UC Hastings VS UC Davis Forum

[GOB]

Also, to support what I said about the rankings...

Hastings is solidly ranked higher than Davis, too. Hastings used to be in the top 25, wasn't it?

This year Hastings is ranked higher, but when I applied it was the other way around. In fact, based on what I've seen Davis has usually been ranked higher since the rankings started, and both Davis and Hastings have been in the top 25 at some point (http://daviswiki.org/School_of_Law?acti ... stings.JPG I don't know where the graph originally came from, but I've checked some of the numbers and they've all been accurate, feel free to do the same).

I found this link in a thread on the "Choosing a Law School" forum: http://www.prelawhandbook.com/law_schoo ... 00_present

[senorsombrero]

If you like to club/eat out/ go to lounges, sacramento has a lot of solid options to do so (15/20 mins away). It is a "big city" (though admittedly can't compare to SF). Anyone who says that Davis is in the middle of no where is lying to you. IT's basically a close suburb of Sacramento distance wise. Plus, you get first dibs on a lot of sac firms (market is around 100k+)- if you don't want to be in sacramento, though, that may not be an appeal to you. I went to an undergrad campus that I thought was beautiful. While Davis is not the prettiest campus, there are some very very nice parts to it. The law school is across the street from a tranquil lake/park thing (the arboretum). In addition, if you want to hang out w/ undergrads, you only have to walk 5/10 mins into the center of the campus.
As for someone who has never heard of Davis Law, I find that every odd. It is fairly well known in CA. However, if you're looking to go out of CA, it's probably not known at all. Hastings is an excellent school and probably has a slight edge in big law recruiting. I think you're really better off going to the school you feel like you'll excel at the most. For some it may be Hastings and others it will be Davis.

[kimins]

I had to revive this---any more takes on this?..i've visited ucd and got a "tour" etc--guess i should do the same for hastings...such a tough decision, gah!

[jetlagz28]

You should analyze your personality if admitted into both. Its going to be a comparable legal education but the setting will be vastly different. I already went to undergrad in a small college town and want the big city lifestyle for awhile. (rapper and 0L)

The COL issue is a good one to remember though. San Francisco COL will add an extra chunk of $$$ you would not have to pay at Davis.

[kimins]

You should analyze your personality if admitted into both. Its going to be a comparable legal education but the setting will be vastly different. I already went to undergrad in a small college town and want the big city lifestyle for awhile. (rapper and 0L)

The COL issue is a good one to remember though. San Francisco COL will add an extra chunk of $$$ you would not have to pay at Davis.

yes, i have been weighing the cost--davis is much cheaper--however, i want to work in an SF firm not Sac....and as for atmosphere, i went to berkeley and had the crazy city experience with homeless people wanting to eat me,curse at me, and me running away from their dogs who run wildly across campus ( and please do not get me wrong, i have no issue with people who are homeless, i know life is tough and people fall on hard times, i just felt unsafe in most instances. i actually found that the people i saw were homeless due to mental illnesses which they were never treated for--ronald regan cut all those programs)--anywho, for location i prefer davis but i want to work in SF and for cost davis is better......i just think it may be easier for me to get a sf job if i am at hastings which is what i am concerned about...

[jetlagz28]

You should analyze your personality if admitted into both. Its going to be a comparable legal education but the setting will be vastly different. I already went to undergrad in a small college town and want the big city lifestyle for awhile. (rapper and 0L)

The COL issue is a good one to remember though. San Francisco COL will add an extra chunk of $$$ you would not have to pay at Davis.

yes, i have been weighing the cost--davis is much cheaper--however, i want to work in an SF firm not Sac....and as for atmosphere, i went to berkeley and had the crazy city experience with homeless people wanting to eat me,curse at me, and me running away from their dogs who run wildly across campus ( and please do not get me wrong, i have no issue with people who are homeless, i know life is tough and people fall on hard times, i just felt unsafe in most instances. i actually found that the people i saw were homeless due to mental illnesses which they were never treated for--ronald regan cut all those programs)--anywho, for location i prefer davis but i want to work in SF and for cost davis is better......i just think it may be easier for me to get a sf job if i am at hastings which is what i am concerned about...

You can't beat having all the big SF law firms a few bus or BART stops way, or the city, state and federal courts 2-3 blocks the other direction. That could very well be worth the cost.

[kimins]

You can't beat having all the big SF law firms a few bus or BART stops way, or the city, state and federal courts 2-3 blocks the other direction. That could very well be worth the cost.

have you applied to both?..just curious...come on folks, keep talking....i'm still unsure....most ppl are telling me hastings would be best i guess.......

[leron]

i have a choice between the two also. what i've found the past several months - no matter how much we talk about hastings vs. davis it's still a question only you can answer. the pros and cons of each have been discussed relentlessly.

personally, i'm leaning towards hastings because i think it has better job prospects and i'm a big city-dweller. i'm just waiting for them to tell me about grants and waiting for davis to tell me the grant they estimated is now firm.

[kimins]

i have a choice between the two also. what i've found the past several months - no matter how much we talk about hastings vs. davis it's still a question only you can answer. the pros and cons of each have been discussed relentlessly.

personally, i'm leaning towards hastings because i think it has better job prospects and i'm a big city-dweller. i'm just waiting for them to tell me about grants and waiting for davis to tell me the grant they estimated is now firm.

yeah it is a personal choice i agree....ill just give it another month and brood and think *sigh* ..my ucd deadline is april 15 and hastings is may 1st so ill have to make a decision by april 15th...i wonder if different people have different deadlines...april 15 was strange, i thought all deadlines were may 1st.and i like the city too but i just like feeling safe and davis does that:).

[BioLaw]

I made the decision last year and chose Hastings, but would have been happy in either place. I'll be around for a bit if you have any questions.

[vb007]

I made the decision last year and chose Hastings, but would have been happy in either place. I'll be around for a bit if you have any questions.

can you talk about the biotech programs at hastings? i heard about the ucsf partnership and the law and bioscience project. have you participated in either program?

[GOB]

I've already spoken enough on this subject so I'm going to limit my replies from here on out...
I know a lot of 2Ls and 3Ls at Davis and I haven't heard of any of them having problems getting jobs in SF if they wanted one.

[kimins]

thanks for the feedback folks...i'm leaning toward hastings now haha...but i'll wait for my fin aid package and see who gives me more $$ and take that into account as well....

[herewego]

This may belong in a more Davis specific thread but...
Does anyone have info on becoming a teaching assistant (for UG classes) at Davis? How difficult is this to do? What are the perks?

[GOB]

This may belong in a more Davis specific thread but...
Does anyone have info on becoming a teaching assistant (for UG classes) at Davis? How difficult is this to do? What are the perks?

My impression is that it's pretty easy, or at least, it's just as easy as TAing for a law class. The perks are the $$ you make for not that much work.

[deadatheist]

bump for you!

[20160810]

BTW (someone posted a link to this data in the main admissions forum but I am too lazy to look it up right now), between 2001 and the present, UCD has averaged a slightly higher rank (something like 33.X vs 36.X) than UCH. This doesn't mean a ton, and the difference is never huge, but it should help ameliorate concerns of those who would otherwise prefer UCD but lean towards UCH due to their current 38 v. 44 rankings gap.

[dlm2100]

Now that most of you who have been accepted have probably visited both schools, what are the thoughts? Where are you headed and why? (beating the dead horse that is this match-up...)

[Borhas]

this thread has been great, thanks for your posts... and here is a bump for others

personally this sort of information is crucial for my decision. I've been thinking about CA schools and I was probably going to ED at UCLA, but I'd much rather live in a small and not so hectic community like Davis, so I may not ED at UCLA after all. As for the cows and farm criticisms. I for one prefer pastoral landscapes to cityscapes but my UG had a lot of cows nearby so maybe I'm just used to it.

[jms1987]

As an out-of state student, would it be a good choice to look at Davis or Hastings?


Not to keep bringing up this topic, but whats the political atmosphere at these schools?

edit- read though it more, and Davis seems really liberal. Now I'm open to other viewpoints ans everything, but will I be comfortable there as a strongly conservative/libertarian person?

[jcl2]

As an out-of state student, would it be a good choice to look at Davis or Hastings?


Not to keep bringing up this topic, but whats the political atmosphere at these schools?

edit- read though it more, and Davis seems really liberal. Now I'm open to other viewpoints ans everything, but will I be comfortable there as a strongly conservative/libertarian person?

Davis the city is very liberal, but the university itself and the student body aren't particularly liberal, actually probably less liberal than most of the UCs, it is an ag school after all. Also, the area surrounding Davis is not liberal at all, most of Central CA is pretty conservative. The law school is probably no more liberal than most law schools, but most law schools are relatively liberal. As long as you are not looking to totally insulate yourself from people who disagree with you, you will probably be fine at Davis.

[jms1987]

As an out-of state student, would it be a good choice to look at Davis or Hastings?


Not to keep bringing up this topic, but whats the political atmosphere at these schools?

edit- read though it more, and Davis seems really liberal. Now I'm open to other viewpoints ans everything, but will I be comfortable there as a strongly conservative/libertarian person?

Davis the city is very liberal, but the university itself and the student body aren't particularly liberal, actually probably less liberal than most of the UCs, it is an ag school after all. Also, the area surrounding Davis is not liberal at all, most of Central CA is pretty conservative. The law school is probably no more liberal than most law schools, but most law schools are relatively liberal. As long as you are not looking to totally insulate yourself from people who disagree with you, you will probably be fine at Davis.

Thanks!

[General Tso]

Hastings is pretty liberal, but that is kind of irrelevant IMO. I'd choose my law school on career prospects/cost/location, in that order.

In hindsight, I probably would have chosen Davis if I had not been attached to the bay area. I chose Hastings for 2 reasons (1) my gf works in the bay area and it'd be pretty selfish to ask her to quit in the middle of the recession and (2) I'd be worried about getting stuck in Fresno or Stockton out of Davis should I finish in the bottom half. I'll take Walnut Creek or San Rafael over the central valley any day.

I don't have any proof for that...just an irrational fear that I use to justify my choice of Hastings

Seriously though...the profs at Hastings are great. My biggest complaint is that it's really crowded...it feels like there are too many students there. The bums outside aren't that big of an issue...there are always at least 3 or 4 police officers on duty. I did see a Hastings student get spit (spat?) upon by a bum though. Pretty gross

[lsatguy]

.

[jms1987]

From the sound of it, Davis sounds more like something I would enjoy. I read in its profile that Hastings is waaayy more cutthroat too