Top Law Schools

Just about a month in, anyone with questions feel free to ask.

Hey!
I'm looking to apply to Villanova after I get my lsat score in another month, how do you like it? I would really like to go if I get some money...do you think I would get some scholarship $ with a 3.6/166? Do you know what program you're going for and how do classes compare to a pretty good undergrad program?

Sorry about the bombardment of questions, haha.

Thanks a lot for your time! -Dave

The school is VERY, VERY White, isn't it?

dbalajthy wrote:Hey!
I'm looking to apply to Villanova after I get my lsat score in another month, how do you like it? I would really like to go if I get some money...do you think I would get some scholarship $ with a 3.6/166? Do you know what program you're going for and how do classes compare to a pretty good undergrad program?

Sorry about the bombardment of questions, haha.

Thanks a lot for your time! -Dave

With a 3.6/166 you'll probably get substantial cash money, congrats! I'm not sure what you mean by "program", so if you want to elaborate on that hopefully I can answer that for you. Law school classes are nothing like undergrad programs anywhere. It's intellectually stimulating and there's plenty of work, however everyone's back on the same level because its a new way of thinking and writing.

kk19131 wrote:The school is VERY, VERY White, isn't it?

Yes.

kk19131 wrote:The school is VERY, VERY White, isn't it?

Vanillanova.

But you get $ if you are a different flavor

How's the new law school building?

Do you guys consider Villanova to be the St. John's of Phily or is St John's the VillaNova of NY?

kk19131 wrote:How's the new law school building?

Awesome in comparison to other schools, I think this is the second year its been open. All the windows are kind of annoying early in the morning with the sunlight haha, but other than that the building is awesome.

reasonable_man wrote:Do you guys consider Villanova to be the St. John's of Phily or is St John's the VillaNova of NY?

Did you go to STTT Johns?

edit:

I did apply to STTT Johns they threw $$ at me, I threw it back to TTThem

nooyyllib wrote:

reasonable_man wrote:Do you guys consider Villanova to be the St. John's of Phily or is St John's the VillaNova of NY?

Did you go to STTT Johns?

edit:

I did apply to STTT Johns they threw $$ at me, I threw it back to TTThem

Nope. I just happen to think both Nova and SJU are awful law schools all around. Full disclosure, I attended a festering TTT of a law school myself. I just find schools like Nova, SJU, BLS and the like to be particularly offensive as they compete in major markets, charge the same as top notch schools and offer pretty poor job prospects to graduating 3Ls.

reasonable_man wrote:

nooyyllib wrote:

reasonable_man wrote:Do you guys consider Villanova to be the St. John's of Phily or is St John's the VillaNova of NY?

Did you go to STTT Johns?

edit:

I did apply to STTT Johns they threw $$ at me, I threw it back to TTThem

Nope. I just happen to think both Nova and SJU are awful law schools all around. Full disclosure, I attended a festering TTT of a law school myself. I just find schools like Nova, SJU, BLS and the like to be particularly offensive as they compete in major markets, charge the same as top notch schools and offer pretty poor job prospects to graduating 3Ls.

I think Nova has one less T than where you went

reasonable_man wrote:

nooyyllib wrote:

reasonable_man wrote:Do you guys consider Villanova to be the St. John's of Phily or is St John's the VillaNova of NY?

Did you go to STTT Johns?

edit:

I did apply to STTT Johns they threw $$ at me, I threw it back to TTThem

Nope. I just happen to think both Nova and SJU are awful law schools all around. Full disclosure, I attended a festering TTT of a law school myself. I just find schools like Nova, SJU, BLS and the like to be particularly offensive as they compete in major markets, charge the same as top notch schools and offer pretty poor job prospects to graduating 3Ls.

This isn't appropriate for this thread at all, but since when is Philadelphia a major market? Most people here seem to plan to stay in Philadelphia. If they get the grades to head to NY or DC, then good for them.

nooyyllib wrote:

reasonable_man wrote:

nooyyllib wrote:

reasonable_man wrote:Do you guys consider Villanova to be the St. John's of Phily or is St John's the VillaNova of NY?

Did you go to STTT Johns?

edit:

I did apply to STTT Johns they threw $$ at me, I threw it back to TTThem

Nope. I just happen to think both Nova and SJU are awful law schools all around. Full disclosure, I attended a festering TTT of a law school myself. I just find schools like Nova, SJU, BLS and the like to be particularly offensive as they compete in major markets, charge the same as top notch schools and offer pretty poor job prospects to graduating 3Ls.

I think Nova has one less T than where you went

While that's inttteresting... That didn'ttt sttting quittte like you had hoped.

Well, your grammar is quite fantasTTTic.

nooyyllib wrote:Well, your grammar is quite fantasTTTic.

Nice... a OL with excellent grammar and a keen understanding of the rankings... You sir are a true find.

reasonable_man wrote:

nooyyllib wrote:Well, your grammar is quite fantasTTTic.

Nice... a OL with excellent grammar and a keen understanding of the rankings... You sir are a true find.

Nice... a law student/possibly a lawyer with horrible grammar...YOU sir probably don't bill any hours. Oh, and a truly rare find.

I'm done here Beach_Terror.

nooyyllib wrote:

reasonable_man wrote:

nooyyllib wrote:Well, your grammar is quite fantasTTTic.

Nice... a OL with excellent grammar and a keen understanding of the rankings... You sir are a true find.

Nice... a law student/possibly a lawyer with horrible grammar...YOU sir probably don't bill any hours. Oh, and a truly rare find.

I'm done here Beach_Terror.

Why don't you poke around these boards and investigate a bit before making an absurd statement. There are many on here who know me IRL that will gladly confirm that you are far from correct.

I too am done here Op.

reasonable_man wrote:Do you guys consider Villanova to be the St. John's of Phily or is St John's the VillaNova of NY?

Contrary to your misinformed opinion, Villanova happens to place quite well in Philadelphia.

HeavenWood wrote:

reasonable_man wrote:Do you guys consider Villanova to be the St. John's of Phily or is St John's the VillaNova of NY?

Contrary to your misinformed opinion, Villanova happens to place quite well in Philadelphia.

Thanks for clearing that up.

reasonable_man wrote:Thanks for clearing that up.

HeavenWood wrote:

reasonable_man wrote:Do you guys consider Villanova to be the St. John's of Phily or is St John's the VillaNova of NY?

Contrary to your misinformed opinion, Villanova happens to place quite well in Philadelphia.

Thanks for clearing that up.

No problem! My father is a managing partner at a mid-sized Philadelphia firm, and he (along with most other firms) considers Villanova and Temple tied for second in Philadelphia. Needless to say, his opinion on the matter is of considerable more merit than yours.

Comparing the Philadelphia market to the New York is ridiculous to begin with. New York is far more saturated with law schools. You have Brooklyn, Cardozo, CUNY, Columbia, Fordham, Hofstra, NYLS, NYU, Pace, Touro, and St. John's in the immediate area, not to mention Rutgers Newark and Seton Hall in nearby North Jersey. These students will also have to complete with the myriad T14 graduates who are jonesing for a job in the Big Apple.

In the Philadelphia area, you have far fewer schools: Penn, Temple, Villanova, Rutgers Camden, Widener, and Drexel, to be specific. Temple, Villanova, and Rutgers happen to do well in Philadelphia because 1) many Penn grades relocate elsewhere, and 2) there isn't a burning desire for most T14 grads to settle in Philadelphia, leaving relatively little competition.

But if you insist on comparing the two (very different) markets, Villanova is our Fordham--not our St. John's.

You're going to be fun to be in a class with....

I can see it now...

"Well you see, its understandable how you could make that mistake... I, however, had the benefit of having my father (have I mentioned before that he is the managing partner of a midlaw here in Philly), explain it to me and simply put professor, you're just wrong."

If I get admitted I know I'll get a full scholarship, but I just don't know if I believe Villanova has that much prestige...

If you're looking for national prestige, you aren't finding it here. If you're looking for a school that does well in a regional market, then you're in the right spot. To avoid making comparisons to other schools that are entirely subjective, which will further draw away from the point of me starting this thread, Villanova is a strong regional school that's only really outplaced by Temple (mostly due to their much larger class sizes). Penn is actually looked down upon, sans strong connections to the city, because they usually just take advantage of the experience from prestigious Philly firms and then peace out.

Also, can we confine this to questions about the school, not attacks based on tuition, placement, etc? Reasonable_man, as elusive and interesting as you seem to be, you're kind of being a pain in the ass. If you want to be more constructive, then please do so, but otherwise I'm just trying to be helpful to people thinking about the school.

reasonable_man wrote:You're going to be fun to be in a class with....

I can see it now...

"Well you see, its understandable how you could make that mistake... I, however, had the benefit of having my father (have I mentioned before that he is the managing partner of a midlaw here in Philly), explain it to me and simply put professor, you're just wrong."

Because you are just wrong. Rank isn't everything. Yes, Villanova is a T2, but because Philadelphia is a relatively closed market, its graduates fare far better locally than T1s like Cardozo and American. If you're going to attack law schools, at least attack the right ones.

HeavenWood wrote:

reasonable_man wrote:You're going to be fun to be in a class with....

I can see it now...

"Well you see, its understandable how you could make that mistake... I, however, had the benefit of having my father (have I mentioned before that he is the managing partner of a midlaw here in Philly), explain it to me and simply put professor, you're just wrong."

Because you are just wrong. Rank isn't everything. Yes, Villanova is a T2, but because Philadelphia is a relatively closed market, its graduates fare far better locally than T1s like Cardozo and American. If you're going to attack law schools, at least attack the right ones.

I graduated from a true TTT... I'm not an elitist by any stretch of the imagination. But frankly, if you think American or Cardozo or Villanova are anything but second rate schools that graduate masses of unemployed lawyers, then you're kidding yourself. This, of course, is a non-issue for you because I'm sure daddy will set you up after you graduate. But the fact of the matter is that no one on these boards should be led to believe that there are any good job prospects exiting a school like Villanova, in this economy, for anyone but the top 10% of the class. Its simply disingenuous, irrespective of what Daddy told you.