Top Law Schools

We all know the pros to both sides.... Location, ranks, smaller/bigger school, networks


UCLA is already cheaper the SC but with a half Scholly (making SC now 25% cheaper*) which would you choose?

UCLA due to better location in LA & more name recognition & prestige. Consider asking UCLA to match USC's offer.

UCLA in-state tuition: $44,542 + $48,985 + $51,434 = $145k
(based on projected tuition for 1L and 2L, and assuming a 5% increase for 3L)

USC 1/2 tuition: $24,556 + $25,784 + $27,073 = $77k
(assuming 5% annual increases)

I'd take USC but be prepared to stay in LA.

If tuition & fees remain constant (highly unlikely, but possible), the difference is less than $60,000 for a degree with worldwide prestige from a university in a much better & much safer area.
Any requirements to keep the USC scholarship ? Have you asked UCLA to match it ?

CanadianWolf wrote:If tuition & fees remain constant (highly unlikely, but possible), the difference is less than $60,000 for a degree with worldwide prestige from a university in a much better & much safer area.
Any requirements to keep the USC scholarship ? Have you asked UCLA to match it ?

I am still waiting on responses...

I don't know what will happen..Judging by a few people i know with similar numbers they were able to get half$$ from usc after showing full$$ at dozo and other lower ranked schools and saying the only thing keeping them from usc is the huge debt...

i assume ucla doesnt give money away as easily...

"A Lawyer Walks into a Bar". Watch it.

USC even with the same cost it has better placement


http://pdfserver.amlaw.com/nlj/law%20sc ... page12.pdf

Some of the above advice puzzles me. Run to USC now. It has the same prestige in CA as UCLA and in this economy both have troubles placing outside (or at times inside) CA anyway. Graduating with 70k less debt from a great school like USC seems like a no brainer.

Ginj wrote:"A Lawyer Walks into a Bar". Watch it.

+1

PostHawk wrote:

Ginj wrote:"A Lawyer Walks into a Bar". Watch it.

+1

Is there anyplace I can watch this online for free?

If you want to work in SoCal, it's pretty clearly USC.

BarbellDreams wrote:Some of the above advice puzzles me. Run to USC now. It has the same prestige in CA as UCLA and in this economy both have troubles placing outside (or at times inside) CA anyway. Graduating with 70k less debt from a great school like USC seems like a no brainer.

not true. same prestige in Southern CA only.

Throwing one more hat into the 'USC if staying in SoCal' ring. And if you aren't, UCLA at sticker might not be a great idea anyway.

Wait do you even have these offers or is this merely conjecture?

USC/UCLA reminds me a lot of the BU/BC debate. I get that UCLA is better, but I have a really hard time thinking its worth double the price. Both place overwhelmingly in the same geographic area, with USC having a higher bigfirm placement rate and UCLA having more legal community prestige.

Also, be prepared to work in CA no matter which school you go to, so I think geographic preference is moot.

Blindmelon wrote:Also, be prepared to work in CA no matter which school you go to, so I think geographic preference is moot.

UCLA places many grads into SF, SD, the PNW, and neighboring states such as AZ, but USC places well only in LA. Still, USC is the clear choice with the ~$70k savings.

Go to USC, this shouldn't be a question. Placement and all those statistics are in effect meaningless, they don't take into account so many factors (such as work experience, personal connections and family ties, etc etc.) that allow people to score many job interviews that OCI and campus employment counselors can't.

Lokomani wrote:Go to USC, this shouldn't be a question. Placement and all those statistics are in effect meaningless, they don't take into account so many factors (such as work experience, personal connections and family ties, etc etc.) that allow people to score many job interviews that OCI and campus employment counselors can't.

No, just no.

Knockglock wrote:

PostHawk wrote:

Ginj wrote:"A Lawyer Walks into a Bar". Watch it.

+1

Is there anyplace I can watch this online for free?

If you have netflix it's on instant... if not you can probably download a torrent of it (though I in no way condone copyright infringement!)...

First, ask UCLA to match USC's grant. Then, your next step depends upon UCLA's response.

CanadianWolf wrote:First, ask UCLA to match USC's grant.

Hard to do that when talking about something that doesn't exist yet.

"Dear UCLA Admissions, I have received a hypothetical half scholarship to USC..."

I am sure that UCLA will take that into consideration.

CanadianWolf wrote:I am sure that UCLA will take that into consideration.

Touche.

If and win these actually materialize, you can make a more informed decision then. From my experience, UCLA is very open to negotiating. They gave me nothing at first, or very close to no money(3k/yr), but I was able to get a lot of money from them eventually.. if I remember correctly around 20k/yr. I didn't apply to USC so I don't what power that has in leverage, but they essentially matched my UT. UCLA was one of the few schools that actually also gave me need aid. You should apply broadly for this reason and show them once you get these financial awards from other schools. These sort of hypotheticals without actual offers and financial decisions are stupid though - how do you know what schools are going to accept you/what they give you, etc. These will all influence how much UCLA will give you.

With that said, I think the difference between UCLA and USC is not worth 70k, but that depends in part in your appetite for risk and your flexibility location wise.

im_blue wrote:

Blindmelon wrote:Also, be prepared to work in CA no matter which school you go to, so I think geographic preference is moot.

UCLA places many grads into SF, SD, the PNW, and neighboring states such as AZ, but USC places well only in LA. Still, USC is the clear choice with the ~$70k savings.

Actually, I've been somewhat surprised not to see more UCLA people in the big AZ firms. I have no idea why this is.