Northwestern Law vs. Georgetown vs. UC Irvine Forum

[econenthusiast09]

I don't want to give out too much identifying information, but as an OC native, a grad of H/Y/P and a former political operative, I would really love to hear someone explain how OP is going to make any substantive political connections in OC. The person who posted about the Trojan network is correct, USC's ties run much deeper and wider than anything else in SoCal let alone OC (the still-bedroom community of LA)...sort of rendering UCI irrelevant in this context.

Did you apply to Davis/Hastings?
What sort of office are you looking to snatch first?
You describe yourself as sort of a policy-wonk but that you also want to hold elected office...if your end goal is to hold office, go to GULC/NU move back to CA, work hard build ties to the community and run for city council or perhaps the CA assembly and then move your way up. Demographics are going to play a huge role in this as well..make sure you pick a place to live that would be electorally friendly to you and not likely to change in the several years you are working.

For those who aren't making the connection, insofar as politics need $$ and a lot of $$ comes from SIs, GULC provides the best opportunity for OP to network with potential future supporters in a relevant context. For as intriguing and and good a law school I believe UCI to be, I just don't see it as being a good fit for the OP.

EDIT: OP.."Orange County is a major player in CA politics..." Care to elaborate???

I was accepted to both Davis and Hastings. I don't know what I'll be running for first (and, honestly, who can). As far as the OC bit goes, it's a strong fundraising base. Irvine also seems like a pretty nice place to live. I'm a lifelong Californian, so not too keen on Chicago weather, but that's far from a deciding criterion.

[83947368]

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[FinallyGoing]

The lack of actual understanding of modern day politics ITT amazes me. As large a state as CA is, planning the very first steps of a political career can and should be done if holding office is your goal. I am not suggesting that you can plot the entire trajectory of your entire political career, but you can certainly lake MANY steps towards achieving success in the FIRST step. 21st Century American politics is not some random enterprise. Spend some time researching the members of the CA Assembly and Senate for example. I am undoubtedly going to come off as obsessive here but hey, this is TLS..

CA Assembly
Hall-52nd District by way of Compton Unified by way of Compton CC by way of Water Board by way of COMMUNITY ORGANIZING.

Atkins-76th District by way of San Diego CC by way of Transportation Committee by way of COMMUNITY ORGANIZING.

Portantino-44th District by way of LCF CC by way of Conservancy Advisory Committee by way of COMMUNITY ORGANIZING.

Cedillo -32nd District by way of Council of La Raza by way of working for the SEIU.

Davis-48th District by way of the Western Regional Social Action Committee by way of COMMUNITY ORGANIZING.

Huffman-6th District by way of the Natural Resources Defense Council (as an attorney) by way of the Marin Municipal Water District by way of COMMUNITY ORGANIZING.

Fong-22nd District by way of the Foothill De Anza Community College District by way of COMMUNITY ORGANIZING.

Chesbro-1st District by way of the California Integrated Waste Management Board by way of COMMUNITY ORGANIZING.

Do I really need to keep going? Notice a trend here? Take a look at the CA Assembly and Senate and count how many members strictly worked in the private sector before running for office. By far the most traveled path is college/grad school--community organizing--political appointment/local election--statewide office.

Where do you think these community organizing/SI connections are forged?

[bdubs]

Where do you think these community organizing/SI connections are forged?

In California, not DC.

[FinallyGoing]

Where do you think these community organizing/SI connections are forged?

In California, not DC.

Not at all necessarily. The question was really aiming at the context and not geographical location; however with that being said, these connections are being made in the context of working with these organizations. OP has a much greater chance of working with these CA organizations in DC than he does in Irvine, in fact @ Davis/Hastings more than Irvine. His contention that OC plays a major role in CA politics was explained as referring to donations from private citizens to macro-political organizations which, to be sure-is the case but I don't see how that is supposed to function in this particular scenario.

There was once a time in which most politicians from any given state came from the private sector--this hasn't been the case in CA state politics for some time.

[83947368]

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[FinallyGoing]

That sample happens to be quite indicative of the whole Assembly, brah. Strong counter-evidence on a discussion about CA state politics...Christie, Edwards and Spitzer eh? LOL not to mention I chose the Assembly because it also happens to be more representative of the current state of affairs. Your absurd line of reasoning is similar to that of "but I know a guy who graduated from Golden Gate in 1968 and he makes $250k/yr!!!" Please.....brah.

[83947368]

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[econenthusiast09]

Thanks for the input so far, everyone. From what I'm hearing, NU wins on my first criterion, my second depends on whether DC or So Cal would be a better place to build contacts, if political contacts can even be significantly built at all in law school, whether "lay prestige" matters and whether going to a BigLaw in Cali after attending law school out of state would be more beneficial than going to a public law school in Cali. My third hasn't been discussed, but from what I've gathered it seems like GT has become a more competitive environment in recent years. To be honest, I'd love a reason to live in DC and I love the weather in So Cal, so NU loses on location. Looks like NU is killing it on votes.

[igo2northwestern]

Thanks for the input so far, everyone. From what I'm hearing, NU wins on my first criterion, my second depends on whether DC or So Cal would be a better place to build contacts, if political contacts can even be significantly built at all in law school, whether "lay prestige" matters and whether going to a BigLaw in Cali after attending law school out of state would be more beneficial than going to a public law school in Cali. My third hasn't been discussed, but from what I've gathered it seems like GT has become a more competitive environment in recent years. To be honest, I'd love a reason to live in DC and I love the weather in So Cal, so NU loses on location. Looks like NU is killing it on votes.

Hey, since you're really torn on the matter, you should really consider visiting both Georgetown and Northwestern. We give tours on a daily basis, and if you contact our careers office in advance, I think you can meet with someone to discuss whether NU fits your political aspirations.