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| Those were NOT the Law Schools I was looking for... |
UPDATE (10/11/2013): Paul Campos was kind enough to provide some clarification - JDHOPE27 was admitted to the AAMPLE programs at the Infilaw schools. While this does not change the basic argument here, in an effort to be as factually correct as possible I make this amendment here. Discussion on the AAMPLE program can be found here.
Much has been said about the Infilaw system already. In short, it represents a possible "future," of sorts, for the law school education industry: as enrollment declines due to skyrocketing costs and grim prospects, organizations like Infilaw swoop in to consolidate individual schools into its member consortium (currently three, possibly four very soon). Presumably they all gain access to shared resources and management, which in turn makes them more efficient and effective in their mission, or something. I'm not entirely certain about the so-called benefits.
What is disturbing about Infilaw is that it is a for-profit enterprise, as detailed in the links above. Not "for-profit" in the standard public/private law school way (as in "no, really, we're non-profit, see, really, just ignore the fact that we pay ourselves outrageous salaries and are exempt from income taxes and build new, giant buildings to attract new students and pay tithes to the larger university"), but "for-profit" as in "no, seriously, we're here to generate shareholder value, damn the student outcomes" sort of way. While some for-profit schools in other disciplines have been vilified for charging high tuition and leaving their graduates with few to no prospects, nothing quite approaches the debt load of law school, for-profit or not.
Exhibit A of this brave, new world would be the case of JDHOPE27, which was brought up by a commenter previously and was, in my opinion, worthy of a separate post.
A huge disclaimer up front: I'm not knocking JDHOPE27. When looking at his background he appears to be a non-trad, which if anything only makes me more sympathetic to his plight, as I too, once, was in similar shoes. I wish him and others like him nothing but the best. But, he does serve as an example as to what Infilaw is all about. Below is a screen capture from Law School Numbers, as I wanted to preserve this particular case should anything be changed or deleted post October 1 2013.
My point is a simple one: note that JDHOPE27 applied to twelve law schools. His acceptances came from Florida Coastal, Phoenix, and Charlotte. For those keeping score at home, these are the three Infilaw-affiliated law schools. If you observe the profile for yourself, you will find that JDHOPE27 is now attending Charlotte School of Law.
There is really no way to comment on this further without it sounding like I am taking a swipe at JDHOPE27, which is not my purpose here. I am, however, taking a swipe at Infilaw, in that the "non-profit" sector clearly made one decision, while the "for-profit" sector clearly made another.
If JDHOPE27 graduates, I hope he or she makes the best damn lawyer possible. At the same time, 0Ls, beware. As fewer and fewer students choose law school, realize that the law school cartel will begin to take on anyone who has a social security number, whether it is in the student's actual best interest or not.
I certainly count myself in among the "shouldn't have gone" crowd, and that was long before the for-profit law schools came to town. Watch out.
I certainly count myself in among the "shouldn't have gone" crowd, and that was long before the for-profit law schools came to town. Watch out.
The screen capture from Law School Numbers says it all. This is really disturbing.
ReplyDeleteAn earlier poster said that she will have no sympathy for the Class of 2016.
ReplyDeleteLook at his pathetic numbers and "credentials":
ReplyDeleteLSAT: 140
Undergrad GPA: 2.9
Major: Political "Science"
The fact that he gained admi$$ion to all three InfiTurd law schools shows conclusively that the pigs will accept almost any applicant.
His "Degree GPA" was 2.9, but LSDAS downgraded it to a 2.3 for admissions purposes, meaning it was probably a watered-down degree padded with meaningless credits. The fact that people like this are admitted should definitely take the "Doctor" out of Juris Doctor.
DeleteThose numbers jaw droppingly bad. You have to think that JDHope is of below average intelligence and/or has English language deficiencies (he identifies himself as Haitian). In any event, the guy has no business going to law school - even a 5th tier dump like Charlotte. I strongly suspect that he will fail out. InfaLaw doesn’t allow these types to graduate, lest it bring bar passage rates below what the ABA considers acceptable at accredited schools. Of course, InfaLaw is only too happy to harvest a year’s worth of (taxpayer provided) tuition out of JDHope before kicking him to the curb. It’s criminal what’s going on - and that’s not an exaggeration.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly, anyone who tries to stop this horrible exploitation of minorities is labeled racist and elitist by the limousine liberals who run the law schools.
DeleteSeriously, this,.and it's tragic pipe-dream salesmanship. I've said before that for all the pontification about "diversity" and "access" and other pollyanna ruminations about how the world "ought" to work, when push-comes-to-shove the only color most schools care about is "green."
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DeleteFantastic post, Duped.
DeleteNot sure about his English, but he would be of average intelligence probably, like most people. You wouldn't get even a 140 LSAT if you were significantly below average. But of course you ideally need to be a bit above average for law school, even wretched toilets like these. And his decision making abilities seem to be poor.
DeleteThis person will not make the best damn lawyer possible. His score of 140 puts him at the 13th percentile. Seven out of eight people who took the test—and anyone who pays the fee can take it—outscored him. Even lower scores are not uncommon. When people who do that poorly get into law schools, the LSAT has become a mere formality.
ReplyDeleteThe ABA should impose a threshold of admissibility. Peg it at 160 (the 80th percentile), and suddenly all but 40 or 50 law schools in the US close their doors. Dip to 157 (the 70th percentile), and maybe 90 US law schools survive. But the ABA won't stand to see more than one or two law schools here and there shut up shop, so it allows them to admit anyone who simply shows up to take the test.
This person almost certainly will not pass the bar in any jurisdiction. His useless degree, if he graduates at all, will leave him saddled with six figures of non-dischargeable debt. He is nothing but a vehicle for transferring large amounts of federal money straight into the coffers of a profit-seeking skewl that doesn't give a tinker's damn about him or the legal "profession".
These toilets should all be shut down, and the quixotic fantasies of special snowflakes should no longer be indulged.
Rejected from Barry, Whittier, St. Thomas, and Thomas Jefferson. Nothing but academic refugee camps, none of them any good. But somehow it took the refinanced and profit-maximized branches of InfiScam to notice that JDHope is going to be a good attorney some day.
ReplyDeleteNot.
Nice graphic, by the way. The scamprof sites are nothing but innuendo and empty verbosity, and show a stunted, deficient form of humanity. Here, on the other hand, we experience a robust form of humanity, with art, poetry, humor, and genuine emotions in every post.
ReplyDeleteSome of those pompous professors ought to just come here and enjoy it.
Can you please do some entries on the CLE scam. this profession extorts money from day one until the day you quit or die.
ReplyDeleteThe problem here is that someone who is Haitian, who either has English as a second language or grew up in a household where the native language was not English, who is likely poor and is likely black, is the least likely to understand the scam.
ReplyDeleteA lot of what the scores reflect is being poor, growing up in a non-English speaking household, maybe being the first in the family to go to college, let alone law school.
The problem is that this person is unlikely to find employment as a lawyer when he or she graduates.
If the supply and demand were balanced, sure, it may be possible for this person to learn the skills needed to be a good lawyer and to succeed. The reason he or she is being taken advantage of is precisely the severe supply-demand imbalance.
Contrary to what liberal politicians think, the supply/ demand imbalance does not create economic opportunities for most people like this individual. It creates failure and financial ruin for a high percentage of the people who go to the lowest ranked law schools. People like this individual are the least likely to understand the scam and the most likely to get no tangible benefit from going to a for profit law school.
Congress really ought to protect people like this individual by attempting some type of balance between the supply of lawyers being produced and the demand, taking into account that there is an extreme oversupply of already trained lawyers in the United States.
There are some real gems on LSN.
ReplyDeletehttp://lawschoolnumbers.com/ecupaul
140/2.8
Rejected: Barry, Charleston, JMLS (Atl.), Liberty, St. Thomas (Fl).
Accepted: Charlotte, Valpo, Appalacian, and Fl. Coastal (where he'll go).
These toilets ought to be ashamed of themselves for exploiting people like this. I think there is a special section in hell reserved for them.
ReplyDeleteThis is the outcome of an unholy alliance between limousine liberals (who go on and on about diversity, access for minorities, etc while lining their own pockets with taxpayer $) and "bootstrap" conservatives who believe in using government to nudge people into making the choices they believe they should make.
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