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Wake Law School

Based on the employment stats for the class of 2013, we knew there was going to be a precipitous drop in our ranking this year - we just didn't know how bad it was going to be. The employment numbers are much, much better for the class of 2014 (last I heard, the percent employed 9 months out is expected to be near 90%), so there is reason to be hopeful for next year.

With respect to students employed by the law school and/or university, this is interesting – it details the percentages of students in law school or university funded jobs and says they counted less, but still counted for the 2016 rankings. I've heard that they will not be counted at all next year, but cannot confirm that. The percentages for William & Mary and Emory are astounding. Wake's percentage of jobs funded by the law school or university out of all full-time, long-term jobs held by 2013 grads for which bar passage was required or J.D. was an advantage was only 2%.

http://www.usnews.com/education/blo...ges-methodology-for-best-law-schools-rankings
 
StopMakingSense said:
I see your point and I agree but Wake in the past few years have been throwing around scholarship money... a number of my classmates and friends who finished near the top of the class went for much less than Carolina tuition. They turned down Carolina to come to Wake so I don't think the talent pool at the top of the class has been diluted too much. But in light of people not going to law school in the last couple years schools near the top have to accept more students they wouldn't normally accept and this trickles all the way down the ladder. Wake has lowered its LSAT and GPA ranges to be able to have enough incoming students just like everyone else has.
Click to expand...

I think this is pretty accurate. I don't know what the issue was with the class of 2013 in particular, since 2012 and 2014 did not have the same issues (or at at the very least, not to the same degree). But my gut says it really was just a sub-par class (on the whole - I know a few '13 grads who are great and have great jobs) and things will start to turn back around next year.
 
My law school's class of 2013 was also considered to be the worst they'd had in quite some time by the administration. Seems like those guys suck.
 
MysteryMen said:
Just got this email:

Dear MysteryMen,
Today U.S. News and World Report released the annual ranking of law schools and other graduate programs. We want to assure you that the quality of our program remains strong. Historically rankings bounce around a bit, and we know from experience that this decline is temporary.

As you consider your options for law school you should keep things in perspective. There is a time lag involved in the U.S. News ranking system, and we have already taken strategic measures to address areas that negatively impacted the statistics for the Class of 2013, on which the newest ranking is based. We believe that the unexpected drop in bar passage in 2013 explains our lower employment rate at nine months following graduation, the area in which we most differed from our peer institutions.

In the time since the Class of 2013 graduated, we have implemented courses aimed specifically at helping students prepare for the bar exam as a part of their regular coursework and increased employment-specific curricular and extracurricular programs. We take bar passage and employment very seriously and want to assure you that we remain vigilant in these areas whatever our ranking.

Keep in mind that U.S. News is only one measure of our law school. Our reputation in the legal community and higher education is unquestionable. Generations of Wake Forest Law alumni will attest to the value of their law school experience in shaping successful careers and lives. We are confident that as a student at Wake Forest Law, you'll receive the highest quality legal education available.

If you have questions, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.
Warm regards,
R. Jay Shively
Dean for Admissions & Financial Aid
Click to expand...
Why do you LIE?!?!
 
So in 2013 Wake struggled with employment and passing the bar. What other metrics are there? Those two seem to be kinda be the big ones.
 
Boy am I now glad that when I applied 40 years ago that I didn't get in that shithole!!!
 
http://news.law.wfu.edu/2010/08/law-school-welcomes-the-class-of-2013/

Spouses, children, parents and significant others of first-year law and LLM students enjoyed a welcome picnic in the courtyard of the Worrell Professional Center on Friday, Aug. 13, after a day full of orientation activities, which included computer training. Dinner was followed by twilight tours of campus led by second- and third-year law students.
This year’s incoming class is made up of 165 JD students who hail from as far away as California and as near as Winston-Salem.
“This class is outstanding,” said Ann Gibbs, Associate Dean, Administrative and Student Services.
The new class is represented by students from 85 colleges and universities from 30 states and one foreign country. The class is 42 percent women and 70 percent of the students are from out of state. Twenty percent of the class is made up of diversity students.
“They are an interesting and talented group,” explains Admissions Director Melanie Nutt. “The great class of 2013 includes a Fulbright Scholar, Peace Corps volunteers and every major from music to engineering. We have published authors, men and women who have served in the military both here and abroad, Teach for America scholars, and professional musicians and artists, among others.”
Orientation continues throughout the week with volunteer work at an area Habitat for Humanity project on Wednesday and Thursday and Legal Analysis, Writing, & Research (LAWR) classes.
Wake Forest University President Dr. Nathan Hatch told the group during Monday’s welcome that in this age of multi-tasking, students need to unplug from time to time and concentrate on their studies.
“I’m not against technology, I have an iPhone and an iPad, but it sometimes creates great danger,” he said. “Our sense of having to be connected all the time makes it difficult to do anything indepth. I encourage you to cut off the digital devices and focus.”
Law School Dean Blake Morant told the first-year class that they were not only embarking on an intellectual journey, but they were joining the Wake Forest family.
“Everyone who comes here finds that it becomes a very special place in their lives,” he said. “What you learn here will take you far beyond your professional lives and make you better citizens.”
 
Campbell's move to Raleigh has to hurt Wake a little. Raleigh firms certainly seem just as likely to hire someone from Campbell these days as someone from Wake. Maybe not the big firms, but midsized and smaller - certainly true.

It makes very little sense to go to Wake for law school, unless you are going to work in Winston, Greensboro, and maybe Charlotte. With the same grades, you either get into UNC - better school rep; much cheaper; probably easier to get hired in any of those three places - or go to Campbell and try to get a scholarship, with just as good an opportunity to get hired in Raleigh.

If you want to work outside of NC, you are bringing in a whole host of other competitors that have a significant leg up on the average WFU law school grad.
 
Check out this chart of legal services sector employment. There was just enough bump to make the class of 2013 optimistic... only to dive again.

Ljobs_02062015.png
 
The bar passage rate for the class of 2013 weren't really any different from recent years - about 80%.
 
Ball State Deac said:
The bar passage rate for the class of 2013 weren't really any different from recent years - about 80%.
Click to expand...

It was 80.13% in 2013, 87.6% in 2012 and 92.11% in 2011 - I think that's a pretty significant difference. Admittedly, those numbers are for February and July of each year, but are only for first time takers, so I can't imagine that there are that many February takers included in those numbers.
 
Wakelaw2006 said:
Based on the employment stats for the class of 2013, we knew there was going to be a precipitous drop in our ranking this year - we just didn't know how bad it was going to be. The employment numbers are much, much better for the class of 2014 (last I heard, the percent employed 9 months out is expected to be near 90%), so there is reason to be hopeful for next year.

With respect to students employed by the law school and/or university, this is interesting – it details the percentages of students in law school or university funded jobs and says they counted less, but still counted for the 2016 rankings. I've heard that they will not be counted at all next year, but cannot confirm that. The percentages for William & Mary and Emory are astounding. Wake's percentage of jobs funded by the law school or university out of all full-time, long-term jobs held by 2013 grads for which bar passage was required or J.D. was an advantage was only 2%.

http://www.usnews.com/education/blo...ges-methodology-for-best-law-schools-rankings
Click to expand...


To follow up on this, next year, the ABA will not count students employed by the law school and/or university as being employed. People are expecting USNWR to follow suit, but they don't know yet.
 
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