2009 Student Satisfaction Survey

In spring 2006 we conducted our first confidential survey of all current J.D. students hoping to get a better understanding of their impressions of the Law School and, of course, areas where we might be able to improve. Over a third of the student body responded. Their comments overwhelmingly confirmed what we had been hearing anecdotally: the Penn Law educational environment and community are especially meaningful to our students.

Here are many of their comments from the 2009 survey:

I think that Penn law professors require students to move beyond the text of the cases or statutes, and truly dive into nuanced legal analysis. I felt that most classes were challenging and thought-provoking, and not merely a regurgitation exercise of the assigned readings. While there were certainly moments where I felt put on the spot and forced to think on my feet, I believe that Penn law professors treat the students here with respect and truly want to help make us better lawyers.
If you want a place that feels like a family, where the administration, the students, and the professors truly have your best interests at heart, this is the place. It is somewhere where a diversity of ideas is cultivated, but that diversity also helps things from getting too cut throat competitive because everyone is pursuing their own path. It is small, and you cannot become a wallflower...most people will know your name by the end of first semester and you will be expected to know theirs. It is a very strong community, and while the pride of being an Ivy League school is present, attitudes of pretension or superiority absolutely are not tolerated. It is your time outside of the classroom in school, just as much as that inside of the classroom that shapes what kind of lawyer, and perhaps more importantly what kind of individual you will be when you leave.
Penn Law benefits from having such a great selection of university programs nearby, and it sits well between the Washington and New York markets (with, of course, Philadelphia right here). The corporate and finance offerings are more extensive than most other niches. I love the location. Philadelphia is a very livable city, and the law school's location is nearly ideal. The facilities are shiny and new but still have a historic flavor of an Ivy. I also like the smaller class sizes.
Two strengths come to mind immediately: the opportunity for interdisciplinary studies and the amount of group work I've done in classes and seminars. Perhaps the latter is a function of the classes I'm taking, but group work, I feel, is helping prepare me to work collaboratively on projects in a law firm.
The biggest strength of the school is its reputation. Penn has a reputation for excellence, so graduating students, even those near the bottom of the class, have very good job prospects.
Strength of curriculum and faculty - my first semester professors were amazing! Struve, Morse and Johnston always made me excited to be in class, held my attention for the entire period without me checking my watch once. I felt privileged to sit in their classes.
An Ivy League Law school with a collegial and intellectually diverse environment that does an excellent job of nurturing a learning environment that is engaging, open and challenging.
I was surprised how much the community welcomed disparate points of view. I'm conservative, from Indiana and thought an east coast, Ivy League law school would treat my ideology with, at best, a sort of disdainful neglect. My experience has been the opposite. The Penn Law community welcomes vigorous debate, and the administration makes it easy for anyone to express a point of view or to have an event that advocates a position.
The biggest surprise was how normal the other students were. I expected something much scarier with much more cutthroat individuals. Penn students in comparison to other law schools I have visited have much better social skills but at the same time are still just as intelligent as students at any other top law school.
I would describe Penn Law as a law school for people who want not only to learn about the law from insightful and accomplished professors, but also to meet and connect with a broadly diverse and interesting group of friendly people. Most law schools will teach roughly the same materials to their students, but only at a few is the school community so strong to be itself a huge asset. Penn Law is one of these schools.
The administration is also very responsive to students. Participation on journals is very high and there are numerous opportunities for school-wide, national and international moot court competitions, thus rounding out the complete law school experience.
Large enough to make its mark in the world/community, small enough to feel like you're part of something. You can do almost anything you want with a JD coming from Penn. Firm work, clerkships, public interest, government - is all accessible. And people in the legal community will respect you as a peer with your training here. Definitely figure out a plan to make the most of your 2L and 3L years, because the exciting, directed intensity of 1L tends to wear off and leave you with a bit of a 2 year educational hangover. But, that's a problem at every law school. The ability to access the joint degree programs and Wharton certificates/applications is real - and should be taken advantage of for those with such interests - and for those without those interests.
The faculty are experts in their field and are extremely approachable. They're like mentors rather than distant professors.
I believe Penn Law's #1 strength to be the genuine care and concern administrators have for the school and its students. Access to these administrators and their willingness to listen to students is in my opinion what has enabled so many great things at Penn to develop, and gives students hope that the changes they would like to see made are possible. Many high profile speakers come to the school - panels create a good opportunity to learn about various legal and social issues that I might otherwise not become familiar with.
As a transfer, I've had so many more opportunities at Penn outside the classroom than at my former school. Penn sent me to Tokyo for spring break for an international conference on the financial crisis, and others went to South Africa and elsewhere. there is a constant stream of world class experts in every dimension of the law lecturing here that brings a level of diversity unavailable at most other institutions. The curriculum at the law school is supplemented by the opportunity to take class at other Penn institutions, with classes at Wharton of particular interest to many. Many students also pursue joint degree programs, which really broadens their educational experience, as well as making them even more competitive in today's job market. In addition, the students here are across the board smart and energized and make insightful contributions in class.