Northwestern California University School of Law

I have been in the program since April and I am very impressed with the support I have received from the professors and the other students. They hit you from all directions; reading, video conferencing,discussion boards, live chats, quizzes, definitions, and CD's. It's a lot of work and you have to keep up, but it starts to come together. As far as non ABA, it doesn't matter where you go you will have to start with CA bar and move on from there. Look up on the CA bar for the stats of pass rates and you'll see the NWCU is always at the top and very competitive with the big schools, for a fraction of the cost. It's been tough, but I love it...and I think things will change in the future. An online student challenged the Wiscousin Bar and won and sat for the bar. Who knows what the future holds.....

I am a student here in my second year now. The program is supported well by live video conference classes. However most of the learning comes from books, recorded lectures, etc.

The bar pass rates are higher than average for online/distance education schools (ref: Calbar), and at a third of the cost of Concord it is inexpensive.

From what I can gather with conversations with a few lawyers and posts in online forums, non-ABA is non-ABA, so i've gone in with the mindset that any of the CA non-ABA law school will be much the same...

The Concord forum on this website yields some interesting discussion which is worth a read.

Good luck in your search!

Does anyone know anything about this college of law?????

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READ THE CONTRACT: I am not yet enrolled in NWCU, but for fairness sake, I would like to point out that in the A-10 portion of the contract it states in black ink on the white background that  $495 + $100 + $75 + first months tuition are not refundable in case if the contract is cancelled. So future layers just got the first lesson in contract law. I am excited - most of the stuff I dug up about the NWCU was positive, so now I cannot wait to start.

Read your post from Feb and was wondering if your enthusiasm is still there. I am a prospective student, and am interested to see if you ate happy with your choice. Thanks

Hi! last week i sent out my enrollment docs and payment plan checks out to nwcu. i haven't heard a response yet from the school and it's been 7 days. im just eager to start my studies right away. how long should i expect to wait for them to process my enrollment? I am taking into account usps wait time and check clearing time. sorry, just really anxious and impatient. how long did you guys have to wait?

Question,
I am a software developer with a Bachelor Degree in Computer science and 10 years of professional experience. I am doing pretty good in IT but for me to advance my career I consider getting a law degree and NWCU seems to be a good option here. Am I eligible to get enrolled? And what would be the benefits of having this degree for me?

TIA, Paul

I am thinking of enrolling soon, but am just leary of all the bad comments about a non-ABA law school. This would be my only option to attend law school, due to working full time in a correctional facility, and having a family to support. I am no fool, dealing with inmates for over 15 years has taught me that much. And being employed a total of 27 plus years has taught me to spot a fraud even better. I possess both a Bachelor and Associate degree's in criminal justice, but always wanted to go on to be an attorney. I have spoken to them several times on the phone, and the different people I spoke with have always been great and very informative. Can anyone help me decide????!!!!! 

I took the plunge about 2 years ago after much research for correspondence law schools.  I am glad I picked NWCU, and would not have it any other way.  The staff is polite, and quick to respond to email or phone calls.  The information provided, and the lessons in 1L helped me pass the FYLSE (Baby Bar) on the first try!  I have heard from others that attend online law schools, they wished they could have enrolled with NWCU.  All I can say is ...C'est la vie.

**Amended**
I received my J.D. from NWCU last year.  This was one of the most rewarding experiences I've ever had in my life.  The key ingredients to succeed in law school, especially when dealing with a distance learning program are: a) faith, b) discipline, c) humility and d) perseverance.  My professors were excellent, very professionals and totally dedicated to lead me in my success.  They were fair and pushed me to go above and beyond the text.  On the other hand, when dealing with acceptance/rejection policies, the Baby Bar takes care of all of those "red herrings".

I received my J.D. from NWCU last year.  This was one of the most rewarding experiences I've ever had in my life.  The key ingredients to succeed in law school, specially when dealing with a distance learning program are: a) faith, b) discipline, c) humility and d) perseverance.  My professors were excellent, very professionals and totally dedicated to lead me in my success.  They were fair and pushed me to go above and beyond the text.  On the other hand, when dealing with acceptance/rejection policies, the Baby Bar takes care of all of those "red herrings".

 

Hello, I recently received my acceptance and am wondering if anyone else is having trouble access the pdf files that needs to be submitted within 30 days?  I have Adobe Reader and I can't even see the text.  If you know how to troubleshoot this please let me know.  I just e-mailed the school about the problem. 

I applied on 3/31 and received my acceptance yesterday.  Not sure if they reject people but they did ask me several follow up questions before they accepted me.

What about overall time?  Getting the transcripts in, interview, etc?  I literally sent in my application online but haven't received any correspondence from them regarding requests for transcripts and all.  I know it's going to take a lot of self motivation to study since it's all online.  Thanks for response! Good luck!

Does anyone know how long it will take until they give you a response of either an acceptance/rejection letter?  Do they even reject people?  I just submitted my application today.  

Excellent school.  I am a few months into my first year.  The 2 poor reviews below appear to be isolated criticism.  I did exactly the same ting Law Student 49 did below, however did exactly what the instructions said--to the letter--and mine went through without difficulty.  Few questions here and there, but I just didn't error.  I honestly think if you cannot smoothly enroll, you won't smoothly get through your first year law school either.  I mean let's be realistic, the errors below are indicative of the individual's thoroughness, which is reflective of the future in dealing with this same individual as well.  The prior comment entry on "rip off" is opinion rather than experience, as I believe the hundreds of other satisfied students I have seen posts from within the university forums, do not share this view.  In conclusion, the negative comments are isolated pre-school, and have no bearing on the program, as neither made it into the university, which, per the remaining comments, is clearly a positive program.  

I am in my second year in NWCU, and I am convinced it is the best correspondence course for law to be had. Of course, you need to work hard, or you won't get anywhere. Professor George Castagnola is the best!

I had a chance to meet the office staff and they were very nice, informative, and generally I am impressed with the overall presentation.

However, the enrollment process is very nit picky and the same nice people are difficult to deal with when it comes to enrollment. I elected the monthly payment plan and they require that you send them checks for each month as part of the enrollment package. You have to send them 12 checks and perhaps due to writers cramp, I mistakenly didn't send them the last one (nov 2011). They rejected the entire enrollment package as a result even after I told them I would send them the Nov check right away.

After they returned all my checks, I wrote the Nov 2011check and sent them all 12checks back.

They then called and said that have my payments but I did not include the enrollment documents which I had assumed they kept in their file and said that I would have to resubmit the entire package and start all over.

 They were adamant about me not sending copies of the original forms because the dates have changed and one of the checks was now dated last month and that was grounds for them to not accept my enrollment unless I rewrote the checks to match the new dates.

It makes me wonder how my school experience will be. If it is anything like the administration, I will look for another school. 

I enrolled at nwcul they were most glad to cash my $807.50 down payment.  The CD and info promised to arrived in two weeks time took six weeks. I withdrew because of slow service and the run around from the internet tech guy who did not seem to know one student from another when he sent out instructions.  By then my check for the monthly payment had also been cashed. I had invested $1,045 in nothing by that time.  The school had also had dragged out sending me my acceptance letter. I was officially enrolled 49 days and getting nowhere. I wrote to nwcul to withdraw. Nwcul school has disgusting excuses to overcharge. 
This school is just another on line rip off organization that poses as a place to get an education on line.  Favorable reviews found on line probably come from the school it's self. A withdrawal fee was charged of $100.for processing. My tuition was $2,850 for first year.  I received a paultry $92.31 from nwcul out of $1,045. paid.  Buyer beware of this organized rip off by sleezy lawyers. Pick a brick and mortal ABA approved School.