USC vs UCLA vs UPenn Forum

WaltGrace83 · Post by **WaltGrace83** » Fri May 30, 2014 9:51 am

tlsusernames wrote:Hi, i'm not sure what I want to do exactly yet in terms of law specializations...but I know that I want to have a portable degree ( not specific to a region).

I realize that difference in rankings is actually kind of big, but money is a huge concern.

Usc is giving 120k merit
ucla and upenn sticker price.

any opinions?

thanks

Disclaimer: 0L

1) Cross off UCLA or try to get them to match (they probably won't though). UCLA is not worth 120k more than USC

2) USC and UCLA both are not portable according to the general consensus. You will most likely be practicing in southern Cali from both yet I would say UCLA is slightly more portable (?). Either way, as it is UCLA is out anyway so it doesn't really matter.

3) uPenn would be the clear choice with more money yet I am a bit hesitant to say that a uPenn degree is worth about 300k.

Retake for more uPenn money or settle for USC with the knowledge you aren't leaving Cali most likely.

CoffeeIsLife · Post by **CoffeeIsLife** » Fri May 30, 2014 9:56 am

I chose USC in the poll solely based on $. It wont travel outside of SoCal. Retaking for money at your other options would be a good call. Did you have any schools in between Penn and UCLA/USC?

Chrstgtr · Post by **Chrstgtr** » Fri May 30, 2014 10:02 am

If you want a portable degree your only option is UPenn. With that said I would be very hesitant to attend UPenn at sticker unless you are very certain on your goals and are willing to work a miserable job for a very long time.

anyriotgirl · Post by **anyriotgirl** » Fri May 30, 2014 10:07 am

UCLA seems really amenable to increasing scholarship if you have competing offers from my experience this cycle and from what other people have posted.

take your USC offer to UCLA and see what they give you.

then take your UCLA offer to Penn and see if they will give you a partial match. They won't match you dollar for dollar, but if you write them a really good letter you might get some money out of them.

then see where you're at

Big Dog · Post by **Big Dog** » Fri May 30, 2014 10:22 am

the "most" portable is Penn.

The best value for JD is 'SC.

Very surprised that you received that kinda money from 'SC but zero from UCLA -- that's rare. Tell Dean Schwartz that you really want to attend LA, but the competitor school is making it too difficult to turn it down. G

tlsusernames · Post by **tlsusernames** » Fri May 30, 2014 3:40 pm

doing_it_in_a_car · Post by **doing_it_in_a_car** » Fri May 30, 2014 3:43 pm

uva/duke/mich/cornell at any scholarship are probably all better than penn at sticker.

ymmv · Post by **ymmv** » Fri May 30, 2014 3:57 pm

doing_it_in_a_car wrote:uva/duke/mich/cornell at any scholarship are probably all better than penn at sticker.

What the hell does that have to do with anything?

tlsusernames wrote:Hi, i'm not sure what I want to do exactly yet in terms of law specializations...but I know that I want to have a portable degree ( not specific to a region).

I realize that difference in rankings is actually kind of big, but money is a huge concern.

Usc is giving 120k merit
ucla and upenn sticker price.

any opinions?

thanks

USC is very region-specific, but it's your most sensible option out of the three.
No school is worth it at sticker except maybe Y/S under certain circumstances.
See if you can leverage your USC scholly for UCLA money, as others have suggested.

What is your estimated COA at USC?

MistakenGenius · Post by **MistakenGenius** » Fri May 30, 2014 4:02 pm

Post removed.

ymmv · Post by **ymmv** » Fri May 30, 2014 4:15 pm

MistakenGenius wrote:

As for the ymmv guy with reading comprehension problems, the OP said he had scholarships to those schools.

My bad, missed his post(running an SFW browser extension, so it happens).
In that case, Duke/Cornell/UVA with a little money are better ideas than Penn at sticker.

MistakenGenius wrote: Also, he said the schools were spent out. Stop giving bad advice and read a little more carefully.

It wasn't bad advice. USC is still obviously his best option.

doing_it_in_a_car · Post by **doing_it_in_a_car** » Fri May 30, 2014 5:56 pm

MistakenGenius wrote:
doing_it_in_a_car wrote:duke/mich/cornell at any scholarship are all better than penn at sticker.
Fixed it for you.

http://www.lstscorereports.com/compare/ ... igan/duke/

Even accounting for UVA's 15.9% in school funded jobs, UVA is definitely a peer of all of the others mentioned as well as Penn. If anything, Michigan is the most questionable as far as placement into elite outcomes.

MistakenGenius · Post by **MistakenGenius** » Fri May 30, 2014 6:31 pm

Post removed.

ymmv · Post by **ymmv** » Fri May 30, 2014 7:12 pm

MistakenGenius wrote:
doing_it_in_a_car wrote:
MistakenGenius wrote:
doing_it_in_a_car wrote:duke/mich/cornell at any scholarship are all better than penn at sticker.
Fixed it for you.

Ymmv, I think USC is the cheapest option for sure, but it is by no stretch the best option. There is very little portability in that degree. The OP would be stuck in Southern Cal if he could get a good job at all.

Being "stuck" in southern CA with very little debt is infinitely preferable to being stuck with $300,000 of debt and having "portability." Still, neither is a great option.

Glasseyes · Post by **Glasseyes** » Fri May 30, 2014 7:27 pm

anyriotgirl wrote:UCLA seems really amenable to increasing scholarship if you have competing offers from my experience this cycle and from what other people have posted.

That wasn't my experience at all this cycle. UCLA offered zero merit aid and didn't care to compete with the likes of money from USC or UTexas. I got money from GULC after their deadline had passed, so i can't say how they would have behaved with that on the table, but they didn't care about money from their clear peer schools in my case.

That said, I'd play up the fact that you got into Penn. When I was attempting to negotiate, Dean Schwarz asked if there were any "award offers or acceptances" I'd care to share, meaning they do care where else you've been admitted. Of these three choices, I'd say USC, though I'm surprised there's nothing else in between these schools, honestly. Did you apply to other T14 schools?

papercut · Post by **papercut** » Fri May 30, 2014 7:29 pm

anyriotgirl wrote:UCLA seems really amenable to increasing scholarship if you have competing offers from my experience this cycle and from what other people have posted.

take your USC offer to UCLA and see what they give you.

then take your UCLA offer to Penn and see if they will give you a partial match. They won't match you dollar for dollar, but if you write them a really good letter you might get some money out of them.

then see where you're at

This is good advice. My experience with UCLA was similar.

spleenworship · Post by **spleenworship** » Fri May 30, 2014 7:33 pm

anyriotgirl wrote:UCLA seems really amenable to increasing scholarship if you have competing offers from my experience this cycle and from what other people have posted.

take your USC offer to UCLA and see what they give you.

then take your UCLA offer to Penn and see if they will give you a partial match. They won't match you dollar for dollar, but if you write them a really good letter you might get some money out of them.

then see where you're at

This

MistakenGenius · Post by **MistakenGenius** » Fri May 30, 2014 9:03 pm

Post removed.

jbagelboy · Post by **jbagelboy** » Sat May 31, 2014 3:32 am

MG, it's a moot point now, but you're off wrt Virginia. Their "reach" is better than Cornell (California is no more a "major market" for big red than any other t14) and at least on par with Duke and Michigan. SF and LA firms take UVa students regularly, as do texas firms. It's a national school. I'd be curious what you'lr impressions are informed by, other than something read on the internet.

As for OP, my only question is how rich are your parents? If you're loaded, Penn. If you're dirt poor and you've maxed out your LSAT & okay practicing in SoCal, USC.

tlsusernames · Post by **tlsusernames** » Mon Jun 02, 2014 12:01 pm

CoffeeIsLife · Post by **CoffeeIsLife** » Mon Jun 02, 2014 12:06 pm

tlsusernames wrote:thanks for all your responses.
yes i was pretty disappointed with ucla given that my lsat was 170+ and gpa 3.6+ (i probably applied late).
i will be paying for school myself with loans etc.
it seems as of now my best (cheapest) bet is usc.

If you applied late I think you might be best to sit out and apply early this upcoming Fall. with 170+ and 3.6+ I think you would have a good shot at money from some schools in the T14 which would have the national reach you were looking for.

transferror · Post by **transferror** » Mon Jun 02, 2014 12:22 pm

CoffeeIsLife wrote:
tlsusernames wrote:thanks for all your responses.
yes i was pretty disappointed with ucla given that my lsat was 170+ and gpa 3.6+ (i probably applied late).
i will be paying for school myself with loans etc.
it seems as of now my best (cheapest) bet is usc.
If you applied late I think you might be best to sit out and apply early this upcoming Fall. with 170+ and 3.6+ I think you would have a good shot at money from some schools in the T14 which would have the national reach you were looking for.

+1. This is absolutely TCR.