Top Law Schools

Been searching around the board and people seem to be getting fairly mixed opinions with this.
I have yet to hear back from Hastings' fin aid but Loyola has offered ~30k/year as long as I place within the top 1/3.
Assuming that:
1. I'd like to practice in the So Cal region
2. Want to keep my options open with both Biglaw and possible future clerkship opportunities,

Which would be the better choice?
If possible, please explain your reasoning as I'm REALLY torn between these two schools atm.

Thanks in advance for any input!

also interested in this thread...

Loyola. Their alums are all over the place here in SoCal.

Agreed. Go to Loyola. Barring admission to a much better school than Hastings, I think you should stay in LA and expand your network.

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dvd wrote:Just make sure you stay in the top 1/3

This. If you can't get that stipulation removed, I would hesitate to take it. Law school grades are very difficult to guarantee.

bump. anyone else?

TLS Consensus = if you want to do PI work your focus should be in avoiding debt Soooo you can actually afford to do PI work post-graduation.

Hastings isn't 90k better than Loyola, and I believe more expensive at sticker for out of state students.

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dvd wrote:

erniesto wrote:Hastings isn't 90k better than Loyola, and I believe more expensive at sticker for out of state students.

Tuition and fees (health insurance, activity fees, etc) at Hastings are 32,500. Loyola tuition alone is around 38,000. So, if the OP gets his/her scholarship their first year, and then falls below the top 1/3 rankings in 1L and 2L, they would only save $13,500. That, in the long run, is nothing compared to a rankings difference of ~32 spots.

I disagree on the principle that if you can't get into the top 1/3 of Loyola then you probably should not be going to law school, as your opportunities become dimmer and dimmer outside of the top 1/3 at the vast majority of schools. If I were in this position, I would cut my losses altogether and pursue something else using IBR to hold me over.

Most importantly, the difference between Hastings and Loyola is maybe 8-11% NLJ250 placement, translated to 1 out of 10 more people. Those are not significant odds in all but the most delusional perspectives given your potential cost savings. Rankings really only matter significantly for the T-30 ( and most significantly in the T-20).

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Your point was that it was less risky to go to Hastings at sticker over Loyola with 31k scholarship set at 1/3.

Pretty sure I proved nothing of that sort. And in fact had a mostly divergent argument.