UC Davis vs UC Irvine Forum

[2012_1L]

I'm choosing between these two schools and have received scholarships/grants in these amounts per year:

UC Davis-$25k per year
UC Irvine-$8k per year

I've visited both schools and really liked both. I preferred the law school and area at Davis more while I liked UCI's program and curriculum more. I want to end up working in Southern California. I'm not set on biglaw but would like to work at either a mid-sized or big firm. I have lots of connections (family and friends that are lawyers) in Southern California who can help get me interviews with judges, a lot of the big firms in the LA/OC area, and various businesses. My parents are going to help me pay for law school (my guess is anywhere from $10-15k per year but that could change as my dad's income varies quite a bit from year to year) but I'll still have to take out loans.

Davis estimates their total COA per year is $67k per year so I'd likely graduate with about $80k in debt. Irvine estimates $71k per year meaning about $145k in debt at graduation. My gut is telling me Davis as almost 150k in student loans at graduation is a very scary prospect. On the other hand, I really like what UCI is doing in terms of its small class size, practical curriculum, and the energy behind making the school a Top 20 school.

So is Irvine worth the extra debt?

[pno12006]

X

[The Rover]

My gut is telling me Davis as almost 150k in student loans at graduation is a very scary prospect. On the other hand, I really like what UCI is doing in terms of its small class size, practical curriculum, and the energy behind making the school a Top 20 school. So is Irvine worth the extra debt?

you mean Irving right? No, UCI is not worth the extra debt by any stretch of the imagination. I would not count on UCI being a top 20 school any time soon either, and ranking should not be factor in your decision in this scenario. What is your GPA / LSAT? Either go to Davis or don't go.

[jck4487]

I'm choosing between these two schools and have received scholarships/grants in these amounts per year:

UC Davis-$25k per year
UC Irvine-$8k per year

I've visited both schools and really liked both. I preferred the law school and area at Davis more while I liked UCI's program and curriculum more. I want to end up working in Southern California. I'm not set on biglaw but would like to work at either a mid-sized or big firm. I have lots of connections (family and friends that are lawyers) in Southern California who can help get me interviews with judges, a lot of the big firms in the LA/OC area, and various businesses. My parents are going to help me pay for law school (my guess is anywhere from $10-15k per year but that could change as my dad's income varies quite a bit from year to year) but I'll still have to take out loans.

Davis estimates their total COA per year is $67k per year so I'd likely graduate with about $80k in debt. Irvine estimates $71k per year meaning about $145k in debt at graduation. My gut is telling me Davis as almost 150k in student loans at graduation is a very scary prospect. On the other hand, I really like what UCI is doing in terms of its small class size, practical curriculum, and the energy behind making the school a Top 20 school.

So is Irvine worth the extra debt?

UC Davis was a school I was considering, since I have family in Sacramento. Because I said I was likely not going to go to Davis, they had an alumnus call me from Davis. He told me to go to Irvine. I had a larger scholarship at Davis as well. Talk to lawyers in practice -- that will give you a better idea of job prospects than anybody on a forum can. And you'll gain some mentors along the way. Talk to the admissions offices at both places and tell them you're working on your decision, but that you'll like to speak to some alumni (in our case at Irvine they'll put you in touch with some local bar members who are supporters of the school, filling the role that alumni do at most schools).

Good luck with your decision!

[flem]

Talk to lawyers in practice -- that will give you a better idea of job prospects than anybody on a forum can.

This is retarded.

Unless these bros are hiring partners or involved in hiring somehow they are clueless as to what the job market is actually like. I live in Atlanta and there are plenty of practicing attorneys that think attending Mercer at sticker price is a perfectly good idea, because they did it 30 years ago and worked out fine for them. Things are different now.

I'd personally go to Davis I guess because I would hate to roll the dice on a school that is so new (I realize it's an exception, but there's still no alumni base) that costs 150K.

[20160810]

I'd take Davis over Irvine at equal cost given that Davis is the known top-30 school with known employment prospects, whereas Irvine hopes to one day be a top-30 school and we don't really know what the employment prospects are going to look like (plus there's no alumni network yet). Given the scholarship and the lower COL in Davis (my rent is less than $400/mo.), this one is a no-brainer. Go to Davis.

Even if you want to work in SoCal, that won't be a problem. Davis places about 1/3 of its grads in LA, and most of those who stay in the Sac/SF markets do so because of self-selection.

[20160810]

If you really want to end up in So-cal, you should probably go to school down there.

The real question should be, is the goal of working in So-cal worth the extra 65k?



Naturally, I will ask (since other posters would anyway); can you retake and try to get into UCLA or USC or get a better scholly at UCI?

This is terrible advice. Getting a job in LA from Davis is very, very easy, especially if your grades are good.

[pno12006]

X

[Tadatsune]

Davis.

[jck4487]

Talk to lawyers in practice -- that will give you a better idea of job prospects than anybody on a forum can.

This is retarded.

Unless these bros are hiring partners or involved in hiring somehow they are clueless as to what the job market is actually like. I live in Atlanta and there are plenty of practicing attorneys that think attending Mercer at sticker price is a perfectly good idea, because they did it 30 years ago and worked out fine for them. Things are different now.

I'd personally go to Davis I guess because I would hate to roll the dice on a school that is so new (I realize it's an exception, but there's still no alumni base) that costs 150K.

I disagree. I see your point about some lawyers not being in tune with hiring and employment, but for the most part lawyers (especially young lawyers/recent law school graduates) will know more about hiring trends and the generic prospects of a graduate from a certain law school than a potential law student or current law student from a different school.

[JamesChapman23]

If you really want to end up in So-cal, you should probably go to school down there.

The real question should be, is the goal of working in So-cal worth the extra 65k?



Naturally, I will ask (since other posters would anyway); can you retake and try to get into UCLA or USC or get a better scholly at UCI?

This is terrible advice. Getting a job in LA from Davis is very, very easy, especially if your grades are good.

Looking at the latest data, getting a job wasn't easy anywhere from Davis.

As for tution, remember OP, that the UC system is broke and you can expect at least 5% bump year-after-year. Thereby lessening the scholarship value.

[bankruptedcasino]

If you really want to end up in So-cal, you should probably go to school down there.

The real question should be, is the goal of working in So-cal worth the extra 65k?



Naturally, I will ask (since other posters would anyway); can you retake and try to get into UCLA or USC or get a better scholly at UCI?

This is terrible advice. Getting a job in LA from Davis is very, very easy, especially if your grades are good.

Looking at the latest data, getting a job wasn't easy anywhere from Davis.

As for tution, remember OP, that the UC system is broke and you can expect at least 5% bump year-after-year. Thereby lessening the scholarship value.

I disagree. Yes, Davis grads will have a tough time cracking into the LA or SF markets (caveat: only HYS grads have an easy time walking into jobs in SF ... the area is one of the toughest, if not THE toughest, legal market to break into). But Davis grads own Sacramento, East Bay NorCal, and they can find work in Orange County or San Diego. Arguably, the farther south you go, the higher your GPA would need to be to compete.

But Davis owns Sacramento. And if OP wants to practice environmental/water law, all he'd need to do is show up.

[20160810]

If you really want to end up in So-cal, you should probably go to school down there.

The real question should be, is the goal of working in So-cal worth the extra 65k?



Naturally, I will ask (since other posters would anyway); can you retake and try to get into UCLA or USC or get a better scholly at UCI?

This is terrible advice. Getting a job in LA from Davis is very, very easy, especially if your grades are good.

Looking at the latest data, getting a job wasn't easy anywhere from Davis.

As for tution, remember OP, that the UC system is broke and you can expect at least 5% bump year-after-year. Thereby lessening the scholarship value.

At either of these schools, you want to be in the top 15-20% to feel good about your odds of working for a decent law firm. Given that, I highly doubt Irvine makes it any easier.

[bk1]

While I think at similar cost a decent case could be made for Irvine since Davis's prospects, while known, are mediocre. I think it'd be a tossup in that case.

But at a cost difference this large there is no question. Davis hands down.