Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
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University Of South Carolina • Columbia, SC
Studying Law (completion in 1987)
• 10/6/2011
"The school provided an excellent experience. The only caution would be that it is not well recognized as being of high quality outside of the Southeast."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | You should not pursue a law career at this time. If you are intent on doing so, try USC for overall academic quality and value for money, as well as good social opportunities. |
| Program Reputation | 5 | It is not well known outside of the region. In the region, it is very well respected. It is also the only law school in the state. |
| Program Quality | 10 | USC is wonderful for law school. The professors are top tier, and of course the weather is great. The grading is hard, and on a curve, but if you make it into the top 10% of your class and onto law review, the jobs in the big firms in major cities will be available. |
| Instruction | 10 | The classes are not overly large. Every professor knew each student individually. |
| How Difficult | 9 | Law school is designed to be extremely difficult so as to weed out a good number of people through attrition. The subject matter is varied and challenging - lots of reading is required, excellent writing is a must, as is public speaking and solutions based logic. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | First year classes were mostly book learning, with class participation through the Socratic method. The remaining years were a mix of clinics, seminars, moot court, and traditional book learning. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 3 | As far as I know, there are regularly scheduled classes during normal weekday school hours. There are no weekend or evening programs. |
| Academic Facilities | 9 | The facilities and resources are top notch. An added bonus is that the school is relatively small, so there are no lines or waiting lists for materials, and professors are accessible. |
| Social Life | 9 | People are extremely friendly and outgoing. There are plenty of activities at the school to attend. |
| Placement Services | 4 | It depends on who you befriend. Much of the placement is informal word of mouth. |
| Alumni Network | 3 | The network for out of state alumni is not helpful. The reason for this could be that the majority of graduates stay in South Carolina. |
University Of South Carolina • Columbia, SC
Studying JD (completion in 2009)
• 10/27/2011
"The education was adequate. The school was expensive so I didn't think it was a great value for the money."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | I'd certainly tell them to look at other options. Many schools give the same quality education for less money. |
| Program Reputation | 3 | The school has recently dropped out of the top 100. The ranking is lower compared to schools in surrounding states. |
| Program Quality | 5 | Courses were average. There were not very many specialty subjects. |
| Instruction | 8 | The professors were above average in many cases. Some of the younger ones were leaving for better known schools. |
| How Difficult | 5 | No basis to compare since this is the only law school I attended. Seemed to be able to complete the work in the time allotted, though. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Most courses were totally book based. There was very little hands on experience. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 2 | No night classes. No weekend classes. Summer offerings were scarce. |
| Academic Facilities | 5 | The building is old and run down. The library has a very nice collection with excellent staff. |
| Social Life | I didn't participate in this aspect much. It took all my time to study. | |
| Placement Services | 4 | Didn't use them. They seemed to be poor compared to other schools I heard about. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | Don't have much contact with them. They mostly write when they want money. |
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