"IF YOU HAVE YOUR HEART set on law school from an early age and want to save money and time, consider a 3+3 program. These accelerated programs, offered by select universities, allow high-performing students to earn both B.A. and J.D. degrees in six years total rather than seven.
Accelerated J.D. programs fall into three broad categories.
First, some law schools offer an accelerated path to students within the same university system. This is most common among state universities with an interest in training local lawyers, like the University of Georgia, the University of Iowa and the University of Kansas. However, several private universities offer this option as well, like DePaul University in Illinois and Willamette University in Oregon.
Second, a smaller number of law schools have accelerated J.D. partnerships with unaffiliated colleges. Typically, such partnerships tie together nearby schools, but not always. For example, the University of Central Florida has a 3+3 program with both the Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law at Barry University in Orlando, Florida, and the Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center at Touro College in Central Islip, New York – not exactly across town!" …
Based on the law schools named in this article, it would be unwise to attend any of these schools except the University of Georgia School of Law & the University of Iowa School of Law on the 3+3 accelerated BA/JD program.
Why am I pursuing an accelerated BA/JD program? Am I 110% sure I want to do a JD with likely little room to pursue other interests in between?
Am I potentially choosing a more expensive option for undergrad rather than trying to save money for undergrad or going to an undergrad with stronger career prospects outside of law (especially if unsure) and consider applying during the traditional route?
Would I be happy living in the same place for 6 years?
I think this is a shockingly poor piece of puffery by USNWR, written by a person whose background suggests he should be a much better writer. It is full of speculative and overblown statements mixed in with a handful of facts- all of which add up to: it’s not that great an option. It’s messing with HS students heads to be promoting it.
ps, motivated students can do a regular undergrad in 3 years and there are already a handful of 2 year law programs (and there has been a lot of talk about making that the new for years now).
In the grand scheme of things, one year really isn’t that long. As several others have alluded to, I don’t know that I would advise a student to spend a lot more money and go to a lower-tier law school simply so they can shave one year off their journey.
Also, Pepperdine’s accelerated option really just moves some of the learning into two summers. So instead of attending two semesters and taking off during the summer, you basically attend year-round, including over the summer. I can see several disadvantages to this, not the least of which is that the summer is usually a time that students use to do legal internships, which is going to be essential for getting a law job post-graduation.
This is also potentially a general disadvantage for 3+3 programs if their solution to pushing you through is taking up the summers. The goal of college/law school is to learn the material and do something with it, not simply blaze through it.