Top Law Schools

Ok so I JUST got off the WL for Pepperdine but American already has my $900 deposit.

American is in D.C. which is a great market for lawyers (firms, gov, non-profit) and I want to study Immigration Law or International Law with a focus on human rights. So I know my 'save the world' complex goes nicely with American versus right-leaning Pepperdine.

But the ranking and the cost are pretty similar and I would be able to live at home in L.A. which would save me a lot of money. Though moving back in with my mom may make me want to die, she's an attorney so the tutoring assistance and future connections in L.A. are already set.

So feel free to tell me what to do because I'm supposed to be apartment hunting in D.C. like- NOW!

Want to work in:

Los Angeles ---> Pepperdine
DC and Vicinity ---> American

Of course there are those who will say you will get a job from neither, but there you have it.

Both are really mediocre. I would personally retake and reapply, but it's up to you..

If you enjoy mediocrity, head to American--if not retake the LSAT.

don't listen to either of those two above posts. they have sticks up their you-know-whats. pepperdine is beautiful, and american has better reach in my opinion, and also sets you up in DC. do you want to get away from home and make a completely new life? if you think you would excel more in your home environment, stay. if you think you would do better facing the world, starting on a blank slate and in a way taking on an adventure, then go!

Stay home. You'll need the connections.

Danteshek wrote:Stay home. You'll need the connections.

I doubt staying versus leaving would change the "connection" of having a mother attorney.

I think this is really an issue of "where do you want to work". The reality at all schools, save the top ones, are that you have to perform well to have a shot at jobs. LA and DC are large, and overstocked, legal markets - it is what it is.

If you WANT to live and work in the DC area, go to American and if worst comes to worst, you can network through your mom (so, so ripe for a joke).

This person is going to want practice in LA. I say this regardless of what OP thinks she wants now.

frecklesmclean0002 wrote: American is in D.C. which is a great market for lawyers (firms, gov, non-profit) and I want to study Immigration Law or International Law with a focus on human rights. So I know my 'save the world' complex goes nicely with American versus right-leaning Pepperdine.

Egregious.

Both are bad. Pepperdine is less bad, given your ability to save money by living at home and your current location.

darby girl wrote:don't listen to either of those two above posts. they have sticks up their you-know-whats. pepperdine is beautiful, and american has better reach in my opinion, and also sets you up in DC. do you want to get away from home and make a completely new life? if you think you would excel more in your home environment, stay. if you think you would do better facing the world, starting on a blank slate and in a way taking on an adventure, then go!

this may be true if you are in the top 1/4

a friend of mine graduated in the bottom 1/3. he has retaken his old job as a car salesmen (given he did make 55k a year before LS). american is a the second-to-last school in an oversaturated market. buyer beware.

gwuorbust wrote:

darby girl wrote:don't listen to either of those two above posts. they have sticks up their you-know-whats. pepperdine is beautiful, and american has better reach in my opinion, and also sets you up in DC. do you want to get away from home and make a completely new life? if you think you would excel more in your home environment, stay. if you think you would do better facing the world, starting on a blank slate and in a way taking on an adventure, then go!

this may be true if you are in the top 1/4

a friend of mine graduated in the bottom 1/3. he has retaken his old job as a car salesmen (given he did make 55k a year before LS). american is a the second-to-last school in an oversaturated market. buyer beware.

+1. American is a horrible option. Horrible. An over-priced, overranked school with little portability that is trapped in an over-saturated market and dwarfed by a number of better schools.

I have a buddy who graduated from American like 5 years ago who made it into White and Case and just was able to move to a CA office after wanting to come back after graduation. So it can be done. But that was a guy near the top of his class in boom times. These are not boom times.

At either school you'll need to network and work outside of traditional methods, so I think your Mom is pretty clutch as a networking option. Pepperdine has a fair amount of overseas options - Internships include international justice mission stopping sex trafficking in South East Asia (specifically Thailand and the Phillipines) and a program placing students in Uganda working with their Supreme Court (and UN projects) dealing with the numerous problems they have (such as holding people accused of routine crimes for indefinite periods of time w/o charges). I don't know about American's programs but they likely have more numerous opportunities based on their DC location.

Visit both and ask yourself where you see yourself for the next 3 hardest years of your life.

arhmcpo wrote:I have a buddy who graduated from American like 5 years ago who made it into White and Case and just was able to move to a CA office after wanting to come back after graduation. So it can be done. But that was a guy near the top of his class in boom times. These are not boom times.

So in other words, this information is completely and utterly useless.

arhmcpo wrote:I have a buddy who graduated from American like 5 years ago who made it into White and Case and just was able to move to a CA office after wanting to come back after graduation. So it can be done. But that was a guy near the top of his class in boom times. These are not boom times.

Let me counter trends and statistics with an anecdote.

And OP, prepare a plan NOW for how you are going to get a nonlegal job, then go to Pepperdine and pray every day to your god.

Or retake LSAT. Whatever.

I know a guy who graduated in the top of his class from John Marshall 25 years ago and he is now the most successful lawyer in my county.

Haterz gon hate.

what percentage of pepperdine grads do you think swing a legal job?

pocket herc wrote:what percentage of pepperdine grads do you think swing a legal job?

not sure, but if I had to venture a guess I'd say Pepperdine is like most other t2 law skools. top 10% are good to go, top 1/3 are doing fine. middle 1/3 will prob get some sort of legal job and bottom 1/3 is SOL

this also seems to hold true for many t1 LS.

Contrary to what you stated, Pepperdine is really trying to make gains in public interest in general. depending upon what you are interested in... there are several members on the faculty and a Social Justice traveling team that goes on trips overseas and you could probably work for a professor. check it out at their website.

mmiracle wrote:Contrary to what you stated, Pepperdine is really trying to make gains in public interest in general. depending upon what you are interested in... there are several members on the faculty and a Social Justice traveling team that goes on trips overseas and you could probably work for a professor. check it out at their website.

So... what?

Still not worth sticker.

Thanks for all the advice including the sarcastic and negative which I honestly don't mind (but thanks to those who were worried about hurt feelings). I'm not interested in retaking the LSAT and I know that compared to top law schools my two options do come up short but they're what I got to work with. So the 'go somewhere respectable' comments are obviously useless but hey its TLS, I knew better than to expect anything more so feel free to be your cheeky selves. I know the poll says differently but I think I'm going to be in D.C. in the fall. Plenty of family contacts there as well and an amazing alumni network from my undergrad gives American the win. I just can't stomach the religious right focus at Pepperdine. Plus, like I said I may just die if I have to be a 25 year-old woman living with her mother.

frecklesmclean0002 wrote:Plus, like I said I may just die if I have to be a 25 year-old woman living with her mother.

If you're hot, you can live with me.

frecklesmclean0002 wrote: I know the poll says differently but I think I'm going to be in D.C. in the fall. Plenty of family contacts there as well and an amazing alumni network from my undergrad gives American the win. I just can't stomach the religious right focus at Pepperdine. Plus, like I said I may just die if I have to be a 25 year-old woman living with her mother.

You may just die when you realize how brutal your employment search is going to be.

frecklesmclean0002 wrote:Plus, like I said I may just die if I have to be a 25 year-old woman living with her mother.

You may be a 28 year old woman living with her mother at the end of it.

frecklesmclean0002 wrote:Plus, like I said I may just die if I have to be a 25 year-old woman living with her mother.

You may die when your heart stops beating.


What, what?