At Stanford Law School, It’s a Whole New Game of Quarters
Stanford Law School is one of the best law schools in the country. SLS is ranked #3 in the latest U.S. News law school rankings. Stanford graduates are generally intelligent, capable, and employable individuals (with some exceptions).
But are they smart enough to miss the first few weeks of Bar/Bri? The law school has changed its academic calendar to a quarters system. Stanford University already followed a quarters system, but the law school had been on a semester-based academic calendar.
The change could result in some conflict between 3L classes and the beginning of bar review courses. One student explains:
Stanford Law School changed to the quarter system, leaving their students in very precarious position vis a vis the bar exam. Classes do not end until several weeks after the California bar review courses start. Aside from the fact that this puts an extra burden on all SLS 3Ls, who will have to study for the bar at the same time they are attending classes and studying for finals, it creates a real mess for those students who are not remaining, or cannot remain in the immediate area. to study for and take the California bar.This is because the bar review curricula differ from location to location. Accordingly, a student who is planning to take the bar review course somewhere other than in the Bay Area cannot take the first few weeks of the bar review course in the Stanford area and then move to wherever it is they are planning to move and finish up the bar review course at that location. Moreover, many of the students have leases on their apartments that end before the bar exam; thus, even those students who have the flexibility and financial wherewithal to change their relocation plans and remain in the Stanford area through the bar exam may not have any place to live (and how many of those do you think there are?) Stanford Law School refuses to address this issue head on, attempting to placate their students with vague promises that they’re “looking into it.”
We spoke to officials at Stanford Law School, and it appears that the school has “look[ed] into it.” Overall, the school feels that the benefits outweigh the burdens, and the burdens can be mitigated.
Look at it from Stanford’s perspective, after the jump.
A spokesperson for Stanford Law School provided Above the Law with a detailed statement explaining why the switch is being made to a quarters calendar. SLS has also made a special deal with Bar/Bri to help mitigate student concerns:
There was initially some concern about Bar Review courses, but we were able to address it. In a typical year, more than 95% of our students take one of four bars: California, New York, Illinois, and Texas.The Bar Bri folks in all four states agreed to run special courses for the Stanford students, which will begin on our schedule and still end with time to spare before the bar exam. (As you know, the courses end weeks before the exam, so there is no pressure on that end.) Students who want to take the course may thus remain here to do so. They can also use the iPod version if they want to do this off site. The 7-10 students who are taking some other bar will typically need to use the iPod version.
While we viewed this as a potential inconvenience, we believe that it is more than offset by the various advantages Stanford students gain by being on the same quarter system as the University.
First, where students in a semester system can take, on average, approximately 18 electives over their three years, students under our new calendar can easily take 30 —meaning they gain greater breadth in their education or greater depth
or a better combination of both.Second, by aligning our calendar with the University, students can take many of these extra courses in Stanford University’s other top ranked schools: business, engineering, medicine, earth sciences and the like. This is a significant benefit in today’s legal market, where the ability to understand the substance of what your client does is as important as knowing the legal doctrine that governs it.
Third, under the quarter system, we are able to make our clinics full time during the quarter a student takes a clinic. This enables us to add breadth and depth to the clinical experience, while the clinics remain essentially the same length as before (because without competing exams, the clinic runs through the reading and exam periods). It also enables us to do special things like run our international clinics abroad (this quarter, for instance, students in our International Human Rights Clinic will spend 11 weeks working in South Africa).
Fourth, because the opportunity costs of any individual course are smaller under a quarter system, we are able to create and offer a variety of new courses to address shortcomings in the current program: more advanced writing, legal practice skills courses, etc. Given the opportunity to take more courses, students can take these classes without sacrificing their general intellectual development, making them much better prepared to “hit the ground running” when they graduate.
There are other advantages as well, but the main point was that by aligning our calendar with that of the University we are able significantly to enhance the educational experience we offer students.
Come on, we’re talking about Stanford Law grads. Kids, you should be able to pass a bar with four weeks of prep time, tops. (Okay, maybe five if you’re the dean.)
Stanford law students, let us know if this argument addresses your concerns.
Earlier: Stanford Adopts ‘Retroactive’ Honors Policy; Students Complain In Real Time
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Comments
Firsty!
Of course they are smart enough to pass the Bar without a few weeks of BarBri. Many, many students don't need the full BarBri regimen -- we all do it and did it out of fear that we would not pass. But BarBri is a racket, and to a large extent, unnecessary. Studying for the Bar is important, but missing some BarBri? Who cares.
How will this change the start dates for 2L summer associates? Will SLS students always be the weird ones who start 2 or 3 weeks late after everyone else?
Stanford rules; Larry Kramer has done wonders to allow the students to take advantage of the university's broader offerings. The dual degree programs are a fantastic opportunity and this change is essential to making them accessible to the law students. And those wanting to make use of other valuable classes, such as foreign languages, economics, business classes etc. will also benefit.
3 - Probably, like the U. Chicago crew.
Twice the final exams.
Stanford will have to pass the bar the same way Chicago does. Oh the humanity!
Mark my words, in 10 years Stanford will be the #1 law school in the nation.
xoxo,
Nostradamus
So why wouldn't law students be able to take courses at one of the other "top ranked" schools that are on the quarter system while attending law classes on the semester system? Other law schools are on the semester system while the rest of the university is on the quarter system. At least finals would be nicely spaced out.
In any event, what law students want to take MORE classes? Isn't there a movement to make law school two years instead of three?
I just graduated from Stanford Law School and took the New York Bar Exam. Granted, I don't know yet if I passed. But I will say that my biggest complaint about BarBri was that the course was drawn out over too many weeks. I would have preferred a more condensed study schedule, with less time between the end of the course and the actual exam. Now I realize that the new quarter system will preclude some SLS students from taking live bar classes at locations outside the Bay Area, and that this may create logistical problems. But the shorter bar class should be considered a blessing.
stanford has been a top law school for longer than the last few months. the second sentence of this post makes no sense
F Barbri anyway. It's all about Themis. 8 graded essays (with more feedback than "needs more irac" or "not enough headings") and online videos you watch at your own pace, divided up into small segments so you can really drive the stuff into your brain. Barbri's a joke.
11 - No, it makes perfect sense. The new USNWR rankings came out in the past few months (April 2009):
http://abovethelaw.com/2009/04/open_thread_us_news_law_school.php
13 - But hasn't Stanford been #3 forever?
11 / 13 / 14 - rendered moot by revision.
Dear Stanford,
Welcome to the suck.
Sincerely,
Chicago
This story is completely irrelevant, since 100% of SLS students are smart enough to pass the CA bar without studying. It's a cakewalk.
Cry me a river. Granted, we aren't #3 (or 1st tier anymore for that matter, don't get me started), but Baylor students have been taking Bar Bri at night while in school full time during the day for years. Plus we historically have the best pass rate in Texas. Point taken, however, on those who are taking another state's bar and/or moving.
Stanford Law School is for dick suckers. As for job potential, they're only good for sucking dick, so they need not bother attempting to practice law, unless the judge in their case leans that way.
17 - Isn't the CA bar regarded as the toughest in the country? Isn't it three days?
8,
Didn't you also predict that the world will no longer exist in 10 years? Please reconcile.
Dear "Spokesperson for Stanford Law School":
What makes you think law students want to take extra classes at Stanford's "other schools" like "earth sciences"? They'd have applied to the "other schools." As for breadth, depth and prep for "hitting the ground running", it is your responsibility to come up with an appropriate program within a specific framework. Trim the fat or expand where needed, but work within the given framework, please.
Well, I graduated from HLS rather than SLS, but I worked full time at a Bay Area law firm (clerkship summer) and attended Barbri 6-10 PM. I then took two weeks off before the bar to study full time. It was fine. I can't imagine that this would interfere with SLS students passing the Calbar.
That SLS student tipster will one day grow up to be a terrible legal writer. Yuck.
TRANSLATION: The benefits of administrative convenience for the school's management outweigh serious inconveniences to the professional career goals of the student body at the law school. Utterly ridiculous, and indefensible.
This post is addressed to Commenter #23:
That is because, unlike you, Stanford Law Students work exceedingly hard during the morning and afternoon and are therefore rightfully exhausted by the evening. They also begin their work before 9am, schlub.
They're copying our rigor!
U of C
Stanford law students (and anyone with a decent level of intelligence) can pass the bar with 2-6 weeks of studying. People work themselves into a frantic mess over nothing, and BarBri drags the studying misery over way, way too many weeks. No need to create a crisis where there isn't one.
"Stanford University already follows a quarters system, but the law school is currently on a semester-based academic calendar."
Actually, this is incorrect: SLS is currently on a quarter system. It made the switch this year. Fine research, Elie.
Hey! I went to law school with Larry Kramer ... at Chicago ...
Why isn't there an abbreviated Barbri for smart people anyways? Customize your Barbri class! Are you smart, average, or the type of person that really needs to go to every one of those classes and do every one of those assignments?
It only sucks in that they now graduate at a later time ... 3L year drags too much already.
I just took the July Virginia exam and passed. I studied about 3 hours a day for two weeks, and then maybe 5-6 hours a day the final week. I.e., I didn't study all that hard and not for very long. I didn't go to a Stanford quality school. Yet I knew after I took the exam that I had easily passed it. I would have studied a little harder for California, but not much.
Point being, bar exams are not hard. There's a bit of anxiety regarding not knowing what to truly expect, but the exam itself isn't bad at all. I guess I just don't see the big deal; there is no reason to study in June at all.
I went to Stanford Law School and the only thing I got an A in was Vaginal Discourses in A.S. Byatt's Possession. The rest was crap.
Uh, I believe only two schools use quarters. U Chicago. And Northeastern (???).
Stanford's move to the quarter system makes sense because Chicago and Stanford are really similar in the sense that they operate outside of the NE centric vibe of YHCNYU.
4 = Larry Kramer
Can we cool it on these articles on the West Coast? The legal market revolves around New York and the East Coast, and whatever happens out west is just a result of what happens on the East Coast.
36 is right, everyone knows that the biotech/computer/aviation industry IP work is all on the East Coast. Not to mention the bulk of entertainment, copyright, and environmental litigation.
Stupid West Coasters, thinking they have a law profession or a legal market 3x the size of NYC.
Hey Stanford,
Enjoy your extra 12 classes worth of assignments, outlines and finals. Hooray quarter system! More work for the same price!
Uhm, welcome to life for Chicago students for, like, forever.
It's a pain in the ass, but somehow Chicago grads have managed to get summer jobs, permanent jobs, AND pass the bar, all with a crappy schedule. On the plus side, you get like an extra month of summer vacation on the back end.
I anticipate this causing a severe drop in Stanford's ranking (according to Thomas M. Cooley)
I miss Roxanna. Where are you?
Yeah, Nurtheestern had qarter sistem and eevaluashions instead uf grades for yeers. Stanford most be coopying we's!
Unemployed 2007 Northeastern grad
Ow, 42. You made me laugh and now my soul hurts.
Do you guys think that if someone just gets the study materials, BarBri is a waste of money?
I don't know what the hell you people are talking about. Thank god for BarBri or I would've lost my freaking mind. If anything, it kept me on pace and made the whole thing seem manageable. So what if it's a racket? It kept me sane.
Um, geez, just do the ipod self-study and start after finals. PROBLEM SOLVED.
1) Some people need BarBri worse than others, and it doesn't have to do with intelligence. Some people need a place to go every morning and can study in the PM, some people study in the AM and listen to lectures on the treadmill. To each his/her own.
2) As someone who just took the CA bar, the issue with SLS's plan isn't that you're missing classes, it's that you're losing time. I studied with some SLS folks this summer, and they weren't moving any faster than the rest of us. In CA, unlike where the rest of you fucktards live, we have to learn over 15 individual subjects. Nobody who's doing it thinks it's easy.
That pretty 97% SLS CA pass rate will be going down.
The ipod version of barbri is also another thousand dollars.
47
Don't worry you failed and get to re-take bar/bri and the bar again this winter.
I passed the California bar with 3 weeks study time thanks to Skadden's generous "we'll pay for Bar/Bri but not let you take the time to attend" program for incoming judicial clerks.
--Not a Stanford grad
Stanford has a law school? Is it ranked?
47,
In NY we learn 19 subjects.
OMG, what a bunch of whiners. As a Stanford (undergrad) alum and Chicago (law) alum, I had 7 years of the quarter system. It's no big deal, whether starting bar review late or showing up late for a summer program. (The biggest bummer is having OCI start weeks before classes do, meaning that you have to be back early just to suit up for a few interviews. So 39, it's not an extra month of summer.) I am pleased to see that SLS will no longer be an island to itself within Stanford. As for 32's complaint about the year dragging on too much, do what I did -- skip 1/3 of your classes and go road-tripping. It's a better elective.
50 - outted.
54 - "outted" as well.
47 -
CA may be one of the hardest bar exams in the country, but not because you have to learn '15 subjects.' Easy states require that too. At least learn why the CA exam is relatively hard before whining about it. And remember that it is relatively hard only, most people still pass CA.
If you aren't smart enough to figure out that the Ipod is much better than the BarBri class, you might be in the 3% that fails.
BREAKING NEWS: A photo of Elie from fat camp was just released to the public:
http://3.media.collegehumor.com/collegehumor/ch6/c/9/collegehumor.b71fb6acea76b13e695264e90e5d621c.jpg
BarBri was the point where I realized something was seriously wrong in the whole Steps to Becoming a Lawyer Timeline:
1) Undergrad record of achievement? Check
2) Lsat score which will allow me to brag the rest of my days? Check
3) Three years learning crap on crap on crap while being treated like, you guessed it, crap by professors and administrators? Check
4) $100k in debt? Check
Then we reach step 5) Borrow another $8,000-$15,000 to learn outlines of what will actually be on the only test that can qualify me to become a lawyer? Which 1/3 of all takers will fail? And NONE OF THIS WAS COVERED IN CLASS? They took my money for three years, and now if I don't pay for some TAPED LECTURES I will flunk?
No one else thought that was a little weird?
BarBri was the point where I realized something was seriously wrong in the whole Steps to Becoming a Lawyer Timeline:
1) Undergrad record of achievement? Check
2) Lsat score which will allow me to brag the rest of my days? Check
3) Three years learning crap on crap on crap while being treated like, you guessed it, crap by professors and administrators who can barely bring themselves to cash my tuition check? Check
4) $100k in debt? Check
Then we reach step 5) Borrow another $8,000-$15,000 to learn outlines of what will actually be on the only test that can qualify me to become a lawyer? Which 1/3 of all takers will fail? And NONE OF THIS WAS COVERED IN CLASS? They took my money for three years, and now if I don't pay for some TAPED LECTURES I will flunk?
No one else thought that was a little weird?
21 - everyone knows the world is ending in 2012 likes the Mayans predicted.
The ipod version is vastly superior - study on the deck overlooking some bay somewhere. Sail in the mornings. Run as desired/required. Pass bar with less suck.
52 + 56-
Gee, I've never heard of these 'other states.' Tell me more.
The point is not that there are a couple other states are harder in certain respects than CA. The point is that it's a grueling, 3-day ordeal which requires competency in three very different, very difficult tasks. In many respects, Stanford students are at a relative disadvantage compare to students at schools that focus on teaching bar subjects, which relative to Stanford is every school in the Bay Area (Boalt is close, from what I know). Now, the recent high passage rate is a real testament to the massive brains at SLS... but everyone hits a wall in terms of how much they can learn in a short period of time. The passage rate isn't going to nosedive, but it's going to come down into mortal territory, and quite possibly below USC, UCLA or Boalt.
4 is definitely kramer
Also sucks re: summer associate start dates, which are typically in mid to late May. Now, all SLS summers will be starting 2-3 weeks late. At many firms, that means $6,000 to $9,000 less, because most places won't let you tack on extra weeks at the end of the summer -- the end of the summer program is the end for everyone. It's even worse for the Texas market too, which customarily has summers split between two firms. You can't exactly do a first half split when you're starting 2-3 weeks late.
And yes, agree with 35 and 64 that 4 is definitely Kramer trolling. Even before SLS switched to quarters, there was nothing stopping law students from taking University courses during the fall (quarter classes starting later) and winter (quarter classes starting earlier). Between pass-fail grading and quarters, Kramer is running SLS into the ground.
This would never happen in Texas
I think I could put up with this for the opportunity to go to Stanford.
Snoozers!
This article was so worthless even the comments sucked.
Gayvid/Elie Mysspell/ Kashtacean:
How about a reader poll whereby the beloved ATL "shticks" are rated and reviewed, ie:
*The "Emeritus" family
*The Spinal Tappers
*Restatement 90
*The Ship Be Sinking
*MrsLat/Future Elie
*"It was no big deal"
*Those sharting bean eating lassies from Boston
Is there any one I missed?
@69 -- it has been done. Granted, that was back in the day when there were commenters who were at least slightly amusing...
Will someone please summarize any points made by the tipster? I stopped reading after vis a vis and the fact that were used within the first three sentences.
47: In Virginia, we have about 23 subjects. I worked full time and then some (55hrs/wk or so) through law school and up to about 2 weeks before the bar exam started. I went to the Barbri evening sessions 6 to about 10pm, give or take. Realized the lectures weren't for me, and just cracked the books for a couple of hours a night up until the exam. I didn't study a whole lot harder than this the two weeks before the exam where I wasn't working. I passed.
Barbri markets to the fearful, anxious law student. They know you're nervous and squeeze $3k out of you to help. The outlines were good enough, but if I had to do it again, I'd have just bought the books second hand and self-studied.
Don't even get me started on how bad Barbri's practice MBEs were for this summer's exam. I passed so it all worked out, but I do think PMBR is a better option.
Blah blah blah -- BarBri works just fine if you follow the program, instead of doing what most people do which is put off everything until the last week or so.
I commend Stanford for doing this. I've been on the quarter and semester system and found that the quarter system is far better.
73 -- Did you miss the point of every single person who knocked BarBri? I don't see anyone here who complained it didn't work. Sure, it works. But it also is unnecessary -- few people need all that class time and study time. I was not cramming the last week. I didn't put off my studying. I did, however, decide to study at a more reasonable pace than BarBri, and did not attend all the lectures. I began light studying in mid-June, a couple hours a day. I continued that until the Bar exam. Pass.
People are scared of the exam so they take BarBri. But many people can pass easily without it, assuming they have a small amount of discipline and a work ethic. If you have neither, I suppose BarBri helps.
37- those are just spin-offs of litigation, and most of the time those departments, regardless of what region they are in, have to report back to their bosses in New York or DC who run the show
Some Stanford grads flunk the bar every year. There may be a couple more or a couple less under the new system. Not a big deal - unless you flunk, then your life is probably ruined in the current job market. I'd study more than necessary.
went to chicago, but took the bar exam in texas. summer associate positions in TX weren't a big deal b/c of the quarter system--most firms are very accomodating for students from T6 schools. as for bar bri, it sucked. i had to go to class all morning, and then drive downtown to listen to the audio tapes of the classes i missed--yes, audio tapes (this was only 5 years ago). sitting through it live though sucked just as bad. the lectures on the ipod would be far superior to attending the sessions live, so if they are doing that now, you should thank the law school for the new system.
This is the final straw, Stanford! I'm going to transfer to Cooley.
While I'm sure moving to a quarterly schedule won't effect SLS grads ability to pass the bar, just because they can do it, doesn't mean they should have to do it. Before the misery of bar exam studying, they should get a week or so to decompress from school and just hang out. I know that "fun" and "free time" = crazy talk to some, but frankly, they have the rest of their working lives to work too hard- the school might as well cut them a break after finishing up 7 years of higher education.
Dear Stanford,
Don’t use undergraduate threats with a graduate student. This "we've looked into" bs is unbecoming.
-J. Eakman, Jr.
80, sure would be nice to lay around and do nothing. But you'll have a month or more to do that after the Bar. it isn't as if Stanford is taking away the only free time and fun you will ever have from now until the end of your days. It just delays it a month. That's all. Party in August.
@#18: That's because BLS stands for Barbri Law School, not Baylor
Will SLS be paying the extra money for my iPod course?
The BarBri class sessions are a fine way to review the material, but they are not necessary. It's what you do in the time period between when BarBri ends and the bar begins that will earn you a passing score.
Attention 3Ls:
Recent graduates advising you to skip BARBRI are the same people who told you not to study until 2 weeks before finals your 1L year.
"Will SLS be paying the extra money for my iPod course?"
----------
If you're at SLS and don't have a job and a firm paying for it, you have much bigger problems than dealing with a change to the school calendar.
I think the SLS tipster here has too much "breadth and depth" in his/her sentences. Try using commas and periods once in a while.
LOL 86, I studied all the way through law school. I am not a crammer and never have been. Steady studying from day 1 in 1L year. BarBri is actually another version of cramming, I believe. If you study and pay attention and work all through law school, you don't need the 8 week (or whatever it is) cramming that is BarBri.
Note that I am not saying don't study for the Bar. I'm just saying there are plenty of ways to pass besides BarBri (and that the long and intense BarBri method is not needed for most people).
-- 75
I don't think this blog will be able to survive and economic recovery
87: Not every SLS student wants to work for a firm jackass.
While I would never be one to defend Stanford douche-bags such as 63 and his/her ilk, missing 3 weeks of CA BarBri is missing quite a lot of material. One subject lasts maybe 2-3 days. As others have pointed out it's not necessarily the lectures as much as it is the schedule they force you into, which helps a lot of people get focused and get studying regardless of how much of a douche bag you may be.
And the explanation from the school sounds like BS. Do douche-ba---ahem---law students down there actually enroll in university electives? Taking more credits = more $$$ for Stanford....interesting...
75/89: Most students don't want to take every single "bar class" offered by their law school. At many law schools, bar classes like Trusts & Estates, Family Law aren't very good. And, students want to focus on what they're interested in. For example, if I'm into corporate law, why should I be wasting my time with T&E, Family Law, CrimPro, etc.
Lastly, if you pay attention and study throughout law school, that still doesn't mean you're going to have learned much of what you need for the bar. Most state specific stuff is NOT covered by higher ranked law schools like SLS. And, the bar is black-letter whereas schools like SLS are all about the nuances of the law, the policy concerns, etc. If you write your bar essays like you did your law school exams, you're going to be in a world of hurt.
92: Exactly. Studying for the bar is a MARATHON where you have to refresh yourself on and maybe even learn for the first time ~15 different subjects. As much as people malign the BarBri lectures, they force you to sit there and absorb the basic rules for a given subject that you might not have understood well the first time (if your prof sucked, etc.). For the average student (and yes, even the average SLS student), this isn't a bad thing.
However, not being able to get yourself into "bar study mode" for another three weeks is a considerable disadvantage. It takes at least a week or two to get used to the workload and manage your time well (between the lectures, readings, essays, MBE prep, etc.). Better to be doing that in late May / early June than late June because SLS is keeping you in law school to finish up your last meaningless set of finals / papers.
Drexel Law is on quarters now (because the rest of the university is) but will be switching to a semester system in 1 or 2 years.
In 2008-09, we ended up having our entire law school calendar shifted ahead of the university calendar so that we could wrap up our last exams and our graduation in time for BAR/BRI classes to start. That is, we began our fall classes a good 2 weeks (or maybe more, I forget) before the rest of the university's students arrived on campus.
I liked the quarter system well enough. You had more exams to take, but that meant you also had more chances to bring your GPA back up if you blew one of your exams. And personally I'm a learning geek -- I'd spend the rest of my life as a student if I could, so I liked being able to take a very wide variety of courses. But everybody's mileage varies, of course, and plenty of my fellow students hated the quarter system and would have welcomed a semester system.
What about taking the Kaplan course - there is a completely online version. All the lectures are online, you can do it on your own schedule. The average SLS student is going to need the full course - just having access to lectures, essay practice, etc., will be all they need. Kaplan's course is cheaper too, Barbri is a racket.
37 -- As everyone knows, the biotech/computer/aviation industries all have to come to NYC to get their financing. Not to mention everyone else. The West Coast legal market exists only because of NYC financial and legal markets. Suck it.
97: Yeah, because we all know how well the NYC financial market has been doing lately... Seriously, have you been in a cave for the last two years? Do the names Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, and Merrill Lynch mean anything to you? That's your vaunted NYC financial market.
96: Kaplan's course is also brand new and unproven. I'm not a BarBri fan by any means, but I'm not about to be a guinea pig for Kaplan to establish themselves in the bar prep industry. BarBri might suck, but they're relatively proven. In contrast, Kaplan is a complete unknown in the bar prep industry (buying PMBR doesn't count) and their other test prep services (SAT, LSAT) leave something to be desired to say the least.
wow 99 - you have really drunk the barbri koolaid. they might suck but they're relatively proven? um, no. all that's proven is that they really suck. don't buy into the barbri BS that you're a guinea pig if you take another course - that's what they want you to think because they're a monopoly and don't want to give up any of their pie.
96/100 & 99, SLS 3L here,
A handful of us are planning on taking the Kaplan course given the price of Bar/Bri combined with the time constraints placed on the graduating class with the quarter system. The Bar/Bri ipod course, albeit more convenient with our schedules, costs several hundred dollars more than the regular course does. Kaplan has an online option that is less expensive.
A graduate of SLS was a "guinea pig" in Kaplan's New York class last summer and didn't feel at a disadvantage, so we really aren't too concerned about the quality of Kaplan's course.