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Undecided on where to attend. Opinions appreciated.

Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2010 11:32 pm
by moonchow
I am pretty new here, but this site has proved to be quite informative for me, so I figured I'd ask for some opinions. I have been accepted to a number of schools, though nothing top 20 or anything too spectacular, and with deposit deadlines drawing near I am still not quite sure where I want to go.

Of the schools I've been accepted to, I am currently still considering Temple, Santa Clara, Florida State, Loyola-LA, and San Diego. As of late I have been leaning toward attending school in California, especially Santa Clara. I am interested in IP law and they seem to have a good reputation for that, plus I really like the region (currently live in western NY and have no real desire to stay). I am also interested in the international programs/internships moreso than those offered by the other schools. However, I know that their overall ranking isn't the greatest and I've heard from multiple people that I should aim for the school with the best overall ranking.

That said, I am still seriously considering the other schools I mentioned because of factors such as region, rating, and of course money. Though, the cost isn't too important as I have basically accepted that I will be taking out a considerable amount of loan money, but it is hard/dumb to just dismiss the schools that are cheaper/are offering more money.

One other thing I will say is that both Temple and Loyola sort of dropped on my interest list a bit because I am not exactly smitten with the urban environments of either school.

Of course, all of this would be moot if I get accepted to William and Mary, which is my first choice, but I haven't heard form them, my numbers - 161 LSAT and 3.6 GPA - aren't exactly up to their standards and I've already been waitlisted by Washington and Lee which iirc is around the same ranking (so my hopes aren't very high).

Anyway, thanks in advance for your opinions/advice.

Re: Undecided on where to attend. Opinions appreciated.

Posted: Wed Mar 17, 2010 5:20 am
by voice of reason
Yeah, Temple's neighborhood really sucks.

I don't think it makes sense to compare these schools as step 1. They're regional schools, so step 1 is to decide where you want to live. Then the choice of school is automatic unless you pick southern California, in which case you have to choose between Loyola and USD. USD is the exact opposite of Temple; it's a really pretty campus in a fairly nice city.

Re: Undecided on where to attend. Opinions appreciated.

Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2010 4:56 am
by Norwood
Yep, those schools are regional, so go to the school where you see yourself practicing law. Rankings don't matter too much and it is stubborn to choose a school based on the highest ranking. I believe ranking only matters when there is a huge obvious difference in rank or tiers (#20 vs #85). Looking at your choices they are all pretty much equal peer schools so choose a region you want to live/work in and go for it.

San Diego and Santa Clara are both wonderful choices for california schools and both have extremely nice weather and beautiful campuses. if you 100% sure on IP then SCU is the nobrainer. However, if you are unsure then it would be wise (and fun) to check out both schools since the cities are very different from eachother.

Re: Undecided on where to attend. Opinions appreciated.

Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2010 5:07 am
by Kilpatrick
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Re: Undecided on where to attend. Opinions appreciated.

Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2010 5:15 am
by waverider
Kilpatrick wrote:If you have a BS go to Santa Clara, otherwise I'd say San Diego. If you go to Loyola you have to compete with UCLA and USC grads for jobs whereas the San Diego market is very insular and USD rules there.
+1

But I voted Santa Clara because it seems like your mind is already made. Many of us come on here wanting confirmation that we are not making a bad decision, so here it is. Santa Clara is not a bad decision :)

Just be aware that without a very technical degree IP is a hard field to get into.

Re: Undecided on where to attend. Opinions appreciated.

Posted: Thu Mar 18, 2010 6:48 am
by rando
Kilpatrick wrote:If you have a BS go to Santa Clara, otherwise I'd say San Diego. If you go to Loyola you have to compete with UCLA and USC grads for jobs whereas the San Diego market is very insular and USD rules there.
Absolutely untrue. San Diego is not insular at all and USD is not dominant. I interviewed at one of the most respected San Diego firms from a school in the South. Their hiring partner specifically told me they would not be interviewing at USD this year and were recruiting most heavily at USC, UCLA, Stanford and Boalt.

Re: Undecided on where to attend. Opinions appreciated.

Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 10:27 pm
by moonchow
waverider wrote: +1

But I voted Santa Clara because it seems like your mind is already made. Many of us come on here wanting confirmation that we are not making a bad decision, so here it is. Santa Clara is not a bad decision :)

Just be aware that without a very technical degree IP is a hard field to get into.
First of all thanks for the responses. Secondly, yeah I guess my mind is sort of made up. Maybe, a little....not really.

See, I don't have a technical degree. I'd call it BS, but not the type a BS you're talking about...
So that's why I'm undecided. I would like to pursue IP, but I'd have to pursue trademark or copyright law or something as I don't have the technical background to go into Patents or anything like that.

What I also like about Santa Clarais their international summer programs/internships they offer, especially the one in Tokyo. I used to live and work in Japan and the idea of going back for a summer is definitely appealing. Also, since I majored in IR undergrad, the international law aspect interests me as well.

So yeah, still unsure, though now I'm thinking it's between San Diego and Santa Clara.

Re: Undecided on where to attend. Opinions appreciated.

Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 10:36 pm
by kommatas
I'll talk about FSU for you. It is a fun place to live, but still nice town. It is really fun but kind of overwhelming with parties during football season (but they haven't been doing too good lately, so maybe its cooled down). If you go to FSU you can get jobs in Florida and Georgia at a pretty competitive rate (not so much Atlanta but def. Savannah), but right now Florida law jobs are pretty soft from what I understand, but I would think S. California isn't doing too well either.

I do not know much about FSU's law program. But the location is pretty nice. I am from S. Florida, I like Tallahassee but it's climate is more like Georgia than S. Florida. The weather is much colder in the winter then Ft. Lauderdale, but what I consider cold is probably nice for you.....

I think, like the other posters have said you have to pick where you want to live because there is not much mobility from any of the schools you listed.

I do not go to FSU or plan on going to FSU.

Re: Undecided on where to attend. Opinions appreciated.

Posted: Mon Mar 22, 2010 4:17 am
by moonchow
Thanks for the info on FSU. I would hardly use "cold" to describe the weather in any part of Florida.
But yeah, the big reason I am still considering Florida is because I have family down there. Not much else. I will probably be passing on FSU, but I still haven't ruled it out completely.

Re: Undecided on where to attend. Opinions appreciated.

Posted: Mon Mar 22, 2010 4:34 am
by A'nold
I would probably take Loyola or USD, probs Loyola b/c that is a pretty decent scholly and if you finish high in your class you can transfer to a t14 pretty easily from there or land a good firm job in L.A. (this is what I have heard).

Re: Undecided on where to attend. Opinions appreciated.

Posted: Mon Mar 22, 2010 6:51 am
by Norwood
moonchow wrote:
What I also like about Santa Clarais their international summer programs/internships they offer, especially the one in Tokyo. I used to live and work in Japan and the idea of going back for a summer is definitely appealing. Also, since I majored in IR undergrad, the international law aspect interests me as well.
Summer programs abroad at most law schools are open to any student from another ABA accredited law school. This is true for Santa Clara's Summer Abroad programs. So you could enroll in it as long as your currently enrolled law school (ie. USD) approves of it. I've spoken to USF, SCU, and UOP about participating in each others summer programs and they said that it is common and being from another law school won't affect your chances of being accepted into the program. Just wanted to point this out so you don't make your decision based on what Summer programs the school hosts.

Re: Undecided on where to attend. Opinions appreciated.

Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 9:46 pm
by moonchow
Norwood wrote:
moonchow wrote:
What I also like about Santa Clarais their international summer programs/internships they offer, especially the one in Tokyo. I used to live and work in Japan and the idea of going back for a summer is definitely appealing. Also, since I majored in IR undergrad, the international law aspect interests me as well.
Summer programs abroad at most law schools are open to any student from another ABA accredited law school. This is true for Santa Clara's Summer Abroad programs. So you could enroll in it as long as your currently enrolled law school (ie. USD) approves of it. I've spoken to USF, SCU, and UOP about participating in each others summer programs and they said that it is common and being from another law school won't affect your chances of being accepted into the program. Just wanted to point this out so you don't make your decision based on what Summer programs the school hosts.
Thanks for the info. That is definitely good to know. I wasn't planning on making a decision solely based on that, but it's nice to take that out of the decision making process.