Top Law Schools

I want to work in Southern California...especially San Diego.

You should probably specify which yearly vs. total. Also stipulations (since I know Loyola has a stip).

How debt averse are you?

usc, imo.

cool of law wrote:How debt averse are you?

I would say I have a high debt aversion, which is why I'm having such a hard time deciding...

Hannibal wrote:You should probably specify which yearly vs. total. Also stipulations (since I know Loyola has a stip).

Davis and Hastings don't appear to have a stip other than continuing need, UCI's says good academic standing (I need to research what that means a little more), Pepperdine, Loyola, and USD are all top 1/3, and Chapman is keeping a 3.0 GPA.

I've given the amounts for the first year the Pepperdine, Loyola, USD, Chapman, and UCI schollys are all renewable for the same amounts annually. I don't know about the Hastings and Davis grants, since they are need-based and their determination of need could change...

Hastings or Davis may be cheaper tuition wise if you are a CA resident.

I would say USC
Hastings or Davis

Top 1/3 stip is rough considering the most likely scenario is that you lose the scholarship in years 2 and 3 so you can't really count on it for more than that.

30k at Hastings isn't enough to make it worth it over USC. Is the 13k at Davis total or per year? If Davis is offering you 40k then I would take Davis (because the savings at Davis exceed that once you factor in how cheap it is to live there compared to Hastings/USC). Otherwise I don't think any of the other offers are cheap enough to make them a valid choice over USC.

bk187 wrote:Top 1/3 stip is rough considering the most likely scenario is that you lose the scholarship in years 2 and 3 so you can't really count on it for more than that.

30k at Hastings isn't enough to make it worth it over USC. Is the 13k at Davis total or per year? If Davis is offering you 40k then I would take Davis (because the savings at Davis exceed that once you factor in how cheap it is to live there compared to Hastings/USC). Otherwise I don't think any of the other offers are cheap enough to make them a valid choice over USC.

Since the Davis grant is need-based, I can only guarantee that I have it for this coming year (I had to revise a lot of info on my need access form to even get Davis to consider giving me anything...they don't seem to read the special circumstance section...)

dswimmer wrote:Since the Davis grant is need-based, I can only guarantee that I have it for this coming year (I had to revise a lot of info on my need access form to even get Davis to consider giving me anything...they don't seem to read the special circumstance section...)

All of these options are insanely risky due to the cost and the fact that none of the scholarships are large enough or guaranteed enough, so go with the one that has the best prospects (USC).

I'm surprised nobody is advocating for UCI. It's still not cheap (do you live in SD? You could technically commute, especially your 2nd and 3rd years to increase the debt gap from USC), but it may be a better location for you since it'd be much easier to start networking in the SD area than it would be from Hastings or Davis. I personally enjoyed my UCI visit and I would personally keep it as a viable option if I were in your shoes.

ku1185 wrote:I'm surprised nobody is advocating for UCI. It's still not cheap (do you live in SD? You could technically commute, especially your 2nd and 3rd years to increase the debt gap from USC), but it may be a better location for you since it'd be much easier to start networking in the SD area than it would be from Hastings or Davis. I personally enjoyed my UCI visit and I would personally keep it as a viable option if I were in your shoes.

I live in Irvine right now, so it wouldn't be a hard transition, but I'm concerned about riding my education on the star power of one man...what if he leaves? Plus, there is no data for bar passage and employment statistics...I'm definitely holding on to this option, though.

dswimmer wrote:

ku1185 wrote:I'm surprised nobody is advocating for UCI. It's still not cheap (do you live in SD? You could technically commute, especially your 2nd and 3rd years to increase the debt gap from USC), but it may be a better location for you since it'd be much easier to start networking in the SD area than it would be from Hastings or Davis. I personally enjoyed my UCI visit and I would personally keep it as a viable option if I were in your shoes.

I live in Irvine right now, so it wouldn't be a hard transition, but I'm concerned about riding my education on the star power of one man...what if he leaves? Plus, there is no data for bar passage and employment statistics...I'm definitely holding on to this option, though.

Yeah, there is indeed a ton of risk. But I don't think the school is going to flop by any means (of course, nobody really knows for sure and you'll have to determine this for yourself).

usc

if you are debt averse, hastings isn't a bad option. i would avoid usd because of that stipulation.

If you want SD I would normally say USD, but the top third stip would be a deal breaker for me. I can UCI becoming pretty prestigious in CA in the next 10 years, so that's what I went with (although I understand the concerns the OP posted earlier).

Lasers wrote:if you are debt averse, hastings or usd are pretty good options for you. if you want san diego, usd might not be a bad choice, especially if it's 30k with no stipulations.

Hastings debt will be 150k+ even with the scholly. USD has top 1/3 stips so the most likely scenario is 150k debt. Neither choice is a good option for someone debt averse.

bk187 wrote:

Lasers wrote:if you are debt averse, hastings or usd are pretty good options for you. if you want san diego, usd might not be a bad choice, especially if it's 30k with no stipulations.

Hastings debt will be 150k+ even with the scholly. USD has top 1/3 stips so the most likely scenario is 150k debt. Neither choice is a good option for someone debt averse.

yeah, i updated. i didn't see the 1/3 stip earlier. it's definitely not a good choice.

also, there's no way you'd be in 150k debt from hastings with 20k+. 60k per year for the three years would mean 180k without any help; at most it would be 120k, likely less. i don't know the difference is big enough to choose it over usc, but it would likely be a clearly cheaper option.

imo, top 3 choices are usc, hastings, uci. they all have their strengths and weaknesses. up to OP to decide.

It's between Davis, UCI and USC IMO. I'd probably go with USC, but if you end up with questions about Davis feel free to shoot me a PM.

If your set on San Diego, I would suggest there since you have a nice size scholly there.

I went there for Undergrad and all the Law students I talked to only had good things to say and the campus is beautiful.

I should probably note that I will only need to cover tuition and books, as my living expenses will be covered.

Lasers wrote:yeah, i updated. i didn't see the 1/3 stip earlier. it's definitely not a good choice.

also, there's no way you'd be in 150k debt from hastings with 20k+. 60k per year for the three years would mean 180k without any help; at most it would be 120k, likely less. i don't know the difference is big enough to choose it over usc, but it would likely be a clearly cheaper option.

imo, top 3 choices are usc, hastings, uci. they all have their strengths and weaknesses. up to OP to decide.

I may have read it wrong but I saw it as Hastings scholly of 30-40k. Hastings may be 60k/year now but it is definitely going up.

bk187 wrote:

Lasers wrote:yeah, i updated. i didn't see the 1/3 stip earlier. it's definitely not a good choice.

also, there's no way you'd be in 150k debt from hastings with 20k+. 60k per year for the three years would mean 180k without any help; at most it would be 120k, likely less. i don't know the difference is big enough to choose it over usc, but it would likely be a clearly cheaper option.

imo, top 3 choices are usc, hastings, uci. they all have their strengths and weaknesses. up to OP to decide.

I may have read it wrong but I saw it as Hastings scholly of 30-40k. Hastings may be 60k/year now but it is definitely going up.

For Hastings I have 21k for the first year. Assuming that they determine that I have the same need for yrs 2 and 3, I will get 21k/yr for each, which is a max of 63k for all three years (unless they want to give me more...I wouldn't complain...).

I've listed the $ I have for 1 yr in the poll. The 3-yr. savings would have to be determined based on if I have the same need and/or meet the stips. If so, the amounts will be tripled for total savings.

bk187 wrote:

Lasers wrote:yeah, i updated. i didn't see the 1/3 stip earlier. it's definitely not a good choice.

also, there's no way you'd be in 150k debt from hastings with 20k+. 60k per year for the three years would mean 180k without any help; at most it would be 120k, likely less. i don't know the difference is big enough to choose it over usc, but it would likely be a clearly cheaper option.

imo, top 3 choices are usc, hastings, uci. they all have their strengths and weaknesses. up to OP to decide.

I may have read it wrong but I saw it as Hastings scholly of 30-40k. Hastings may be 60k/year now but it is definitely going up.

the money is 21k total per year, i believe, meaning over 60k total. additionally, the money is renewable and based on need, which shouldn't change year to year.

usc and hastings seem like the best two options.

dswimmer wrote:

bk187 wrote:

Lasers wrote:yeah, i updated. i didn't see the 1/3 stip earlier. it's definitely not a good choice.

also, there's no way you'd be in 150k debt from hastings with 20k+. 60k per year for the three years would mean 180k without any help; at most it would be 120k, likely less. i don't know the difference is big enough to choose it over usc, but it would likely be a clearly cheaper option.

imo, top 3 choices are usc, hastings, uci. they all have their strengths and weaknesses. up to OP to decide.

I may have read it wrong but I saw it as Hastings scholly of 30-40k. Hastings may be 60k/year now but it is definitely going up.

For Hastings I have 20k for the first year. Assuming that they determine that I have the same need for yrs 2 and 3, I will get 20k/yr for each, which is a max of 60k for all three years (unless they want to give me more...I wouldn't complain...).

I've listed the $ I have for 1 yr in the poll. The 3-yr. savings would have to be determined based on if I have the same need and/or meet the stips. If so, the amounts will be tripled for total savings.

if you don't gain any new assets, the money should be the same based on need. from what i've read, depending on your performance in law school, you could get more next year.