St. Thomas vs. Florida Coastal

Graduate School Law School
1

<p>Hi everyone, it's been a while.</p>

<p>I got a cruddy LSAT score, but have a high GPA in an Ivy...if someone searches my previous posts, they will see that I originally wanted to go to a law school somewhere in Pennsylvania. Well, I changed my mind and decided to head south (partially as a result of cold N.E. winters). Now I have a dilemma.</p>

<p>I applied to Florida Coastal and St. Thomas. I was waitlisted for St. Thomas, and accepted at Florida Coastal. After I sent in my first deposit for FC, St. Thomas called me and told me I was taken off the waitlist and accepted for the Fall semester. I now have to reply with a $500 deposit by April 15. I'm not really that concerned about losing the deposit for FC, but I need to know how the schools compare from a professional viewpoint. I've seen the figures about the costs, and the comparison of Bar passage rates (FC's being higher), but I really need some help making the decision.</p>

<p>So, my question is, if you had the choice between Florida Coastal and St. Thomas, which would you choose?</p>

2

<p>Here's some info I copied from Florida Coastal's alumni discussion board on bar passage rates for Florida schools:</p>

<p>University of Florida (88.8)
FCSL (79.2 pass rate)
Stetson University (76)
Florida State University (67.3)
University of Miami (66.1)
Nova Southeastern University (54.5)
St. Thomas (46.9)
Barry University of Orlando (40.9)</p>

<p>About half the postings on the alumni board were in Spanish, by the way.</p>

<p>I'd probably lean toward Florida Coastal due to the bar passage rate. It was approved by the ABA in 1999 (as opposed to 2003 for St. Thomas), which could explain the difference in bar passage rates, as those St. Thomas students who took the bar in 2004 started school there before it was fully accredited by the ABA.</p>

<p>There are other factors that might matter to you: secular or Catholic, Jacksonville or Miami.</p>

<p>In any event, congratulations on your acceptances!</p>