Help decide school to place deposit on! Forum

[risktaker]

I am deciding between putting down a deposit at McGeorge or Seattle U while waiting out the USD waitlist. I would like to eventually move back to practice in CA whether it be 3 years from now or 6 years from now. I visited McGeorge, but I did not like the area around campus at all. I wasn't too impressed with the campus either. I am sold on the faculty and career services dept. at McG though. I have not visited Seattle U yet, but took the virtual tour of the law building and really liked it. Not sure how the surrounding area around SU is, but it cannot be worse than McG. I could put down a deposit at both schools, but I am really scrapped for cash right now, and I rather not. So, my question is, which school should I put down a deposit on while I wait out the USD waitlist? BTW, I will definitely attend USD if I somehow get in off the waitlist there. I will be getting 10k per year from McG and 8k per year from Seattle U. Please help! Thanks in advance.

[risktaker]

Anyone?

[Grizz]

With those scholarship amounts, those law schools are gonna be quite a risky proposition for you.

Retake or don't go.

[buckilaw]

With those scholarship amounts, those law schools are gonna be quite a risky proposition a financial disaster for you.

Retake or don't go.

[trayball23]

ask for deadline extensions

[Whatever1]

I'll give you some advice that doesn't involve retake, which I'm sure you've seen is the favorite response of many on here.

Debt is going to be a concern at both of these schools, but I'm sure you're aware of that. Just make sure you do your homework and fully understand what $120K+ really means and how that gets paid off.

Having said that, if you want to practice in California it is a no brainer go to Pacific. I know California has many law schools and also is infiltrated by schools out of state, but Seattle is not one of them I'm sure. I know you said the area around the school is not to your liking, but remember you'll be very busy anyway. Just make sure Sacramento is the kind of place you'd like to live for alteast the first 5 years of your career, because it is a safe bet that is where you'll end up. Never been there, but seems like it'd be fine.

[Wactawshus]

I know this is rare, in fact probably damn near impossible, but I was at a law school forum in Florida a few months ago & I met 2 recent McGeorge grads. Both had networked like crazy & landed associate positions at small firms not too far outside of Orlando. Take it FWIW, but I thought I'd mention it. I'm sure that either of these schools will provide you w/ a good education. The rest, however, will be entirely up to you. Personally I would choose Seattle.

[risktaker]

Yeah, retake is not an option for me. Already took this test several times and ended up with basically the same score +/- 1. I am done with the LSAT and want to move onto law school. Thanks to the others for the insight. I should just make this a poll question. I realize that McG career services is awesome and does a great job of placing people where they want to be if they do the networking. I feel like Seattle is an awesome city though compared to Sac. I would not mind practicing in Seattle for a few years. Such a tough decision.

[gokickrocks]

I'm actually in the same situation (East Coast school instead of Seattle U). In my case, I sent my deposit to both. However, if I had to choose, I would choose McGeorge on the fact that you want to practice in CA. Also not a fan of Oak Park, so if I end up at McG, I'll be living in Midtown. I'd recommend either living on-campus or finding a place away from Oak Park if you end up at McG.

[risktaker]

Thanks rocks. I am starting to lean towards McG right now. Moving to a whole new place would be tough for me. Plus, I have a SO in San Diego and living in CA might help our relationship.

[brangara]

Yeah, retake is not an option for me. Already took this test several times and ended up with basically the same score +/- 1. I am done with the LSAT and want to move onto law school. Thanks to the others for the insight. I should just make this a poll question. I realize that McG career services is awesome and does a great job of placing people where they want to be if they do the networking. I feel like Seattle is an awesome city though compared to Sac. I would not mind practicing in Seattle for a few years. Such a tough decision.

If you don't mind practicing in Seattle for a few years, then I'd go with Seattle. I feel like school name only matters for that first job, and how you do at that first job will set the mark for later jobs. Seattle has the better ranking and only has to compete with U of Washington in that area, whereas McGeorge has to compete with a number of good schools up north. Also, Seattle is good for legal writing, and since the CA bar places more of an emphasis on the writing portion, you might find benefit in picking Seattle anyways.