finalaspects wrote:after long consideration, i am leaning towards WUSTL with the risk of not being able to come back to CA.
as much as rankings may not matter, WUSTL has been able to secure the rank 19 for 5 years in a row. while davis, ND, and Fordham has been going from 20-40 in the last 5 years. WUSTL seems to be fully secured as top 20 law school.
i have also heard that recruitment from ND has dropped with the recession. (talking about California). im sure this has also affected WUSTL as well. i also think the reason why ND may place more in CA may be personal preference of the individual. simply more people from ND may wish to work in CA. the real statistic wouldn't be how many people place in CA, but how many people place in CA who wish to return to CA.
ND and WUSTL does seem to be peer schools. and it is true that more people in california know of notre dame than wustl, but mainly because of their sports program. all lawyers should know of both schools even if laymen do not.
my decision has come down to tuition and COL which wustl has the lead in both categories. Thank you for your opinions guys, and good luck with whichever schools everyone attend. going to a tier 1 school is a privilege in itself and im just glad i get to be the 1% that gets to attend.
i really don't think that going to wustl carries much of a risk of not being able to make it back to CA.
i think wustl is one of those schools where a larger percentage of the student body that at other schools go back to where their from after graduation. I know that for the past couple of years the porportion of classes with students from regions like the pacific coast and south central (TX, LA, OK, AR) lines up with with proportion of classes ending up in those regions after graduation. you may have to do a lot of work to secure work in CA but it would be much easier for you than someone not from the region.
ranking is irrelevant. you're right that nd are peer schools and in picking between the two it's best that it comes down to price and personal preference (i.e. how much do you like or dislike ND's religious affiliations).