Top Law Schools

I'm from Los Angeles, and I plan to come back to Los Angeles (though I'm open to falling in love with other cities but you can't determine that until it happens), and I got into Cornell and UCLA. My brain says Cornell for the ivy status and national reputation, but my question is which outweighs which - Cornell's rep and #13 position on the top 100, or UCLA's #15 position and local networking advantages??

Please help! I have only this week to decide....

Thanks in advance,
Pauline

I don't know much about current numbers, but my instinct says UCLA.

It's doubtful that Cornell has a better national reputation than UCLA. It's a strong regional (59% stay in NYC).
Unless you want to experience the frozen tundra I can't see any reason to leave LA.

If you want to work in LA, you would be crazy to go with Cornell over UCLA.

Go to UCLA.

UCLA. Im from socal, I ended up at Duke. Less CA firms do OCI out here in the east, if you have any idea where you want to work you can check their recruiting calendars. It's cool to leave for a while and your appreciation for CA will grow. But if you like LA enough to want to work there and got into the best school in that exact area, why leave?

mallard wrote:I don't know much about current numbers, but my instinct says UCLA.

I appreciate your opinion! Can I ask if you are from LA?

sccjnthn wrote:It's doubtful that Cornell has a better national reputation than UCLA. It's a strong regional (59% stay in NYC).
Unless you want to experience the frozen tundra I can't see any reason to leave LA.

Oh, so you think UCLA could have a stronger rep or equal? Do you mind if I ask if you're from LA?

Thanks for your help

dakatz wrote:If you want to work in LA, you would be crazy to go with Cornell over UCLA.

Hey, thanks! Are you LA? Just curious as to if the opinions are coming from my fellow Angelenos...

It's not like there are a lot of places that are going to hire someone from UCLA but not Cornell, but UCLA's OCI is going to make your life a HELL of a lot easier when it comes to finding a job in socal

Probably equal prospects with Cornell being slanted to the east coast and UCLA being slanted to the west coast. Since you prefer SoCal, it's pretty clear UCLA. It's not like Cornell is going to provide you with a backup market and UCLA isn't.

bk187 wrote:It's not like Cornell is going to provide you with a backup market and UCLA isn't.

Actually, this is exactly one reason to choose Cornell over UCLA. For someone aiming for LA, Cornell gives you a backup market in NYC, while UCLA does not.

im_blue wrote:

bk187 wrote:It's not like Cornell is going to provide you with a backup market and UCLA isn't.

Actually, this is exactly one reason to choose Cornell over UCLA. For someone aiming for LA, Cornell gives you a backup market in NYC, while UCLA does not.

The 50 NYC law firms that participate in UCLA's OCI would suggest that the New York market is accessible to graduates of either school.

UCLA, That is probably where I am going. It seems like a good school.

If you want to end up in LA, than UCLA is the easy choice. I am from LA and going to Cornell, though. I feel like my professional ties to the area are sufficient to return if I wanted to after school. I think Cornell wins easily on "national reputation" (whoever says strong regional is crazy and on this site way too much) and mobility matters to me. But for all of California, UCLA is going to be as good as any T10 and better than Cornell, GULC, Northwestern, and probably even Duke.

Hey, OP - I am a Cornell student. There are a number of CA students here planning to return to CA after graduation. Here, you would get plenty of OCI opportunities with LA firms, and since you are from LA, you would be given a serious shot at callbacks. However, this may be one of the few times you should pick a non-14 over a t-14 (Texas for TX would be another). UCLA is basically the feeder school for SoCal biglaw. I don't think you would be wrong to pick Cornell (# of firms at OCI should be compared only when factoring in # of serious candidates for those jobs - at UCLA most people will be gunning for them, at Cornell most people couldn't care less about CA firms), so I think the schools may be a wash in that regard (I do think Cornell has a "backup market" advantage), but this is so close, I see no reason to leave CA.

I've poured through a number of these UCLA or Cornell threads. The OVERWHELMING sentiment is to take UCLA over Cornell if you want to work west of the Mississippi.

UCLA.

SoftBoiledLife wrote:It's not like there are a lot of places that are going to hire someone from UCLA but not Cornell, but UCLA's OCI is going to make your life a HELL of a lot easier when it comes to finding a job in socal

This.

Hopefullawstudent wrote:I've poured through a number of these UCLA or Cornell threads. The OVERWHELMING sentiment is to take UCLA over Cornell if you want to work west of the Mississippi.

UCLA.

Disclaimer #1 - Cornell student
Disclarimer #2 - My advice is that the OP go to UCLA

I have read many of these threads. I think that the OVERWHELMING sentiment is based on somewhat flawed reasoning. People keep saying that OCI will be easier. I think that they say this mostly because of numbers of LA firms, and that counting partners/associates at LA firms reveals a great number of UCLA grads. But UCLA OCI you will be competing with EVERYBODY for those LA jobs, at Cornell, those firms will only consider people with strong ties to California. IMO the decision is a wash, and barring some burning desire to spend a few years up here in the cold, UCLA makes sense.

The advantages of networking from LA to live in LA after graduation are too good to pass up IMO. I don't just mean the people you are in class with. You should network beyong the classroom. You should be networking with local lawyers, joining professional organizations, going to events where lawyers congregate, etc while you are in school. You can certainly do that in Ithaca but you won't be meeting people outside of class that you are going to work with and network with five years from now. You may get to know a few lawyers or judges but they won't be much help after you move across the country.
If you live in LA, go to school in LA and build a career in LA you will be bumping into the same professional crowd. They will see you, know your face, recognize your name and some may get to know you and be able to help you out down the road.

I'm pretty shocked at the overwhelming sentiment but it's really called my attention to the whole networking aspect and just how important that is. I've also started to change my mind and lean towards UCLA, which was completely not even in the running about a week ago.

Thanks guys for your candid opinions. If I go with UCLA, I will probably make the rest of my life easier as well. I just didn't want to sacrifice any part of my career by picking to stay here.

Cornell, the UCLA of the east.

UCLA, the Cornell of the west.

TheBigMediocre wrote:UCLA, the Cornell of the west.

LOL, No wonder I got into these two then

Did I mention I have a UCLA undergrad degree? I was also concerned about becoming a "UCLA baby." I've always been one to diversify myself if possible.... but if networks are going to be the key to success, then I can suffer the baby syndrome to get my LA connections...

Will need to sleep on it!

If you care a lot about lay prestige, go to Cornell