Why BC Law?
Mar 27, 2009
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So, this week I’ve decided to write an entirely different type of article. As much as I love economics, math, and their ties into the law, I’m writing this week about why I chose to attend BC Law.
I have always loved the law with all of its nuances intricacies and seemingly endless exceptions. I loved the law even before my love affair with economics began. Law school seemed to be a natural fit for me. I can say now that that has proven to be true. What drew me to BC Law, in particular, though, was that unlike many law schools, it has a way of attracting and retaining students who truly are friendly and friendly and while naturally competitive, are not competitive to the degree that they would rip pages out of a law book to prevent a fellow law student from being able to read those pages. BC Law also offered a strong selection of taxation and corporate classes that the little economist in me desired to take.
I was also drawn to BC due to relatively small size, academic rigor, and location. I have been challenged here in ways before law school I could not imagine and feel now that such challenges will, in turn, make me a stronger lawyer in the future. I have had the pleasure having some truly outstanding professors teach me. While Newton may not be the most exciting place in the world, its proximity to Boston and other areas with more exciting things going on was a draw for me. In addition, although BC has a strong Jesuit tradition, it has not been uncomfortable for me to study law here as a Jew.
BC Law also offers a certain camaraderie and sense of community that I know many law schools cannot even profess to have. I will say that that the sense of community goes both ways and the grapevine, for better or for worse, is always well-fed here. Nevertheless I can proudly say that I have made some truly great friends here and ones I fully intend to keep after law school.
BC, as with any institution, is not perfect. Do I like sharing space with those poorly-dressed, grubby freshmen? Not one bit. Do I wish that there were even more corporate classes? Unabashedly Yes. A rigorous course on Law and Economics would be awesome, for example. Does the cafeteria on campus charge absurdly high prices? Yes. Does the food justify the price? No.
And, finally, on a completely unrelated note, the rumor about BC having Ben Bernanke be the Commencement Day speaker is great to hear, even it is just a rumor.
Who posted this article?
BC Law became my inevitable choice after my first visit. I knew going in that I needed a comforting as well as challenging academic environment. Admittedly, despite the many good things I had heard about BC Law from credible sources throughout the years, I never totally accepted them. That is not to say that I viewed them all as mistruths; I guess I just figured them for that sort of alumni hyperbole commonplace to the happy few beneficiaries who always become school ambassadors. Then I visited the campus. Sure, after seeing how very delightful the first few students I talked to were, I had the same reservations, but by the time I left the campus that beautiful spring day, I knew it was real and that I had found my home for the next three years, at least. The school has a mystique about it. Everyone I met was so bright and seemingly so principled. Quite simply, I thought this place the perfect marriage of comfort and challenge. Plus, the students are fantastic! Perhaps, it has something to do with the Jesuit tradition. It fills up our souls and makes us more beautiful as people. I love BC Law, and I am so grateful that I had the wisdom and courage to believe in the magnanimity of its students and faculty.
Those of you are considering law school, be it BCLS or otherwise, listen. The bottom line is that you go to the best school that you get into or the one that gives you the most money. As a general rule, do not go to law school unless (a) you can get into a top 25ish or better law school with a good geographic recruiting footprint or (b) you are not coming out of pocket for more than $30,000, total, for three years (be it through parents, scholarships, whatever).All of that cozy shit like "academic rigor," "collegiality," and "tradition" is meaningless if you graduate saddled with $150,000 in debt and bad or no job prospects.