Top Law Schools

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Do not go to a school if you would not be content graduating from that school. There is no guarantee that you will have the grades to transfer.

If you reallllly want a California T14 (of which there are only 2...) you would have much better luck retaking the LSAT and taking a year off and applying for the 2012 cycle. If your GPA is too low to get into Boalt or Standford without a high LSAT as a 0L, then maybe Davis is a good option, but really do not count on transferring.

thanks for the insight, Rocky. I'm not so much counting on transferring, and I figure I would be content to graduate from Davis or ND, but if one had a notable advantage over the other in terms of transferring to better CA law schools, it could help me make up my mind. I'm sorry for the mistake on the T14- I thought UCLA and USC were also T14, silly mistake on my part.

Do you (or anyone, for that matter) have any insight about a comparison between job prospects for graduates of ND vs UC Davis? ND seems somehow more notable to me, but they are similarly ranked and from what I've read at least seem similar in respect to big law and what not.

Thanks again for the help, people here seem to have a much larger wealth of information and understanding than I do.

Don't get me wrong, UCLA and USC are still good schools.


I'm not sure what the exact numbers for biglaw placement are from each school, but as a general rule of thumb:
If you would prefer to work in Cali, specifically Sacramento and/or bay area, go to Davis.

A degree from ND probably has more portability than a degree from Davis, but Davis will probably place better within the state of California.

Etudilos wrote:thanks for the insight, Rocky. I'm not so much counting on transferring, and I figure I would be content to graduate from Davis or ND, but if one had a notable advantage over the other in terms of transferring to better CA law schools, it could help me make up my mind. I'm sorry for the mistake on the T14- I thought UCLA and USC were also T14, silly mistake on my part.

Do you (or anyone, for that matter) have any insight about a comparison between job prospects for graduates of ND vs UC Davis? ND seems somehow more notable to me, but they are similarly ranked and from what I've read at least seem similar in respect to big law and what not.

Thanks again for the help, people here seem to have a much larger wealth of information and understanding than I do.

I wonder what makes you think this. I advise you to visit South Bend and see if you will fit in. While I think ND has a strong alumni network, I imagine most of their grads are staying in the IN/OH/PA/IL regions.

If you're absolutely sure you want to practice in California than go to the best CA school you can get into. While ND is a good school, it would only make sense to go there if you were fine with staying in the Midwest/ Chicago area for a couple of years upon graduation. I vote Davis since you're committed to California.

The last NLJ statistics don't really bear out that ND and UCD are 'equal' in terms of Biglaw placement. If you have ties to California, ND should be able to get you back with decent enough grades. There are tons of people in my class from CA and most of them want to go back. Our alumni network is supposedly much stronger on the West Coast than the East Coast. Keep that in mind. It comes down to money I would think though.

I'm having almost the exact same conflict as you, OP.

A question, for anyone willing to answer: for a median student at ND vs. a median student at UC-D, who you do think has it easier finding employment? While I'm also California dreamin', ITE I think I'll take whatever I can get.

ndirish2010 wrote:The last NLJ statistics don't really bear out that ND and UCD are 'equal' in terms of Biglaw placement. If you have ties to California, ND should be able to get you back with decent enough grades. There are tons of people in my class from CA and most of them want to go back. Our alumni network is supposedly much stronger on the West Coast than the East Coast. Keep that in mind. It comes down to money I would think though.

NLJ firms are heavily skewed towards NYC/DC, where ND does a bit better, and NLJ placement data isn't overwhelmingly relevant for someone looking to practice in CA. OP should probably go to Davis if he wants to work in CA, unless OP intends to be one of those 1Ls who walks around telling everyone about his plans to transfer, in which case ND is definitely the school for him.

jwmalone87 wrote:I'm having almost the exact same conflict as you, OP.

A question, for anyone willing to answer: for a median student at ND vs. a median student at UC-D, who you do think has it easier finding employment? While I'm also California dreamin', ITE I think I'll take whatever I can get.

Both are pretty boned.

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UC Davis.

You really need to visit both law schools while in session. Very different cultures, in my opinion. Your decision should be much easier after visiting.