USD or USF Forum

[romothesavior]

I have a lot of family in the Bay Area and the lawyers say that USF is highly respected within the region...I guess the point being that the school does a lot better than the rankings suggest.

the school might have done well pre-shit economy.

Eh, I doubt it, but who knows.

Danicab, a lot of people like to assume that because there are a decent number of grads working in a given region, the school must therefore be a good option for that region. It's a faulty assumption. It's kinda like how people say SLU "dominates the St. Louis market," and yes a lot of their grads get jobs in STL, but that doesn't change the fact that the guy who makes my macchiato down at Starbucks has a J.D. from SLU (true story). Similarly, there may be decent number of USF grads working in SF, but there could be 10x as many unemployed USF grads too.

Their top 10% students might get some respect and find decent jobs. But do you think anyone in that region has much respect for a USF grad at or below median?

[danicab]

I have a lot of family in the Bay Area and the lawyers say that USF is highly respected within the region...I guess the point being that the school does a lot better than the rankings suggest.

the school might have done well pre-shit economy.

fair.

[Tom Joad]

At those prices, honestly, neither, due to bad job prospects. Sucks but that's it.

[HildaAk]

I think you should go to USD if you're not admitted to Hastings. It's not only the "better ranking" but also the fact that SF is so much more expensive of a place to live. Also, USD is much higher than USF and will probably help you find better internships/externships while you're in law school and will thus give you more experience so if you do choose to go to SF to work, you will be in better condition. While it's good to go to school in the city you want to work in, you don't want to be competing for jobs with people from Hastings, Berkley, and Stanford. Good luck!

[Dignan]

I think you should go to USD if you're not admitted to Hastings. It's not only the "better ranking" but also the fact that SF is so much more expensive of a place to live. Also, USD is much higher than USF and will probably help you find better internships/externships while you're in law school and will thus give you more experience

This is not true. USD does not have a significantly better reputation than USF and will not offer appreciably better internship/externship opportunities.

so if you do choose to go to SF to work, you will be in better condition.

This is downright bad advice. Others ITT are correct in pointing out that neither school is a wise choice. And it's probably true that a USD student will have an easier time finding a job in SD compared to a USF student who is trying to find a job in SF. But it's absurd to suggest that a USD student will have better options in San Francisco than a USF student.

While it's good to go to school in the city you want to work in, you don't want to be competing for jobs with people from Hastings, Berkley, and Stanford.

But keep in mind that Berkeley and Stanford (and other T14 students) also compete for jobs in San Diego's tiny legal job market.

Look, I agree with others that—given the state of the overall legal job market—the OP's best option is not to attend law school at all. But if the OP is going to go to law school, and if the OP loves SF and wants a shot at working there, then the OP should of course pick USF over USD.