UC Hastings VS UC Davis Forum

[Aggiegrad2011]

USNWR is total and utter bullshit. Hastings is tied with USC in reputation among lawyers and judges.

I hope that Hastings claims 99% employed at graduation this year. Guess Davis will respond by claiming 105% (top students will report multiple 160k jobs).

Oh pipe down. Everyone knows there's no real difference between the two schools.

ehhh it's valuable to point it out, since many 0L's in fact don't know

What else don't we know? Dish, dish, dish.

[General Tso]

What else don't we know? Dish, dish, dish.

well, I hate to temper your enthusiasm for Hastings, but even it is no guarantee of employment in SF proper. Career services told us that there are usually 1000-1200 positions for new attorneys in SF per year. Think about all the Bay Area schools...Hastings, Boalt, Davis, Stanford, USF, Golden Gate, Santa Clara, etc. plus a handful of CBA approved law schools. You are talking about well over 2000 students. Most people's first choice is to work in SF proper...it is the most interesting place to live and the salaries are usually higher than elsewhere. Now consider that all of the big firms in SF (a significant portion of that 1000-1200 figure) hire mostly from T14 schools.

I personally am fine with working in the East Bay, San Jose, Southern California, etc., but many people who choose to attend Hastings are not. Our careers office sent out a scathing email last semester lambasting our 2L class for not bidding on firms outside SF and outside the Bay Area.

OCI was bad last year, and it wasn't just me. I know many people with better grades, more work experience, etc. who also got shot down.

[Aggiegrad2011]

Thanks for that, Tso, but I assure you I am keeping level-headed about this. I understand the current state of affairs and I hold no great expectations that I'll land a gig working in San Francisco proper. I also have no qualms with working elsewhere in the bay, be it Livermore, Pleasanton, Oakland, Richmond or whatever. But, I do appreciate your candor, and I think it's a good thing to have around here - From people that are actually living the life day to day. I would not prefer to live in the central valley but if I have to do so for a few years to earn my stripes then so be it.

On a related but happier note, I was researching BART and how to use it, and it looks like from just about any where in the bay, you get off at the Civic Center BART stop and then walk a couple blocks and presto, you're at class. Is that more or less how it works for you folks?

[General Tso]

On a related but happier note, I was researching BART and how to use it, and it looks like from just about any where in the bay, you get off at the Civic Center BART stop and then walk a couple blocks and presto, you're at class. Is that more or less how it works for you folks?

yup it is super close to the BART station...probably about a 5 minute walk. If I really want to catch a train I can walk quickly and reach the BART platform in 3 minutes from the 2nd floor of Hastings.

[Aggiegrad2011]

On a related but happier note, I was researching BART and how to use it, and it looks like from just about any where in the bay, you get off at the Civic Center BART stop and then walk a couple blocks and presto, you're at class. Is that more or less how it works for you folks?

yup it is super close to the BART station...probably about a 5 minute walk. If I really want to catch a train I can walk quickly and reach the BART platform in 3 minutes from the 2nd floor of Hastings.

That is good to know. So far I am looking at places in Orinda, Walnut Creek (#1 by far) and Dublin. Hopefully switching at Daly City or Millbrae won't be too bad.

[General Tso]

yup it is super close to the BART station...probably about a 5 minute walk. If I really want to catch a train I can walk quickly and reach the BART platform in 3 minutes from the 2nd floor of Hastings.

That is good to know. So far I am looking at places in Orinda, Walnut Creek (#1 by far) and Dublin. Hopefully switching at Daly City or Millbrae won't be too bad.

you shouldnt need to switch trains going from the East Bay to downtown SF. The only time you really need to switch is if you are going to Berkeley, Fremont, or the SFO airport. In fact I think the Concord/Walnut Creek line is the one that goes straight to SFO, so you probably don't need to switch for that either.

[Aggiegrad2011]

yup it is super close to the BART station...probably about a 5 minute walk. If I really want to catch a train I can walk quickly and reach the BART platform in 3 minutes from the 2nd floor of Hastings.

That is good to know. So far I am looking at places in Orinda, Walnut Creek (#1 by far) and Dublin. Hopefully switching at Daly City or Millbrae won't be too bad.

you shouldnt need to switch trains going from the East Bay to downtown SF. The only time you really need to switch is if you are going to Berkeley, Fremont, or the SFO airport. In fact I think the Concord/Walnut Creek line is the one that goes straight to SFO, so you probably don't need to switch for that either.

Oh, hm. Because on the BART website, I put the route in as Walnut Creek to Civic Center, and it had "Daly City" above. I assumed that meant I'd have to switch there. If not, all the better!!

[Cade McNown]

Yes because number of attorneys working in SF is the only relevant statistic. And Barry Zito is better than Tim Lincecum because Barry has more career wins.

[General Tso]

Yes because number of attorneys working in SF is the only relevant statistic. And Barry Zito is better than Tim Lincecum because Barry has more career wins.

I never said it was the ONLY relevant statistic. It may be the most relevant though. Thousands of people competing for a handful jobs means you pretty much have to be (a) very well connected or (b) the best of the best academically + strong interviewing skills.

SF may well be the most competitive job market in the nation. It's a relatively small city, and seemingly everyone wants to live there. It's also a very highly educated city...you better be something special if you want to work there.

[Lasers]

Yes because number of attorneys working in SF is the only relevant statistic. And Barry Zito is better than Tim Lincecum because Barry has more career wins.

the high number of attorneys working in sf from hastings is significant. that small percentage from davis is also very telling. if you want a shot at working in sf, i would probably choose hastings over davis, though it doesn't seem to matter right now ite. here's to hoping for better job prospects in 2-3 years.

barry zito is going to have a comeback year, btw.

[20160810]

Yes because number of attorneys working in SF is the only relevant statistic. And Barry Zito is better than Tim Lincecum because Barry has more career wins.

the high number of attorneys working in sf from hastings is significant. that small percentage from davis is also very telling. if you want a shot at working in sf, i would probably choose hastings over davis, though it doesn't seem to matter right now ite. here's to hoping for better job prospects in 2-3 years.

barry zito is going to have a comeback year, btw.

You do realize that Hastings classes tend to be 3-4x larger than davis, yes? Lookin at overall numbers doesn't mean much.

[Lasers]

Yes because number of attorneys working in SF is the only relevant statistic. And Barry Zito is better than Tim Lincecum because Barry has more career wins.

the high number of attorneys working in sf from hastings is significant. that small percentage from davis is also very telling. if you want a shot at working in sf, i would probably choose hastings over davis, though it doesn't seem to matter right now ite. here's to hoping for better job prospects in 2-3 years.

barry zito is going to have a comeback year, btw.

You do realize that Hastings classes tend to be 3-4x larger than davis, yes? Lookin at overall numbers doesn't mean much.

definitely. not only that, but hastings has been around a lot longer, so it's only natural that they have more people employed in the city.

still, the discrepancy is rather large and apparent. how much that difference actually tells us about employment opportunities for new graduates from both schools is practically impossible to discern though, so i'm not putting a lot of stock into it. still, i would choose hastings over davis if i wanted to work in the city.

[Borhas]

Yes because number of attorneys working in SF is the only relevant statistic. And Barry Zito is better than Tim Lincecum because Barry has more career wins.

the high number of attorneys working in sf from hastings is significant. that small percentage from davis is also very telling. if you want a shot at working in sf, i would probably choose hastings over davis, though it doesn't seem to matter right now ite. here's to hoping for better job prospects in 2-3 years.

barry zito is going to have a comeback year, btw.

You do realize that Hastings classes tend to be 3-4x larger than davis, yes? Lookin at overall numbers doesn't mean much.

last year's class was 475, they dropped that number to 380 this year. According to them that's their new ideal size. It's refreshing to see a school actually reduce its class size in response to the ITE-Monster

[General Tso]

definitely. not only that, but hastings has been around a lot longer, so it's only natural that they have more people employed in the city.

yeah...I get the feeling that Hastings' current placement is vastly different from 20-30 years back.

[Top14Hope]

So I’m from Florida. Got in at Hastings and waiting for Davis/USC/UCLA/Berk.
Starting from the right and working your way left would be my desired order of attendance (obviously). However, this thread is really making me want to take both Hastings and Davis off of my list entirely. Originally, I thought both would be legit options, but I'm starting to think that for me personally my offer at UM (24k a year) would be a better option than both Hastings and Davis for someone who is most likely coming back to Florida. However, I hate Florida. I couldn't want to move to Cali more! The only reason I say I will "most likely" come back to Florida is because I have such a strong network in SoFla that is would be hard to turn down the crazy amount of business opportunities I will get in the future. With that being said, I have family and Cali and would throw away every bit of network I have to move to cali if I could attend a worthwhile school like Berkeley/UCLA/USC. Or if Hastings or Davis gave me tons of money (which isn’t going to happen)

So any suggestions for a terribly confused South Floridian? Will I be better off going to hastings/davis or University of Miami?

I guess what I'm really trying to say is please convince me that UC hastings/davis is worth it for me. And that they don’t both totally suck. I know this thread already has lots of repetition but maybe my situation will bring out some new info. Especially for us East Coast is the Besters. Eastside!
P.S. for the amazing person who started this thread: for what it is worth, I never heard of Davis or Hastings on the East coast. And recently I’ve been getting the vibe that Hastings would be a much better option for someone who might come back to Florida.
East coast people generally have this view Hastings>Davis….But with the rankings the way they are right now, this will surely change with time (if they stay this way)
People love the better ranked team.

[General Tso]

neither Hastings nor Davis is going to do much for you in Florida. 24k is a pretty low scholarship for Miami...I'd try to negotiate more $$ out of them. What kind of GPA requirement did they attach to the $$?

I'd probably attend UF if they made a decent scholarship offer.

[General Tso]

you need to think long and hard before taking a leap like moving to California. I moved from the Southeast out here so my g/f could pursue her engineering career. It has worked out well for her so far, but my future is pretty much up in the air after getting rejected at OCI last semester.

People like the idea of California, but once you move out here your opinion can change pretty quickly. You may find that you can't afford to live in North Beach or some other hip location, and that you get stuck living in the suburban sprawl instead. You still benefit from great weather and proximity to fun things, but it sucks having to live in a dreary town like Hayward, Fremont, Sacramento, etc. I imagine the same is even more true in SoCal, since it seems to have fewer desirable cities than Northern Cal.

Depending on how the housing market rebounds and how much debt you have to take on at Hastings/Davis, you may struggle to purchase a home out here (if that is one of your goals). A desirable home in a desirable city usually starts at 500k, even at today's depressed prices.

[20160810]

So I’m from Florida. Got in at Hastings and waiting for Davis/USC/UCLA/Berk.
Starting from the right and working your way left would be my desired order of attendance (obviously). However, this thread is really making me want to take both Hastings and Davis off of my list entirely. Originally, I thought both would be legit options, but I'm starting to think that for me personally my offer at UM (24k a year) would be a better option than both Hastings and Davis for someone who is most likely coming back to Florida. However, I hate Florida. I couldn't want to move to Cali more! The only reason I say I will "most likely" come back to Florida is because I have such a strong network in SoFla that is would be hard to turn down the crazy amount of business opportunities I will get in the future. With that being said, I have family and Cali and would throw away every bit of network I have to move to cali if I could attend a worthwhile school like Berkeley/UCLA/USC. Or if Hastings or Davis gave me tons of money (which isn’t going to happen)

So any suggestions for a terribly confused South Floridian? Will I be better off going to hastings/davis or University of Miami?

I guess what I'm really trying to say is please convince me that UC hastings/davis is worth it for me. And that they don’t both totally suck. I know this thread already has lots of repetition but maybe my situation will bring out some new info. Especially for us East Coast is the Besters. Eastside!
P.S. for the amazing person who started this thread: for what it is worth, I never heard of Davis or Hastings on the East coast. And recently I’ve been getting the vibe that Hastings would be a much better option for someone who might come back to Florida.
East coast people generally have this view Hastings>Davis….But with the rankings the way they are right now, this will surely change with time (if they stay this way)
People love the better ranked team.

I'm really confused why you'd consider any of those schools (except maybe Berkeley) if you want to work in Florida. Also, whether a school is "worth it" depends on what you want to do after.

[Lasers]

So I’m from Florida. Got in at Hastings and waiting for Davis/USC/UCLA/Berk.
Starting from the right and working your way left would be my desired order of attendance (obviously). However, this thread is really making me want to take both Hastings and Davis off of my list entirely. Originally, I thought both would be legit options, but I'm starting to think that for me personally my offer at UM (24k a year) would be a better option than both Hastings and Davis for someone who is most likely coming back to Florida. However, I hate Florida. I couldn't want to move to Cali more! The only reason I say I will "most likely" come back to Florida is because I have such a strong network in SoFla that is would be hard to turn down the crazy amount of business opportunities I will get in the future. With that being said, I have family and Cali and would throw away every bit of network I have to move to cali if I could attend a worthwhile school like Berkeley/UCLA/USC. Or if Hastings or Davis gave me tons of money (which isn’t going to happen)

So any suggestions for a terribly confused South Floridian? Will I be better off going to hastings/davis or University of Miami?

I guess what I'm really trying to say is please convince me that UC hastings/davis is worth it for me. And that they don’t both totally suck. I know this thread already has lots of repetition but maybe my situation will bring out some new info. Especially for us East Coast is the Besters. Eastside!
P.S. for the amazing person who started this thread: for what it is worth, I never heard of Davis or Hastings on the East coast. And recently I’ve been getting the vibe that Hastings would be a much better option for someone who might come back to Florida.
East coast people generally have this view Hastings>Davis….But with the rankings the way they are right now, this will surely change with time (if they stay this way)
People love the better ranked team.

i don't know much other than what i hear from wise posters here, but the schools behind berkeley and maybe ucla and usc are regional schools for the most part despite being tier-one. if you were dead set on florida, or at least dead set against CA, i would not go to a CA school besides berk and possibly ucla or usc.

i, on the other hand, applied to only cali schools because i know this is where i want to be.

[Top14Hope]

Tso:
UM put a 3.2 stipulation in order to renew it annually, and I’ve already tried to get the stipulation off and negotiate for more $. However, I had no success. They also told me that 80 something % of the students with scholarships got a 3.2 or better, so I think I should be fine there. UF hasn’t responded to me yet. Also, I don’t need the school to do much for me job wise (although I obviously want as many eggs in my basket as possible). What I really want is to 1. Live outside the state of Florida for once in my life (cali is my dream state, but hate the taxes and high cost of living. Also, the problem with Davis and Hastings is those areas really aren’t tight/fun/anything special. Seriously Miami blows both out of the water. Southern Cal however destroys Miami) 2. Go to the school that is going to give me the best education. I don’t know for sure what I want to do, but I’m leaning towards criminal.

SBL:
I’m saying I’m not sure whether I want to live in Cali or Florida (51cal/49fl). And honestly I’m going to kick ass in law school and will make the money I need to do the things I want to do. Hard work can get us whatevs. Sweet tar!

Lasers:
I want to live and hook up with every girl in California. It’s just do I really want to have to pay this outrageous tax when I’m so vulnerable financially. I could easily build my bank roll in Miami for ten years and move out to Cali (better business decision), or move there now and get to be where I want to be, with the kind of people I generally agree with, while consequently accumulating an enormous amount of debt that will probably hold me back for a decade. (better early life decision in regards to enjoying it) Like that rapper guy said, “Fruits of my labor I enjoy'em while they still ripe”?????????????????

[drdolittle]

I want to live and hook up with every girl in California. It’s just do I really want to have to pay this outrageous tax when I’m so vulnerable financially. I could easily build my bank roll in Miami for ten years and move out to Cali (better business decision), or move there now and get to be where I want to be, with the kind of people I generally agree with, while consequently accumulating an enormous amount of debt that will probably hold me back for a decade. (better early life decision in regards to enjoying it) Like that rapper guy said, “Fruits of my labor I enjoy'em while they still ripe”?????????????????

California dreamin'. Dream on, G...

[Lasers]

Lasers:
I want to live and hook up with every girl in California. It’s just do I really want to have to pay this outrageous tax when I’m so vulnerable financially. I could easily build my bank roll in Miami for ten years and move out to Cali (better business decision), or move there now and get to be where I want to be, with the kind of people I generally agree with, while consequently accumulating an enormous amount of debt that will probably hold me back for a decade. (better early life decision in regards to enjoying it) Like that rapper guy said, “Fruits of my labor I enjoy'em while they still ripe”?????????????????

well that's a tough decision for you, my friend.

i've been in cali all my life. the weather is great, the women are indeed fine (especially in socal; i've lived in both sf and the oc) and it's expensive as hell. good thing money and debt ain't a thing to me...ehh who am i kidding.

[20160810]

And honestly I’m going to kick ass in law school and will make the money I need to do the things I want to do.

Oh, well why didn't you tell us your plan was to do incredibly well in law school?!? This gives you a lot more options.

[Top14Hope]

And honestly I’m going to kick ass in law school and will make the money I need to do the things I want to do.

Oh, well why didn't you tell us your plan was to do incredibly well in law school?!? This gives you a lot more options.

Because I didn't want to come off like a jerk. Undergrad GPA 4.0 + me being the hardest worker you know = me kicking ass in law school.

[20160810]

And honestly I’m going to kick ass in law school and will make the money I need to do the things I want to do.

Oh, well why didn't you tell us your plan was to do incredibly well in law school?!? This gives you a lot more options.

Because I didn't want to come off like a jerk. Undergrad GPA 4.0 + me being the hardest worker you know = me kicking ass in law school.

This helps, but please believe me when I say you're not the exception to the rule. Plan on finishing somewhere around the middle of your law school class. The 1l curve is brutal, and how much work you put in is only one piece of the puzzle.