phoenix323,

your profile says you have CA residency, and you are shocked from apartment prices?!

if you are looking for a studio/1 bedroom, don't expect to pay anything less than 900 per month. The only way you're gonna really save money is if you split a house/apartment with a couple of other people, which is the route I'm going to go.

I've been seeing a lot of 3 bedrooms for about 1800-2200. So I'll be looking at about 800-900 per month, all inclusive, with the peace of having an entire place to myself with people I truly enjoy the company of.

If you are going budget... you're gonna have to live in south san jose or east san jose... which really is no fun.

i am trying to get into the web page to find a roommate/post an ad but it asks for a groupwise username? i do not think i ever received one, has anyone?

Your groupwise name is your school email address. You probably won't get that for a while. I'm going to call tomorrow and have my old account reactivated. Everything else has been the same so I'm guessing they will just give me my old email address.

ugh...with santa clara dropping to 93 i'm a bit worried. i was dead set on going, but this sudden drop doesn't inspire confidence. i realize the school hasn't changed much, but taking on $150,000 for a school that could potentially drop out of the top 100 seems iffy at best. it's either santa clara or pitt or hell freezes over and davis. right when i thought i'd figured out where i'm going, something happens. law school admissions is the shittiest experience in the world.

+1

I'm from Sac, and apartment prices are nothing like the Bay, so they are rather shocking to me.

Thanks for the advice though. I think I am going to try to live alone though. I'm a really private person and don't want to risk having some insane roommate.

posted this over on the other scu thread, thought i would repeat it here.

if the rankings leaked are accurate:

disappointed scu dropped in the rankings, but ive been studying the rankings over the last 5 years and (if google is correct, lots of conflicting numbers) scu has floated around 85-93 over the last 5 years: 2006: 79/90 (?), 2007: 87, 2008: 77/93 (?), 2009: 85, 2010: 93. if i learned anything from this is that scu will remain a ranked school over the next five years as well, floating around on that bubble.

what i havent been able to find on google are the ip rankings. scu is my top choice because of their ip program and ranking, but now that its not there, i wonder if they were a one hit wonder? any other patterns on the ip rank front?

overall, scu is still my top choice. rankings dont change the location of the school, the campus, reputation and the faculty they have, at least not in the short term. id be more worried if there was a trend of slipping, but i dont see one.

Not the correct numnbers, SCU used to be higher a few years ago. Gotta find those old USNWRs.

cant find any legitimate sources, these are all from blogs/forums from google. been looking for a usnwr archive but havent found anything.

Hmm...had some time for the rankings to settle in and think I'm still committed to attending Santa Clara. Since I want to study international law those internship opportunities abroad are too good to resist. Would still be interested in seeing the rankings for the last 5 years if possible, to at least get a picture of the movement of the school. If it is in fact floating around a particular rank that's understandable, but if it's sliding that would be worrisome.

What do you guys think of Santa Clara's job placement? I am just a little concerned with all of the major competition in the area. I know rankings aren't everything, but I don't want to completely ignore them.

Rankings:
2008: 77 (Was a jump up because we all got an email from the Dean essentially saying, rankings don't matter, but look, we went up!!
2009: 85
2010: 93

Job placement is okay. Most can find unpaid internships for summer, if you're going into criminal law, there's always an agency to take you. If you want big law, this is not the place for you. I'd say very few people got 2L summer big law jobs. Over half, maybe 60% were able to find paid work, though not as high as big law.

what about with big tech firms like hp, sun etc. for both summers and full time employment?

that trend is worrisome.

I really cannot speak to full time employment.
As for summers, the opportunity for this exists, but I'd say a small percentage of people actually get these jobs. Some students are IP fellows which guarantees them an IP related summer job. Aside from them, maybe 2-5 people in the whole class will get an IP summer job. If you have a technical background, your chances are higher, but it's not extremely likely, but possible.

wait what happened with the rankings!? why did they fall to 93?

Because California in general is falling.vb

i was so sure about santa clara....i have a full ride to chapman, now tied at 93 with santa clara, and i don't know if that's a better deal?? ugghhhh

Well, it is just Bay Area vs. Orange County.
Decide on that.

Would you say it is a matter of location even if one wants to do an IP concentration (patent law)? I'm interested in Santa Clara because of their high tech program and would like to practice in the LA area. Do you think I would I be better off going to Southwestern since it is in LA?

Screw it, I'm going to Santa Clara. Can't imagine living in Pittsburgh for the rest of my life. Worst case scenario, I move to L.A. and become a homeless beach bum, beg for change, and buy an occasional double-double with onions to go.

ok chapman is out. deciding between santa clara and seattle u. i'm really worried about those rankings...they just keep falling....

Well, I wouldn't go to Southwestern.

Well, I was debating between Pitt and Santa Clara, and eventually I decided on Santa Clara based on a number of factors.

Rankings be damned, the school I wanted to attend didn't change over night, and as long as the same resources are still present, I don't see a reason to change course. Simply ask yourself, would you rather live and work in Seattle or the Bay Area? Also, depending on what you wish to specialize in, which school offers you the best set of resources to pursue that course? The answer to those questions should eventually lead you to an answer.

In my case, I couldn't see myself living and working in western Pennsylvania and enjoying it. If I'm going to be in debt, I might as well be living somewhere that makes me happy (no In-N-Out Burger in PA!). I also want to specialize in Intl. Business Transactions, and Santa Clara, with its summer internships in Tokyo and Hong Kong as well as course offerings on the subject were enough to sway me. Pitt on the other hand didn't specify their foreign internship opportunities and when I emailed them back in September to find out, never replied to my question. Course offerings also didn't seem as plentiful.

Anyway, sorry for the long post, but I felt if I could let you see the processes I went through in choosing between two schools you could do the same. Good luck!

Reading these responses... I can see a lot of people are really affected by rankings.

Despite the overwhelming number of opinion from many sources that barring the T14, rankings don't mean anything.

Go where you want to work. Simple. Do well your first year, show you got what it takes, and you've already risen above your regional zone. This is the SCU 2013 thread, please keep all other things out of it. That's why they have the decision and admittance forums for those wary.

Enjoy!