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I am from CA and want to work there upon graduation, but debt is a big factor. Is the money worth it? BU places 10% of its graduates in CA. Help please.

Where are any of the UC's/USC on this list?

I didn't get in. I only got into WUST with 12k a year and BU.

any advice? deadline is today, only reason I ask is because WUSTL contacted me today and increased my scholarship. I was all set to go to Boston but higher costs of living, increase of scholarship is swinging me towards WUSTL. But CA job placement is terrible.

Wait a year, retake if necessary, and reapply to California schools. If you know that you want to work in the California market, then it is rank idiocy to attend a school that places only 10% of its graduates in the California area.

Sure, you can work hard and make connections back home, and those fine schools have degrees that are more portable than many California universities. However, by going to a California school you will be open to many more opportunities to live and work in CA than you would going to school thousands of miles away.

If you must decide, I would suggest eliminating the California requirement from your assessment and making an apples-to-apples comparison of the two schools, and move forward from there. Because whether or not you admit it to yourself, you will likely find better opportunities in the regions that these schools serve.

Honestly that is a pretty tough choice.

If you really are dead set on CA I would say that retake/reapply is probably the strongest option for getting CA employment via a CA school or a school with stronger national pull.

Other than that, I would say look at the percentage of people who go to those schools and end up in CA, and choose that one. If the difference is negligible then choose WUSTL for the money? Depending on the difference, you have to ask yourself is the cost increase of BU over WUSTL worth the increased chance for CA. What if you didn't get CA coming out of either, would you be happier in the midwest or in the northeast? Having CA ties may help you swing back to CA with a degree from either.

After thinking it over, I think you have to ask yourself, if you don't get CA, would you rather work in the midwest or the northeast? If it is the northeast, is the northeast as a fallback option worth the increased cost compared to the midwest as a fallback option?

yeah i know buddy, thanks for the advice. I appreciate it.

Neither is going to get you to CA, unless you are very high in your class. I know WUSTL is working hard to improve their California reputation and bring in recruiters, but it is a noticeable weakness in their placement nonetheless.

If you are dead-set on CA, re-take.

d@mn I was afraid you guys would say that, my life is here in California...beautiful sunny Los Angeles. I will go to WUSTL and hope for the best. Hoping to get of this UCLA waitlist but it seems unlikely, thanks for your all of your advice.

Would you be okay practicing in the Midwest if LA doesn't work out? If not, then you may be making quite a mistake.

What are your #s? I imagine you can't be more than a point or two from a UCLA/USC acceptance.

3.33/167 sending in my deposit now. hey thank you guys though...really. If this is a mistake, I will have to live with it and do the best I can. Best of luck to you all.

Good luck. See you in the fall.

Sounds good, have a good summer bro.

I think it shouldn't that difficult to transfer from WUSTL to UCLA/USC or Hastings/Davis, if you're dead set on CA.

im_blue wrote:I think it shouldn't that difficult to transfer from WUSTL to UCLA/USC or Hastings/Davis, if you're dead set on CA.

+1. You should never go into a school expecting to transfer, but that's usually for transferring UP. WUSTL is a peer institution, and if you want to practice in CA you should do everything in your power as a 1L to position yourself to transfer to a CA school. Unless you'd be willing to practice in the Midwest for a bit before venturing back.

killuminati wrote:3.33/167 sending in my deposit now. hey thank you guys though...really. If this is a mistake, I will have to live with it and do the best I can. Best of luck to you all.

congrats on making a decision. you'll probably be fine. it is true that only a small % of wustl grads place in california, but i have a feeling that the vast majority of those people are from there. at least in recent history, the % of wustl's class that have come from the pacific region match the % of wustl's classes who place into that region after law school.

danidancer wrote:

im_blue wrote:I think it shouldn't that difficult to transfer from WUSTL to UCLA/USC or Hastings/Davis, if you're dead set on CA.

+1. You should never go into a school expecting to transfer, but that's usually for transferring UP. WUSTL is a peer institution, and if you want to practice in CA you should do everything in your power as a 1L to position yourself to transfer to a CA school. Unless you'd be willing to practice in the Midwest for a bit before venturing back.

Even transferring to a peer school requires good grades. Probably top 30-40%. And if OP is at 20-30%, it would be very very risky to transfer and lose grades. Taking and year off and getting another 2 points on the LSAT would be a lot easier and smarter than going to school with the intention of transferring.

But OP has decided on WUSTL so this is a moot point. WUSTL can get you to California with good grades and connections to the state, so good luck to OP.

New WUSTL friend Romo???