Top Law Schools

No money at Berk...
Looking to practice in Southern California... gunning for Big Law but ..... a free ride could possibly open me up to other routes..

Anyone?

Berkeley's big law numbers aren't stellar anyways. I think USC wins this one.

Easily USC.

You got your offer from Berkeley already? How/where?

Definitely USC. That's way too much money to pass up.

Let me better explain my situation...
I went to UCLA for undergrad (economics) and have lived in SoCal my whole life, I also plan on working here after graduating. My goal was to work in Big Law in order to quickly repay my loans, but now that I have gotten this offer, I wouldn't mind working at a midsize firm and be able to enjoy life more. On the other hand, I have some test-taking anxiety and was looking forward to the more "chill" atmosphere of berkeley (no GPA, no rankings), also was kind of looking forward to the whole "new experience" thing (moving to a different place). But I don't know if the "new experience" and "chillness" is worth forgoing a 150k scholarship to USC. I guess what I'm trying to figure out is wether 150k is really THAT much in the span of my life....? And whether a Berkeley diploma is worth 150k more than a USC diploma? (If one got me a job and the other left me jobless, I guess it would be... )

I'm getting to abstract with this stuff, I need fellow TLS member to slap some sense into me and tell me what really matters ... its easy to make stupid decisions in these situations.

Thanks guys

Did you get the Rothman Scholarship?

Anyways, USC by a mile.

I am very interested in this myself. As a longtime TLS reader who was offered a 105K scholarship in my Rothman rejection letter this week, I am facing a similar choice to make with Berkeley at sticker. I am curious as to what others will have to say and how your thought process evolves.

agalang wrote:You got your offer from Berkeley already? How/where?

No haven't heard officially, but c'mon its Berk.... they're not gonna give me anything...

If it's the Rothman then it's a no brainer.

If it's not then it's still heavily USC.

but c'mon its Berk.... they're not gonna give me anything...

They matched one of my classmates' T50 scholly offers.

USC

I'm surprised at everyone voting USC.. isn't Boalt supposed to be ELITE, only falling behind Stanford in CA? Isn't it supposed to open you up to the widest career possibilities, and give you a great badge of honor to carry throughout life? Sure their BigLaw numbers aren't as great as they were pre-crash, but despite being in the 40% range (which I'm sure is higher now since those NLJ numbers are 3 years old), isn't that still WAY better than USC's numbers (20%)? And what do you guys think about difficulty of excelling at either school.... a lot of people say that the LSAT is a bad indicator of law school performance, and that its not necessarily true that Berk kids will do better than SC kids... but I somewhat disagree.. While its true ur not tested on Logic Games in law school, the essence of the LSAT was to test your ability to adapt and excel on a completely unfamiliar test format, the same skill that is needed on law school exams.... so wouldn't it make sense that the average Berk student will probably spot a couple more issues on the exams than the average SC kid, making it more difficult to do well? I know must of us swear we'll never be in the bottom 1/3 but there's always a good group of smart people in there.... I'm bad at math and admit that despite trying my absolute best I still got ROCKED by math-phenom asian kids in some undergrad econ classes at UCLA... any input on this Chimp/Shaggier?

I know it might sound like I am all about berkeley but I'm just trying to figure out where these questions fit for those voting for USC...

Go with $$$$$$$$$.

I'd come visit.

You'd be surprised how many Boalt students end up in a similar situation and choose Boalt. Maybe we're all idiots, but Boalt places very well in California (certainly better than USC, even in SoCal). It's a great school in a great location so I'd encourage you to visit. The student body and lack of grades make a big difference.

Dude, it's a full ride. Sure, wait for Cal's offer, but especially given your SoCal bend, this sounds like an absolutely golden opportunity for you. With a full ride, you can take any legal job you want after graduation! You'll find something in the LA area. Go to USC and enjoy the rest of your life.

Berk and USC have the same LSAT median.

Berkeley puts 15% or so more in to Biglaw, but damn 150K + interest is a lot to pay for that.

Consider the worst case scenarios:

You fail to get biglaw from Cal: You're stuck with a huge bill and no good way to get rid of it.

You fail to get biglaw from USC: You take a lower-paying job and enjoy your debt-free life.

No brainer IMO. Unless you want to do academia or clerk, then probably Cal.

SBL wrote:Consider the worst case scenarios:

You fail to get biglaw from Cal: You're stuck with a huge bill and no good way to get rid of it.

You fail to get biglaw from USC: You take a lower-paying job and enjoy your debt-free life.

No brainer IMO. Unless you want to do academia or clerk, then probably Cal.

Even then, the odds of academia are just so ridiculously low. Short of a half-ride at Cal, I'd take USC given the OP's geographic aspirations.

Mr.Hart wrote:I'm surprised at everyone voting USC.. isn't Boalt supposed to be ELITE, only falling behind Stanford in CA? Isn't it supposed to open you up to the widest career possibilities, and give you a great badge of honor to carry throughout life? Sure their BigLaw numbers aren't as great as they were pre-crash, but despite being in the 40% range (which I'm sure is higher now since those NLJ numbers are 3 years old), isn't that still WAY better than USC's numbers (20%)? And what do you guys think about difficulty of excelling at either school.... a lot of people say that the LSAT is a bad indicator of law school performance, and that its not necessarily true that Berk kids will do better than SC kids... but I somewhat disagree.. While its true ur not tested on Logic Games in law school, the essence of the LSAT was to test your ability to adapt and excel on a completely unfamiliar test format, the same skill that is needed on law school exams.... so wouldn't it make sense that the average Berk student will probably spot a couple more issues on the exams than the average SC kid, making it more difficult to do well? I know must of us swear we'll never be in the bottom 1/3 but there's always a good group of smart people in there.... I'm bad at math and admit that despite trying my absolute best I still got ROCKED by math-phenom asian kids in some undergrad econ classes at UCLA... any input on this Chimp/Shaggier?

I know it might sound like I am all about berkeley but I'm just trying to figure out where these questions fit for those voting for USC...

Regarding the bolded, USC's big law placement has never been this low. It has consistently been in the 30-40% range (and was even higher than that during the boom years). It sounds like you really want Berkeley though for some reason. Did USC offer you the Rothman scholarship or not? If so, I would say go to USC hands down. If not, I would still say go to USC. Yes Berkeley is a better school, but there's no way a Boalt JD is worth 150k more than a USC JD, unless money isn't an object for you and you have no intention of working in Southern California.

If you were an IP or tech person, or a die-hard public interest guru, then Berkeley would be the right call, but otherwise I really don't think this is a question.

Wow curious to see what you decided to go with. To me, this is USC by a long shot.

Someone at Berkeley can weigh in for a more accurate opinion...but the people I've known who went there didn't seem to agree that the grading system made for a more "chill" atmosphere. HH, H, P still feel like "grades," and the students are still competing for the limited number of top grades.

Now...maybe there is an argument that NorCal is more chill than LA area on the whole...but again, I'd defer to someone with more personal knowledge.

just realized this is a two year old thread. why is it bumped

kprempeh89 wrote:Wow curious to see what you decided to go with. To me, this is USC by a long shot.

OP hasn't logged in in a long time. No need to bump a dead thread.