So, I've recently mailed off my application to the UH Law Center, and based on my LSAT score, GPA, and the fact that I belong to a minority group, I anticipate being accepted. I've applied at UT-Austin (don't really think I'll get in), Texas Tech, Michigan (only because they sent an application fee waiver), OU, and Arkansas. Arkansas was the first school to get back to me ( i sent in that application first), and they offered me half-tuition. Just based on the price of law school alone, I'm sure Arkansas will be the easy choice. I like their campus, I like the town of Fayetteville, and they are making a new addition to their law building that looks like it will be really nice. I am from Texarkana, TX, which means I get in state tution in both Arkansas and Texas. I've spent the past four years of undergrad at the University of Central Arkansas, which is a decent school, but...well...it's in Arkansas. I'd probably be real excited to go to the University of Arkansas for law school if it weren't, well, in Arkansas. In a couple of months, I'll have to make a choice where I want to go to school. I really like the idea of living in Houston and being back in Texas full time. However, from what I can tell, UH seems pretty much like a commuter school, without any real campus life or activity. I know law school isn't like undergrad where you have a ton of time to waste on social activities and procrastination, but I would like to think I'll have the opportunity to become involved with student organizations, attend some of the games on campus, and make some close friends. I am particularly interested in business law. After I graduate, I'd like to either work for a large company as a lawyer or become a lawyer for an Amercan Indian tribe involved with casino gaming. So, I'd like to hear from some people that attended UH Law about their experience. Based on what I've said, do you think UH would be the place for me?
Charles, send me a PM.. I can tell you pretty much anything you want to know.. I lived at UH for 4 years, did my undergrad there.. now I'm getting my masters there..
i went to UH Law Center. definitely commuter school. i don't know one guy who lived on campus. worked perfect for me, frankly. i was newly married and didn't give a rip about all the peripheral stuff. i wanted to live and practice law in houston...so i went to school here. easy enough. remember...if you choose arkansas you have to live in arkansas.
Max, thanks for your response...One thing that I've heard a couple of times is that it is pretty important to go to school in the state/area that you'd like to practice law in. While I like the U of Arkansas, the thought of being stuck in Arkansas the rest of my life really depresses me. If I went to Arkansas, would it really impair my ability to land a job in Texas?
My wife did undergrad and law school at UH. MadMax can probably tell you better than I can, but it was my impression the Law School at UH was really a seperate beast than the rest of the campus. She really enjoyed it.
If you want to work for an Indian tribe, I suggest you go to OU or Tulsa. If you want to work for a big firm, go to the best school possible.
I received a scholarship to go to UH law. When I went, it was a Top 50 school and 2nd best in Texas but its rankings have really started to slide. UH is not nationally recognized (although neither is Arkansas) so if you want to work outside of Texas or the Southwest area, it may be tough.
no. i just meant if you go to school there you'd have to live there while you went to school there. my wife is from arkansas. i usually don't share that publicly
I heard one of the reasons for this was because its law library was destroyed during Hurricane Allison. Any other reasons?
wanna hear the bad things?? the facility sucks, in my opinion. i hated it. it was underground. it was a freaking bunker. i finished law school in 2.5 years instead of 3..so i took a ton of courses my last summer there. i was there ALL DAY LONG. first class at 8...last class ended at about 8 or 9. there aren't good eating options in the immediate vicinity. but there are lots of UH law grads practicing law around the city. i too was there when it was a top 50 school. if you're really into the rankings thing, then watch out. i started my own practice so i didn't really care. i wasn't gonna interview myself, anyway.
The underground part i'll never understand.. the Law school got totally hammered during Allison.. almost wiped out.. As for the eating places, that subway is a little shady.. but if you haven't been back to campus (which I'm guessing you haven't, there are a ton of new dining places now...
This is true, the school was practically shut down because of it. Not sure if it caused the ranking slide, but it sure as hell didn't help.
i was there last year for about 4 days for the mediation training. i didn't check out the stuff on campus, though...i didn't leave the law school building.
I'm a 1L at UHLC. It's a good school, and I'm glad I went there. I've been very impressed by the faculty, and the students are pretty cool. It is definately a laid back atmosphere, but with a smart student body that keeps things competitive. The worst thing about U of H is the staff. They just don't care. Things are much worse over at the Main Campus than at the Law Center(any time spend at E. Cullen is too much), but I went to Texas for undergrad and it is a very steep drop-off as far as student friendliness. The best thing about the Law School is the fact that it is in Houston. The school is spoiled by this fact, and probably will never drop past the mid-70's in rankings no matter what they do. Houston is a big legal market, and Houston firms hire UHLC grads. Faculty come here because they either have Houston roots or they want to be in a big city market. The school could break into the first tier if it focused on it, but they'd probably have to can the part-time program and spend some major money, which isn't something they have a lot of. Hopefully the funding situation improves, as both the Undergrad and Business programs at U of H are supposed to be moving up quickly in the rankings. Rankings are really subjective anyway. UHLC is a regional school. The only national law school in the state is Texas. Pretty much any school you go to ranked lower than Texas will be a regional school, so moving up 10 places doesn't really help your reputation. UHLC tends to place much better than bottom first tier schools like Tulane and Alabama in and around Houston. UHLC students place better in Houston than Baylor and SMU grads, and the opposite is true in Dallas. Austin and San Antonio are dominated by UT and St. Mary's grads. So, bottom line, great faculty, good students, crappy staff. Being a commuter school doesn't hurt your social life, because everything just moves to bars in Midtown or Montrose. There are nice neighborhoods 10-15 minutes away from school. I had a good first semester, and I could probably transfer to Texas if it continues, but I've decided to stay. I hope that helps, and good luck on your admission.
Well, don't forget Frenchy's. Awesome fried chicken. Though I almost got attacked by a crazy homeless dude in a poncho the one time I ate there by myself. He kept staring at me and cursing and saying "cracka" over and over under his breath. But the chicken was worth it.
I did 2.5 years at UHLC and one semester at UT Law. I preferred UHLC. UT has more "prestigious" faculty, but they will never have John Mixon. Career services seemed pretty useless at both. Maybe that's the way it is everywhere.
I'm UH staff. I'm just gonna let that sink in for a second before I move on. Unfortunately I have to agree with the earlier assessment of the staff with one caveat. UH was designed to accomodate 20,000 students MAX. The school has well over 35,000 now. In addition the pay scale for staff is close to the lowest of any state school. Academic Advisors especially are severely overworked and understaffed. I think NACADA recommends an advisor to student ratio of 200 to 1. In my department, it's closer to 1500 to 1. There was an expert on retention that came to assess UH. Before hearing from the advisors he started mentioning mandatory advising, spending more time with students and generally trying to do a better job with our "customers" as he put it. I thought there was going to be a riot. People hands shot up in that meeting like they were attached to strings pulled upward by the almighty himself. And those were the ones that could contain themselves. Others simply started talking loudly back at the podium. After listening for nearly thirty minutes to our situations, the expert's tune changed dramatically. He said "You aren't running advising offices, you are running triage centers." He said he would tell the administators. I have no doubt that he did. I didn't expect much to happen but I was hopeful. Then Katrina happened. I have never seen people come together to solve problems no matter what it took. We saw a ton of students from La. non-stop from 7 am to at least 7 pm for a solid week. I'm pretty proud of that. But I still agree student service on campus could be much better. On a side note when I applied to UHLC I went to an open house. There wasn't a single Law faculty member present. The one core topic was how lucky we would be to get accepted. I found the people leading it to seem bored and uncaring. I was very unimpressed. I now go to South Texas College of Law. oh and bejez... if you need any help on something at UH, hit me up on the board or send me an email.
