Top Law Schools

My need-based packages are:

#42 Hastings ($12.5k grant; $46k loans)
#28 Davis ($25k grant; $33k loans)

Is there really an argument to be made?

I would ultimately like to work in San Franciscọ; however, Hastings faces five other law schơols in the region, making it a discouraging choicẹ. Am I wrong?


Please give feedback. Your thoughts are appreciated, thanks.

Davis. The COL is lower, and you're being offered more money.

How the heck do you pronounce that screen name?

DerrickRose wrote:Davis. The COL is lower, and you're being offered more money.

How the heck do you pronounce that screen name?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKsayUOPcp8

If you really want to know, go to 00:22.

Davis WITH more money? This isn't even close. See you next year.

SoftBoiledLife wrote:Davis WITH more money? This isn't even close. See you next year.

+1

Davis.

Except: If you are 100% sure you want to go PI/govt and if you expect to earn less than, say, $70K for most of 10 years, then Hastings. ... B/c Hastings' PICAP ties into IBR -- and Davis' LRAP does not -- you'd could potentially save scores of thousands of post-grad dollars by going to Hastings.

Those, however, are big ifs for anybody.

Big ifs inđeed, but an interesting point nonetheless. Thanks, all!

Please continue to post if you think Davis shouldn't be the answer.

The schools have identical employment prospects, but Hastings seems to do better in SF, while Davis does so with Sacramento. Hastings will give you a better opportunity to develop connections in San Francisco. If that's where you want to work then Hastings clearly has the edge. If that opportunity+any environment preferences is > the difference in cost then Hastings makes more sense.

Just gonna throw this out there...

The schools aren't quite as disparate as their ranking difference suggests. Remember that for years they have been roughly equal.

That said, since Davis is cheaper, I would pick Davis. However, since you like San Francisco, this one suddenly becomes iffy to me. I'm not sure which way to vote.

Would moving into the SF market from Davis be easier if I have skills in multiple Asian languages, i.e., fluency in 4 + English.

SôngHươngNúiNgự wrote:Would moving into the SF market from Davis be easier if I have skills in multiple Asian languages?

that might be a better question for San Franciscan attorneys that work with the Asian community... not too many of them here is my guess

but... I don't really think there's any shortage of law students who can speak East Asian languages in Northern California

SôngHươngNúiNgự wrote:Would moving into the SF market from Davis be easier if I have skills in multiple Asian languages, i.e., fluency in 4 + English.

When you say "moving into the SF market from Davis," it makes me feel like I should remind you that SF is Davis's primary market. The only thing you need to do to "break in" is get decent grades, although speaking 4 Asian languages fluently is certainly going to help you in the job market just about anywhere. In fact, I get a lot of really random emails about jobs in China and Taiwan that require people to speak Chinese, so there's that for you too potentially.

Davis...none of Hastings' advantages trump cold hard cash

General Tso wrote:Davis...none of Hastings' advantages trump cold hard cash

In fact, none exist. But if they did, they wouldn't trump cold hard cash.

SoftBoiledLife wrote:

General Tso wrote:Davis...none of Hastings' advantages trump cold hard cash

In fact, none exist. But if they did, they wouldn't trump cold hard cash.

So a married person hoping for their spouse to have gainful employment for 3 years wouldn't be better off in the Bay? This is just one of many advantages of living in the SF area..

General Tso wrote:

SoftBoiledLife wrote:

General Tso wrote:Davis...none of Hastings' advantages trump cold hard cash

In fact, none exist. But if they did, they wouldn't trump cold hard cash.

So a married person hoping for their spouse to have gainful employment for 3 years wouldn't be better off in the Bay? This is just one of many advantages of living in the SF area..

The Bay Area is probably the best piece of land on Earth, and I've been to a lot of different countries and major cities. But, TBF, SBL didn't say that Davis has any advantages either... The only difference seems to be location. Small community in the secluded farm belt, or expensive super city?


anyone else notice a children of the corn vibe from our Davis denizens?

General Tso wrote:

SoftBoiledLife wrote:

General Tso wrote:Davis...none of Hastings' advantages trump cold hard cash

In fact, none exist. But if they did, they wouldn't trump cold hard cash.

So a married person hoping for their spouse to have gainful employment for 3 years wouldn't be better off in the Bay? This is just one of many advantages of living in the SF area..

I would contend that this is pretty much a non-factor uless your spouse either (A.) already has said employment in the Bay and is unwilling to leave or (B.) practices in a highly specialized field where she needs access to facilities which simply aren't available in Sacramento, such as the research labs at UCSF.

Still, many people do not realize that Sacramento is a pretty substantial city. About 1.5 million people live in the greater metro area, and you can find pretty much any kind of job you're looking for here unless you're an NFL player or a deep-sea fisherman. In any event, it's well worth forcing your spouse to commute to San Francisco from Davis, because this will allow you to attend a bona fide top-30 law school, and, hey, it's her suffering a colossal inconvenience, not you.

Borhas wrote: anyone else notice a children of the corn vibe from our Davis denizens?

I freely admit that this exists. I don't really know how to explain it other than to say 'you've got to be here,' which of course only furthers the so-called children-of-the-corniness. Davis is a small town and an ag school, so I think a lot of folks come here with a perception that it's boring and an attitude of Well, I'm not going to like it, but I can deal with anything for 3 years. All I can say is that even if 75% of the class starts with that mentality, I don't think I can name a single person who didn't love the hell out of this town after 1 month (tops).

I only know one 1L who lives in Sac, and he cannot wait to move to Davis before next year. So if we are brainwashed, at least we are reasonably so.

Ignore the rankings differential. They are, and will continue to be, peer schools.
Go to Davis because they are offering you more money with a lower COL.
The only reason you could legitimately choose Hastings in this case is if you need to live in San Francisco.

OneKnight wrote:Ignore the rankings differential. They are, and will continue to be, peer schools.
Go to Davis because they are offering you more money with a lower COL.
The only reason you could legitimately choose Hastings in this case is if you need to live in San Francisco.

Sort of like how Yale and Georgetown are peer schools because they're both in the T-14?

I freely admit that this exists. I don't really know how to explain it other than to say 'you've got to be here,' which of course only furthers the so-called children-of-the-corniness. Davis is a small town and an ag school, so I think a lot of folks come here with a perception that it's boring and an attitude of Well, I'm not going to like it, but I can deal with anything for 3 years. All I can say is that even if 75% of the class starts with that mentality, I don't think I can name a single person who didn't love the hell out of this town after 1 month (tops).

sounds a lot like my undergrad, nice little bubble in the Shenandoah Valley. Kind people, hot girls, it's a very ideal college town.

liked it so much I stayed for a 5th year


but it's time to grow up isn't it? Can't live in a protective bubble your whole life

Borhas wrote:

I freely admit that this exists. I don't really know how to explain it other than to say 'you've got to be here,' which of course only furthers the so-called children-of-the-corniness. Davis is a small town and an ag school, so I think a lot of folks come here with a perception that it's boring and an attitude of Well, I'm not going to like it, but I can deal with anything for 3 years. All I can say is that even if 75% of the class starts with that mentality, I don't think I can name a single person who didn't love the hell out of this town after 1 month (tops).

sounds a lot like my undergrad, nice little bubble in the Shenandoah Valley. Kind people, hot girls, it's a very ideal college town.

liked it so much I stayed for a 5th year


but it's time to grow up isn't it? Can't live in a protective bubble your whole life

I could without difficulty live in Davis for the rest of my life if I end up working at a firm in Sacramento. The commute is like 10 minutes, 20 with traffic.

SBL, if I remember correctly you picked Davis over BU and GW when both BU and GW were ranked 20 and Davis was ranked 44. Don't you think it's a little hypocritical to tell people to go to Davis over Hastings because Davis is currently ranked higher? (Note: obviously it makes more sense for OP to choose Davis over Hastings because of the difference in money; I'm not disputing that).

Aukshell wrote:SBL, if I remember correctly you picked Davis over BU and GW when both BU and GW were ranked 20 and Davis was ranked 44. Don't you think it's a little hypocritical to tell people to go to Davis over Hastings because Davis is currently ranked higher? (Note: obviously it makes more sense for OP to choose Davis over Hastings because of the difference in money; I'm not disputing that).

Yeah I'm just razzin when it comes to rankings. I really do believe Davis is the better school, but it's purely about the town, atmosphere, etc.

SoftBoiledLife wrote: I could without difficulty live in Davis for the rest of my life if I end up working at a firm in Sacramento. The commute is like 10 minutes, 20 with traffic.

different folks different strokes

but, that sort of outlook may be counterproductive working in a city that you couldn't easily commute to from a small town. That's one thing with lawyering, it's such an urban profession that it makes avoiding urban centers very difficult.

Borhas wrote:

SoftBoiledLife wrote: I could without difficulty live in Davis for the rest of my life if I end up working at a firm in Sacramento. The commute is like 10 minutes, 20 with traffic.

different folks different strokes

but, that sort of outlook may be counterproductive working in a city that you couldn't easily commute to from a small town. That's one thing with lawyering, it's such an urban profession that it makes avoiding urban centers very difficult.

True, but downtown sac is located at the far western edge of the city: Davis is literally closer to work than most of the residential neighborhoods in sac itself, so it's hardly even a commute. I'd just live here if i had a family because the schools are light years better than sac public schools, which I barely made it out of alive.