University of San Diego School of Law

It’s been 3 months since I’ve applied and they still haven’t rejected or accepted me. Don’t apply here because it’s a waste of time; they don’t seem to take people’s applications seriously. If a law school has issues with processing applications, I can’t imagine how badly they run the law school program.

#443 Seeing as how I haven’t attended USD or anything, I’m going to stick with a 3-​star rating to remain as neutral as possible. However, I have applied to the School of Law, which explains why I dropped by for a quick visit on a Sunday morning before going to lunch with the family in San Diego. The campus is undoubtedly gorgeous, with buildings designed in the 16^th-​century Spanish Renaissance architectural style. The founders of USD believed that beautiful surroundings encouraged better academic performance and, thus, made sure that the campus reflected this view. The views all throughout the campus are incredible and there is a huge sense of calm permeating the corners. Sunday morning also meant church and many families were in attendance that particular day.
The Warren Hall (School of Law) was also impressive. Each floor had a different layout, with administration and the dean on the first floor, directly behind their beautiful front doors. There were many places for students to gather and discuss and the environment was very friendly and lively. I can’t say whether or not I would prefer to attend USD, but I did enjoy my visit!

I may not love southern california (can you blame me? im an SF native for christsake), but i will admit that ive found a few things to like about San Diego. USD is not only a big campus, but beautiful as well. From certain locations on the grounds, you get some breathtaking views. The law library alone is big in and of itself, with just about every piece of legal information you could need for research. And though libraries are no doubt a place to get peace & quiet, this building is especially quiet. I had to get some work done one night while homecoming was going on right outside which included a concert by Hello Goodbye and lots of students. I spent a couple hours in the library that night and didnt hear one peep… no music, no talking, no nothing.
Aside from the beautiful massive campus, USD also has some pretty decent food. The cafeteria was surprisingly more than decent, the little market has snack necessessities, and the restaurant is great. You can read about the restaurant in my review of it.

«Look to your left, look to your right, one of you three of you won’t be here next year.»
We were actually told this at orientation. However, unlike some other prestigious law schools, incoming students were told this at USD because the staff wanted to emphasize that this is NOT the philosophy of the university. The staff say they truly want to see students succeed. For the most part I believe them. USD offers many programs to help students survive their classes (such as workshops on how to write outlines, take final exams, etc) and the staff is usually friendly and helpful.
USD is known for having excellent professors and although I’m only a 1L, I’ve already had some amazing professors. Most of them try very hard to make the complex material understandable. Yeah, law school is hard. But it’s going to be wherever you go. I think USD is a much better place to spend three years of your life than many other law schools. The vast majority of students are friendly and totally willing to help each other. Even around finals, although everyone was stressed out, I still didn’t feel too much competition. In fact, the atmosphere was very supportive. There’s definitely no stolen books from the library or people purposely giving out wrong information like I’ve heard reported at other law schools. Most of the law students are pretty down to earth and much less conceited than I expected law students at a private school to be. However, I’ve heard there can be a lot of catty drama depending on who you choose to hang out with. I guess this comes from the fact that the same people are in all your classes your first year so you may get to know many of them pretty well. I’ve been able to avoid the drama for the most part.
Another reason that I love this university is that the campus is GORGEOUS. Unfortunately, I think many law students forget that the campus extends well beyond Warren Hall (where the majority of law classes are) and the Legal Research Center (where the rest of our classes are and where many law students study). Personally I love to walk around the campus. I can’t help but feeling peaceful strolling past the beautiful buildings and pristine grass.
The main downside is that tuition is so expensive. But it’s comparable to other private law schools and in the long run I think it’s worth it to pay so much. Also, parking is terrible during the mornings and afternoons, but pretty good in the evenings.