Chicago, Boalt, UCLA, or USC? Forum

[matvei]

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[CanadianWolf]

So long as you go into law school with your eyes wide open, then it's a personal choice between debt & prestige as all four options can place you in Southern California.

[Shaggier1]

If you wanted BigLaw I would say Berkeley. Since you want PI/Gov, however, take the money and run. USC would be my choice in this situation. Great school at a good price*

As for this:

I want to be in So Cal to work ideally, but would rather not be in So Cal for the next three years.

I think you will just have to bite the bullet and let pragmatism win over. If you know you want to work in SoCal, you should study law in SoCal.

*If you think, however, that your career goals may change, and you may want to start out in BigLaw (as many of the best PI/Gov't lawyers have), then you should be looking at Berkeley and Chicago.

[SkeeterV]

tag

[TaipeiMort]

Chicago makes SoCal the easiest by far if you are a CA native. Berkeley places well too. I gunned for SoCal and saw most everyone from SoCal get SoCal that wanted it. Berkeley doesn't make it a sure thing and costs more. Berkeley is in a nicer place, but Chicago has better professors. Berkeley has a better college experience/ scene.

[ajr]

I voted Chicago. Berkeley seems like a weird choice to me, would be my last of the options here. If you are set on Socal, take the money and go to USC. I doubt that Berkeley would give you any better shot at SoCal than Chicago. If anything, I think the opposite.

[Nelson]

I don't like the idea of Boalt or Chicago at sticker. I would try to get some money out of them using your other offers. Any scholarships at other schools between USC/UCLA and Chicago to use for leverage? Otherwise, I vote for USC.

[TaipeiMort]

I voted Chicago. Berkeley seems like a weird vote to me. If you are set on Socal, take the money and go to USC. I doubt that Berkeley would give you any better shot at SoCal than Chicago. If anything, I think the opposite.

Edited for clarity.

I can't speak for every firm, but I did a ton of research into the 6 Southern California markets (San Diego, Orange County, LA litigation, LA business, Century City, and Santa Barbara, did callbacks in most, and took note of which schools seemed to place there.

Harvard Chicago Stanford and Berkeley get you into most all of the Southern California markets. I'm sure Yale and Columbia would too, but I didn't see as many of their grads. USC, UCLA, and T14 schools will give you a shot at LA business law and lit to a lesser extent. If you want something more special like film (Century City), VC (San Diego), or old money (Orange County and Santa Barbara) you need a HYSCC or the very top of your class at UCLA, USC, Irvine, or a regional school. BYU placed pretty well too, and so did Arizona, Arizona State, and even a little from Boulder and Utah.

[TaipeiMort]

I don't like the idea of Boalt or Chicago at sticker. I would try to get some money out of them using your other offers. Any scholarships at other schools between USC/UCLA and Chicago to use for leverage? Otherwise, I vote for USC.

USC and UCLA are nice places, but this is dumb advice. Chicago and Berkeley will offer a MUCH better chance than these schools, especially because you get less competition.

[071816]

I voted Chicago. Berkeley seems like a weird vote to me. If you are set on Socal, take the money and go to USC. I doubt that Berkeley would give you any better shot at SoCal than Chicago. If anything, I think the opposite.

I can't speak for every firm, but I did a ton of research into the 6 Southern California markets. I found the following schools placing into each:

San Diego: Harvard, Stanford, Chicago, Berkeley, local SD schools.

Orange County: Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Chicago, Berkeley (and sometimes a UC Irvine or USC/UCLA person, but very, very unusual because the market is small).

Century City: Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Chicago, NYU, occasionally a USC or UCLA person.

LA business law: HYSCCN, Berkeley, USC, UCLA, rarely another business-focused T14 like Penn or NU.

LA BigLit: Harvard, Stanford, Chicago, Berkeley.

Santa Barbara: Basically laterals unless you have a PhD in a hard science.

There was also a smattering of other T14 and BYU grads, as well as token Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah grads in OC, SD, and LA.

Useless list is useless.

[Dignan]

Chicago makes SoCal the easiest by far if you are a CA native. Berkeley places well too. I gunned for SoCal and saw most everyone from SoCal get SoCal that wanted it.

Since we're tossing around anecdotal experience, I'm a 2L at Boalt and it seemed like students who targeted SoCal did very well this past OCI. In fact, LA was often the "safety" market for those who were worried about not getting a job in the SF Bay Area.

I think all of the OP's options are defensible, though it's hard to justify picking UCLA over USC if the latter is significantly cheaper.

[TaipeiMort]

I voted Chicago. Berkeley seems like a weird vote to me. If you are set on Socal, take the money and go to USC. I doubt that Berkeley would give you any better shot at SoCal than Chicago. If anything, I think the opposite.

I can't speak for every firm, but I did a ton of research into the 6 Southern California markets. I found the following schools placing into each:

San Diego: Harvard, Stanford, Chicago, Berkeley, local SD schools.

Orange County: Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Chicago, Berkeley (and sometimes a UC Irvine or USC/UCLA person, but very, very unusual because the market is small).

Century City: Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Chicago, NYU, occasionally a USC or UCLA person.

LA business law: HYSCCN, Berkeley, USC, UCLA, rarely another business-focused T14 like Penn or NU.

LA BigLit: Harvard, Stanford, Chicago, Berkeley.

Santa Barbara: Basically laterals unless you have a PhD in a hard science.

There was also a smattering of other T14 and BYU grads, as well as token Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah grads in OC, SD, and LA.

Useless list is useless.

See edit above.

[Nelson]

I don't like the idea of Boalt or Chicago at sticker. I would try to get some money out of them using your other offers. Any scholarships at other schools between USC/UCLA and Chicago to use for leverage? Otherwise, I vote for USC.

USC and UCLA are nice places, but this is dumb advice. Chicago and Berkeley will offer a MUCH better chance than these schools, especially because you get less competition.

Did I say anything about USC or UCLA giving him a better chance at biglaw (which OP hints he's not that interested in)? No. My advice was don't pay sticker. Now go troll elsewhere.

[TaipeiMort]

I don't like the idea of Boalt or Chicago at sticker. I would try to get some money out of them using your other offers. Any scholarships at other schools between USC/UCLA and Chicago to use for leverage? Otherwise, I vote for USC.

USC and UCLA are nice places, but this is dumb advice. Chicago and Berkeley will offer a MUCH better chance than these schools, especially because you get less competition.

Did I say anything about USC or UCLA giving him a better chance at biglaw (which OP hints he's not that interested in)? No. My advice was don't pay sticker. Now go troll elsewhere.

I wasn't trolling. Without Biglaw or government being the objective, your advice may make sense.