FIRST Fully Online (ABA Accredited) Law Degree

Based on my personal experience, there are a couple of reason for the high dropout.
-The entrance requirement is low so a lot of first year students really should not be in law school. Previously, the baby bar exam filters out probably about 80%. However, students at NWCU no longer need to take the baby bar.
-Law school exams are a bit different from other programs. At NWCU, just mid term essay and final essay for the final grade. The school usually assigns a lot of reading, especially cases, and there is no way anybody could do that and still have time to prepare really for the exam. Instead, the student should regularly learns how to spot legal issues from past bar exam questions and practice writing under timed condition.
-Professors are mostly practicing attorneys and some of them may not do a good job explaining the concepts (some of them are good). Barbri or Themis programs are very helpful.
-The student needs to be very disciplined in putting the hours needed because there is no one to remind you as in a traditional program.
-For myself, after finishing the first year at NWCU and passing the baby bar, I transferred to AISOL and wasted two years there because there were no lectures there at all except for first year and I was also busy with something else. I then re-enrolled at NWCU, focused on putting in the time (20 hours a week), used Barbri and Themis lectures, and regularly practiced bar essay exams. I finished the program last month with good grades for year three and year four.

 

Life_learner, did you feel that the faculty was responsive to questions? Also, did the school offer any sort of bar prep program like Barbi? I know you mentioned Barbi in your post, but I was not sure if you were paying it out of pocket or if the school was covering it. Do you feel there are any other things school does to make sure that students are successful?

I certainly think I trust the opinions of the members of this board and the sister board more than random people in an article, on yelp, or other review sites. I know a lot of people just are not good at self-discipline, but the members of this forum and the sister forum seem to be better at it. I have taken many of my classes online and have done self-paced classes in my graduate program.

Does anyone know what these CalBar schools if it is possible to take elective courses at an ABA school as a visiting student? I have some electives I would really like to take it that I don't see offer at the CalBar schools, and would definitely help in terms of federal practice such as indigenous law.

I am also wondering if there's a chance these Calabar schools might be willing to accept the LawShelf courses for transfer in...

 

FWIW I was quite satisfied with my Taft Law LL.M program.

 

If you attend the online real time class, you can certainly ask questions and the professor will answer them. The class has discussion board and some faculty do reply but I am not sure how useful that will be.
At NWCU, you have access to Flemings' lectures (I believe there is no additional cost). Some folks just use that, plus Adaptibar for MBE.
The school does tell the students to practice writings but they do assign a lot of readings. It takes time for the student realize what's useful and what's not useful.
I did find myself need to use Barbri/Themis on some of the materials. Actually, Barbri/Themis makes a large portion of their lectures for free. When it comes to bar exam, I do find the paid lectures cover some specific topics for the bar exam.
At NWCU, it seems not possible to just take electives without enrolling in a program. At fourth year, there are a few options to take elective but the program is focused on bar exam.
My experience is that law school is harder than other graduate program. I studied online before got a graduate degree from Columbia. It's possible that I did not have prior legal training so I found law school to be much harder. In regular graduate school, you do assignment and the exams are similar to assignment. In law school, very different. The assignment on definition and case briefs are not that helpful for exam.

 

One thing about Taft though...tuition and fees for the entire four year Bar J.D. is about $35,000. Now, that's a pretty small fraction of sticker price at any California ABA approved school but...in absolute terms thirty-five long is not a trivial wad of cash. It's about two thirds of the total in-state tuition for three years at UNM Law. I think it runs about half of the total tuition at the University connected CalBar law schools such as LaVerne.

 

Ah, I see La Verne is getting $90,000 total for three full time years. https://laverne.edu/tuition/2021-2022-college-of-law-tuition-and-fees/

 

I do not think I made my question clear. I meant, could I possibly do the main courses like torts and contract (basically all of NWCU's 1L & 2L) and then go take electives at another school (possibly ABA) for electives like indigenous law?

Could you elaborate, maybe by answering the same questions I asked Life_Learner, but relevant for Taft? Did you feel that the faculty was responsive to questions? Also, did the school offer any sort of bar prep program like Barbi? Do you feel there are any other things school does to make sure that students are successful? Is there an ability to enroll at Taft and then take elective courses as a "visiting student" at an another law school (possibly ABA) for a specialization?

 

If I were a middle aged Californian who wanted to become a lawyer, LaVerne would be on the list for sure.

 

Why LaVerne? I am looking now. They do have some electives I would be interested in.

 

I was a Tax LL.M. student at Taft. My J.D. came from the ultra-conventional University of New Mexico (ABA full time three year State subsidized.) Bar prep wasn't an issue for me. The school was quite responsive to the few questions I asked but the materials were very thorough and required little faculty response. The exams came back with extensive and thoughtful comments however which I found useful.

I applied twice and was admitted both times but the first time the school politely suggested that I might have difficulty completing on time due to my lack of current tax background. I took the hint and studied for and passed the IRS Enrolled Agent exam and applied again. Best advice they could have gven me, too. The LL.M. application actually contains a question about whether the applicant is a CPA or Enrolled Agent. They are right to ask. I mention this because to me it shows that the school is serious about admitting students who have a good chance of succeeding and not just anyone with a pulse and a student loan voucher.

Taft, like every other law school I know of, can accept up to half the credits toward a J.D. from another school IF the student's GPA is adequate and IF the student has passed (or is exempt from) the Baby Bar. Taft didn't accept transfer credits toward the LL.M. as far as I know but they might now.

 

Because LaVerne is a University affiliated resident school with a full time three year option. The school's faculty and facilities met ABA standards and their degree is regionally accredited. I think that one's chances of passing the Bar exam and enjoying career success from La Verne are probably as good or better than from any other non-ABA approved school.

 

A quick look at LaVerne, Glendale, San Joaquin, Monterey (four campuses), Alliant (two campuses) and Thomas Jefferson law schools shows that $90,000 total tuition is pretty common for CalBar accredited programs whether the school is regionally accredited or not.

 

It should not be a problem for NWCU. However, I am not sure if you can just take some electives from another schools, especially ABA school.

 

I definitely want to stay under $90k. I am pretty sure I could get the WICHE discount at Hawaii which would put tuition for the three years at $50,382, so if I go for a non-ABA school it would need to be less than that with decent bar pass rates. Actually, I could also potentially pay the resident rate the first year and establish residency for the other two years, which would bring tuition down to $45,300. In lieu of this, I would consider online schools or schools in CA (I know lots of people there), FL, TX, LA, AZ, or PR with the possibility as a visiting student at other schools to pick up electives.

 

That reasoning seems very sound to me.

 

There is one other reason La Verne might appeal to me (if I were a mid career Californian). The law school has been there for a good fifty years. La Verne Law graduates are everywhere in Southern California. This matters in finding that ever-so-important first lawyer job.

 

Incidently, the University of Arizona is very big in Indigenous Law. The school even offers a genuine (and possibly unique) Doctorate in the subject. https://law.arizona.edu/iplp-degrees-and-courses

 

Arizona's J.D. tuition and fees for residents is about $75,000 all told which is a fairly good deal. Tucson is cheap to live in as well, much cheaper than Honolulu. The trick would be to move to AZ for a year to establish residency then apply but the difference between in state and out of state is only about $5,000/year. That's suprisingly modest. At UNM Law in state is about $18,000/ year but out of state is $40k!

UNM Law is a very good deal, by the way, if you are a New Mexico resident and can get in. That last part is not easy. The acceptance rate is 41%. Not terrifyingly high but the school has a strong preference historically for New Mexico residents and is very proactive in ensuring a diverse student body. I've often wondered how I got in myself since I've met many fine New Mexico lawyers who had to go out of state for law school.

 

Was a $1000 a year back in the 1980s. But all you got was a reading list and some graded exams, not sure what they do now. Got a 2.79 GPA LOL.