St. Mary's Law vs. Widener Law Forum

[Shark3487]

Hello!

I've been accepted to St. Mary's Law in San Antonio and am waiting to hear from Widener Law in Harrisburg. I'm trying to decide where I should go. At this point, I am leaning to St. Mary's, because it'll be easier to find work/internships vs. At Widener. But I am open to hearing other input.

St. Mary's will cost me 20K extra in loans vs. Widener should I get the scholarship promised. I'm interested in criminal law and eventually after several years of work experience I would like to move to Philly.

Where should I go?

[cavalier1138]

Assuming that this isn't a troll: neither. Do not go to either school if you want to be a practicing lawyer.

[Shark3487]

Why ?

[cavalier1138]

Because about half of the graduating class from each of these schools does not have a job as a lawyer.

You did look up a bit of information about these places before applying, right?

[Rigo]

Thank you for letting me know St. Mary's was in San Antonio, because I honestly had no idea.

But hell no. Neither. Just no. If a school is more willing than fucking Widener to admit you, it's a total dumpster fire and a complete waste of 3 years as you'll likely end up without a legal job.

[Thomas Hagan, ESQ.]

https://www.lstreports.com/schools/stmarys/

https://www.lstreports.com/schools/widener-de/

Both gives you a 47% chance of becoming a lawyer, which is less than a coin-flip chance.

Edit: Whoops, I didn't know you were talking about Widener Harrisburg (I didn't even know there were two). Graduating from harrisburg gives you even worse prospects.

https://www.lstreports.com/schools/widener-pa/

[Thomas Hagan, ESQ.]

Thank you for letting me know St. Mary's was in San Antonio, because I honestly had no idea.

But hell no. Neither. Just no. If a school is more willing than fucking Widener to admit you, it's a total dumpster fire and a complete waste of 3 years as you'll likely end up without a legal job.

Lols same.. I also didn't even know Widener was in the Northeast...and I'm from the northeast.

[mjb447]

Don't go, and definitely don't pay money or take out loans to go.

[Mikey]

neither

[proteinshake]

Don't waste three years of your life.

[didgeridoo92]

Prime example of just how warm and kind TLS posters to those asking for advice

...

You are gonna get a lot of crap from posters (most of whom went to T14 schools) who don't understand your position whatsoever. You wanna live in TX (San Antonio specifically), go to St. Mary's. Understand that if you go to St. Mary's you will not get a big firm job in Texas. If you are happy with small firm in Texas, go there. I don't know enough about Widener to give advice on if, but I assume same deal - optimal outcome is an associate gig at a small firm near the school.

[cavalier1138]

Prime example of just how warm and kind TLS posters to those asking for advice

...

You are gonna get a lot of crap from posters (most of whom went to T14 schools) who don't understand your position whatsoever. You wanna live in TX (San Antonio specifically), go to St. Mary's. Understand that if you go to St. Mary's you will not get a big firm job in Texas. If you are happy with small firm in Texas, go there. I don't know enough about Widener to give advice on if, but I assume same deal - optimal outcome is an associate gig at a small firm near the school.

Prime example of how being "warm and kind" often equates to recommending financial and career suicide with a smile.

Both schools give graduates a 50/50 shot at being a practicing lawyer in any capacity. Texas has plenty of decent law schools that feed their local markets. There's no need to recommend a shit school just because you want people on an anonymous online board to perceive you as cute and cuddly (for who knows what reason).

[Rigo]

Prime example of just how warm and kind TLS posters to those asking for advice

Nobody has been unkind to the poster.
As for our take on the schools, the truth is best served bluntly with no room for misinterpretation. Unfortunately people close to us in our real life are yes men who know absolutely nothing and it's easy to make bad decisions if all we ever get are affirmations. If I relied on parental advice and anecdotes, I'd 100% be at a TTT and most likely really struggling right now. It would be a huge ego/self-esteem blow too because I would have gone in with completely unrealistic expectations and fallen very, very short of them.
TLS is great because it's really the only source of objective feedback many applicants get.

[didgeridoo92]

Prime example of just how warm and kind TLS posters to those asking for advice

...

You are gonna get a lot of crap from posters (most of whom went to T14 schools) who don't understand your position whatsoever. You wanna live in TX (San Antonio specifically), go to St. Mary's. Understand that if you go to St. Mary's you will not get a big firm job in Texas. If you are happy with small firm in Texas, go there. I don't know enough about Widener to give advice on if, but I assume same deal - optimal outcome is an associate gig at a small firm near the school.

Prime example of how being "warm and kind" often equates to recommending financial and career suicide with a smile.

Both schools give graduates a 50/50 shot at being a practicing lawyer in any capacity. Texas has plenty of decent law schools that feed their local markets. There's no need to recommend a shit school just because you want people on an anonymous online board to perceive you as cute and cuddly (for who knows what reason).

Fair, and agree on there being better schools in Texas to get the job you want. For what it's worth, in Texas, St. Mary's isn't considered a "shit school" by a long shot. I think we both agree that a job in Philly won't happen from any school he/she mentioned

[cavalier1138]

For what it's worth, in Texas, St. Mary's isn't considered a "shit school" by a long shot.

Are you referring to the law school, or the general university? Because I have a hard time believing that Texans all think that the legal job outcomes from St. Mary's are good.

[BigZuck]

For what it's worth, in Texas, St. Mary's isn't considered a "shit school" by a long shot.

Are you referring to the law school, or the general university? Because I have a hard time believing that Texans all think that the legal job outcomes from St. Mary's are good.

I've never met a St. Mary's grad and I do not think it has a good reputation in TX

I haven't spent a lot of time in San Antonio and it is the only school there so I'm sure there are St. Mary's grads there. But it's pretty solidly in the South Texas/Texas Tech grouping of schools. The type of school specifically named when people say "There are too many law schools in Texas."

[mjb447]

Unfortunately people close to us in our real life are yes men who know absolutely nothing and it's easy to make bad decisions if all we ever get are affirmations. If I relied on parental advice and anecdotes, I'd 100% be at a TTT and most likely really struggling right now. It would be a huge ego/self-esteem blow too because I would have gone in with completely unrealistic expectations and fallen very, very short of them.
TLS is great because it's really the only source of objective feedback many applicants get.

"You're thinking of taking out how much in loans to attend [a top law school]? Can't you just go to [local TTT]? You've always been in the top of your class before!" - too many well-meaning family members

[Johann]

https://www.lstreports.com/schools/stmarys/

https://www.lstreports.com/schools/widener-de/

Both gives you a 47% chance of becoming a lawyer, which is less than a coin-flip chance.

Edit: Whoops, I didn't know you were talking about Widener Harrisburg (I didn't even know there were two). Graduating from harrisburg gives you even worse prospects.

https://www.lstreports.com/schools/widener-pa/

id reiterate and emphasize looking at these stats and truly understanding what they mean. if you still decide to go, you should go to whichever school is in the city you want to work in after you graduate. feel free to pm with any questions.

[GoLandcrabs]

Prime example of just how warm and kind TLS posters to those asking for advice

...

You are gonna get a lot of crap from posters (most of whom went to T14 schools) who don't understand your position whatsoever. You wanna live in TX (San Antonio specifically), go to St. Mary's. Understand that if you go to St. Mary's you will not get a big firm job in Texas. If you are happy with small firm in Texas, go there. I don't know enough about Widener to give advice on if, but I assume same deal - optimal outcome is an associate gig at a small firm near the school.

Prime example of how being "warm and kind" often equates to recommending financial and career suicide with a smile.

Both schools give graduates a 50/50 shot at being a practicing lawyer in any capacity. Texas has plenty of decent law schools that feed their local markets. There's no need to recommend a shit school just because you want people on an anonymous online board to perceive you as cute and cuddly (for who knows what reason).

Fair, and agree on there being better schools in Texas to get the job you want. For what it's worth, in Texas, St. Mary's isn't considered a "shit school" by a long shot. I think we both agree that a job in Philly won't happen from any school he/she mentioned

If they aren't a shit school why are 53% of lawyers from there not hired.

[kalvano]

St. Mary's is a shit school. Don't go.