Limitations of CUNY? Forum

[carlygartenberg]

Hi all!

Deciding between New York Law School where I got a full ride + 1k toward first year books and CUNY with 10k scholarship a year. I feel like the only reason I want to be a lawyer is to help people aka be in public interest. On top of that, I visited both schools for tours and sat in on classes. I got the "this is right" feeling at CUNY and not NYLS both times.

However, a few people have warned me "specializing" in public interest before I'm sure (or have had time to even look at other possibilities) is going to limit me. Right now, public interest is all i can see myself doing, but most people say they change their minds in law school. Am I not allowing myself to have the chance to see other things/change my mind by committing to a school only for public interest?

What do employers in the legal world think of CUNY grads vs NYLS grads?

Will I get the same opportunities for public interest at NYLS that I will get at CUNY thereby making it kind of silly to limit myself at CUNY if I can get access to excellent public interest at both places?

How important is "the feeling you get" when visiting a school?

I have 10 days until I have to submit a decision and would appreciate any wisdom or advice!!

[FND]

Let's start with the big one: NYLS is known for section stacking, so there's a very good chance you'll lose your scholarship after a year.

[+] Spoiler

Section stacking means that you must maintain a minimum GPA to keep your scholarship, but everyone with a scholarship is thrown in a section together; due to the curve, that means a disproportionate number of scholarship students get lower than expected grades, resulting in a lot of scholarships getting cancelled

CUNY, with $10k scholarship means a total cost of about $1,420 per year. Even if there are strings attached to your scholarship, it's still pretty cheap.

CUNY is known as a public interest law school, and MAY do better at helping you get started there. It's still a bottom-rung school, and you'll be at the back of the line, behind Columbia, NYU, Fordham, and even Cardozo and Brooklyn students wanting the same positions, but at least it's not NYLS or Touro
NYLS is known as a joke and you'll have almost no chance of a job coming out of there. The one exception being family connections or interviewing with the handful of NYLS graduates who managed to get a real job. But really, nobody should attend NYLS, ever.

If you're sure you want public interest, you really can't beat CUNY for price. If you're not 100% sure, you need to get to Fordham, Cardozo, or Brooklyn (but don't pay sticker for either)

[QContinuum]

FND's post above is right on the mark and I second it.

I wanted to add the further clarification that by "public interest," we mean working for state/local prosecutor's or public defender offices, or local nonprofit legal services groups. Absolutely don't go to CUNY expecting to land "BigFed" (e.g., a job at the U.S. Department of Justice, or the Federal Reserve, or a gig in a U.S. Attorney's office, etc.) or a spot at a "national" advocacy group like the ACLU, EFF, Lambda Legal, etc.

[beinghuman]

The problem with these schools is that if you ever change your mind down the road regarding your career choices, you will not have many good options. You can help people without a law degree.

[we'rebothmenofthelaw]

It's worth looking carefully at the employment stats, because the objective information is what it is. I'm at Columbia focusing in public interest, and each New York place where I've worked has been full of CUNY grads and students. It's got a great reputation and network for public interest in the city. I'd be hesitant to go there if you're giving serious thought to leaving New York or public interest, but I think it's a pretty great and low-cost option for you if you're committed to public interest work in New York. I've also heard that it's a great experience for public interest students.