Top 25% at UCLA here. Completely struck out at OCI. Just wondering how people did in general from USC/UCLA. I had 10 CBs with big firms in LA but I think my mistake was to be too focused on LA. 7 out of the 10 firms I had CBs with were only hiring 2-5 people even though they are huge firms nationally. I found that at the majority of my CBs I was competing with the likes of HYS and MVP. UCLA is a great school locally but we are not in the T14.

Did a majority of USC/UCLA students get biglaw positions?

Very interested in this. There aren't enough USC/UCLA people posting on TLS.

I'm at USC, and OCI exceeded my expectations. I ended up with several options, and a lot of the people I've talked to had similar success. That being said, for the most part I've only felt comfortable talking openly about OCI with people who I knew were doing well, so my perception is probably somewhat skewed. Based on what I've heard, my rough guess would be that somewhere between 25 and 35% of the class ended up with an offer through OCI.

sorry to say, but it is you, not the school. People with worse grades from UCLA have multiple offers at top LA firms to choose from. Unless you have some character defect, top 25% at UCLA is golden.

Trollolol.

People are missing a sensitivity gene here. Though it might be true that OP needs to hone his interviewing skills and revamp the resume, etc., there's absolutely no need to rub it in. It could also be simple bad luck. Maybe his interviewers were biased or had wierd tastes. Maybe OP simply picked the wrong firms from a cultural standpoint. Maybe there was an error in the paperwork they received. Who knows why OP struck out?

Besides, getting the job is the easy part...keeping it and making a lasting and fulfilling career is the real test. Just remember that.

I got the same impression. The people with offers got multiple offers but there were plenty of people who got no offers. I think the bulk of people with no offers are mass-mailing the small to mid size law firms and I'm certain they will find something there.

UCLA student here. I don't think your situation is representative of others.

That said, you cannot control UCLA's prestige. Practice interviewing and hustle to get some more callbacks. My experience with career services has been positive, so reach out to them if you haven't. Good luck.

You struck out with 10 callbacks?

UCLA, top 15%. I had 8 callbacks with 4 offers. Interestingly, I had offers at 4/5 Big Law firms and struck out at all 3 mid-size/regional firms I interviewed with.

Edit: in keeping with the current theme of the thread, I know UCLA students who struck out and students who did quite well. That said, as with an above poster, I didn't really talk to people about OCI unless they were close friends and/or I knew that they were doing fine.

First, no, 25% at UCLA is certainly not golden - it never has been. Second, lots of people strike out with lots of callbacks - receiving 10 sure makes it seem to me like awful luck, since awful personality plus good but not great grades often means few to no callbacks. Third, if you're going to be an ass, at least don't do it as anon.

I'd be interested in knowing what OP thinks top 25% is. I don't have great data but I do have a couPle data points near the top extreme of the ranks, and I get the feeling our curve is higher than peoPle think.

To answer the question about OCI, it definitely exceeded my expectations. I know a few people who struck out despite decnet grades, but most people I know have multiple offers. I'd be surprised if our year wasn't significantly better than last.

I have a friend who is a UCLA transfer from Loyola (top 5%). He got about 6 CBs but no offers. I think he is a good interviewer but just unlucky. He bid on more of the selective firms and just didn't know it at the time. Lots of people (including transfers) strike out.

Do we want to actually use this as a results thread to give others an idea of how students performed at USC/UCLA in OCI? I was under the impression that's what this thread is for (based on title), but if we're just making generalized statements, that's cool too.

something seems off about these "top 15%, top 25%" responses. how do people know what % they are at UCLA?

I estimated top 15% by looking at the cutoff from last year's Order of the Coif determination (signifies top 10%). Assume that the GPA is a little lower than the cutoff + the fact that first-year GPAs/curve tend to be lower than graduating 3Ls anyway. That seems reasonable (though still an estimate) to me. Top 25%, however, I have no idea.

that's a fair way to analyze it.

i only bring it up because it seems that the firms cut-off by GPA, so it might be more instructive to just post your GPA since it's anonymous anyway.

True, especially since I don't know of any really reliable way to determine class percentages.

Personally I wouldn't mind hearing more of the results. Maybe it will be helpful for people who are considering attending next year or even transfer students.

Did most of the UCLA/USC students bid on the LA market?

As a (hopefully) prospective student, it's very helpful. I am very interested in knowing how borderline biglaw candidates fared (top 33% to 50%). Thanks to those who contributed.

+1

I am a 2L at USC/UCLA don't think anyone there is set for biglaw unless they are in the top 10%. I am in the top 20%, got 9 callbacks and 1 offer (although I withdrew from some after the offer). People above the top 30% are not fairing very well and I think that does have to do with small class sizes. Only a few LA firms have class sizes over 2 or 3.

Any guesses as to what percentage of your class got biglaw offers? I didnt realize LA was such a tough market.

Last year, around 35% of the class got biglaw offers but that estimate included some small and midlaw firms that did OCI. I don't think OP's situation is that unusual. I feel very fortunate.

There are a ton of firms in LA with class sizes over 2 or 3... Latham, Quinn, Paul Hastings, Skadden, etc etc etc. Am I missing something here?

This is true, firms like Latham, Quinn, Paul Hastings, Skadden, Gibson Dunn, and O'Melveny have class sizes well over 2 or 3. Based on hiring statistics from my school (USC/UCLA) they also very rarely hire outside of the top 10%. So if you're not in the top 10%, you likely won't get a callback/offer at an LA firm with a big class size. There are exceptions to this of course.