Philadelphia Schools Forum

[benk2493]

Hello,
The city of brotherly love is my home and I want to practice health law in Philly after law school (work for a hospital or a public health thing like the Health Law Project). I would love some advice on the schools in the area. There's strangely little up-to-date chatter about the Philly schools on these forums.
I got a near-full ride to Rutgers, a full ride to Penn state and Penn State Dickinson, a full ride to the Drexel Kline School of Law, and am waiting to hear back from Temple. I know Temple is ranked the highest, and Rutgers not too far behind, but Drexel's co-op program looks very interesting (they partner with hospitals). Honestly I'm shocked Drexel is so far down, it might be because its such a new school? Anyone with experience at Kline? Anyway, any advice about this would be very helpful.
Is it generally to go to a better school and have a worse chance of being in the top 5 or so percent of your class or a worse school and have a better chance of being in the top of the class?

[Clemenceau]

Not sure how much there is to say, based on your post. Temple is the best of the schools you mentioned, although from my understanding Rutgers isn't too far behind. Drexel is a recently established school and doesn't have a strong alumni base or reputation yet. That said, these schools are more alike than different, in that they all give you around a 60% chance of being a lawyer. Don't listen to old people that say things like "Temple law dominates philadelphia" (I grew up in philly as well). The reality is that you should be prepared to hustle hard to get a good gig from any one of these schools.

I don't know much about health law positions in philly. I did interview with a PI group once that had an in-hospital component, but I don't know how many positions like that exist across the city, and what qualifications they're looking for. You'd be well served to speak/network with some attorneys in that field sooner rather than later.

[Toni V]

Given your free rides and sizeable discounts, have you not tried for Philly’s big dawg?

[dbalkaran]

Are you not applying to Villanova and UPenn?

[benk2493]

Gonna be honest, I didn't even apply to UPenn. I wasn't going to go to law school if I didn't get a near-full ride to a school, and I knew I wasn't going to get any money to UPenn. Don't want any debt.

[nick417]

I am not sure how valuable the co-op program is at Drexel. When I was applying to law school I thought the program sounded neat. My concern was how many jobs are created through the co-op program or do employers view it is an internship and a way to get free labor. Because every school has clinics and externship opportunities to work in the community. I ended up not attending Drexel so I cannot offer you anything more about the program.

If you want to work in Philly, Temple is the best option (if Penn is not an option amongst the Philadelphia schools. Rutgers and Villanova place well there (Rutgers is surprisingly close to center city, 10-15 minutes on the Patco, and allows you to do externships in Philadelphia). Drexel has the prestige of its undergrad program but lacks an alumni base. Drexel has put a lot of money into the school with huge donations. It is building a trial ad building in center city too. Unfortunately, all that money has done nothing to alter its low USNR (if the rankings mean anything to you).

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Having said all that. The number one factor is succeeding and doing well in law school. Picking the school you feel most comfortable with is a must. Also, think of things like commuting time. 1 L year is a time crunch, commuting is a waste of valuable time. Picking a school where you can live close to campus is ideal.

Good luck.

[jchiles]

I know a person who went to Drexel wanting to do what you want to do and even after doing co ops in that field wasn't able to make it happen. I think you're better off going to temple or Villanova, Drexel does a slick presentation but that doesn't translate to jobs.

[benk2493]

Thanks for all the insight, guys. Looks like I'm probably going to go with Temple and try to forge my path there!

[Ronan]

I know a person who went to Drexel wanting to do what you want to do and even after doing co ops in that field wasn't able to make it happen. I think you're better off going to temple or Villanova, Drexel does a slick presentation but that doesn't translate to jobs.

I know a guy who went to Drexel wanting to do what OP wants and he made it happen--so i guess our personal anecdotes cancel it out. Drexels employment numbers are right on par with Temple and Nova's and the co-op can be really useful if you utilize it correctly.

OP, if Temple is cheap, that's your best option for Philly outside of Penn. But Drexel for free isn't a bad choice.