Part time vs Full time

[nehsief]

Are they different besides length to finish? Gtwon and G.Washington both has part time division, which I didnt know. I have already applied their full time programs. But actually part time law school is not a bad option for me. Just wonder if the part time is like those executive MBA programs, which probably is less valuable than a full time degree.

[radioface]

here's one interesting article from the washington post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A53995-2004Oct22.html

if you use the search function on this site you can come up with a lot more. This question seems to be reposted every week or so.

 

[Captain]

here's one interesting article from the washington post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A53995-2004Oct22.html

if you use the search function on this site you can come up with a lot more. This question seems to be reposted every week or so.

Interesting... If you go to a PT program (GW for example), would you have to list that you attended George Washington Law School, Part Time Division? Or is it just fine and acceptable to put "George Washington Law School" and leave it at that?

In other words, how would a potential employer even know you went PT?

[prelaw200]

here's one interesting article from the washington post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A53995-2004Oct22.html

if you use the search function on this site you can come up with a lot more. This question seems to be reposted every week or so.

Interesting... If you go to a PT program (GW for example), would you have to list that you attended George Washington Law School, Part Time Division? Or is it just fine and acceptable to put "George Washington Law School" and leave it at that?

In other words, how would a potential employer even know you went PT?

For your fist job out of law school they look at your grades.  Your transcript will either span 4 years, in which case its obvious you went PT, or, if you transferred to FT it will show that you took classes over your 1L summer, an indication that you were initially PT.

[nehsief]

Just now checked the PT admission stats for both GW and Gtown. Big dip compared with the full time, espeically undergrad GPA.
I know some big school they even have different professors teaching the nigh class for the same course, i.e. the road scholars. I wonder if anybody has expereience with the PT programs for both schools. My impression is that night school usually has $$$ as its priority.
As for the first job, yeah, if the studentbody of PT program is so much different from the full time, it has to be a concern for the potential employer. Now, if the job is overseas or somewhere far from DC, the name like Gtown could be a factor IMO. 

[nehsief]

Actually Gtown has big dip in LSAT

Fall 2005 Enrollment
                                                Full-time program                           Part-time program
Number of first-year students enrolled               454                                     129
Undergraduate GPA (25th-75th percentile)             3.42-3.8                                3.34-3.72
LSAT scores (25th-75th percentile)                   167-170                                 160-166


And GW

Number of first-year students enrolled               413                                       122
Undergraduate GPA (25th-75th percentile)             3.45-3.8                                  3.29-3.65
LSAT scores (25th-75th percentile)                   163-166                                   160-164

Well, now I look at it more closely, the numbers are lower for PT, but not a huge dip.
Agree, if the course are same for both PT and FT, then the grades should reflect how you do. 

I guess I don't see how. If the PT students are not as good as the FT students at law school, it'll show up in the law school grades. PT students don't get easier exams or an easier curve.

[Captain]

For your fist job out of law school they look at your grades.  Your transcript will either span 4 years, in which case its obvious you went PT, or, if you transferred to FT it will show that you took classes over your 1L summer, an indication that you were initially PT.

Ok, next Q... if you switched to FT, and they see that, will they care?

Actually Gtown has big dip in LSAT

Well, now I look at it more closely, the numbers are lower for PT, but not a huge dip.
Agree, if the course are same for both PT and FT, then the grades should reflect how you do. 

I probably should've applied to G-Town PT. I only begrudgingly applied to their FT program though. I was also assuming that Law Students got a shot at basketball tickets... My alma mater has never lost on Georgetown's homecourt, you know... 

[Captain]

Everything I've read says that if you go 4 years in part time at GW or Gtown, you'll have employers who are more impressed IFF you worked during those 4 yaars because that shows commitment beyond traditional law students. Also, if you switch to fulltime, employers don't care because you made it through the same program as everyone else in three years...same degree. If you got in with a lower LSAT or GPA, you still hacked it and maybe got a better GPA in law school than others who initially got in fulltime (and they don't know if you got in with a lower LSAT or GPA...just look at DCB, or some of the other PTers who are getting in with good LSAT/GPAs).

Sooo SpaceJesus, you're saying that I am free to celebrate a PT acceptance to GW? Would backflips be in order?

[dbmuell]

Regarding the dips in LSAT or GPA, I think there may be a causation here that you're all not taking into account.  This would be the simple fact that people who are applying for PT programs are generally professionals, out of school for a significant period of time, who may find their way into LS by impressing admissions counselors with soft factors unrelated to their numbers.  Generally, work and life experience are going to factor heavily into this sort of application, and many extremely qualified candidates are admitted despite numbers that may average a bit lower than those of the traditional student.  I would imagine that the schools also realize that it is a bit harder for this type of non-trad to score the 170+ on the LSAT that they see out of more traditional students, as they do not have the time that others may have to prepare for it.  This is all to say that, while the numbers may indicate a "lesser" candidate, there may be a much bigger picture that the admissions office sees that shows them that a lot of these candidates are qualified and may also explain why part time graduates are beginning to find success once out of LS.

[Matokah]

I suppose what concerns me the most about the part-time programs to which I've applied is being fully able to participate in normal, everyday law school activities (clubs, journals, etc.).  Loyola LA does say that you can be a journal member if you're part-time, which is nice.

Another concern is that if I did do part-time, I'd be transfering to a different branch of my current firm. . .but I don't want to go into this field of law after I get my J.D.  Would this seriously hinder my 1L and 2L summer job/internship searches?  I suppose I could work as a research assistant for a professor and work around my schedule, but I definitely want to be able to get a job outside my current field if I went part-time.