San Joaquin College of Law Reviews

"Overall, I believe the school has the potential to be good, with a few notable exceptions. 1. One significant concern is the disciplinary and academic disqualification policy. Currently, SJCL disqualifies students after their first semester if they fail to meet a minimum GPA or pass required courses. Disqualifying a student after such a short period of time, without allowing an opportunity to adjust to the rigors of law school or demonstrate improvement, is unnecessarily harsh. Many students need more than one semester to adapt to the demands of legal education. Additionally, an early disqualification places students at a severe disadvantage, as most law schools will not consider transfer applications from academically dismissed students until after a two-year waiting period. They'll try to mask it by saying they don't want to take your money, but I believe it has something to do with maintaining a high bar passage rate. 2. After being disqualified, admission staff treat students coldly. No exit meeting, no follow up, nothing. I received an email from the admissions office saying something along the lines of "We regret to inform you that you're disqualified. Best of luck.". The only ones who made an effort were a couple of my professors and one professor who was not even my professor, but genuinely cared about her students. 3. With the exception of a newly hired Civil Procedure professor, all of my professors were supportive and consistently made themselves available to meet with me, even outside of their scheduled office hours. I reached out to the Civil Procedure professor on multiple occasions seeking guidance, but my emails went unanswered. Even during office hours, it was difficult to get in touch with the professor. Notably, Civil Procedure was the only course I did not pass, which ultimately led to my academic disqualification.Additionally, the inability to review a graded midterm examination in Civil Procedure was particularly detrimental. Many students were left unaware of their academic standing in the course, and the lack of feedback, combined with the professor’s unavailability, made it difficult to identify deficiencies and improve performance.At the end of the day, the other professors I had the privilege to teach me were awesome. I hope the school does take the time to reflect on how this affects their former, current and future students.Read Less"

"I started attending SJCL at the height of the pandemic. I was worried about the resources and how the pandemic would impact me. I have found that SJCL has worked hard to give me a strong student experience. The professors are knowledgeable with some having 20+ years in their field. The professors take feedback from the students and work to actively improve their classes while maintaining required standards. The environment created by faculty and students is one of support and not the “predatory” environment of other law schools. Succeeding and doing well is important but we work to get there together. I have thoroughly enjoyed my student experience and would recommend SJCL to anyone interested in pursuing a law degree.Read Less"

"I would not recommend this school. This school is a scam. It has unqualified teachers and unqualified students. This school is a predatory student loan school. The teachers have no idea what they are doing. Most students have not even graduated college. Do not go here."

"The Juris Doctor program at San Joaquin College of Law, in my opinion, is unmatched. Each and every professor is extremely knowledgeable, helpful, and invested in all students' success. I have thoroughly enjoyed my education at SJCL thus far."

"The school has many very qualified instructors who are practicing attorneys and judges in the area. The workload isn't unbearable, but it is a lot - it's law school. They teach the practical side of law in addition to legal theory, making it more applicable to an actual legal job. They offer a lot of job postings for students and seem to work hard to ensure the graduating students / bar passers have a job upon graduation. The cons are that the building could use some upgrading; library is small and unaccommodating during finals. The law fraternity feels a little too forced on the student body and my email is constantly inundated with emails from the fraternity soliciting new membership. I understand the importance of community, but many of us work, commute, and have other responsibilities outside of law school, leaving no time for a law fraternity that creates additional expenses.Read Less"

"I have barely attended San Joaquin College of Law for a week but have thoroughly investigated all the resources they have to offer and have been impressed by how much this small professional school has to offer. This is the only Law School in a 120 mile radius which equals great internship/part time job opportunities while attending the college. Also there are many graduates within the area so post graduation job opportunities seem very well (taking under consideration that on average the job market for lawyers seems to not be very good throughout the nation). This school is also located in a very nice part of town and is very small which gives a good sense of camaraderie. This school seems to be on the up rise winning an oral advocacy cup against big name schools such as UC Hastings, UC Berkeley, McGeorge among others. The faculty seems very dedicated to ensure they train competent lawyers. The only downside about this school is that it hasn't been ABA accredited although they are determined to do so. Overall, I do feel happy about choosing this school and it would be a major bonus if they received ABA accreditation before I graduate.Read Less"

"If you want to stay in the valley, this is the place for you. Great professors! Con is it is not ABA."