BC v. BU v. USC

[smscat]

Hi,

I'm really having trouble with my decision. I hope to visit USC this week which will hopefully help.

I got 25k per year from BC early on, and so I was pretty set on them. I live in Boston so I'm familiar with it, and everyone always talks about BC's network. I definitely would be okay with going to BC, and it seems to really nurture its students, and was pretty much set to go until....

Withing a few days of each other last week, USC offered 25k a year and BU offered 20k a year. I go to BU undergrad so I'm very familiar with it, although I have to say the BU admissions office has not seemed nearly as nice as USC or especially BC. BU is ranked higher, but do you think one really has any kind of edge in the Boston area? I thought after going to BU maybe a smaller setting in a less urban area would be a nice change, but are their real competitive differences I should consider?

It is a dream of mine to live in LA with the nice weather and all the entertainment stuff around. My interests gravitate towards law involving communications of various types, i.e. the new issues posed by the Internet and free speech and all that. It seems like a great fantasy, but I'm not sure how realistic it is. All I know is that the legal market seems better than Boston. The thing that is the biggest issue is how I keep hearing what an awful area USC is in and how finding good housing is a nightmare - can anyone speak from experience? How bad is the area? I'm thinking it may be safer to go to school in Boston and then if I decide I really want to to try and break into CA later, but I'm not sure if it will be too late.

They're all fairly comparable strong schools, so I'm glad I have options, but the decision is really killing me. I never get very enthusiastic or fall in love with any school/program, and I'm not sure what I want to specialize in, so nothing just jumps out to me. I'm trying to make the most reasonable choice - any suggestions? Thank you!

[stylishlaw]

BU and BC have similar placement so ranking shouldn't matter to you. Honestly, I would scrap BU out of the picture given they are giving you $15K less.

It sounds like you want to be in LA, so you should probably go to USC. You already know what Boston is like, and the LA legal market is bigger. Also, your chances of ending up there out of BC are slim unless you are at the very top of your class. Whether you go to USC or BC would mostly commit you to either LA or Boston, respectively.