Hastings v. BU ($) Forum

lucky277 · Post by **lucky277** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 1:35 am

Currently trying to decide between these two. I live in SF now and love California but I'm not sure if I'll practice here forever and I would love to spend a few years on the East Coast. I'm concerned about job prospects post-grad for Hastings in the competitive SF market and I just want to make sure I have the most options available after graduation, in CA or out of state. At this point, I haven't received financial aid information on either but from what I gather Hastings is low on funds at the moment. Any thoughts on this would be very much appreciated!

YankeesFan · Post by **YankeesFan** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 1:37 am

BU will get you work on the East Coast, Hastings will not. BU also has a bit of a national rep and it may, with a bit of leg work and some luck, get you back to San Fran if you want to return.

So BU for sure.

ndirish2010 · Post by **ndirish2010** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 3:23 am

BU. Not really that close. You should love Boston and you'll want to stay there.

lucky277 · Post by **lucky277** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 6:15 pm

Great, thanks for the advice!

justadude55 · Post by **justadude55** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 6:16 pm

ndirish2010 wrote:BU. Not really that close. You should love Boston and you'll want to stay there.

It's COOOOOOOLD.

BlueDiamond · Post by **BlueDiamond** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 6:17 pm

Hastings hands down

I haven't heard from BU yet

lucky277 · Post by **lucky277** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 6:39 pm

BlueDiamond wrote:Hastings hands down

I haven't heard from BU yet

Why hands down? SF factor?

83947368 · Post by **83947368** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 7:40 pm

bk1 · Post by **bk1** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 7:48 pm

BU will give you slightly more options but not enough to say that it is a hands down winner. I would think long term and since it seems like you want to be in CA long term then I say Hastings. That being said, I hope you get aid from one of them because I wouldn't recommend going to either at anything close to sticker.

174 · Post by **174** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 8:31 pm

bk187 wrote:BU will give you slightly more options but not enough to say that it is a hands down winner. I would think long term and since it seems like you want to be in CA long term then I say Hastings. That being said, I hope you get aid from one of them because I wouldn't recommend going to either at anything close to sticker.

Blindmelon · Post by **Blindmelon** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 11:58 pm

I know of a handful of BU 2Ls with SAs in CA, but I know of only one in SF. LA seems to be a more popular destination, and I know of only one in the OC. Its possible, but takes some legwork.

patrickd139 · Post by **patrickd139** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 1:11 am

Blindmelon wrote:I know of a handful of BU 2Ls with SAs in CA, but I know of only one in SF. LA seems to be a more popular destination, and I know of only one in the OC. Its possible, but takes some legwork.

Why would this board advocate a law school literally across the country from the OP's target market, based on the comment that OP "would love to spend a few years on the East Coast" and then return to the target market? It's professional school, not vacation school. Go to Hastings if you want to practice in CA. Go to BU if you want to practice on the East Coast.

That said, OP you're right to be concerned about Hastings' job prospects in SF. You should be more concerned about BU's job prospects in SF.

lucky277 · Post by **lucky277** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 2:16 am

patrickd139 wrote:
Blindmelon wrote:I know of a handful of BU 2Ls with SAs in CA, but I know of only one in SF. LA seems to be a more popular destination, and I know of only one in the OC. Its possible, but takes some legwork.
Why would this board advocate a law school literally across the country from the OP's target market, based on the comment that OP "would love to spend a few years on the East Coast" and then return to the target market? It's professional school, not vacation school. Go to Hastings if you want to practice in CA. Go to BU if you want to practice on the East Coast.

That said, OP you're right to be concerned about Hastings' job prospects in SF. You should be more concerned about BU's job prospects in SF.

I apologize if I was unclear, but I haven't decided that I absolutely want to practice in SF after graduation. That's why I'm concerned about Hastings' reputation outside of the Bay Area. I just happen to be from CA and live in San Francisco now. I'm certainly open to practicing on the East Coast and I realize that BU would be a stronger choice for that. And while I appreciate your direct if not condescending advice, I am quite aware that law school will not be a "vacation school." Regardless, thanks again everyone for your thoughts as I really do appreciate the input. I'm leaning towards BU at this point but financial aid will definitely play a role once those numbers come in.

Blindmelon · Post by **Blindmelon** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 8:41 am

patrickd139 wrote:
Blindmelon wrote:I know of a handful of BU 2Ls with SAs in CA, but I know of only one in SF. LA seems to be a more popular destination, and I know of only one in the OC. Its possible, but takes some legwork.
Why would this board advocate a law school literally across the country from the OP's target market, based on the comment that OP "would love to spend a few years on the East Coast" and then return to the target market? It's professional school, not vacation school. Go to Hastings if you want to practice in CA. Go to BU if you want to practice on the East Coast.

That said, OP you're right to be concerned about Hastings' job prospects in SF. You should be more concerned about BU's job prospects in SF.

I just gave some potentially useful information. Also, saying I know one person working in SF this summer is hardly advocating. Doesn't it cut the other way smarty?

patrickd139 · Post by **patrickd139** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 9:11 am

Blindmelon wrote:
patrickd139 wrote:
Blindmelon wrote:I know of a handful of BU 2Ls with SAs in CA, but I know of only one in SF. LA seems to be a more popular destination, and I know of only one in the OC. Its possible, but takes some legwork.
Why would this board advocate a law school literally across the country from the OP's target market, based on the comment that OP "would love to spend a few years on the East Coast" and then return to the target market? It's professional school, not vacation school. Go to Hastings if you want to practice in CA. Go to BU if you want to practice on the East Coast.

That said, OP you're right to be concerned about Hastings' job prospects in SF. You should be more concerned about BU's job prospects in SF.
I just gave some potentially useful information. Also, saying I know one person working in SF this summer is hardly advocating. Doesn't it cut the other way smarty?

Yeah, probably a little too much snark. But the point remains, people looking to validate their decision to attend X school over Y often seek out even the simplest, and rarest, anecdotes. No disrespect to the person you know who's working in SF this summer, but that's hardly a representative sample of BU's placement prospects in SF, and I think even BU's career services office will tell you that. Can it be done? Sure. There's a guy from OU who graduated in the last couple of years who's now biglaw in NYC. There are two people in my class who have Dallas biglaw jobs lined up. Does that mean OU places in NYC or Dallas? Hell no.

patrickd139 · Post by **patrickd139** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 9:22 am

lucky277 wrote:I apologize if I was unclear, but I haven't decided that I absolutely want to practice in SF after graduation. That's why I'm concerned about Hastings' reputation outside of the Bay Area. I just happen to be from CA and live in San Francisco now. I'm certainly open to practicing on the East Coast and I realize that BU would be a stronger choice for that. And while I appreciate your direct if not condescending advice, I am quite aware that law school will not be a "vacation school." Regardless, thanks again everyone for your thoughts as I really do appreciate the input. I'm leaning towards BU at this point but financial aid will definitely play a role once those numbers come in.

My apologies for sounding condescending, but you never know when you're dealing with a 22 year old who's deferring the real world and thinks NYC "might be fun" or someone who's legitimately ready to pack up their entire life, leave all their friends behind and cross the country to a bitterly cold (weather) starkly different part of the country. Plus, it's shorter to use the "vacation school" line and I like it more.

As for your employment prospects, I would agree with you that Hastings' reputation outside the Bay Area diminishes. However, I'm pretty sure it doesn't diminish nearly as quickly as BU's reputation does, and BU is literally on the other side of the country. I would think that Hastings + CA ties is going to be a stronger package than BU + CA ties in SF, and my gut reaction is that it would be better for the state of CA as a whole, but I'll defer on that one.

My biggest fear, however, is that you're severely underestimating the significance of having ties to Boston when it comes to getting a job 2L summer and beyond. It's wicked competitive in Boston and being from CA, on the other side of the country, you're almost certainly going to be viewed as an extreme flight risk by firms (unless you have ties to Boston we don't know about). Your subjective desire to live in Boston will count for almost nothing. There are a myriad of ways this will affect you, and a myriad of ways to overcome it, but it should be a very real consideration in your decision. I know this may not seem like a big deal now, but you also haven't been through 2L OCI.

lucky277 · Post by **lucky277** » Fri Mar 18, 2011 9:58 pm

I really appreciated everyone's input a few weeks ago when I was weighing these two against each other. Earlier this week I emailed Hastings about the availability of merit aid, and they basically said it wasn't going to happen as merit-based aid is rare for them. Today I came home to find a $15K/year scholarship from BU which could be a game changer.

I have been teetering back and forth between these two for weeks. I think I would love BU and hear nothing but good things about the student experience and the faculty/staff. The only thing going for Hastings for me is that it's in San Francisco (where I live now) and it's convenient. As financial aid is a big part of my decision, I'm wondering how much I should weigh this new scholarship offer in choosing. Any thoughts in addition to the already mentioned differences between the schools?

patrickd139 · Post by **patrickd139** » Fri Mar 18, 2011 10:01 pm

Still voted Hastings, fwiw.

i_heart_fmma · Post by **i_heart_fmma** » Fri Mar 18, 2011 10:39 pm

I had a similar decision 2 years ago. I am from California and chose between BU and Hastings, but Hastings gave me a scholarship and BU did not. I chose BU and am very happy I did.

I was also unsure whether I wanted to stay in California, and after 1L I still remained open and utilized both job markets. I did not get the impression that Boston firms cared much about my California roots. California firms were a little tougher for me, but perhaps that's because SF and LA are just harder markets. I know several people going back to California for their 2L summers. You may also want to contact both schools for specific employment stats.

I would recommend visiting BU and Boston. If you like the school, and you think you can handle the weather, then I would pick BU... especially considering you don't seem tied to California and you got more money from BU.

However, as others have mentioned, nothing is guaranteed. People at all law schools are struggling, and perhaps you would rather be in California struggling than Boston struggling if things go wrong. Sorry for the downer note.

Good Luck!

lucky277 · Post by **lucky277** » Sun Mar 20, 2011 12:14 pm

i_heart_fmma wrote:I had a similar decision 2 years ago. I am from California and chose between BU and Hastings, but Hastings gave me a scholarship and BU did not. I chose BU and am very happy I did.

I was also unsure whether I wanted to stay in California, and after 1L I still remained open and utilized both job markets. I did not get the impression that Boston firms cared much about my California roots. California firms were a little tougher for me, but perhaps that's because SF and LA are just harder markets. I know several people going back to California for their 2L summers. You may also want to contact both schools for specific employment stats.

I would recommend visiting BU and Boston. If you like the school, and you think you can handle the weather, then I would pick BU... especially considering you don't seem tied to California and you got more money from BU.

However, as others have mentioned, nothing is guaranteed. People at all law schools are struggling, and perhaps you would rather be in California struggling than Boston struggling if things go wrong. Sorry for the downer note.

Good Luck!

This is so helpful! It's nice to know that someone else was in my shoes not too long ago. I'm going to Preview Day next weekend and I can't wait to visit. That will definitely help with my decision. Thanks for your input!

PleaseHelpThanks · Post by **PleaseHelpThanks** » Sun Mar 20, 2011 6:14 pm

Want to practice in Cali -------> Hastings

Don't want to practice in Cali-------> BU

I know you say you're not sure where you want to practice, but you have to make that decision, and then follow my advice. Going to BU to return to Cali would be dumb, IMO.

Seriously, if you're over 50% sure you will back in Cali, go to UC Hastings.

Lasers · Post by **Lasers** » Sun Mar 20, 2011 11:29 pm

PleaseHelpThanks wrote:Want to practice in Cali -------> Hastings

Don't want to practice in Cali-------> BU

I know you say you're not sure where you want to practice, but you have to make that decision, and then follow my advice. Going to BU to return to Cali would be dumb, IMO.

Seriously, if you're over 50% sure you will back in Cali, go to UC Hastings.

sound advice here.

in determining where to go to law school, you have to at least have a good idea of where you want to practice, seeing as how regional it seems most schools are now.

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