USD (sticker) vs. Pacific (half scholarship) Forum

[strikeout400]

I can't decide between these two schools. I got into USD at sticker price and McGeorge on the Dean's Scholarship, which would pay for about half of my overall costs (because I would live at home). I am not set on a particular area to practice either. Which should I choose?

[uwb09]

if you don't have a preference as to practice area, take the cheaper option, in this case the MUCH cheaper option

[didionye]

Does the McGeorge scholly come with any stipulations?

[strikeout400]

Thanks for the input so far. I am not set on a particular area simply because I don't know where I want to practice. This doesn't mean I wont have preferences, I just want to keep my options as open as I can. (and yes I am aware these are primarily regional schools)

The stipulation for the McGeorge scholarship is that I have to stay in the top third of my class. Which I wouldn't think would be a problem, but you never know.

[didionye]

In that case you'll have to deal with the possiblity that in the event you are not in the top third of your class, you will be stuck paying sticker price which will definately piss you off big time.

On the otherhand you may be in the top third and get a full ride all three years of law school(every law students dream!). So you should find out more about the attrition rate for McGeorge. If they have a reputation for flunking out lots of first year students or too many of them lose their scholly then you should be wary.

If you are satisfied with the information you find then McGeorge will be a better option.

[didionye]

Actually i reconsider my last post. I thought McGeorge was a full ride. In the case that its half scholarship i'll really be uncomfortable with it. Just my two cents.

[uwb09]

looking at the ABA website, the fact sheet, first year attrition is only 7%, which isn't that bad considering the ranking of the school, 2nd year attrition is a little odd though

http://officialguide.lsac.org/SearchRes ... BA4065.pdf

as far as costs go, you can't just look at the scholarship

living at home will save OP 40-60K alone compared to moving to san diego, not to mention the first year scholarship (15-20K)

even without the renewal of the scholarship, you are looking at a 30-40% savings on the overall cost of attendance by choosing pacific over san diego, that's quite a bit of money

the only reason i would suggest san diego in this case is if you are pretty damn sure you want to be practicing in southern california (mainly san diego) upon graduation. if you don't mind sacramento for at least a little while after graduation, i'd say stick with mcgeorge. they do place well in the area considering you don't bring up the tail end of the class and you put in work doing networking and what not

[strikeout400]

any other opinions?

[bk1]

Considering they are seemingly roughly equivalent in their areas, I would say McGeorge due to saving money (living at home is a guarantee even if scholarship falls through).