's campus...

These are all reasons that may seem unimportant but to me they are significant...at the end of the day, where you're going to be happy is where you will succeed.  With these three schools, I would say they are all similar in rank, and that as long as you do well relative to your class (although I guess with RN you don't really know), you'll be fine.

But the main reason I'm choosing SHU over RN is that I was rejected at RN 

but since you want to work in NYC, camden should be out of the picture...your choice is really between the 2 newark schools

[TheLimaBeanKing]

With these three schools, I would say they are all similar in rank, and that as long as you do well relative to your class (although I guess with RN you don't really know), you'll be fine.

They are a strange school as far as class rank goes.  Their faculty takes the stance that they want to take the pressure off students from having a "top 10 percent" attitude and the stress that corresponds and take the emphasis from grade achievements, forcing employers to focus on the "whole package".  Meanwhile, in the student handbook, they say that they award Order of the Coif to no more than the top ten percent GPA achievers.

I guess if you make Order of the Coif, you have top 10 percent credentials.  Unfortunately, it would appear those that are near top 10 get a bit screwed.

[Towlie]

Yeah.. don't go to Rutgers Camden if you are looking for NORTH Jersey. It's just common sense.

[TheLimaBeanKing]

Yeah.. don't go to Rutgers Camden if you are looking for NORTH Jersey. It's just common sense.

My common sense was thrown into question when i went to the top northern nj firms' websites and noticed the amount of Rutgers-Camden associates and partners were comparable to those from Seton Hall and Rutgers-Newark. There are many reasons those attorneys could be there other than their school's career placement, but it had me thinking that Rutgers Camden might be a viable option for northern NJ placement, par with Rutgers Newark or Seton Hall.

[maxisNE0]

I agree that RU-C is just as viable an option for North Jersey placement as RU-N or SHU...     

On a side note, I visited rutgers newark today, and was impressed by the building and campus.. However, how much of a hassle is it to take public trans to this campus?  Is is ever a problem at night time?  How long a walk to Penn is it?

[TheLimaBeanKing]

I agree that RU-C is just as viable an option for North Jersey placement as RU-N or SHU...     

On a side note, I visited rutgers newark today, and was impressed by the building and campus.. However, how much of a hassle is it to take public trans to this campus?  Is is ever a problem at night time?  How long a walk to Penn is it?

I don't believe Rutgers-Camden is as viable an option as Rutgers-Newark or Seton Hall... just that my belief that otherwise was correct was called into question when looking at those actually practicing in Northern NJ firms.  It could be for numerous reasons...

Responding to your side note:  I hear it is 7-10 blocks to Penn.  The area around Rutgers-Newark looked pretty bad to me.  Lots of things that look abandoned and parking lots with barbed-wire fence security.  I don't know if this is normal in a city, but it looked pretty run down to me.  As far as public trans goes, I'm probably going to live there the first year.  I think there are Rutgers bus routes between the campus and the train station.

[sbr224]

Going to RU-N in the fall myself. The public transportation is actually really convenient; there is a subway system in Newark with a train connecting Newark Penn Station with the campus. RU-N is the 2nd stop. I hear it is pretty safe on campus, but I wouldn't walk from campus to Penn...

I had a similar situation as you, where I was choosing between the 3, with comparable scholarships from each, and I choose RU-N because you can get into NYC easier from RU than SHU, it's national rep is better in the event that you want to leave NJ, and many of the Jersey lawyers I talk to highly regard Rutgers' rep. There are also a bunch of local politicians that are RU-N alum, but I don't have stats to compare this to SHU's alum. Finally, going on the whole non-ranked thing... I am not sure what to make of it. Someone at some admit day said that if this actually hurt our prospective chances at getting hired, RU would have dropped this a while ago. This made sense to me.

[brooke]

sbr224 - Wait, hold on - I don't understand how SHU would be a longer commute into NYC than RU-N.  From SHU (1 Newark Center), it's a five-minute walk to Newark-Penn station, short wait for the PATH train, then straight into WTC or where ever a longer commute.  With RU-N, you say it's a short walk from campus to wait for a Jersey subway, then wait for the PATH, then you're in NYC?  There's an extra wait for a train and the actual train-ride involved there.
Just confused.

[sbr224]

meant RU-N allows for one to get a job in NYC easier. sorry, poor choice of words there by me.