What do/don't did/didn't you like about BYU law?

[Donuthole]

I'm going to go with very white and predominantly male.

I believe my class was 60-40 male to female. Technically "predominantly male" is correct, but it only seemed predominantly male to the single guys.

[Donuthole]

Well, I didn't say anything personally, but my GPA and LSAT might have said words to that effect.

LOL

[I.J. Reilly]

If you didn't do the why Notre Dame essay then that's a pretty big tip off to them. From everything I've read about ND they really like to see the why ND essay. Not including one almost always seems to be an automatic WL or denied.

[Pheidippides]

Well, I didn't say anything personally, but my GPA and LSAT might have said words to that effect.

Lol, this is how I felt when I applied to my back-up school. You couldn't have screamed "You are my back-up" any louder.

FWIW, Babs, my graduating class was mostly female and of a minority of some type (to the extent you consider Jewish a minority, anyway). But the white males took all the high-paying jobs.

[I.J. Reilly]

I'm going to go with very white and predominantly male.

You're really going out on a limb with that one, aren't you?

[Babs]

Well, I didn't say anything personally, but my GPA and LSAT might have said words to that effect.

Schools routinely turn down the better scoring applicants because of an underlying fear of rejection.

[thesaint258]

Schools routinely turn down the better scoring applicants because of an underlying fear of rejection.

That must be why Chicago ended up rejecting me.

[I.J. Reilly]

Saint, you said you are a 3L. Do you have a job lined up? The economy's tough so I wouldn't blame you if you don't. What was your experience with BYU's OCI? Were you able to secure a good internship for after 2L? Are you going to be practicing in the area that you would like or did you have to settle on something else just to have a job? I want to eventually move out of state so what % of your class do you think are getting jobs out of state? Was it hard or easy for them? Hope this isn't too many questions.

[Babs]

I want to eventually move out of state so what % of your class do you think are getting jobs out of state? Was it hard or easy for them? Hope this isn't too many questions.

I'm pretty sure you're better off going out-of-state. Utah's market is flooded with BYU law grads, right? Last year 45% placed in-state.

[thesaint258]

Saint, you said you are a 3L. Do you have a job lined up?

Nope, my position was a victim of a combination of bad planning on the firm's part and the economy. I spent the summer in Vegas, and I really enjoyed it. The firm hired a ton of 3Ls though, and I could see the writing on the wall when they all started work after they took the bar. Even the attorneys had problems making their billables. Then the economy took a nosedive, and it really hurt the firm because most of its clients were homebuilders.[/QUOTE]

What was your experience with BYU's OCI?

To be honest, I didn't ever have to do much of anything with them because I got every job I've had during law school (two paid positions and two externships) through networking. I did have an encounter with them recently though because they called me in as I don't have a job lined up. I was so surprised because the person I met with didn't seem to have a clue as to what was going on in the market. She said Utah was pretty isolated and that there weren't really any problems. She then gave me a list of small firms to call and ask if they were hiring. I thought, "First, none of the people that I know who own smaller firms are hiring because no one's paying. Second, shouldn't you know who's hiring?" So I was a bit underwhelmed by the "help" they gave.

Were you able to secure a good internship for after 2L?

Yep. I really enjoyed it. The firm was in the middle of a trial so I had several opportunities to draft motions and writs that were submitted to the court. The one issue I had was that they didn't seem too big on getting their junior associates any kind of courtroom experience.

Are you going to be practicing in the area that you would like or did you have to settle on something else just to have a job?

That remains to be seen. I've applied to Army, Navy, and Air Force JAG, and I'm waiting to hear back from them. I decided to go that route because they throw you into the fire, and I wanted to get that experience. If I want to get out after four years and go elsewhere I can, or I can stay in. Either way, I'll have a lot more experience than many of the attorneys who worked at the firm I was at.

I want to eventually move out of state so what % of your class do you think are getting jobs out of state? Was it hard or easy for them?

I don't know about percentage, but I do have several friends who will be practicing out of state. Off the top of my head, I know friends who will be in Nevada, California, Texas, Wyoming, D.C., New York, Georgia, and Virginia. For the most part, I believe it was easy for them. I believe they did the legwork themselves (meaning no help from the CSO office), but I don't remember anyone saying they had a lot of problems.

[LA Ute]

I'm not going to mention my degrees on here because that never goes over well, but I will say that I am an Assistant Professor of Spanish, and that I am not a lawyer/attorney/advocate...I merely taught Spanish in the Law Building at BYU.

I do not teach English literature, but I do teach some literature in English. My scholarly interests include:

Jorge Luis Borges

Borges came to BYU in 1976 when i was a brand-new student there. I loved it, although I had no appreciation at that time for who he was. He cut quite the figure - blind, erudite, very South American in demeanor. Having just returned from my Spanish-speaking mission, I really enjoyed it because Borges spoke only Spanish while he was at BYU. It was, of course, very educated Spanish, which taught me a lot, and required me to listen carefully.

[LA Ute]

I've heard from Hastings and ND. I'm still waiting on Boston U and Vanderbilt, although I am expecting waitlists from both. I applied late in the cycle (End of February with a Feb. LSAT) and I think I've been hampered a bit by this fact.

Vanderbilt seems to place graduates nationally. I know lots of lawyers here in L.A. who went to school there. (I know lots of Vandy grads in Nashville, too, but that's another story.) I also know a lot of Hastings grads. Either school would be good places to go if you can do well there.

If you don't want to live in Utah, don't choose BYU (or Utah) unless you are very confident you can end up in the top 10% of your class. Then again, there is no way to predict that, so just don't go to either place -- unless you don't mind ending up as a Utah lawyer.

[I.J. Reilly]

Yeah, I would go to Vanderbilt if they let me in but it appears that a lot of people with my similar numbers are getting waitlisted so I'm not really holding out any hope.

As far as getting out of Utah, it's a goal of mine (I'm not even originally from here) but staying wouldn't be the end of the world.

Out of curiosity, what sort of law do you practice, LA?

[Hallelujah]

I know that there are a lot of former and current BYU law students here on the board and since my semi-request went unheralded in my Babs post I thought I would start a new thread to ask what your experience with BYU law was.

I am currently looking at a lot of different schools but for various reasons BYU is at the top of my list. The deposit is due on Wednesday so I thought I would get everyone's opinion. I'd love to hear the good and the bad to help me make my decision. Thanks!

The bad is that none of my friends graduating this year are finding jobs. The good is the tuition. A BYU education is relatively inexpensive compared to others and their reputation is pretty top notch.

[Donuthole]

If you don't want to live in Utah, don't choose BYU (or Utah) unless you are very confident you can end up in the top 10% of your class. Then again, there is no way to predict that, so just don't go to either place -- unless you don't mind ending up as a Utah lawyer.

I went to BYU and found a job outside of Utah without finishing in the top 10% of my class. It is not a glamorous job, nor is it the highest paying job, but it is exactly the type of job I wanted heading into law school.