I came across PCU back in 2018. I have seen the school's ups and downs, which I found to be…read moreunnerving, but such is the path of most small law schools. Given its 95-year history, with each obstacle, the school has survived and continues to provide formal legal education to those dedicated to learning the law. I have since graduated from PCU with my juris doctor. PCU has proven itself to be an educational facility dedicated to its students. Here's why...
AFFORDABLE. The school does not boast itself to be cheaper than your average law school just because it is a couple of thousands of dollars (tens of thousands, actually) cheaper than your local law schools, like USC, Chapman U, UCLA, Western State. It is legit affordable, because it is not-for-profit. It has the minimal requirements of a Cal Bar accredited law school, such as a full on law library. You'll learn how to use it your 1L year and legal writing and research is reinforced every subsequent year.
BRICK & MORTAR and Cal Bar Accredited when I started. However, the future of law schools have changed since the 2020 pandemic, when we were all forced to go online. PCU was nonetheless affected and from what I understand is moving to go completely online. I was fortunate enough to meet most of my professors in-person in an actual classroom setting. I also appreciated having started when the school was CBA accredited, so I did not have to take the "baby bar" also known as the First-Year Law Students Examination. Although PCU has since lost its accreditation, it is not dispositive of the quality of its education or determination of its students. I'll explain...
DEDICATED FACULTY. The bar REQUIRES a minimal 270 classroom hours a year for four years for a fixed facility. They make this happen for the students and keep lines of communication open for you to contact them outside school hours. Keep in mind this is a not-for-profit school, working nights and weekends. Friday night... yes, someone's gotta teach that Real Property, Contracts, Trial Techniques class. Saturday morning cartoons or snoozing? No... Saturday morning labs. Rise and shine, buttercup. You pay the tuition, and they will deliver for four grueling years. Need academic accommodations? PCU is on it. Life happens. Communicate it; the support is there.
NIGHT LIFE. Not the Hamburger Mary night life, although I would not knock the experience there either. XD PCU caters to the working adult with night classes. Can you work full time and still go to school? Yes, it is possible. Dedication & grit. I did it, and I have no doubt you can, too. You cannot pass classes by "finding" time to study. MAKE TIME. I promise it will be a humbling experience. If you've always passed high school, undergrad, or grad school with high marks, you will have your @$$ handed to you time and time again, but keep on going! Law school is just a rite of passage to taking the bar. It has completely changed life's trajectory of so many of my classmates.
Dang... still reading? Here's my personal advice for you, prospective student--law school is not for everyone. Speak to those who chose to be lawyers. What are their regrets in choosing the profession? Why did they choose their law school? Keep in mind PCU will be going online full-time in the future and will require a minimum of 864 hours of preparation and study, not the 270 hours I went through.
I chose PCU because I was in my thirties when I decided to go back to school and out of convenience: It is conveniently local, affordable, and I only had my nights to dedicate. I did not care whether the school was ABA accredited or CBA accredited. Maybe that is meaningful to you depending on your career goals. In the end, it offered me an opportunity to sit and take the California Bar Exam, just like my co-workers who went to Whitter, Pepperdine, Columbia, UCLA, USC, Chapman, UC Irvine, Western State, etc. For what it's worth, I certainly got more than what I paid for in experience. I participated in the Cal Bar's Practical Training of Law Students program, which the school and my employer supported. Check it out: https://www.calbar.ca.gov/admissions/special-admissions/practical-training-of-law-students. Get to go on the record in court, draft and argue motions, negotiate with the opposition.
Lastly, you do not have to aspire to practice law to go to law school. Just obtaining a juris doctor is rewarding in itself. It provides you with a breadth of knowledge that will benefit you in any profession. Especially if it's just the JD that you're after, challenge yourself and go for it. Choose PCU.