Thomas Jefferson School of Law

The professors are amazing. The building is very nice. I have truly enjoyed my time here. I would definitely recommend other students attend. They do give significant amounts of scholarship money. You will not have a job handed to you but you will leave with the skills necessary to be a successful attorney.

This is a private law school that has no affiliation with a university. What that essentially means is that the people running this school have no one to answer to. Their number one goal seems to be making money. They are instituting unconventional and untested curriculum, which seemed to me like gambling with their students futures. This schools program teaches directly towards passing the California bar and doing entry level work, so if you want to do anything beyond legal work this school is probably not for you.
I left during my second semester, and immediately received a bill for the cost of the whole semester (even though i was there on 80% scholarship). Before withdrawing I emailed several departments to find out if any charge like this existed and was explicitly told NO. Well now i’m fucked… This school spent allot of money in recruiting me (flights, hotels, scholarships, etc.), and when it didn’t work out they turned on me. I quite my job and moved two states away from home to come to TJSL, now I’m unemployed, broke, and I owe $ 21,000 to an organization run by trial lawyers.
Thomas Jefferson School of Law was the worst decision of my life.

It’s pretty funny to read all these positive comments about this school. I encourage all you optimists out there to review and revise your post in your 3L year because you will not be saying the same thing. This school has low employment rate and bar passage rate for a reason. The school just doesn’t care about you and it’s all about sucking away all your money. The staff there? Two words: rude, egotistic. Seriously, you are working in a law school that barely meets the ABA-​standard and you want to act like you are all that? With that said, I do like the professors there a lot and they are very willing to help and get you excited about the legal profession. Recently, the new dean fired a number of rogue employees in an attempt to clean house. It’s better late than never. Unfortunately as an alumni, I am thoroughly disappointed by the entire experience and will never donate a dime of my income to this dump. In sum, the best view of this place is in my rear-​view mirror.

EPIC view of downtown San Diego! The entire building is made of glass windows so you can see outside no matter where you are. The class rooms are chic and modern. It honestly feels more like a corporate office than a law school, which is way cool. I mean I would love to go here if only their ranking was a bit higher up on the law school tiers, since it’s in a fun location and is so ridiculously clean. Plus they don’t even require an LSAT score for applications.

I think TJSL is a great school that has a lot of bad info floating around about it right now. I got into something like 10 schools and had my choice of some decent schools… and TJ was the one I chose. I chose TJ because they made me feel welcome, made me feel like they wanted me to succeed, and made me feel like they actually cared and were not going to just try to flunk people out to make themselves look good on an index or ranking or whatever. (Most schools will flunk out close to 20% of students after the first year… not TJ) TJSL intentionally chooses a diverse student body, some of which do not have the most amazing grades, LSAT score or whatever, but there may be something else about the person that makes them unique.
This is part of why TJ does not have amazingly high LSAT and GPA rankings, because they are looking for students with a «chip on their shoulder», not the students with this or that amazing GPA or LSAT score. This does not mean that TJ is not a good school, or does not give a good education. These students, having lower LSAT and GPA’s will by nature, be less likely to pass the bar, and thus leaving TJ with a lower bar passage rate. If you gave TJSL a class full of Harvard students the bar pass rate would be through the roof. TJSL intentionally takes more at-​risk students, who are more likely to struggle, and they should not be punished for that.
I find it a noble task and many TJSL grads go on to be very successful. Of course the legal market as a whole right now is very bad, but the education you get at TJ is not any worse then at any other law school. In fact they have some of the best professors in the country. The facilities are excellent, San Diego is great of course, and the education you get is top-​notch.
I could have gone to a number of schools and chose TJ for these reasons. Other schools I passed on generally had more problems and issues but yet I see TJ getting negative press which is a bit concerning to me and definitely not justified. TJ is a great school, and I would recommend it to anyone considering law school.

Unlike the other reviews, I think they did an amazing job in constructing the new building (but the adjacent neighborhood of east village is deplorable), and graduated with a high gpa because I worked my ass off. The level of difficulty is on par with any other law school. There are good professors, great professors, and terrible professors with egos, just like any other law school. I Graduated and got AN AMAZING JOB. It’s hard work and your personal characteristics that get you a job, not the school. You put in what you get out. There’s alot of people who don’t put in any effort, and are surprised when they can’t find a job.
However, the professional career office needs alot of work. Quite unhelpful in finding employment. I found my job by myself.

Less than a month before my flight into San Diego, TJSL housing unit (the Entrada) sent me an email notifying me that they had overbooked and were not able to offer me housing. For someone that is not from the San Diego area and with less than a month before my move in date, you can imagine how stressful this news was. I immediately contacted Justin Cruz via email and telephone and I never received a call back. Since I never heard from him, I then called and emailed not only two other admissions advisers, but the Associate Dean herself and I have yet to receive a response. All I wanted was a confirmation from TJSL that they were really overbooked, if my housing scholarship and deposit would transfer to alternative housing options?! Before I put in my seat and housing deposit everyone was very friendly and responsive, but after NOT ONE PERSON EVER RETURNED MY CALLS OR EMAILS! You would think someone could have at least given me update me. This is by far the most unorganized institution that I have come across and would not recommend others to spend their hard earned dollars on this school. Tuition is way over priced for just a 4^th tier law school.

Law school is not for everyone and if you are not the type who loves to work your a$% off, study like you never have in your life and can deal with high stress on a daily basis, its not for you. If you are a party person and don’t take law school seriously it will B*tch slap you and you will QUICKLY get a dose of reality — failure. Having said that, as all things in life– you get what you put in. I am proud to say that I have excelled at Thomas Jefferson and I am grateful that I have had the support of the professors, administrators and staff along the way. I had many schools to choose from but decided on TJSL because of the school atmosphere. Students here are like family and I love that. If you need help, just ask. Professors have an open door policy and go out of their way to help. Added bonus: new campus coming in 2011! Take a look for yourself.

It’s clear to me that most of the over-​achievers at Thomas Jefferson are too busy with their Judicial Externships, Law Review Notes, Moot Court Briefs or finals to write a Unilocal review. Since I have a moment of free time, I hope to represent these individuals.
Thomas Jefferson is a great school. The community is very small and is made up of students from all over the U.S. It also boats ethnic and cultural diversity that creates a welcoming environment for anyone. Staff members are friendly and are always available to the students. If I ever had something I needed to speak with a staff member about, my biggest problem would be picking which person I was most comfortable speaking to. The Dean of Admissions is especially approachable. She is funny and energetic, and I have always felt that I could speak openly with her.
In comparison to the other schools in San Diego, its strengths are in the Faculty, Staff and curriculum. The J.D. Program has the same available abroad opportunities as other law schools and the classes available on campus are interesting and stimulating.
I have many friends who graduated from California Western. Each and every one of them left and never looked back. I have heard on several occasions that they did not feel like they were wanted there. Rather, they felt as if they had to keep up just to avoid being kicked out. I suppose that is because Cal-​Western is trying hard to climb upward in the law school tier system. Unlike my friends from Cal-​Western, I plan to donate money to Thomas Jefferson as soon as I am able to.
And a note regarding post-​graduation employment: If you work hard, you will get a job. A J.D. from TJSL does not carry with it the pedigree that a degree from Harvard or even USD does. But for the most successful students, that has only pushed them harder. We will not be handed a job based solely on where we graduated from. Instead, TJSL gives students the tools to make it in the real-​world. Curriculum here is not based on theories and ideas from the 18^th century.
And for Unilocal Reviewer, Casey D.: Most people in the legal world refer to your experience as a «Dismissal.» That is, being kicked out of law school. If TJSL didn’t live up to your expectations because you were kicked out, well, that’s your problem. I have NEVER heard of any drug use on our campus. If there are kids using drugs at TJSL, they probably have a similar fate as you (i.e. getting kicked out of school.)