Top Law Schools

UC Davis (US News rank: 28)
- high, out-of-state tuition, so more debt (but a good amount of grant aid). All expenses included, probably $40k/year.

KU (US News rank: 67)
- very low in-state tuition, so minimal debt (also small scholarship). All expenses included, probably $20k/year.

Location is not really a factor.

Location should be a factor. Do you want to work in Kansas for the foreseeable future or not? Kansas is going to place almost exclusively locally- so you are signing up for a good chunk of years there.

If you are OK with living in Kansas, go there- the UC system schools have gotten WAY out of hand with tuition. The US news difference is not a factor once you get out of the top 20 or so.

You must have gotten a VERY good amount of grant aid, because the real annual COA for OOS students at UCD is closer to $60K than $40K. I love Davis, and it really is a much better law school than Kansas... but the difference in expense is HUGE for you, and if you would be cool with working in the midwest, I think the smarter choice is KU.

Oddly, these are two of my favorite non-top 20 law schools. The above two posters have offered sound advice.

Did you already put a deposit down at both schools? Just curious cause it seems a little late for just now deciding unless you were waitlisted or something.

I agree with above comment though, there will be a huge price difference but you also have to weigh that into where you want to end up. California's economy isn't the greatest but UCD is a good school so you should be able to get work somewhere. Kansas will mostly mean that you'll end up in the midwest, and with relatively a lot less debt. It also depends on the type of law- if you want to do private practice or firm work then Kansas is better choice. UCD is good for public interest- but I will tell you that it is hard to get a job at a firm in CA even with a JD from UCLA or Boalt- as many of my friends have been experiencing.

lawschoolliberal wrote:It also depends on the type of law- if you want to do private practice or firm work then Kansas is better choice. UCD is good for public interest- but I will tell you that it is hard to get a job at a firm in CA even with a JD from UCLA or Boalt- as many of my friends have been experiencing.

That's surprising. I thought that Davis was a better choice for firm work/private practice.

Davis' weather is way, way, way better. So, Davis.

And I think was lsliberal meant was that firm jobs are hard to get anywhere. But w/UCD, you'll be competing with more folks, both from in-state schools and T14ers who wanna live in LA/SF, than what would be comparable when you job-hunt in Kansas. Apologies if I've misinterpreted.

My take, in short: KU probably plays better in Kansas than Davis does in California (though Davis does really well). But California has more options overall. Go where you're happiest. To that end, think WEATHER.

Neither school is a top school so the only real consideration is where you want to live after law school. If you want to live on the west coast then Davis is the right choice. If you want to live in the midwest or southeast then KU... if you want to live in the northeast then the choice is a little harder.... you need to be able to kick major butt in whatever school you pick because you will need to be a star to get a New York job in a big firm coming from a lower level school... so in that regard KU might be the better option because it likely has lower competition than Davis.... but only by a small factor.

Don't go to school for the school, go to school for your life after school.