Here are some tips for selecting schools, based on an analysis comparing each school to all others across dozens of factors:
Schools Concentrating On Lawyers
- Focus: For schools with a focus on this career area, look at Rutgers and Rutgers Newark.
Fastest Response From Schools
- Request Info: For the fastest information for prospective students, look at the Spotlight schools on this page.
Student Body
- Part-Time: For schools emphasizing part-time studies, consider Rutgers Camden.
- Diverse: For a diverse student body, consider Seton Hall.
- Adult Learners: For lots of adult learners, consider Seton Hall.
School Setting
- Out of State: For geographic diversity, take note of Seton Hall, Rutgers, Rutgers Newark, and Rutgers Camden.
- Dorms: For a residential campus environment, take note of Rutgers, Seton Hall, Rutgers Newark, and Rutgers Camden.
Excellence
- SAT: For students with high SAT scores, look at Rutgers.
- % Accepted: For selective institutions, look at Rutgers Camden.
- Class Size: For small class sizes, look at Seton Hall, Rutgers Camden, Rutgers Newark, and Rutgers.
Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
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Rutgers School Of Law • Newark, NJ
Studying Juris Doctorate (completion in 2009)
• 2/18/2012
"I got a good education at a reasonable price and got a good job after law school."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I got a good education at a reasonable price and got a good job after law school. |
| Program Reputation | 5 | My school is rated in the top 100 law schools, but just barely. |
| Program Quality | 7 | I was taught by good professors. It was not overpriced education. |
| Instruction | 8 | I had several outstanding professors. Most knew their subject area well and seemed passionate about what they taught. |
| How Difficult | 6 | Pretty average difficulty in terms of the program. I was challenged but not completely overworked. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | They offer clinics to 2L and 3Ls that teach you real life experience. I did not participate in these clinics myself though. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 4 | I had to take a class at a neighboring law school because it was not offered at my school. This course was International Criminal Law. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | Great new law school built recently with new facilities. Although the cafeteria could stand to a bit of improvement. |
| Social Life | 10 | I made life-long friends at law school. The student body was supportive, not competitive. |
| Placement Services | 7 | My career services people were helpful in my post-clerkship job search. They checked my resume and reviewed cover letters for me. |
| Alumni Network | 7 | When I was conducting my post-clerkship job search, I consulted with both staff members at Career Services, and they gave me great advice and communicated with me throughout the process. |
Rutgers Camden - School Of Law • Camden, NJ
Studying I Received My J.D. From Rutgers-Camden And My Undergraduate Degree From Rutgers College (Double Major In American Studies And Administration Of Justice) (completion in 2002)
• 3/1/2012
"My low rating is due in large part to its reputation and facilities (during my time there). Since then, the school has received a large influx of money and has improved its facilities and technology considerably."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | I believe the school is best for those looking to practice locally in the public sector. It is also a good fit for those pursuing second careers. |
| Program Reputation | 3 | As stated above, I think RU's regional reputation is especially poor. Nationally, however, I understand that the name is better-received, especially on the west coast. |
| Program Quality | 2 | Top students were pressured to accept jobs at large firms by my school's career services counselors interested in increasing the reported numbers of "big firm" placements. While graduating at the top of my class earned me a job offer at a large firm, I was shocked to discover that my state school education was somewhat of a handicap in the large-firm legal market. Specifically, partners at the firm assumed that while state-school associates were often "hard working," they lacked the intellectual sophistication of their Ivy League counterparts. |
| Instruction | 8 | I believe that the legal writing department at Rutgers-Camden was top notch. Overall, my education was as practical as could be expected, given the confines of the law school model (i.e., socratic method). |
| How Difficult | 8 | My coursework varied in difficulty, depending on subject, the professor, and method of evaluation. Upper-class courses tended to be smaller, and allowed for a greater degree of in-depth study. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Rutgers offered several public interest clinics that provided quality hands-on training. Most coursework, however, was book-based. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | Rutgers is known as a commuter and "second-career" school. Even first-year class schedules were very flexible. |
| Academic Facilities | 2 | During my time at Rutgers, the building facilities were terrible (intermittently operational elevator, almost no food/snack service) and technology was unavailable and outdated. Each classroom had between 2 and 4 outlets, so those using laptops had to bring their own extension cords. |
| Social Life | 6 | There certainly was a degree of organized socializing (e.g., pub crawls, etc.), but because the majority of students lived off-campus and many had second careers, the after-class socializing was very limited. |
| Placement Services | 2 | Again, there was too much pressure to accept job offers from large firms. |
| Alumni Network | 3 | The alumni network in the public sector appears to be much stronger than in private practice. Most RU alums I encountered as an associate at a large firm viewed their law school affiliation as somewhat of an embarrassment. |
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