Karen, I’m interested in BYU precisely because I think it would be an opportunity to interact with different voices/viewpoints. I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t going to be relegated to only doing the listening. I’ll take the advice on discussion style as good advice. I’m practicing my smiling right now.

I am a BYU law school grad, soon hitting the 20-year point. So that kind of dates my experience… But by and large, the only way, really, that I knew any of my classmates were not LDS was when they talked about their membership in the “higher tuition club.” The tuition policy was, and I believe still is, to make tuition for LDS members comparable to in-state tuition at state schools, and for non-LDS members to out-of-state tuition at state schools.

It was, and remains difficult to me to imagine a doctrine-influenced interpretation of property law or the rules of evidence. The only class that the LDS perspective was even mentioned was in the jurisprudence seminar, which was more of a philosophy course than a legal one.

I join in wishing you luck in the application process. Remember, it is you recent grads that make my old diploma look better year by year!

Don’t be quiet as a church mouse! (Or don’t feel guilty about not being quiet as a church mouse.) I think a lot of the law school experience relies on being exposed to ideas that are diverse from your own. You will add to the experience of the other students, and they will probably challenge you too. If someone, by a small chance, is unkind to you because of your differences, then that person is not living their religion. Likely, it won’t happen. I imagine that any alienation you would feel would come in much more subtle ways. (But honestly, I think that anyone going to law school anywhere in the country will feel alienated at some point for some reason…at least you’re prepared!) I imagine that you’ll soon find a group of friends in law school, with whom you have common interests, and that will alleviate a lot of the feelings of alienation. Just like anywhere, if you put forth the effort, you’ll find somewhere to fit in socially.

Just a note, as Mormons, we place a high degree of value on “kind” interchanges. This doesn’t mean that you can’t disagree with people, but you’ll get a lot farther if you do it with a smile. Put differently, you can get away with saying just about anything if you do it in the acceptable Mormon way. Make an overture of understanding, smile, totally disagree, smile, admit that you’re open to discussion, smile. (It works like a charm for me in Sunday School…)

Good Luck on your application Martha! We’ll all be crossing our e-fingers for you!

If anyone has anything else to add, I’d be glad to listen.

Assuming that you are a female martha, and a non-LDS applicant, the process will be slightly skewed in your favor.

Doctrine doesn’t influence teaching much beyond a strong pro-family emphasis, and pianos in every room. When the original Rex Lee was alive, he always did an impressive job in turning the entire con law class into pro-bussing types (er, busing, integration, not kissing).

As I noted, there was a lot more tolerance in general, including matters of dress, etc., and a lot of mutal tolerance. I thought well of the school then, think well of it now and the people I know there.

By the way, thanks to those who have responded so far. I appreciate it.

First, the reason for BYU is to provide a core LDS experience. That is the primary reason for the school.

The MBA program, at one point, thought it was very inappropriate for MBAs to return to countries where they served missions, the thesis being that they were “cashing in” somehow. A group of apostles had a talk with the faculty and resolved the issue. The Church sees the guys returning as a very good thing, bringing back strength to those areas.

The law school allows the JRCLS to exist and has very interesting dynamics in regards to things that the Church considers important. Guess only time will tell, but so far they seem to think it is a positive thing. When I went, the non-members got along just fine (and, in 1979, girls in blue jeans got along just fine in the law school). I suspect it is just the same.

Graduate programs in general are an entirely different story.

MLAs? 90% never find a job. Philosophy grads? Outside of the top 20/top 50, don’t count on employment. Mostly they provide adjuncts so the professors don’t have to teach. For more, visit http://invisibleadjunct.com/ and just browse around. It is a sobering experience.

MDs? The Church has resisted opening its own medical school for forty years, in spite of donors lining up. Few MDs are engaged. (Obviously some are, very much. The one in my ward’s bishopric, etc. But, “doctor’s wife” is the only career track I know of that includes “wife” in it these days, other than midwife).

BYU’s students are around 20-22 overall. Its core students are around 12. The faculty, by “objective” measures is below the 40 mark. Not that they aren’t good, and not that through the years there have not been standouts at teaching who would not help the rankings (e.g. Woody Deem, Eugene Jacobs, etc.). Not that Thomas didn’t give the class the best explanation of a bad grade on a law school final I ever heard when questioned about the December final: “You made a factual mistake. Your logic is perfect, you understood the law, but you got the wrong answers because you got a fact wrong, so you got no points for that question.” He may have been a lousy grader, but he churns out publications and the school is lucky to still have him. As they are for the rest of the faculty, who appear to do a better job of teaching than they do of publishing and impressing other academics.

If the law school is to move any further up the rankings it needs to hire “publishing faculty” whose duty is to publish while only teaching one seminar a year. 10-12 of those would turn things around. Anyone want to fund a few endowed chairs.

Anyway, hope that answers the questions.

However, I would like to respond to Aaron’s point. I am not arguing that the faculty at BYU is bad or that it isn’t good. There are clearly some very talented, very productive, very smart professors at BYU. My only point is that they have a very high quality of students. If you compare only BYU students to the students at other schools, I suspect that it does better in the rankings than it does over all. If you compare only faculty to other faculty, I am not sure that this is the case. This DOES NOT mean that the BYU faculty is bad or stupid or poorly trained or lazy or what not. It simply means that BYU has the capacity to improve. That is it.

I didn’t go to BYU law school myself, but my impression is that if you are respectful you’ll get along fine, get a good education, and get a lot less debt. But I’m not 100% positive.