Open to hear all opinions on quality, campus, student life, etc. Scholarship consideration isn't a huge factor as I will be exiting with no debt either way, and fungibility also isn't an issue as I have connections in LA and DC and will likely be moving afterward.

Yeah, how good are those connections though?

Do you have any interest in practicing in Indiana or North Carolina?

"Guaranteed" job in LA (entertainment industry), confident in DC (politics). As far as practicing-no interest in Indiana, would not be opposed to North Carolina but realistically LA is where I will probably end up regardless.

Guaranteed job as in you have an offer and all you need is to go to law school and pass the bar exam? If so, just go to the cheapest one.

Make sure you have something in writing or something though. Seems risky.

Why no Cali schools?

Did you apply to any Cali schools?

Applied to Stanford/Berk/SC (didn't get in), but I'm an SC undergrad from the east coast and wanted to get out of LA for awhile anyway. I had an offer if I weren't going to law school and it will stand if/when I return, plus fortunately my now former boss knows enough people in the industry (from JD advantage to JD required) that I could likely get additional offers. Goal was always to study in the south, basically wondering if Indiana is a better enough (don't mind the grammar) school to justify the cost/cold weather. Also planning on going the JD/MBA route if that makes a difference.

A lot of things change over the course of three years, I wouldn't feel too comfortable going to school anywhere I didn't want to practice afterwards. While those sound like nice connections now, there's always a risk things don't pan out as you plan.
If you would like to practice in North Carolina, I would take Wake over IUB.

This. Don't go to IUB unless you would be okay practicing in Indiana. Even with your connections, you never know what might happen.

Like I said, I'm confident that if need be I can get a job in LA. I have considered the possibility of where I'd rather practice and I would prefer Wake (and UNC, where I'm on the waitlist) for that reason, but it's a low priority and I wouldn't HATE practicing in Indiana if that was the only option. That being said, does anyone have first hand experience with either school? And I haven't done as much research on B-school, does ranking matter much? IUB is 23 vs. Wake at 44.

Ranking doesn't matter. If you're so sure of your guarantee and connections just go wherever you want.

Thanks for the helpful advice...for some people job placement isn't the biggest consideration in choosing a law school, shocking I know.

Then why are you asking? Just go visit each and pick the one you like.

If you don't have anything to contribute why are you responding? I know for undergrad visiting the school didn't give a very good impression of the reality, nothing wrong with getting some opinions on experiences, quality of teachers, etc.

Both are in the middle of nowhere. Wake is warm, Indiana is cold.

If you are not concerned about 1) job prospects, 2) cost of attendance, or 3) region, only you can make the decision as to which one you like better. Wake students are going to say their school, environment, and teachers are awesome, Indiana students will do the same. The drawbacks to attending each one don't seem to apply to you, which would be cost of attendance and job placement as you say you have this taken care of.

If it was me I'd just pick the cheaper of the two.

All of this.

OP - If you don't care about placement or region, then just go to the cheaper one. You will receive a quality legal education at any law school.

Unless you want to work in Indiana, there is no reason to choose IU-B other than plain rankings whoring. When you take a look at job prospects, Indiana is very overrated compared to its Tier 1 peers and I wouldn't pay more to go there. Their firm prospects are actually worse than Wake's across the board (although they are slightly better when you add in PI/gov):

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0Aik9aY0xMn8JdHZpRzRGNmpIVnFMMTJ0bXNRS0NBd3c&gid=3

I wouldn't go to either without tons of money, ties, and a desire to be in the market the school is located in.

lol

I guess if you have a guaranteed job (insert skeptical hippo) then tflem is right, go wherever is cheaper. You obviously know your personal situation better than we do. Hell, if you are so sure you can get a job, why not go somewhere for free? Go to some T3 for free in Cali and go work in LA.

Yeah dude, I'd just do that and save the money.

If what you're telling us is true (and if so, I'm jealous) this is the one situation where attending your local TTT makes perfect sense.

It's not like either of these schools are super prestigious or anything.

Why is everyone so sure that b-school ranking doesn't matter? I won't claim to be an expert but Indiana's b-school has a good reputation in the Midwest FWIW.

Let's turn the tables around on you: why would B-school rankings matter at all to a non-JD/MBA?

And even for someone getting a JD/MBA, it wouldn't make much difference here. A JD/MBA really only makes sense for a limited number of people, or for people at certain elite B-schools. Indiana may have a solid business school, but it isn't on par with the types of business schools that could potentially make a difference (Harvard, Wharton, Stanford, Kellogg, Chicago, etc.) I go to a school with a B-school ranked similarly to IU, and it hasn't helped me or my classmates one bit. It is a non-factor in law hiring.

Look at that chart I posted above and see how Indiana places into firms relative to their T30 peers. The non-effect of their B-school should be obvious.

I have no idea what the OP's "guaranteed" job is but it sounds like he doesn't need the JD to do it. And obviously b-school will have no effect on someone who is not getting a JD/MBA. But since OP IS getting a JD/MBA it could help his career somewhat? I'm not saying it's a good idea for the OP to get a JD/MBA from either of these schools, I just wasn't sure we should be so hasty in disregarding b-school rankings. Like I said, I'm no expert, I was just curious.

Ah, I missed that he's getting a JD/MBA. Those are tricky beasts, from what I understand. At an elite B-school, people will gravitate more towards one or the other, and the B-school alone can get you a really good non-law job. It can also be beneficial to go the firm route with a really prestigious MBA. That doesn't happen as often outside the very top unless you have something special like previous experience or something. We don't know OP's situation, so it is hard to say whether the JD/MBA makes any sense here. A lot of people just get it to have an extra degree, in which case it adds almost no value. It is usually only smart to get one if you have some tangible use for it. So who knows what effect it will have here.

Also, I doubt that people in DC/LA are going to be blow away by an IU-B MBA.