UCLA ($) vs. NU sticker Forum

[quickquestionthanks]

Yeah, it's definitely priority to make sure you're cozy in your living room every evening even if it means your opportunities are cut short for the rest of your life. Also don't go to NU because it's behind UofC, as demonstrated by the latest NLJ250 hiring numbers.

That's a little dramatic, don't you think?

If OP were saying he is thinking about choosing Hastings over NU because he is not sure he can take the cold, I'd be telling him to buy a heavy coat and suck it up.

But he stated in his OP that he has no geographic preference, even though he's also stated that he has lived in CA his whole life (friends, family, lifestyle). That sounds a little naive, like he hasn't really thought it through.

[Fark-o-vision]

then I'm confused...

usually people who live in California are a little hesitant to move to snowy places. Please don't say you think it'd be a nice change. Chicago gets really really cold, and snow is cool for about 3 days, and then it just sucks.

Picking law schools in terms of weather is really stupid unless its a tiebreaker.

Thinking that climate doesn't significantly effect quality of life is stupid, unless you've lived anywhere other than CA your entire life.

[09042014]

then I'm confused...

usually people who live in California are a little hesitant to move to snowy places. Please don't say you think it'd be a nice change. Chicago gets really really cold, and snow is cool for about 3 days, and then it just sucks.

Picking law schools in terms of weather is really stupid unless its a tiebreaker.

Yeah...personal comfort doesn't mean shit Your priorities are out of whack, hombre.

I'm sure warming climate will pay great dividends at OCI.

OP, just trying to make sure you do a reality check about your personal preferences before going to the #2 school in a smaller market at a higher price.

The reality check is that Northwestern places a lot more of their class into big law than UCLA does.

[09042014]

then I'm confused...

usually people who live in California are a little hesitant to move to snowy places. Please don't say you think it'd be a nice change. Chicago gets really really cold, and snow is cool for about 3 days, and then it just sucks.

Picking law schools in terms of weather is really stupid unless its a tiebreaker.

Thinking that climate doesn't significantly effect quality of life is stupid, unless you've lived anywhere other than CA your entire life.

Having a significantly worse shot at getting the job you want is an even bigger factor.

[quickquestionthanks]

Having a significantly worse shot at getting the job you want is an even bigger factor.

I'll reserve further comments until after we determine whether OP is from SoCal.

[09042014]

Having a significantly worse shot at getting the job you want is an even bigger factor.

I'll reserve further comments until after we determine whether OP is from SoCal.

The OP already addressed geographic location in the OP and it was irrelevant. NU sends a bigger chunk of their students to big law firms that UCLA, by about 20%. The difference is even bigger if you are talking about elite firms.

If the OP wants to live in California post grad, the choice is already made, UCLA.

[Fark-o-vision]

then I'm confused...

usually people who live in California are a little hesitant to move to snowy places. Please don't say you think it'd be a nice change. Chicago gets really really cold, and snow is cool for about 3 days, and then it just sucks.

Picking law schools in terms of weather is really stupid unless its a tiebreaker.

Thinking that climate doesn't significantly effect quality of life is stupid, unless you've lived anywhere other than CA your entire life.

Having a significantly worse shot at getting the job you want is an even bigger factor.

For this poster, or in general? If a poster identifies that geography isn't a concern (which is absurd), then I relent. Northwestern is the clear choice, because it opens options everywhere. For the average poster? I disagree. This may be because I already have a life and a family, and am only going to law school to satiate an intellectual interest of mine and to collect a pay check, but I think where I live matters a whole hell of a lot more than what I make, or where I work.

80k in San Diego> 140K in NY. For me, at least. Both have a high cost of living, but I'm not into high fashion, or theater, or...well, in this day and age what other advantage does Manhattan offer? I'd rather surf, and go to the zoo with my kids, and eat a fat burger at Corvettes. No amount of "cash" makes NY worth it for me because, as I see it, the quality of life is shit. The same can be said of Chicago, the entire midwest, and the entire northeast. Other's disagree, and I respect that, but you have to know what matters to you.

Where I live matters much more than what I make. I just want to pay the bills and use my degree to make a, even slight, difference in the lives of people.

[motiontodismiss]

then I'm confused...

usually people who live in California are a little hesitant to move to snowy places. Please don't say you think it'd be a nice change. Chicago gets really really cold, and snow is cool for about 3 days, and then it just sucks.

I feel like Californians range two extremes: people who a) never want to leave the state, or b) couldn't leave fast enough. The former type are usually transplants and the latter type are half transplants and half natives. I fall into the latter category. Evidently OP does too.

But I agree, weather should be irrelevant unless you're choosing between Harvard and Stanford, NYU or Berkeley, Duke or Northwestern, etc etc

[keg411]

If the OP wants to live/work after law school in CA (I'll even throw SF in here and not just LA), obviously UCLA is the right choice. For Chicago/NY/DC (or almost anywhere else), Northwestern is the right choice. It's not a controversial statement. For BigLaw with no care as to the location, it's Northwestern. Seriously, location of where one wants to practice should be the #1 factor in making almost any law school decision (except when choosing between only national schools; and in those cases, placement into preferred region should be the #1 factor; and when choosing between lower ranked schools when people should switch their desired region for a more practical region because of $$ consideration).

[raspberryfruitcake]

1) I am a girl
2) I live in SoCal, went to school in NorCal
3) If I were to live in CA in the long run, I would choose NorCal over SoCal, any day
4) I want to go to school in a city outside of CA if possible, but I don't know if that reasoning is enough to convince me to shell out $$$$.

Basically, my main concern about UCLA is that it'll keep me in SoCal forever.

Question: Which school has higher job prospects in NorCal (SF)? UCLA or Northwestern?

Question: Will going to a #2 school in Chicago hurt my chances of landing a big law gig??

I also have Cornell and Georgetown to think about, but I want to live in a big city, so I excluded them from my list (They also complicate things). Thanks TLS!!

[motiontodismiss]

IMO LA doesn't qualify as a big city. It's a sprawled out suburb.

[chadwick218]

Balancing your preferences, I would choose NU. Personally, I would take UCLA at a $60K discount over NU, though.

You will certainly be more limited in terms of mobility if you attend UCLA. FWIW, NU does place relatively well into both SoCAL and NoCAL for those who have a desire to work there.

[quickquestionthanks]

1) I am a girl

I realized that right after I used "he" but I hate editing posts

Question: Which school has higher job prospects in NorCal (SF)? UCLA or Northwestern?

This is the question to research. My guess would be UCLA has the edge, but I don't have any numbers to back this up.

Question: Will going to a #2 school in Chicago hurt my chances of landing a big law gig??

No, I was just pointing that out to irritate Desert Fox. If you're interested in living/working in Chicago, you should certainly take NU. It will take you WAY further in Chicago than UCLA will. The point is that even amongst big law jobs, there is a hierarchy of salaries and that in UCLA you stand to land the top firms, whereas in Chicago you're competing against U Chicago students. You'll still make a lot of money, especially as a girl, since women add to firm diversity.

Do you seriously think you are impervious to the cold? I'm only lived in Arizona or California for my whole life, and while I'd move to NYC without blinking, there's no way I'd move to Chicago. Much too cold to live in the the Second City (if you can even call it that anymore).

[clintonius]

NYC is balls cold in the winter, too, champ. And last year NU had the #1 placement in NLJ250 firms (nobody took the bait I laid on the last page, so I'm coming out and saying it). Anyways, I mostly just wanted to say:

For this poster, or in general? If a poster identifies that geography isn't a concern (which is absurd), then I relent. Northwestern is the clear choice, because it opens options everywhere. For the average poster? I disagree. This may be because I already have a life and a family, and am only going to law school to satiate an intellectual interest of mine and to collect a pay check, but I think where I live matters a whole hell of a lot more than what I make, or where I work.

80k in San Diego> 140K in NY. For me, at least. Both have a high cost of living, but I'm not into high fashion, or theater, or...well, in this day and age what other advantage does Manhattan offer? I'd rather surf, and go to the zoo with my kids, and eat a fat burger at Corvettes. No amount of "cash" makes NY worth it for me because, as I see it, the quality of life is shit. The same can be said of Chicago, the entire midwest, and the entire northeast. Other's disagree, and I respect that, but you have to know what matters to you.

Where I live matters much more than what I make. I just want to pay the bills and use my degree to make a, even slight, difference in the lives of people.

--ImageRemoved--

[fortissimo]

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[fortissimo]

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Question: Which school has higher job prospects in NorCal (SF)? UCLA or Northwestern?

Question: Will going to a #2 school in Chicago hurt my chances of landing a big law gig??

I also have Cornell and Georgetown to think about, but I want to live in a big city, so I excluded them from my list (They also complicate things). Thanks TLS!!

Isn't Georgetown in DC? Or am I missing something here?

NU places a lot more into biglaw than UCLA.

[DerrickRose]

No amount of "cash" makes NY worth it for me because, as I see it, the quality of life is shit. The same can be said of Chicago, the entire midwest

whoa whoa whoa

[motiontodismiss]

No amount of "cash" makes LA worth it for me because, as I see it, the quality of life is shit. The same can be said of San Francisco, the entire Southwest

There. Fixed it. I want to be able to do more than just pay the bills. You know, save up to buy a house, for example.

[quickquestionthanks]

No amount of "cash" makes LA worth it for me because, as I see it, the quality of life is shit. The same can be said of San Francisco, the entire Southwest

There. Fixed it.

San Francisco in the Southwest?

[fortissimo]

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[motiontodismiss]

I hope you guys realize that the COL in LA is the same as the COL in NYC...it's cheaper to live in Chicago. And LA is honestly by far the worst big city I've been to.

LA=big overpriced, sprawled out suburb. To say LA is a city is an insult to real cities like NY and Chicago. Did I mention smog?

[Grizz]

I hope you guys realize that the COL in LA is the same as the COL in NYC...it's cheaper to live in Chicago. And LA is honestly by far the worst big city I've been to.

LA=big overpriced, sprawled out suburb. To say LA is a city is an insult to real cities like NY and Chicago. Did I mention smog?

Plus, have fun living in what's soon to be a failed state.

[clintonius]

I hope you guys realize that the COL in LA is the same as the COL in NYC...it's cheaper to live in Chicago. And LA is honestly by far the worst big city I've been to.

LA=big overpriced, sprawled out suburb. To say LA is a city is an insult to real cities like NY and Chicago. Did I mention smog?

Plus, have fun living in what's soon to be [strike]a failed state[/strike] at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.

[fortissimo]

I hope you guys realize that the COL in LA is the same as the COL in NYC...it's cheaper to live in Chicago. And LA is honestly by far the worst big city I've been to.

LA=big overpriced, sprawled out suburb. To say LA is a city is an insult to real cities like NY and Chicago. Did I mention smog?

True, my mistake. I would pay money not to have live with the types who love LA though...gah.

[quickquestionthanks]

LA can be pretty cool if you know where to go. Don't bash it until you've lived there for at least 6 months.