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Guys, I'm having a tough time deciding between USD and UCI for IP Law. I'd like to be general counsel to a biotech company (biochem undergrad) and I'm at a crossroads.

USD is offering me $23,000 with no stipulation, just meet minimum gpa, and UCI is offering 1/3 which is about $14,500 or so with just the minimum gpa requirement also.

I've been trying to compare employment prospects, regional factors, etc. However, with UCI being a new school, there's very little in the way of comparison.

I really need help here, I'm tearing my hair out over this one.

I believe UCI will ultimately be better than USD, and I'm not just talking about ranking so much as scholarly reputation. I'll be honest though: I have no idea which is better for IP law.

This is a tough one since UCI is so new, but I think I'd choose UCI simply based on the quality of the UC system in general.

With just a BS in BioChem you aren't going to get into IP work very easily. Add in two TTT's and thats not going to change.

Desert Fox wrote:With just a BS in BioChem you aren't going to get into IP work very easily. Add in two TTT's and thats not going to change.

seconded. general counsel is an exit option after a respectable IP firm jerb, which u wont get easily with a BS biochem and 2 TTTs. ur better off taking the MCAT and going to med school.

Guys, I'm having a tough time deciding between USD and UCI for IP Law. I'd like to be general counsel to a biotech company (biochem undergrad) and I'm at a crossroads.

USD is offering me $23,000 with no stipulation, just meet minimum gpa, and UCI is offering 1/3 which is about $14,500 or so with just the minimum gpa requirement also.

I've been trying to compare employment prospects, regional factors, etc. However, with UCI being a new school, there's very little in the way of comparison.

I really need help here, I'm tearing my hair out over this one.

The bold is contradictory. You need to let us know what the COA are at each of these schools. Also, do you live anywhere near one of these schools?

USD's GPA requirement is way different than Irvine's. Irvine's is basically that you don't drop out and USD's is usually based off a 3.0 or higher.....what exactly is the G.P.A that USD is asking you to maintain?

Salty wrote:USD's GPA requirement is way different than Irvine's. Irvine's is basically that you don't drop out and USD's is usually based off a 3.0 or higher.....what exactly is the G.P.A that USD is asking you to maintain?

USD's wording was that it was a grant scholarship. There's no stipulation other than not dropping out, just like uci.

I live in pasadena, ca which is closer to irvine. I understand that the biotech market is larger in sd, but if ip law is difficult to break into with just a bs, I would assum uci is a better option should I resort to a different industry?

I apologize for not understanding some of these terms, "TTT" and "COA?"

Just FYI- a number of people predict that UCI will emerge as an IP powerhouse. Dan Burk and Anthony Reese are both UCI professors and renowned experts in IP. In fact, a 2010 study showed that Professor Burk was the 3rd most cited IP professor in the country (http://www.leiterrankings.com/new/2010_ ... pact.shtml).

Dunnavant wrote:Guys, I'm having a tough time deciding between USD and UCI for IP Law. I'd like to be general counsel to a biotech company (biochem undergrad) and I'm at a crossroads.

Have you not considered that you will be competing against PhDs in Biomedical Sciences with JDs from T14s?
I say chose more realistic career goals and then come back...

UCI all the way dude. They have such a strong core of IP professors (Reese, Burk, Arewa, there's more). UCI will place very well in Orange County... it'll be harder outside of its niche market, but UCI 2Ls have summer associate positions at over 30 firms from San Diego to LA and even NY and DC (and that is from a class of less than 60 students). Knobbe, OC's biggest IP firm, is a huge supporter of UCI.

Why are people saying UCI is a TTT? Does that mean tier 3? Just because they aren't ranked doesn't mean they're on the same level as USD. I know that OC law firms fully expect UCI to be one of the top law schools in southern california, slightly below USC and UCLA. IP out of UCI is a very solid option...a lot better than USD, to me at least.