New Law School Auctioning Tuition?

Check this out:

http://cgi.ebay.com/National-Law-School-1st-Year-Tuition-Online-Program_W0QQitemZ7043956843QQihZ014QQcategoryZ2228QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/National-Law-School-1st-Year-Tuition-Online-Program_W0QQitemZ9530054785QQihZ007QQcategoryZ2228QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Is this for real? Is this a deal? Seems almost too good to be true, tuition for only $1? I notice that it says that this is only for year one of the four year program, but what is to prevent a person from taking advantage of this offer for the first year then transfering to a lower priced school for the remaining three years?

I also noticed that this school has raised its price of tuition for subsequent years from $6500 at the time of the first auction to $10,000 for the current auction...

What's the catch?

 

Non-ABA.........does not qualify you for the BAR....is "state approved"......is $10,000 for the next three years.

So you get an unaccredited degree that doesn't allow you to practice law for a mere $30,001.00.

No catch, it's all there.

Correction.........you ARE allowed to sit for the BAR in California. But again....$30,001.00

 

No, I get that fact, but I don't see anything saying that a student couldn't transfer to another school (MUCH cheaper school) for the remaining three years. This does say that the auction is for the FIRST YEAR ONLY and doesn't give any condition of signing a contract for the remaining years... Am I wrong?

 

Is it true what they say about the deal which looks too good to be true...?

http://cgi.ebay.com/National-Law-School-Online-Program_W0QQitemZ7043956843QQihZ014QQcategoryZ2228QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

$1326 for FOUR years of BAR ELIGIBLE law study???

Can anyone understand this?

 

I called the school to find out if it was legitimate. They confirmed that somebody got a good deal. Looks like their new auction is a bit higher. I'm still a bit skeptical. They claim that they are just trying to fill their first classes which start in September (20-40 students). The program is supposed to be similar in nature to Concord's (not sure if that is a good or bad thing.)

http://cgi.ebay.com/National-Law-School-Online-Program_W0QQitemZ160002116214QQihZ006QQcategoryZ2228QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

The California state bar has confirmed their registration however.

 

I have to admit that I had about 3 minutes of temptation.

Then I got over it.

The present auction starts at $3000, for the entire degree. If the school survives the four years and if the educational quality is good then it's a bargain. Frankly my guess is that they're serious about providing a good product.

But I can finish up a LLB in two years, why chew off 4 years for an unaccredited JD?

 

Temptation is easy here... the risk/reward ratio is excellent.

After speaking to someone at the school, I have no doubts about their intention of providing a good product. The key here is what will the result be? After all, schools such as Concord have had the best intentions, but end results have missed the mark. How can someone go wrong here though by paying a few thousand dollars?

If I recall correctly, you're from Canada? If so then the LL.B. is probably a much better option as it is with me (since I have no intention of living in California and the unacreditted J.D. will be of little use to me in Alaska).

This could very well be a great fit for someone though.

 

I agree with all your comments, except perhaps that Concord has missed the mark. From what I recall (and I may be wrong on this) they have improved their Bar exam performance substantially. They seem to offer a truly interactive law school type experience, and the students, I would guess, benefit from that. They are expensive (relative to other DL law schools), but I think that if I could choose one California DL law school and money was no object (or all tuitions were equal) I would choose Concord.

Although I have to say that I have not really researched it, so take that for what it's worth.

For me the LLB is really a much better option. In the event that I ever go to a Canadian law school I have an excellent chance to get some sort of credit for it. Also, the degree is accredited, faster and in the end probably cheaper than most DL JDs. The ONLY advantage a JD would have (from my Canadian perspective) is that one can theoretically become licensed (albeit in California) without leaving your job or moving. That is something that the LLB does not offer.

But having said all that, I still have the teeniest little twinge of temptation that says for a mere $3000 (depending on how the auction goes) I could probably get a decent legal education and maybe even a California law license. Nah.

 

Perhaps I mispoke when I claimed they "missed the mark." You make some very good points here and it is true that they have had some success as an online law school. What I had intended by my statement was that I am aware that Concord enrolls hundreds of students every year... a very small percentage of these has finished the program and passed the bar. To be fair though, I believe that a big portion of the reason for this is the quality of students who enroll in this type of program. My understanding is that they (as well as all of the other correspondence law schools) will accept any applicant who is technically eligible for law study regardless of whether or not they are the type of student who is likely to succeed.

I like the idea of the truly online law school experience (apparently National Law School is attempting to replicate this with a lower student/faculty ratio). I really hope that it succeeds.

 

Dude,

Concord's first time pass rate in February 2006 was 45% BUT, as you say, lots of Concord students don't seem to complete the program.

I think that I agree with your comments on the whole.

 

Most new correspondence law schools do not survive the full 4 years necessary to graduate a class of students who pass the general bar, this is because currently in California just about anyone can start a law school but this will change when the State Bar takes control here.

I would say stick with William Howard Taft University or Northwestern California as they will survive the new state
bar regulations.

 

Wow, I didn't even notice the February 2006 statistics were published. Those are some encouraging numbers. Perhaps, all things considered (enrollment policies which are not up to ABA standards), the quality of education at Concord is improving?

 

Maybe you're right. I just have to love that risk/reward ratio. You have to admit that $3000 for the chance to sit for the bar is a smokin' deal.

 

Its not a smoking deal, National Law School most likely will not
exist in 4 years.

Why, because most new correspondence law schools dont survive that long and second because the State Bar is going
to regulate those law schools now instead of the BPPVE and very
few correspondence law schools will be able to comply with
the new regulations that will be laid down by the California
State Bar.

When the State Bar starts requiring correspondence law schools to publish bar pass rates those that dont have them or dont
have good number and yet charge outrageous tuition will not
be able to survive.

Second the State Bar will adopt rules with a bottom of which
when correspondence schools can not meet this minimum student-graduate/bar pass ratio the school will be forced
to close down by losing State Bar authority to operate.

 

In my opinion, for someone seeking a California law license, $3000 for four years of study (with the ability to sit for the bar exam) is a smoking deal. Obviously you believe otherwise.

Your predictions may or may not become reality. The truth is that you claim to have been provided with "inside information" which probably has been passed down the grapevine for quite some time. It is hearsay which may or may not be true... and even if true has a very long path to eventually become reality.

Now having said all that, it is possible that this (and any other school) will fail within four years, but that is just a risk upon which the buyer must decide. The next cheapest option for four years of bar study is twice the price and advertises a bare bones legal education where the student has little (if any) feedback. I guess it just depends on how much of a risk taker the potential student wants to be.

 

I just did a check on the dean of the school. The fellow's name is M. Scott Donahey

http://members.calbar.ca.gov/search/member_detail.aspx?x=83307

Looks like he has had a fairly successful practice for nearly thirty years and has managed to stay out of trouble (the undergraduate Stanford degree looks pretty nice too). This has to be a good sign for this new school and its future students.

On another note:

Michael Narkin of Saratoga University was mentioned recently. I thought I'd check out his record as well... Looks like there were a few warning signs for students there. I'm not sure if this has previously been discussed:

http://members.calbar.ca.gov/search/member_detail.aspx?x=59793

 

Again I think the best schools and ones with no problem of suriving the new regulations are William Howard Taft
and Northwestern California.

They will just have to eliminate everything but the BAR QUALIFYING J.D. degree.

Both schools have a long track record of attorneys practicing law in California, albeit, small but enduring numbers since they were established as a law school. MWCU since 1982 and Taft since 1986.

Lots of new correspondence schools cropped up recently as the new regulation and the upheaval in California comes on.

MOST WILL NOT SURVIVE!

 

Again, perhaps you are correct. Until everything happens exactly how you say it is going to happen things are still up in the air. We don't know for sure this bill will become law, even if it does we don't know either whether or not the state bar will choose to go with the regulations that you think.

Surely the SAFEST route for a student to go is with an ABA school. The SAFEST correspondence schools for a student to attend are probably Taft, NWCU, and Concord... BUT for a student wanting to take a small risk $3,000 is a LOT less to spend than $12,000 to $28,000 for these other options (or any other DL JD).

 

and that is how exactly how Saratoga University appeared, a small risk! and hundreds were burned when it closed and records and transcripts and diplomas could not be obtained.

By the way the State Bar rejected many former students of Saratoga who could not get their transcripts even though
they were already registered at the State Bar as having
attended Saratoga, no final transcript no bar exam qualification.

The others are virtually no risk, Northwestern since 1982 and Taft since 1996.

If one is serious about going to law school, serious about taking the bar and wants to go the correspondence route I highly
suggest one of the 2 above schools and only these 2 correspondence law schools.

Lets have this debate 2 years from now and see which correspondence law schools are still around from the current State Bar list on the State Bar website.........many correspondence law schools have disappeared in the last 10 to 12 years! I could make a list of the names I susppose, although most of those law schools that bite the dust are in the State Bar archives.

 

It is pretty clear that Saratoga was a MUCH greater risk than this. The dean of Saratoga resigned the bar with charges pending... AND the "small risk" of Saratoga was (If I recall correctly) about FOUR times more expensive than this risk.

Maybe you're right, people should NEVER choose to take a risk because it may fail. After all if they do, their dog will probably get killed, their eyebrows will probably fall out, they will probably get sued and lose everything, etc...