Top Law Schools

Really confused on this one. In at USC $20,000 scholarship and Texas $12,000 scholarship plus $5,000 grant and in state tuition since I'm a Texas resident. Had my heart set on Texas but I went to undergrad in LA and I'm realizing I want to live/practice there. USC is golden in LA but I would have $75,000 more debt than at UT. Texas students and faculty are so damn nice + ranked 15 + cheaper COL, yet USC has strong alumni network in SoCal + smaller class sizes + more diversity. Any suggestions? Thanks.

if you know for sure you would rather be in California then USC might be the better choice.

If LA is where you want to be
then you should go to USC.

I agree. cali = usc. texas = ut. just need to decide where you want to be

Thanks guys. I know that's the reality. Just hate to have more debt, but I know I don't want to live in Texas. I know UT does place well outside of Texas, but not sure if it can compete with USC in SoCal. I suppose I'll make the money back : /

Unsure111 wrote:Thanks guys. I know that's the reality. Just hate to have more debt, but I know I don't want to live in Texas. I know UT does place well outside of Texas, but not sure if it can compete with USC in SoCal. I suppose I'll make the money back : /

FWIW I've heard it's easy to establish residency in Kah-lee-four-nyah

TCS wrote:

Unsure111 wrote:Thanks guys. I know that's the reality. Just hate to have more debt, but I know I don't want to live in Texas. I know UT does place well outside of Texas, but not sure if it can compete with USC in SoCal. I suppose I'll make the money back : /

FWIW I've heard it's easy to establish residency in Kah-lee-four-nyah

Yes it is, however USC is private and does not offer a California resident tuition discount.

Yes, but USC is private so residency doesn't matter as far as $ goes. Wish I could get some USC students' perspectives!

TCS wrote:

Unsure111 wrote:Thanks guys. I know that's the reality. Just hate to have more debt, but I know I don't want to live in Texas. I know UT does place well outside of Texas, but not sure if it can compete with USC in SoCal. I suppose I'll make the money back : /

FWIW I've heard it's easy to establish residency in Kah-lee-four-nyah

This may or may not be true
but SC is not a state school

Go to Texas, get a Lexus

Unsure111 wrote:Yes, but USC is private so residency doesn't matter as far as $ goes. Wish I could get some USC students' perspectives!

Having attended undergrad in LA, have you spent much time on the USC campus or the surrounding area? I visited the school on ASD and I didn't quite realize where it was situated in LA until I drove there...

GordonBombay wrote:Go to Texas, get a Lexus

Don't go to Texas. I hea they have a lot of people's exes there. You should go to law school at Rocky Top.

I went to Pepperdine Undergrad but yes I know where it's situated and it's a different world from Malibu for sure. But my problem isnt safety concerns, more of the fact that because of high COL I'll have to spend more to get a place there and have a roommate whereas at UT I could get my own affordable place. I know that's not a reason to pick a school but it's a factor. Did you like SC? I think my options are both great, it's really the money factor that's haunting me.

Attended USC undergrad, and I would agree with the other posters. If you want LA/cali, go with USC. If you have a reasonable inkling you might want texas or anywhere else, go with UT. QOL wise I would prefer Austin - LA is a bleh city already and USC is in a bleh area of it, but USC has a very strong alumni base and will easily do better in LA than UT will.

In all seriousness, I would like to hear from some USC students on this too. I hope to be making this same decision next cycle

Also, what was your impression of ASD? I got my acceptance package the day after the last Law Day so I wasn't able to get that insight. UT's ASD was awesome.

USC's ASD was great. Very organized, lots of activities planned, people all seemed very friendly. They really, REALLY emphasize their alumni network...it started to wear on me a bit by the end of the day. I got into UCLA with more money though, so the location and campus plus cheaper sold me. I also went to UT's ASD which was great, got to do some of the optional Thursday activities which were really cool (Segway tour!). And you really can't beat the Texas ASD travel scholarships.

catharsis wrote:if you know for sure you would rather be in California then USC might be the better choice.

This. But you have to be sure. Otherwise Texas is by far the better bet due to lower tuition and slightly more national rep.

Unsure111 wrote:Really confused on this one. In at USC $20,000 scholarship and Texas $12,000 scholarship plus $5,000 grant and in state tuition since I'm a Texas resident. Had my heart set on Texas but I went to undergrad in LA and I'm realizing I want to live/practice there. USC is golden in LA but I would have $75,000 more debt than at UT. Texas students and faculty are so damn nice + ranked 15 + cheaper COL, yet USC has strong alumni network in SoCal + smaller class sizes + more diversity. Any suggestions? Thanks.

I was really struck by how friendly the students & faculty were at USC's ASD as well. I've lived in both cities and love them each for different reasons. If you are certain you want to be in LA, I'd go with SC -- the informal opportunities that the student clubs & career services provide to meet partners, judges, & alumni would certainly pay off in the long run, plus the proximity for 1L summer jobs & internships. If COL is really an issue, then its a tougher decision, though keep in mind rent is generally cheaper on the eastside & central LA than Malibu!

Thanks for the input people. Yeah, UCLA's westwood area is pretty nice. Glad to hear SC's ASD was just as awesome as UT's. I know USC is the choice if I want to stay in LA-despite the price. No matter how much I love UT it doesn't make sense to go there knowing I'll be wanting to go right back to LA.