Am I seriously retarded? Turning down ND for T2 Forum

[lsatrehtard]

It goes like this:

Acceptances that matter: Notre Dame w/20k, USD w/ $34k, UC Davis, UC Hastings.

Criteria: Want to practice in CA. Want to make money (obvious). Don't know if I really want to attend a school outside CA (mom's got cancer so I'd rather be closer).

The deadline for these schools is the 15th, so now I'm starting to have a crisis of conscience. I've spoken with a few lawyers and some friends and had mixed opinions. I'd like to head what you guys think b/c I'm tired of people putting things in terms of what I want to hear.

Can I please have some honest opinions??

Thanks in advance.

[fathergoose]

Tough situation with family stuff like that but ND seems like the logical choice. You are talking about a massive investment of time and resources that will have an enormous impact on the rest of your life. If you moms health issues are real bad, defer for a year or reapply later on.

[cr073137]

From the knowledge that I have acquiered from talking to current students and a few lawyers, this is my advice:

If you want to practice in CA, UC hastings and UC Davis> Notre dame. And I'm guessing that you are a in-state students, so you will get a tuition discount. USD I would say take it only if you want to practice in San Diego or if your circumstances are making you really be debt adverse. Notre dame has a big name, and might land you a job in CA, but it is no where near the UC schools in terms of placement in CA.

This is not just my opinion, just go see the career services website for each school.

Best of Luck

[lsatrehtard]

If it makes a difference: One of the main reasons I'm looking at USD is b/c (though a little naive), I'm keeping the possibility of transferring after my first year. I don't think I'd stay at USD for the full 3 yrs, but even if for some reason I did, I don't think I'd mind.

I'm somewhat averse to UC's b/c of tuition hikes. I also would like to practice in corporate & securities law, where SD has a pretty respected expert (Frank Partnoy).

[fortissimo]

If you want to practice in CA, UC hastings and UC Davis> Notre dame. And I'm guessing that you are a in-state students, so you will get a tuition discount.

A tuition discount of: 50k in state instead of 54k OOS? Tbh the CA markets are so saturated that I wouldn't go to anything less than UCLA/USC to work there. And if I were in your shoes I'd probably just retake and reapply.

[najumobi]

If it makes a difference: One of the main reasons I'm looking at USD is b/c (though a little naive), I'm keeping the possibility of transferring after my first year. I don't think I'd stay at USD for the full 3 yrs, but even if for some reason I did, I don't think I'd mind.

I'm somewhat averse to UC's b/c of tuition hikes. I also would like to practice in corporate & securities law, where SD has a pretty respected expert (Frank Partnoy).

going to USD withthe intention of not staying there for all 3 years is probably a bad idea...

[jks289]

If you want to practice in CA, UC hastings and UC Davis> Notre dame. And I'm guessing that you are a in-state students, so you will get a tuition discount.

A tuition discount of: 50k in state instead of 54k OOS? Tbh the CA markets are so saturated that I wouldn't go to anything less than UCLA/USC to work there. And if I were in your shoes I'd probably just retake and reapply.

This is stupid advice. Ignore it. If you want to stay in California, Davis and Hastings are both good options that place well in their markets. I think USD is such a big step down from those schools that even full tuition wouldn't justify going. Maybe if you had full tuition and knew you wanted to work in San Diego. But that doesn't sound like the case. Visit Davis and Hastings and decide which you like better.

[fortissimo]

If you want to practice in CA, UC hastings and UC Davis> Notre dame. And I'm guessing that you are a in-state students, so you will get a tuition discount.

A tuition discount of: 50k in state instead of 54k OOS? Tbh the CA markets are so saturated that I wouldn't go to anything less than UCLA/USC to work there. And if I were in your shoes I'd probably just retake and reapply.

This is stupid advice. Ignore it. If you want to stay in California, Davis and Hastings are both good options that place well in their markets. I think USD is such a big step down from those schools that even full tuition wouldn't justify going. Maybe if you had full tuition and knew you wanted to work in San Diego. But that doesn't sound like the case. Visit Davis and Hastings and decide which you like better.

If you want to work in the the private sector (aka OP "want to make money"), it's not stupid advice at all. A Hastings student said that only the top 10-15% had a shot at CALLBACKS (not offers) from OCI. There's just too much competition in the Bay Area from the top 14, etc.

[jks289]

If you want to practice in CA, UC hastings and UC Davis> Notre dame. And I'm guessing that you are a in-state students, so you will get a tuition discount.

A tuition discount of: 50k in state instead of 54k OOS? Tbh the CA markets are so saturated that I wouldn't go to anything less than UCLA/USC to work there. And if I were in your shoes I'd probably just retake and reapply.

This is stupid advice. Ignore it. If you want to stay in California, Davis and Hastings are both good options that place well in their markets. I think USD is such a big step down from those schools that even full tuition wouldn't justify going. Maybe if you had full tuition and knew you wanted to work in San Diego. But that doesn't sound like the case. Visit Davis and Hastings and decide which you like better.

If you want to work in the the private sector (aka OP "want to make money"), it's not stupid advice at all. A Hastings student said that only the top 10-15% had a shot at CALLBACKS (not offers) from OCI. There's just too much competition in the Bay Area from the top 14, etc.

Yes but we aren't talking about a T14. UCLA is going to be better overall (obviously most T10s will beat/match it) but USC doesn't place in Nor Cal any better than Davis/Hasting. An individual Hastings student might estimate 10-15% shot at OCI, but the overall trends and numbers don't support that. Davis and Hastings are going to limit OP regionally to Northern California (So cal with some effort) but within that area they are better than any other options. My "stupid" reference (sorry, I could have picked a better word) was to the idea that USC placed that much better, and the Davis and Hastings were such a terrible option IN California that the OP should delay a year and try again.

[chadwick218]

No, you are not crazy, but ND does have strong ties to Southern California. I think that a ND degree will set you apart in California. Graduates from the local schools listed are a dime a dozen.

[notme]

I had somewhat the same decision last year, accepted Hastings, Davis, and Notre Dame all with close money. I am from CA and want to work in CA. I considered some other T19 - 30 but I was primarily torn between Davis and ND. In the end I couldn't let ND go and made the decision to go there, but then got an offer from UCLA at sticker and took it. I have friends at ND that love it. Hastings is in a sketchy area and has no campus so it wasn't for me (although its downtown location should be great for employment prospects). Davis was nice and would have been easy (in terms of moving, housing, transportation, etc.), but I felt that ND would have been a better experience and in the long term would have opened more doors. Before you make any final decisions you should definitely visit each school.

[notme]

Edit: But I don't think you would be crazy to take any of them.

[fnm]

I wouldn't recommend USD over ND, but why not split the difference and go with Davis? In-state tuition and good job prospects in CA - makes sense to me.

[yeff]

Closer or not, you'll be busy in 1L. Depending on the severity of your mom's condition, why not defer and/or retake and reapply?

EDIT: Just checked your profile: with a 162, I feel even more strongly about the above advice. Unless you feel you truly exhausted your ability to learn the LSAT, with your good GPA, increasing your LSAT will open up better acceptances and more scholarships money.

[splinter23x]

No, you are not crazy, but ND does have strong ties to Southern California. I think that a ND degree will set you apart in California. Graduates from the local schools listed are a dime a dozen.

+1. I think Notre Dame is head and shoulders above Hastings and Davis. USC is great but like chadwick says, grads from the local schools are a dime a dozen. I'd go with Notre Dame, that's a really nice scholarship from there too.

I also agree with the poster who said it's a bad idea to go to Davis with the intention of transferring. That is where I would think you've lost it.

[Rory1987]

No, you are not crazy, but ND does have strong ties to Southern California. I think that a ND degree will set you apart in California. Graduates from the local schools listed are a dime a dozen.

+1. I think Notre Dame is head and shoulders above Hastings and Davis. USC is great but like chadwick says, grads from the local schools are a dime a dozen. I'd go with Notre Dame, that's a really nice scholarship from there too.

I also agree with the poster who said it's a bad idea to go to Davis with the intention of transferring. That is where I would think you've lost it.

Not in NorCal, it isn't. Go to Davis or Hastings.

[renata96]

I'd say forget the money and all the rankings. If your mom's cancer is serious definitely stay close to home. You can always work hard to make something of yourself.
I wasn't as close to my mom as I'd liked to have been but when she passed from cancer I'd have given anything to have spent more time with her.

[timertimer61]

i say go with hasting or davis. excellent choices for california