Southwestern $$$ v. Denver $$ vs. Loyola - Sticker Forum

[Observant_Poster]

Just looking for some reassurance.

GPA - 3.59 LSAT - 160

Southwestern - Full Ride

Denver - $26k/year

Loyola - Sticker

I think the obvious choice is Southwestern. I am from L.A. and would have the option of living at home, if I decide to deal with a 1.5 hour commute, which would leave my total debt at 20k for living. Or 60k if I decide to move out. I am a little concerned with the number of schools in California and Los Angeles that are ranked higher than it.

Though Loyola sounds appealing, the consensus seems to be that 200k in debt outside of T-14 is a major major gamble. Also regionally, Loyola doesn't seem to place 'that' much better than Southwestern.

Denver - I have zero ties, however, it is one of 4 cities I would like to settle down in at some point and seems to place well regionally as its main competition is CU. With that said, I would probably be around 90k is debt and moving to a new city with zero ties seems a bit risky.

Retaking is another option, however, even if I get a 165, I dont know if that would give me a large enough scholarship to justify going to Loyola over the Full Ride at Southwestern.

Like I said, just looking for reassurance that Southwestern is the clear choice.

Also, 1.5 hour commute with 20k debt or living 20 minutes away with 60k debt?

Thanks in advanced!

[Mr. Somebody]

The job prospects out of Southwestern are atrocious. SoCal is oversaturated with law schools and Southwestern is one of the many that get the scraps of whatever UCLA/USC/Pepperdine and now UCI grads pass on, plus T14 grads returning home. Are there stips on the scholarship for SW?

[dproduct]

Hide the handle of the vodka before you click this:

http://www.swlaw.edu/pdfs/careerservice ... port10.pdf

[cinephile]

Go for the retake and next year you could be in the situation of choosing between USC and UCLA.

[Observant_Poster]

The job prospects out of Southwestern are atrocious. SoCal is oversaturated with law schools and Southwestern is one of the many that get the scraps of whatever UCLA/USC/Pepperdine and now UCI grads pass on, plus T14 grads returning home. Are there stips on the scholarship for SW?

2.7 minimum to maintain the scholarship. Median is a 2.9. They don't bunch up recipients into the same section. If you do lose the scholarship, you are able to gain it back by simply getting your gpa above a 2.7. It seems extremely maintainable.

Though I know Southwestern would be crazy at cost, is it still not worth it with a Full Ride? Would Loyola at sticker be better? I doubt it. So that leaves retake? If I do make it to USC/UCLA, would they be worth it without a sizable scholarship? I could see myself getting around a 166, I PT'ed there a few times, however would a 166 grant me a sizable scholarship at USC/UCLA - I don think so. So I think I would be left in the same position of maybe Full Ride at Loyola vs. Sticker at USC/UCLA. Is the difference between Loyola and Southwestern that large that I put off Law School another year, something I am hesitant to do as I am becoming bored with my current job?

[Lord Randolph McDuff]

Scholly at Southwestern is actually a pretty good/fair one. School isn't great, though. If you have to go this year, I'd take Southwestern.

DU has less competition than Cali schools, but still lots of competition (I go to CU). Both CU and DU have competition from people moving here. Only about half of DU grads became full time lawyers last year, whereas about 70% of CU grads did. If DU is anything like CU though, the numbers are a bit better. A statistically relevant number here are in law school without planning to work as a full-time attorney.... DU has a big part time program so maybe that is true there as well. Don't really know.

DU has a really good reputation in CO, a bit less so in the legal world but I'd wager still miles ahead of Southwestern. In Cali, your resume will almost have a negative connotation attached to it because there are so many more regarded schools. In CO, this will not be the case. DU is not embarrassing at all-- good school.

If you wanna change of pace and wanna take a gamble, I'd take DU. Pretty good offer. I had a full-ride there and ended up taking CU with some money, but I do know about the stips from my experience then. It's top half (roughly), with a semester to get it back up. You are basically guaranteed the $$$ through 3 semesters, but if you do lose the $$$ I think it is gone for good.

[pillowpet]

Southwestern may have a "good" reputation depending on what you are looking for. Mid/Big law jobs are almost out of the question if you go to Southwestern, unless you network your ass off and rank high. That being said, they do have a good reputation in smaller law firms in areas such as employment, family, personal injury, etc.

Going to SW for free isn't a bad idea at all. I know everyone on this board advises against going to a law school with the idea of transferring, but i think this would be the perfect situation to do so. You get one free year of school and you get to see if you would be a good lawyer or not. if you get high grades, then you have a shot at transferring to loyola. Loyola takes a high amount of transfers and a lot of them being Southwesterners. You would probably only need to hit the top 1/3 to transfer. If you don't have the grades to transfer, then you might as well consider dropping out of law school.

[splitbrain]

If you won't retake and go for a higher LSAT, then SW is a decent option for free as long as your expectations are realistic. Make sure you understand what the employment results are (specifically, expect to end up at a small firm and understand that it probably will take a long time to find full time permanent legal work). Mid to biglaw is extremely unlikely just based on the amount of grads that end up there in their first year after graduating.

Are you sure there's no way you could get above 165 on a retake? Understand that even a 165 will get you drastically different results next cycle (especially if you apply early).

Above all else I'd want to make sure that your expectations are in line with your options - the competition you're going to face is rough, but at least having no debt will avoid a great deal of pressure.