Top Law Schools

3.3/165
So its getting to be about that time, and I would like to see what the TLS community has to say. I've pretty much narrowed this down to 3 schools. These are the schools that I am considering:

L&C- $12,000/yr, 3.0 Stip (3.0 curve, basically above median)
Wake- $18,000/yr, Top 2/3 Stip
Loyola-LA- $18,000/yr, Top 1/3 Stip

Also

UC Irvine- Haven't heard back, LSN puts all of their dings last year in early April, so my hopes are pretty low.
Chapman- Full Tuition, 2.9 Stip
USD- No monies
U San Fran- No Monies

I am originally from CA and went to UG here as well. Although I love CA, i don't necessarily want to spend the rest of my life here, especially with the state's economic outlook and climate. So these are my kind of pro/con thoughts on each school.

L&C- I could spend several paragraphs on it, but ill just leave it at 'i love portland'. and am willing/would love to live and/or practice there. Cost of living much lower than CA. L&C seems to have a great local reputation in Portland and close-surrounding markets in an area not overly saturated w/ law schools. I am interested in Moot Court, and they have a strong team. Although most attorneys I've talked to end up practicing in an area other than what they initially wanted to pursue, I have an interest in soft IP and that is one of their larger programs (aside from enviro). Like the Strong Emphasis on Legal Writing. Not really any downside, other than it is a T2. Would be far from family, but that creates more of an issue for my mom than for me. load of clinics for class size. Have friends from HS and UG that live in the area. I feel that I have a good shot at getting more money in light of my numbers being above 75th and my other offers.

Wake- Lowest cost of living of all my prospective cities. Good small-private communal feeling. Epic moot court programs. Top notch litigation program, decent IP prospects. Prestige of being super old school, T1, expansive alumni network. Also has a very strong emphasis on legal writing. Initial Scholarship offer was highest (relative to tuition). Although it is T1, Wake is muddled in between Duke, UNC, UVA, and D.C. Schools. The city of Winston-Salem gets a pretty big 'Meh' from me, but it certainly seems like a town conducive of good study habits. Don't know much about NC or have any ties to it. Have small ties to D.C. and VA. Ultimately, I would like to be in the Western U.S.. To do this (or to even get a good job outside of NC?), i would need to finish at the top of my class, something that i definitely don't want to bank on.

Loyola- Good SoCal repuation, especially considering its USNWR rank. Cousin is alumnus, top 5%, now in LA BigLaw doing real estate contracts (although her dream was entertainment law, go figure). Astronomical cost of living. My "who may i talk to regarding the availability of merit aid" inquiry was met promptly with a "sorry, we ain't gots no more money" response, no offer of future consideration. My family connection to the school could likely put me in good position for job prospects. Downside? I've never liked LA or being there, I don't want to live in LA. What about the beach you say? I've lived walking distance from the beach my entire life. I am highly accustomed to LA traffic and can say that i would easily spend more time sitting in grid lock than at the beach. I would need to have a car, meaning my V8 97 Mountaineer thats been making some odd noises lately. Close to family... although maybe a bit too close.

If i get an offer of admission from UCI, that changes everything. But being below both of last years medians, it is extremely unlikely.

L&C pushed my deposit date back to see if i can get more $, Loyola's isn't until April 31st. I fortunately have the $300 from UG grad money to lose on a Wake deposit to try and get more $.

I would love some insight and other perspectives, the countdown is on.

Bias: I'm currently deciding between wake and georgia.

My 2 cents:

Loyala: I don't know much about the program or reputation, but I would consider the very real possibility of losing your scholly.

With out the scholly, do you still want to go there?

And even if you do manage to keep it, can you imagine how stressful law school would be, knowing that if you couldn't keep yourself in the top 33% you would have to pay huge chunks of cash?

If it were me, I'd consider loyala at sticker price and say I might get a discount. But counting on it is questionable. And if you need the discount to make it a realalistic option, I'd say don't go.

L&C-: I know next to nothing about them. However, the stipulation on the scholly seems very realistic and mantainable.

Wake: You can take that scholly to the bank. Only 50% of students get schollies, and the stipulation is top 66%, so they are not trying to set you up to fail- they want you to keep the scholly. Furthermore, even if you dip below 66% (in which case you should be concerned about more than your scholly) you still get to keep 1/2 of the scholly.

In terms of portability, you do NOT need to be in the top 10% to leave nc. Georgia and Va are very realistic options (about 20 or so % of last class) for students at wake.

Also, last class had graduates go to 23 states, so take that for what its worth.

Thats about what I know to the extent of what you've provided and what seems relevant.

Good luck with choice.

I think not Loyola. For the same reasons as the previous poster.

Between L&C and Wake... that's harder, at least with the current offers. But if you can get L&C to raise their offer so that tuition cost at L&C would be the same (or less) than Wake, I def. think you should go with L&C, no question. Given that you love Portland and ultimately want to practice in the West. FWIW, I voted for L&C in the poll, since it sounds like you can expect an increased scholly offer. When is your deposit due at L&C?

Yeah its a tough decision between L&C and Wake, with Loyola sort of in the background. If either one were to up the offer, it sure would make my decision easier, unless both did