Northwestern California University School of Law

"I have been enrolled for just about 3 months now. So far, everything has been smooth. The people I have dealt with over the phone were terrific, the application and enrollment process was terrific and the curriculum itself is equally terrific. The website is very well constructed and it certainly seems that I have at my disposal, all the tools available to me to continue the courses and be successful. You can access the course content anytime and there are a variety of paths to complete the requisite Verified Academic Engagement (VAE) hours. The CALI lessons are fantastic! The courses syllabi gives you a roadmap to follow or deviate from as you prefer. I'm not sure what else they could reasonably do to make it easier for someone who is working full time and raising a family to earn a JD; particularly at such a low cost. It is a tremendous amount of work and there are only a handful of assignments that are submitted for grading which are designed only to help you begin to learn the requisite skill sets to be successful in the curriculum and as an attorney. So it is up to the individual student to be disciplined enough to learn the material. There is no hand holding with this program."

"This law school is a total fraud. They keep charging me a application fee and then denying my application without any reason as to why. I hold a MBA/BA and work at a very large University. I have asked the school for feedback countless times but they refuse to reply. I will be filing complaints against this law with the Better Business Bureau, the California State Attorney General's Office, as well as the California Board of Bar Examiners. They need to lose their state accreditation."

"Overview: Northwestern California University School of Law is a legitimate and challenging law school that gives an amazing opportunity for an affordable on-line law degree that allows one to understand the law and take the California State Bar exam to become an attorney. The best things about the school: It has a very flexible learning schedule allowing 4 years to get a J.D. degree. It has generally good instructional books, CD lectures, and other materials similar or identical to that of the best law schools. Students have more ample access to help from professors who are also California attorneys. One can attend classes on-line instead of relocating or driving to school. It is extremely affordable compared to other traditional law schools. It uses modern on-line technology to learn and interact with other students and professors. It has a 30+ year history so it is not a risky “upstart” law school. The worst about the school: It isn’t an ABA school so you can’t use it to immediately take the bar exam to become an attorney in most other states besides California. You must be very self-disciplined to spend about 80-100 hours per month studying law because no one is going to “hold your hand” and make sure you are keeping up on your study like a brick and mortar law school. I did my first year at an “inexpensive” traditional law school which cost me about $20,000. I wish I had started here instead and saved my money. I learned in my first year of school that law is overwhelmingly self-taught via personal reading and private studying. Although I was initially very skeptical of this school because the tuition was so low, I found that I actually had more personal attention from professors in class and outside of class than I did with my previous “brick and mortar” law school. It is certainly true that more expensive schools usually have higher bar pass rates but passing the bar is far more about your personal ability and dedicated preparation than your academic degree. I went to this school and passed the bar on my first try because I studied hard; about 15 to 20 percent of fancy and often debt-ridden ABA school grads can’t make that claim. Someday, all law schools will be more like this one. Peter Wallis, Attorney and Counselor at Law"

"Finding this school is like finding a pearl in haystack. Yes, this is NOT an ABA approved school. It's not brick and mortar. But if you aim to sit for the California Bar and practice in California, this school is a great alternative. I know we all are impressed by fancy titles from Stanford or UCLA, but if you have a family, or full time working responsibilities you'll have access to an outstanding legal education for a total of $12k in tuition, plus books. This school is breaking glass ceilings for working class people, and I look forward to be part of their academic community!"

"Great school to get a good legal education with tuition that is exceptionally affordable. Professors and staff are very supportive and push you to be successful in your legal studies. Highly recommend this school whether you decide to become a lawyer or not. The knowledge and analytical skills that you gain as a result of your study with this school are invaluable."