Top Law Schools

At Hastings I have 10k per year and LR. My rank is top 30%, but it was top 10% after the first semester. It dropped for a personal reason, so I'm hoping I'll raise my rank over the next two years if I stay, but nothing is ever guaranteed.

I have very strong ties to the Bay Area and want to practice in the area after graduation; however, I can see myself working in the LA area in the future (maybe 5-10 years from now). I'm also interested in perhaps pursuing an MBA at some point for what it's worth, so being an alum from USC/UCLA can't those ambitions. I'm interested in Sports and Entertainment Law, but from what I can tell talking to other people, taking courses in school has minimal effect on actually getting a job in the industry.

Thanks for any input!

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I would transfer and grind it out like you did first semester.

No doubt, go to UCLA/USC.

1. Top 30% at Hastings doesn't give you the best chance of landing a big law job in Bay Area. The Bay Area is so saturated with premier law schools (Stanford, Berkeley) that you have to be at the top of the class at Hastings/USF/Golden Gate/Santa Clara to be truly competitive in this market.

2. You can wipe away your second semester 1L performance by transferring. Your grades likely don't transfer over and you can start clean and kill it again like you did during your first semester.

3. I feel like USC/UCLA grads have almost first pick at LA jobs, so if you see yourself there eventually, the USC/UCLA diploma will better serve you than your Hastings diploma plus a smaller amount of debt.