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[Lasers]

That's not a good enough price for UCLA. You should retake. If you won't retake, go to Cornell, but try to negotiate first.

So that is what Cornell offered after I showed them my USC scholarship ($75k) and UCLA scholarship. Do you recommend that I go back and say that I need more to be swayed?

you should go back to usc as well and ask for a bit more. hell, the 15k at usc is already a better option than ucla, though you may have good reason for thinking otherwise.

Pretty sure UCLA is marginally cheaper for the OP even though USC offered 15K more. Could be wrong though.

The whole "some local firms prefer kids from the local school over T14" thing sounds like an elaborate flame concocted by kids who choose strong regionals over T14 schools. I'm sure it's true in some cases and it varies from firm to firm but I have heard of plenty of median and below kids at T14s who get big law in their home markets when that is not possible at the strong regional in that market. But maybe LA is different than other markets. And of course I am a 0L so I probably don't know what I'm talking about.

i got my v100 offer at an LA office that hires almost exclusively from the local schools. so yes, this happens and is not a flame. and yes, you are a 0L and don't know what you are talking about.

you are correct, however, that this is more the exception than the rule. i'm just saying at best, cornell is equal to ucla/usc in LA.

[BigZuck]

Lasers- so what would you say one needs to crack LA big law from a lower t14/UCLA/USC? Top 3rd or so? I haven't really collected anecdotes about LA big law hiring to this point because I think LA hella sucks.

I remember a UT student swearing up and down the UT thread that people justifiably pass up T14s (sometimes even HYS) to attend UT for targeting jobs in Texas because UT grads are in such high demand and UT grads routinely get great jobs at Texas firms paying above market rate that are impossible to get from higher ranked schools. Later I caught him in another thread saying that there are not enough big law jobs for grads from his "T18" and that kids at his school were "eating each other" and a bunch of people striking out and therefore one should be t14 or bust. I've seen similar stuff said from other UT/USC/UCLA grads. I trust I will never see you doing the same.

Either way I think both schools neccesitate big law (whereever that may be) and for that if the OP had to choose he/she should go to Cornell because that outcome is significantly more likely out of Cornell.

[Lasers]

Lasers- so what would you say one needs to crack LA big law from a lower t14/UCLA/USC? Top 3rd or so? I haven't really collected anecdotes about LA big law hiring to this point because I think LA hella sucks.

I remember a UT student swearing up and down the UT thread that people justifiably pass up T14s (sometimes even HYS) to attend UT for targeting jobs in Texas because UT grads are in such high demand and UT grads routinely get great jobs at Texas firms paying above market rate that are impossible to get from higher ranked schools. Later I caught him in another thread saying that there are not enough big law jobs for grads from his "T18" and that kids at his school were "eating each other" and a bunch of people striking out and therefore one should be t14 or bust. I've seen similar stuff said from other UT/USC/UCLA grads. I trust I will never see you doing the same.

Either way I think both schools neccesitate big law (whereever that may be) and for that if the OP had to choose he/she should go to Cornell because that outcome is significantly more likely out of Cornell.

who the fuck would pass up HYS for texas!? that person must have been absolutely delusional.

the fact is, for those that want a certain region, passing up the lower t-14 like georgetown or cornell for elite regionals makes a lot of sense. the hiring rates fluctuate year to year, but it isn't out of the question for a school like usc/ucla to hold steady with or even outpace some t14s in biglaw hiring (its happened before). one consideration is what region you want. CA is one of the most competitive markets in the nation; if you want SF or LA, you better be ready to fight for it because everyone else does and there are few spots available. that's not going to change regardless of which school you go to.

we aren't talking about biglaw in general. OP has stated she "heavily favors" LA over NYC. your misguided conclusion isn't helping.

[bizzybone1313]

Lasers- so what would you say one needs to crack LA big law from a lower t14/UCLA/USC? Top 3rd or so? I haven't really collected anecdotes about LA big law hiring to this point because I think LA hella sucks.

I remember a UT student swearing up and down the UT thread that people justifiably pass up T14s (sometimes even HYS) to attend UT for targeting jobs in Texas because UT grads are in such high demand and UT grads routinely get great jobs at Texas firms paying above market rate that are impossible to get from higher ranked schools. Later I caught him in another thread saying that there are not enough big law jobs for grads from his "T18" and that kids at his school were "eating each other" and a bunch of people striking out and therefore one should be t14 or bust. I've seen similar stuff said from other UT/USC/UCLA grads. I trust I will never see you doing the same.

Either way I think both schools neccesitate big law (whereever that may be) and for that if the OP had to choose he/she should go to Cornell because that outcome is significantly more likely out of Cornell.

Exactly and I called him out on it. I would be real, real careful about attending UCLA. Your outcome is more likely to be disastrous coming from UCLA than Cornell. Neither options are great. In your situation, I would sit in my room and think very deeply if you really want to be an attorney.

I would take Cornell. Your COA for Cornell sounds a little high to me. The employment outcomes for Cornell are much, much better than UCLA's. I have read too many bad outcomes from people that attended T-20 schools like UCLA, UT and GW. If it was between Georgetown and UCLA, I would take UCLA, but this is Cornell we are talking about.

[Lasers]

Exactly and I called him out on it. I would be real, real careful about attending UCLA. Your outcome is more likely to be disastrous coming from UCLA than Cornell. Neither options are great. In your situation, I would sit in my room and think very deeply if you really want to be an attorney.

I would take Cornell. Your COA for Cornell sounds a little high to me. The employment outcomes for Cornell are much, much better than UCLA's. I have read too many bad outcomes from people that attended T-20 schools like UCLA, UT and GW. If it was between Georgetown and UCLA, I would take UCLA, but this is Cornell we are talking about.

+1

as said hours ago, OP needs to weigh biglaw in general v. biglaw in LA + the issue of costs.

if a retake is out of the question, it's a difficult decision.

[bizzybone1313]

I would try to squeeze another $15K or so from Cornell. Just express to them your doubts on attending in a respectful and candid manner. In this current climate, I can imagine schools have started sweating bullets on all the deflections from people attending other schools or not attending at all. $15 or $20K is chump change to a school like Cornell, so maybe they will budge. I know a lot of people are going to scoff at my suggestion and view it as an immaterial amount, but $20K is a shit load of money. I could buy a pretty nice used car for that amount-- like an Infiniti G37.

[comeonletsgo]

I would try to squeeze another $15K or so from Cornell. Just express to them your doubts on attending in a respectful and candid manner. In this current climate, I can imagine schools have started sweating bullets on all the deflections from people attending other schools or not attending at all. $15 or $20K is chump change to a school like Cornell, so maybe they will budge. I know a lot of people are going to scoff at my suggestion and view it as an immaterial amount, but $20K is a shit load of money. I could buy a pretty nice used car for that amount-- like an Infiniti G37.

Yeah I was actually hoping for $45k from them. If I had gotten that, the choice would be clearly Cornell. I will try my hand at asking them again.

Thanks!

[twinkletoes16]

hey girl! i'd try to lobby both hard- UCLA has been great about upping $ this cycle. If you don't get some more, i'd honestly consider retaking and sitting out, but that's just me; i know everyone is different with their debt okay-ness.

regardless, you're a rockstar!

[Lavitz]

I'm voting Cornell, although I'm obviously biased in this case.

Seriously though, if you were PTing in the 172-175 range, I think the June retake idea is a good one.

Otherwise [Disclaimer: 0L], I do think Cornell barely wins this only because I think it would still take a very long time to pay off that debt from UCLA if you don't land biglaw. I think Cornell gives you a much better chance of landing biglaw in general and it's worth the premium as long as long as you're willing to do NYC.

[comeonletsgo]

hey girl! i'd try to lobby both hard- UCLA has been great about upping $ this cycle. If you don't get some more, i'd honestly consider retaking and sitting out, but that's just me; i know everyone is different with their debt okay-ness.

regardless, you're a rockstar!

I'll try to push back on both of them. Such a pain! Thanks for all the help in and out of TLS!

[comeonletsgo]

xxx

[BigZuck]

Lasers- so what would you say one needs to crack LA big law from a lower t14/UCLA/USC? Top 3rd or so? I haven't really collected anecdotes about LA big law hiring to this point because I think LA hella sucks.

I remember a UT student swearing up and down the UT thread that people justifiably pass up T14s (sometimes even HYS) to attend UT for targeting jobs in Texas because UT grads are in such high demand and UT grads routinely get great jobs at Texas firms paying above market rate that are impossible to get from higher ranked schools. Later I caught him in another thread saying that there are not enough big law jobs for grads from his "T18" and that kids at his school were "eating each other" and a bunch of people striking out and therefore one should be t14 or bust. I've seen similar stuff said from other UT/USC/UCLA grads. I trust I will never see you doing the same.

Either way I think both schools neccesitate big law (whereever that may be) and for that if the OP had to choose he/she should go to Cornell because that outcome is significantly more likely out of Cornell.

who the fuck would pass up HYS for texas!? that person must have been absolutely delusional.

the fact is, for those that want a certain region, passing up the lower t-14 like georgetown or cornell for elite regionals makes a lot of sense. the hiring rates fluctuate year to year, but it isn't out of the question for a school like usc/ucla to hold steady with or even outpace some t14s in biglaw hiring (its happened before). one consideration is what region you want. CA is one of the most competitive markets in the nation; if you want SF or LA, you better be ready to fight for it because everyone else does and there are few spots available. that's not going to change regardless of which school you go to.

we aren't talking about biglaw in general. OP has stated she "heavily favors" LA over NYC. your misguided conclusion isn't helping.

Which misguided conclusion are we talking about here? I thought I deferred to your wisdom.

Also, y u mad brobro?

[Lavitz]

We're going to live together if I go to Cornell, right?!

Don't let BronxBlu21 hear that or he'll have a fit

Yeah, after the first time I took it, I knew I could do better, but then I got the same score ha. I know that people are going to say that doing so can save me thousands of dollars in debt, which I know is true and is definitely enticing, but the fact that I scored the same twice makes me really hesitant. June is most likely out of the question, so it would have to be October.

Which of course means you'd have to decide now whether to sit out and reapply. Tough call. Are you comfortable doing what you're doing now for another year?

I would definitely do NYC for a couple years and then try to move back to LA. Not entirely sure how difficult that is.

Someone more knowledgeable than me will have to comment on the ease of switching between NYC and LA.

I do, however, want to call shenanigans on this poll. I've counted 5 people in this thread picking UCLA and 5 people picking Cornell, yet the poll is 14 to 3.

[Lasers]

Lasers- so what would you say one needs to crack LA big law from a lower t14/UCLA/USC? Top 3rd or so? I haven't really collected anecdotes about LA big law hiring to this point because I think LA hella sucks.

I remember a UT student swearing up and down the UT thread that people justifiably pass up T14s (sometimes even HYS) to attend UT for targeting jobs in Texas because UT grads are in such high demand and UT grads routinely get great jobs at Texas firms paying above market rate that are impossible to get from higher ranked schools. Later I caught him in another thread saying that there are not enough big law jobs for grads from his "T18" and that kids at his school were "eating each other" and a bunch of people striking out and therefore one should be t14 or bust. I've seen similar stuff said from other UT/USC/UCLA grads. I trust I will never see you doing the same.

Either way I think both schools neccesitate big law (whereever that may be) and for that if the OP had to choose he/she should go to Cornell because that outcome is significantly more likely out of Cornell.

who the fuck would pass up HYS for texas!? that person must have been absolutely delusional.

the fact is, for those that want a certain region, passing up the lower t-14 like georgetown or cornell for elite regionals makes a lot of sense. the hiring rates fluctuate year to year, but it isn't out of the question for a school like usc/ucla to hold steady with or even outpace some t14s in biglaw hiring (its happened before). one consideration is what region you want. CA is one of the most competitive markets in the nation; if you want SF or LA, you better be ready to fight for it because everyone else does and there are few spots available. that's not going to change regardless of which school you go to.

we aren't talking about biglaw in general. OP has stated she "heavily favors" LA over NYC. your misguided conclusion isn't helping.

Which misguided conclusion are we talking about here? I thought I deferred to your wisdom.

Also, y u mad brobro?

not mad at all brah. i was posting during class and didn't read over it; i think i came off angrier than i was (which wasn't at all), haha.