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Which law schools have you liked/disliked after visiting?
JPJ July2021
Core Member
Hi everyone! I'm really liking these non-LSAT related posts. They're a fun way to take a break from the LSAT. I'm just curious what law schools you all have visited and which ones you liked and disliked and the reasons why. Were there any law schools that you visited that you thought you wanted to go to but visiting made you reconsider?
Comments
University of Texas at Austin is my first choice
Baylor University is my second choice
Texas Tech is my third choice
UGA law school is awesome.
UGA is my choice also!
U.C. Davis - I grew up in the Bay Area and fairly close to Davis. The location of the campus does not appeal to me at all. Sacramento is fairly close, along with Vacaville, so I can see how some people would be able to get by. I just don't really like the location of the school at all.
U.C. Hastings - Nooooooo thank you. Not a huge fan of SF, and Hastings is right in the tenderloin. Talk about feeling unsafe and dirty! Not to mention the cost of living in or anywhere near SF is INSANE. ($1450 a month, 1 bed/1 bath apartment, no AC/Laundry/or dishwasher)
Stanford - Amazing campus, beautiful really. Cost of living around the campus is insane though. Pretty much any living situation in the Bay Area is going to be rough....it's out of hand here.
U.C. Berkeley - Closest campus to where I live. Campus is amazing and downtown Berkeley is a really nice area. Still run into cost of living issues however. Berkeley is cool because you are in the middle of some really cool areas. SF is really close thanks to BART. You also have a lot of open state parks near by.
Basically - if the school is in the SF Bay Area, your cost of living will be HUGE.
I visited Cornell and fell in love with Ithica and the school itself. The people were amazing, the campus was beautiful, and I love upstate NY.
WUSTL is a beautiful campus and amazing surrounding area!
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Lol 1450 sounds more like the best case scenario, no? In Livermore/Pleasanton, and to a lesser degree even Tracy, 1500 for 1 bedroom apartment is considered decent. There are many things I like about California, cost of living ain't one of them. That being said, I suppose going to Stanford wouldn't be so bad...
It really is! It was in Martinez - an old two story house that was split into 2 apartments (top/bottom floor) I had the top! haha
I completely agree, COL is one of the worst things about Cali....
I visited the entire T14 about a year ago. Just going off the campus and interactions with people, my favorites were UVA (by a long shot; who ever is in charge of marketing that law school to visitors deserves a raise), Yale, Duke, and Harvard.
Least favorite visits were Penn and Georgetown (very much disliked both visits; I didn't reapply go Georgetown and I debated not reapplying to Penn), Northwestern, maybe Stanford (the campus is pretty ugly in my opinion and you'd never think the building is home to a T3 law school. It's kind of a dump).
Everyone else was meshed together and fine overall. Michigan's law library is gorgeous, though.
Yeah, honestly, after visiting a friend who goes to Cornell Law, it's become one of my top choices. They place extremely well into NYC big law, and I wouldn't mind some time away from the city after living here for the last 6 years.
I get you with the location thing but the law school is nice. I sat into 2 classes and had the best experience... teachers were awesome, students were supportive -- I'm into that, and the admissions staff was super accommodating.
Are you planning to stay around Bay Area/Sac?
I've only been to Texas and Michigan. Texas I just happened to be in Austin for fun and so I did a self-guided tour of the campus. The law school is quite self-contained, obviously UT's campus/student body is massive. I wasn't particularly impressed by the beauty of the campus or the facilities themselves, they aren't in bad shape but they could probably use an update. Love love love Austin though. Really great city. So many cheap food options...awesome neighborhoods, especially when you move away from 6th street craziness. So many good tacos.
My brother when to Michigan law and I visited him twice there. BEAUTIFUL. The law campus is nice, the buildings are quite impressive and grand looking. Like someone above said, law library is unbelievable. And my brother was recently telling me that had completed a whole new building in the past few years specifically for the law students that is supposed to be awesome. I also really loved Ann Arbor. I visited in January, so it was obviously frigid, but the town is beyond quaint and there is a great and super friendly vibe everywhere.
I've visited the Northwestern campus as well as a prospective undergrad, but didn't seek out the law campus so I can only speak to the beauty of the campus. Great view of Chicago, Evanston is sweet. Visited there during January as well....the wind off the lake was unreal. I really don't mind the cold at all, but dang that was pretty intense.
I've visited Stanford, Duke, Michigan, and Harvard so far.
Stanford is jaw-droppingly beautiful and larger than I could have imagined. Palm trees, redwoods, incredible Spanish architecture, and perfect weather sure make it appealing. The layout of the law quadrangle, and really the layout of the entire campus, is awesome. Food courts, hair stylists, a massive bookstore, you name it, Stanford has it.
Michigan was colder but its law library is probably among the top 5 most impressive things I've ever seen. Some of Michigan's other buildings were breathtaking, too. There's a lot of modern architecture on campus, which caught my eye even more than did the exterior of the law building.
Duke was warm, too, but much more humid than Stanford. The campus has lots of Gothic and modern architecture. The vegetation is different from Stanford, naturally, but it's still a beautiful campus.
Harvard was different than all of them. The campus is fairly compact but it's right in the heart of it' location. The law building is rather old and rather plain, but the history of the campus is humbling.
All of these schools provide their students with an insane amount of access. It's truly inspiring to see. If you're ever in the area of any, I encourage you to check them out.
I visit Yale next week. Super excited for that.
Oh I don't doubt that at all! I've known a few people who have gone to Davis (not for law though) and the school itself seems amazing. The location just kills it for me haha
I'm going to go to who ever accepts me. As a splitter I applied all over the freaking place, and I'll take the best outcome I can haha That could be Bay Area/Nor Cal or it could be east coast!
How about you?
I feel you.. I live in Sac and it's dead loll
I'll probably be on the same boat as you although I'm hoping to stay in California (hopefully Southern California).
It is true that housing off campus is very expensive, but Stanford itself offers on-campus subsidized housing to students. You're still going to pay a lot, between $1,000 and $2,000 a month, but you won't be paying the $3,000-$6,000 a month for a comparable situation off campus.
I also entirely disagree with @"Accounts Playable"'s take on Stanford. They've recently built nice law buildings, and the campus overall is nice. To each his own, I guess.
It's not just housing! Everything is expensive haha BUT you can make it work. I wasn't trying to be discouraging, just trying to warn!
(I had to pay $15 for a turkey sandwich in SF the other day at a meeting....)
SEND HELP! lol
I'm from Canada and while Osgoode (York) is still my first choice, the campus is terrible lol. So much so that it made me reconsider attending if I got in!
I second Hastings being a hard no. I was super disappointed after just walking by the campus. I’ve hung out in areas with a lot of gang violence etc but nothing compares to how weird that area felt. I have friends who live on that same street a few blocks up and it’s a world of difference just up the street from the campus. It feels like you’re surrounded by zombies around the campus. I couldn’t understand people’s awful reviews of the school, thought they were just being bougie and judgmental, but now I get it. I highly recommend visiting the campus if you want to be scared into retaking the LSAT and getting a better score.
This is very insightful, thank you!
@"Accounts Playable" Really curious why you didn't like Georgetown. It's one of my top choices but I haven't had the chance to visit.
@LSATcantwin @"surfy surf" I decided not to apply to UC Hastings after reading about the Tenderloin area....(http://m.sfgate.com/local/article/Theater-star-leaving-SF-writes-open-letter-12219346.php ) I think I made the right decision...
@akistotle I don't think there's anything wrong with the entire Tenderloin area. That's why i didn't take all the Hastings' horror stories seriously and figured it was just people being judgmental. If you go up the street away from civic center and closer to little Saigon it's just a normal city neighborhood and it's much much nicer than DTLA. It's all concentrated in pretty much just the few blocks around Hastings. If you look at those maps of crime rates in SF it's red (for heavy crime) around Hastings, then turns orange as you go further up the street, then yellow, then green.
I work like two blocks form it. I see people shooting on the streets. There are needles all over the ground (used). People are sick and there is always an ambulance coming to help someone who has over dosed or is not in a great place in their life.
It’s half the reason I wanna do Law, people shouldn’t have to live like those poor people I see every day...
I visited Georgetown during an admitted students open house with it being maybe #5 on my list. But gosh darnit they wined and dined and sold the hell out of me. It's honestly like #2 on my list now; I loved it so much. I especially loved the people I met. DC is amazing too.
I see. So Hastings is located in the worst part of the area...I’ve heard from a friend that some students at SF Conservatory of Music transferred to other conservatories because they couldn’t stand living in that area.
I agree that people shouldn’t live like that! We need more lawyers like you!!
https://media.giphy.com/media/13pZuDHjtf7bag/giphy.gif
I was in LA on vacation a couple months ago and didn't do an official visit but went to USC and UCLA and just meandered around the buildings a bit.
As background, I lived in LA for a few years so I have some knowledge of the city. But I moved away from it in 2010, so a few things are also different since my time there.
USC: the campus is gorgeous, but the school is in a... not great part of LA. It's just south of downtown and has easy access to the light rail (which now goes all the way to the beach, woo!) but generally, it's not an area you want to walk around in by yourself at night. The campus is traditional with gorgeous brick buildings and open green spaces, but just off campus it is an extremely urban, kind of run down area. Honestly, it's the one thing that turns me off from USC the most, partially because I'm not really sure where students live or how they commute to campus. You'd have to go a decent distance away to find apartments that I personally would feel comfortable and safe in. And commuting in LA is not fun.
UCLA: polar opposite of USC. UCLA is in a super nice, upscale part of LA. There's a fantastic shopping and restaurant area right next to campus. It has a very college-town vibe in the neighborhood. It's about as safe of a neighborhood as you can get in LA too. The campus is gorgeous and feels a bit less compact than USC's. Unfortunately the light rail doesn't run in this area, but UCLA is maybe 20 minutes from the beach by car and everything you could need shopping or entertainment-wise is within a few blocks. It's also an easy shot over to Hollywood if you're into going to concerts and such. The downside of being in a nicer area is that the rents will match it. Studios close by run probably around $1500 but if you go a little bit south there are areas that are more reasonable and still nice and safe. Nothing in LA is cheap though. The law school itself was pretty old and didn't really strike me as anything particularly impressive, but I didn't see the library or go very far into it since I just randomly popped in.
So all that said, both schools were about what I expected. It may be a bit because of my bias from living there before, but UCLA really struck a chord with me and felt like a place I could see myself. USC would be a bit more of a logistical challenge, but its a great school and I'm still interested in it as well.
@benhancock68 @catgonzalez1974
Just curious what made y'all choose/like UGA law? Is it comparable with Emory in Atlanta?
@nicholasthomas127, I went to WUSTL for undergrad. It's a beautiful campus in a really lovely area of St. Louis - right next to the biggest urban park in the country! (It's even bigger than Central Park!) If you're thinking WUSTL, I highly highly recommend visiting -- I think you'll be really pleasantly surprised. And I say this as someone who grew up in CA and was surprised myself by how much I loved STL
I have visited WUSTL and U of M (Ann Arbor). I liked both.
WUSTL was a very pretty campus all around as others have mentioned. I was most impressed with the way the whole law school building felt like part of the law library.
I had been to U of M before, but the law school stands out from the rest of the university. It is built in a gothic sort of style and everything feels huge. It,s library was impressive in its own way standing out as beautiful. It also made great use of natural light.
Edited to note: U of M refers to University of Michigan.
@"Seeking Perfection", Which U of M is this? Ann Arbor?
@"Leah M B", Really hoping to visit Seattle someday. What's the University of Washington campus like?
Just so you know, that’s a very (very) minority opinion. Even for me, being on campus for most weeks for years and often not appreciating it at all, I wouldn’t dare venture that it was “pretty ugly”. Granted, I don’t spend a lot of time by the law school building or library, but it’s “kind of a dump”?—T’ah! If you think that, I’m really looking forward to seeing the rest of the schools in the T-14. They must all be something of a shangri-la!
Yeah sorry. I'm from Michigan so University of Michigan is kind of our only U of M. My sister did visit University of Minnesota though and I had her drop by the law school which she says is ugly. She liked the area though.
It is depressing, but it’s the safest place I’ve ever seen where severe poverty and addiction are visible. I’d also mention that you’d be surprised how much fun you can have at some of the bars in that area. And that’s coming from someone who is not to big (at all) on SF nightlife options.
Still, it’s hard to walk market and see ppl live like that. No one should ever have to, and that applies triply for the Bay.—A.c.S
I'm not sure where @"Accounts Playable" is from, but one thing I will note in general (though I don't know anything about Stanford's campus) is that I think California has very unique aesthetics. When I first moved from Oregon to college in Southern CA, I remember thinking that my school's campus felt like it was 80% cement and people kept telling me how beautiful the foothills were and I was super confused. Those brown hills with the scrawny dead trees and brown grass? Are we looking at the same hills? It took me a while to understand desert beauty - it's a totally different vibe than the Oregonian forests and mountains I was used to haha. So, possibly the California vibe is just not for everyone. (For the record, I learned to love it and totally get it now.)
@lsatplaylist You should visit! It's gorgeous. Seriously, I think Seattle is one of the most beautiful cities in the country. There are lakes and waterways everywhere, mountains in the distance, lots of fun things to do, good coffee and beer. UW is known for their cherry blossoms... it's a hayfever nightmare but is so beautiful haha (the blossoms have their own twitter: https://twitter.com/uwcherryblossom). The campus is really gorgeous, and the law school itself is somewhat new (built in 2003) so that's nice. The campus is right along the water, you can walk to a popular kayak rental spot. Lots of shopping, restaurants, and bars close by. To sum up: it is great. haha
@"Leah M B", That sounds amazing. I like the PNW. Are you from Seattle or did you move there as an adult?
I grew up in Oregon but moved to Seattle in 2010 after being in Los Angeles for work and school for a while. So, as an adult. I will say, Seattle has been growing massively in the last several years and rents have gone crazy with it. So, the biggest downside is traffic is a bit crazy now and it’s not as affordable as it used to be even a few years ago. It’s finally starting to stabilize just a bit but still trending up. It’s still a wonderful city but I miss my $850 rent... 1 bedrooms are now on average around $1300-1400. Ugh. All around though, it’s still an awesome place to live.
Really! I had crossed Cornell off my list because I really want to be in a diverse area for the three years of law school. How diverse was the campus/surrounding area?
I've only visited Harvard becuse we had a 24 hour layover in Boston and I wanted to at least see the campus while we had some free time at night. We wandered the law school grounds and visited a couple shops at Harvard Square and it was quite nice. I can't speak for all, but for me, Harvard always seemed like this impossible dream and even the thought of visiting made me feel 'out of place' initially but I soon realized it's just like any other school, which helped to normalize it for me.
From what I saw of the school, it exudes wealth. Not necessarily because the campus was overly nice but just becaue of all the amenities. The square was full of cool restaurants and stores and we visited The Harvard Shop to buy some swag. The store is run by students who were very, very nice and personable. We asked them about their experience at the school and they couldn't have better things to say. They wished me good luck on my law school ambitions and hoped I'd get in. I actually found it really comforting to know that the people there seemed down to earth and approachable because that's something of importance to me.
Boston itself and the surrounding area seems absolutely amazing. We took 3 or 4 Lyfts that night and all the drivers were warm and personable which I thought said a lot about the city. Overall, the quick visit semented Harvard as a definite top on my list of goal schools.
What do you mean by "diverse"? Culturally diverse?
I did not like Georgetown's law campus much at all either. Although it is just minutes walk from the capitol, it is completely separate from the main campus and small. It's surrounded by business buildings so it feels very industrial and cold. Living near the campus would be ridiculously expensive, so commuting is a must unless you can live on campus (FYI they don't allow married couples to live on campus unless both are attending law school).
Yes
I don't ever really pay attention to that type of stuff, so I'm probably not the best person to ask. I also spent most of my time insulated inside College Town, and I thought the students represented a culturally diverse population. Coming from a larger city, though, I definitely think there are likely more culturally diverse places if that's something you value.
The reminds me, I actually really enjoyed Georgetown's campus! I guess it comes down to personal preference, because the exact reasons you mentioned not liking it are why I like it, hehe! I like the industrial feel
Definitely going to be adding Georgetown to my list!
I've only been to UofM and Texas-Austin. Both huge thumbs up!
Michigan is beautiful, the city is great, especially if you prefer a true college town atmosphere. And nothing beats and arbor on game day! Even if you don't care about sports, the excitement and personality is fun.
Texas has a really nice campus, not as picturesque as michigan, but still great. And it helps that it's seemingly always sunny and 75 vs 5 and snowing! Austin is incredible. I have good friends from undergrad who are obsessed with the city, and visiting I've seen why. It's gorgeous, walkable, there are countless bars, restaurants, parks etc. Tons of music/arts festivals, outdoor concerts and performances. The art scene is crazy. Lake Travis is a great place to hang out and knock back some beers. If Texas did a better job placing out of state austin would push them way up my list!
@"Accounts Playable"
Can you elaborate more on what you liked about UVA? They're one of my top choices, of I get in (been under review for 1.5 months), but Idk if I'll get a chance to visit. I'd love as much info as possible from people thatve seen Charlottesville firsthand!
UCI campus overall is beautiful and peaceful, with Aldrich Park in the center. The actual law buildings are modern, not the architecture you would see in older law schools in the East Coast but still respectable and clean. The library had plenty of tables and study rooms.
I have visited all the UC law schools as I grew up in the bay area. My favorites if I were accepted are Cal and UCLA. Please, do not think if you are accepted to Cal or UC Hastings that you can commute into the bay area from Tracy or Stockton, it is too far. It would be helpful if you had a relative or a friend that you knew living in the SF Bay area, otherwise the cost of rentals is extremely high, as in $3000 or more for rent. One guy bought a bus to go to Berkeley as the student housing wanted 1600 for a room share and he felt it was too much. Stanford and Santa Clara University have the most beautiful campuses in the bay area I feel, but again there is the challenge of finding housing, unless you can luck out with an on campus place. If you want to attend in CA, UC Davis has perhaps the cheapest housing, but there is not much to do in Davis, other than go to Tahoe or SF if you have free time.
In Southern CA, I also visited USC and UCLA law schools. I love USC, but it is surrounded by a crime challenged area. UCLA law is a favorite of mine, but I have heard not all grad students can get on campus housing, and the area around Westwood, West LA can be expensive. UC Irvine and USD law have very nice campus facilities and are in nice areas, housing would be cheaper than SF bay area.
In Florida, I have visited all the main Florida law schools. UF and FSU both have fairly cheap rentals in Gainesville and Tallahassee, but you might not like those towns if you are from a big city. I have also visited FIU law and University of Miami, and I love being in Miami, but the housing is pretty pricey there as well. Stetson Law in Tampa is a gorgeous campus with a pool by the law school, and Stetson has a great rep amongst Florida attorneys.
I have also visited UT Austin and Tulane and I like both law schools. I think it would be great fun to live in New Orleans and attend Tulane, but I have heard it is challenging to find work in Louisiana.