Seattle University vs. UNLV Forum

[christine2013]

I am a 1L at Hastings. I think you have some nice options, but what would really help us give you advice would be for you to post your projected debt levels at each.

I would vote for the cheapest option between Oregon and Seattle Univ. The PNW is a great place to live, in some ways I think it is better than the Bay Area (cheaper COL, less crowded, and I prefer the greener scenery). That said, the economy in WA and OR is weaker - fewer jobs and generally lower salaries. If you like the area and could see yourself living there long term, then I think it's a sacrifice worth making.

If you really want to live in CA above all else and don't have any desirable law school options in CA, you might want to think about choosing another career path. Nothing about that is meant to disparage you in any way...the legal job market in CA is a cruel beast. I have some ideas about alternatives to the traditional JD and MBA educational routes, if you are interested.

Thank you - these are the projected debt levels:

1. Seattle - received a 3 year renewable scholarship (top 1/2 of class requirement). Most debt = 164k Least debt= 138k

2. U of Oregon - recieved 3 year renewable scholarship no stipulations. Most debt = 120,000 ( living is cheap and they don't really give out residency to students i guess)

3. UNLV - 3 year renewable if top 33% - Most debt = 122,000 Least debt = 109,000


And good luck with the job hunt . Hastings is a good school...

school quality seems to be meaningless these days. connections are everything.

your debt situation is not ideal...are you planning to do public interest? taking out over 100k loans while hoping for private work is an iffy prospect in this economy.

I think you can easily write off Seattle U and UNLV. You would have to earn the absolute maximum salary out of Seattle to justify around 150k in loans. Even with top grades, you would probably be very lucky to earn 80-85k from there. UNLV -- the debt looks okay (109k) but the hangup there is the top 1/3 requirement. I have found that most schools generally axe around 1/2 of scholarship recipients' scholarships after the 1st year. So you are setting yourself up for a 50/50 chance of crushing debt.

Oregon seems like the clear winner, in my opinion. It places well in both WA and OR.

Thanks for your input. I am curious as to why you wrote off UNLV when there is only a 2,000 difference between U of O and UNLV. I just came back from the ASD at Seattle and was shocked that I didn’t love it like I thought I would. The thought of rain, and rain ... and more rain then some snow.... really didn’t help. Don't get me wrong it’s a great school, but you are partly paying for the location - the school facilities are INCREDIBLE - the nicest I've seen with touch screen maps and everything. They are also #1 in Legal Writing which they emphasize a lot. However, the low bar passage rate, the large class size (330), and expensive location (... and rain...) somewhat changed my perspective. As of this moment I am officially leaning toward UNLV and have yet to visit U of O.

[General Tso]

Thanks for your input. I am curious as to why you wrote off UNLV when there is only a 2,000 difference between U of O and UNLV. I just came back from the ASD at Seattle and was shocked that I didn’t love it like I thought I would. The thought of rain, and rain ... and more rain then some snow.... really didn’t help. Don't get me wrong it’s a great school, but you are partly paying for the location - the school facilities are INCREDIBLE - the nicest I've seen with touch screen maps and everything. They are also #1 in Legal Writing which they emphasize a lot. However, the low bar passage rate, the large class size (330), and expensive location (... and rain...) somewhat changed my perspective. As of this moment I am officially leaning toward UNLV and have yet to visit U of O.

I wrote off UNLV because of the gpa requirement. You are risking your ability to reasonably afford law school on a 33% chance of success.

I think your career options out of U Oregon vs. Seattle U are approximately the same. Both would place well in either of 2 PNW states. Oregon is much cheaper and doesnt have a GPA req.