Loyola LA vs Pepperdine Forum

[Allie]

So here's the deal. I think I'm down to choosing between these two but am really not sure which one I should go with.

Scholarships:
LLS: 32k/yr
Pepp: 26/yr
Both have the same top half of class stip to keep the scholarship. Right now I'm being optimistic and assuming I can manage it.

Either way. Some "softs":
I know I can live at home and go to Loyola. This will save me all the "room and board" type costs. I'll have certain transportation costs but my parents would be willing to cover those.
Pepp has a really nice campus etc. There are also dorms. Since I intend to keep at least some sort of work-life balance and I'm used to living in a social college town surrounded by my peers this would feel a little more like the environment I'm used to. However, I'm also super into saving money at the moment to minimize debt SO living in the dorms doesn't seem that attractive from an economical perspective. One the other hand, I don't know if I'll be able to live at home and go to Pepp. I need there to be good public transportation in the area (I don't/can't drive for medical reasons) and, while this merits more research, it seem like Pepp is a bit isolated in this respect. (Please correct me if I'm wrong).
I don't like the "conservative" attitude of Pepp, especially how they seem to shove it in your face. It really bugs me. I'm willing to overlook that for tangible benefits but I'm not sure they exist.

Here's the main catch: I want to be an ADA. Realizing this might not work out, at least right away, I would still like to work for government. (Private sector just seem WAY too stressful. This is part of why I'm quite debt averse: to not have to worry about not starting(/staying) at a significantly lower salary). I'm good with practicing anywhere in the SoCal area near/close-ish to LA. I think Ventura would be nice (I hear Pepp has connections there?) but closer to LA is fine as well. Although I'd rather work in a small(ish) near-LA city/town than IN LA itself. This is all ideally of course but, you know, gotta work from something, so to speak.

So does anyone have any data/knoledge thoughts on which school is better as far as gov jobs go? I've read that Loyola places better/has better reputation with private sector firms in LA than Pepp but what about gov/ADA type work? Is there a difference?

[Dr. Dre]

you have a 3.8 gpa

retake

[hephaestus]

Those stipulations are awful. What happens if you are not top 50% in your class? Will you drop out? Pay sticker?
Anyway, the correct answer is to retake.

[BigZuck]

Absolutely retake.

Gun to your head, Loyola. But there is no gun to your head so retake. I had almost identical numbers and options last cycle but I have taken the LSAT twice since then and I now have 105K at UCLA and 120K at USC along wih T14 acceptances with money. Retake is the smartest thing you could do for yourself and a solid jump is possible so definitely do that. I assume that if you can go to Loyola and live at home then you could do the same at USC so hit about a 168 in June or October and reapply next cycle and you should have 120K in scholarship money.

[Danteshek]

What is your basis for wanting to be an ADA, other than you think it would be cool?

[romothesavior]

Sounds like Pepperdine would cost you well over $150,000 from each of these schools, which is not even close to worth it. And with 50% stipulations on the scholarship? No way.

Look at the job data. Both schools put well less than half of their graduates into long-term, full-time, J.D.-required jobs (42%).

Loyola
Pepperdine

Loyola is the only one that really makes any sense since you can live at home, but you should retake with your 3.8 and go on scholarship to USC/UCLA. Actually, even Loyola doesn't make much sense. 50% chance you lose your scholarship, and less than a 50% chance you have a real lawyer job 9 months out.

[PRgradBYU]

retake

the correct answer is to retake.

Absolutely retake.

you should retake with your 3.8 and go on scholarship to USC/UCLA

You couldn't pay me to attend Loyola or USD, especially in CA's ultra-saturated legal market. Retake and reevaluate.

[Danteshek]

I graduated from Loyola in 2012 and passed the NJ and NY Bar. Now I'm finishing up an LLM at Georgetown in securities regulation

Next year I'm going to Russia on a comparative law fellowship for two years, with everything covered

In general, I think there is life outside of JD-required legal jobs, but you have to be creative and play to your strengths.

[J-e-L-L-o]

I graduated from Loyola in 2012 and passed the NJ and NY Bar. Now I'm finishing up an LLM at Georgetown in securities regulation

Next year I'm going to Russia on a comparative law fellowship for two years, with everything covered

In general, I think there is life outside of JD-required legal jobs, but you have to be creative and play to your strengths.

wow..simply wow


RETAKE

[romothesavior]

I graduated from Loyola in 2012 and passed the NJ and NY Bar. Now I'm finishing up an LLM at Georgetown in securities regulation

Next year I'm going to Russia on a comparative law fellowship for two years, with everything covered

In general, I think there is life outside of JD-required legal jobs, but you have to be creative and play to your strengths.

That's good to hear Danteshek, it sounds like a great gig. You've always seemed like a good dude and I'm definitely glad you landed something solid.

That said, I don't think it's a good idea for someone in OP's shoes to be thinking "Oh hey, this would make a cool backup plan... I can just do something cool outside of LT/FT JD-required jobs if I can't be a lawyer." Sure, by 3L and post-grad, it's time to get creative and be ready to take whatever you can. But let's be honest... few people get non-JD required jobs worth doing. The LST JD-required, LT/FT employment score isn't a perfect metric, because it leaves out people who land good business jobs or really good fellowships like the one you got. But it's a pretty darn good metric. It's not like jobs like yours are representative of the of the 60% of people who are counted as un/underemployed from the Loyola c/o 2012.

[Danteshek]

I guess my point is that statistics don't tell the whole story. If there is something about you that makes you different or special, you gotta run with it. In my case the executive director struggled to find recent law grads who spoke russian and were adventurous enough to take on this assignment.

For someone else, it might be that they are really connected in the entertainment business, or that they worked for an audit firm before law school etc. There are many experienced people who can go back to careers or use their law degrees in unexpected ways.

But I guess this flies in the face of what everyone else says on this board.

Just got my tickets for Sochi

[Mr. Jones]

Go to Loyola and minimize debt. Speaking as a Pepperdine 3L, it really doesn't have the conservative attitude that people think it does on TLS. Regarding those who are telling you to retake, I probably wouldn't...nobody wants to set their life back a year nor do most people want to study for the LSAT again. My adivce: Loyola.

[BigZuck]

Go to Loyola and minimize debt. Speaking as a Pepperdine 3L, it really doesn't have the conservative attitude that people think it does on TLS. Regarding those who are telling you to retake, I probably wouldn't...nobody wants to set their life back a year nor do most people want to study for the LSAT again. My adivce: Loyola.

This is really bad "adivce."

There are a lot of things people have to do that are unpleasant or that they don't want to do. That's what we call being an adult. So, OP, put on your big boy pants and buckle down and do this thing the right way.

Retake!

[Dr. Dre]

Suffer 3-4 months of LSAT prep

OR

Suffer the rest of your life post-graduation from a TTT


Choose wisely, OP

[rad lulz]

I wouldn't go to either of those schools even if they were free and I got a stipend.

[BigZuck]

I wouldn't go to either of those schools even if they were free and I got a stipend.

I hear that but there are so many CA kids who want to work in the state, what are they to do? I assume you're drawing the line at T14+UCLA/USC. That's reasonable to me but what price should one pay for UCLA/USC? 150K? 125K? 100K? Genuinely curious.

[rad lulz]

I wouldn't go to either of those schools even if they were free and I got a stipend.

I hear that but there are so many CA kids who want to work in the state, what are they to do? I assume you're drawing the line at T14+UCLA/USC. That's reasonable to me but what price should one pay for UCLA/USC? 150K? 125K? 100K? Genuinely curious.

Probably like $100k

[Dmini7]

I wouldn't go to either of those schools even if they were free and I got a stipend.

I hear that but there are so many CA kids who want to work in the state, what are they to do? I assume you're drawing the line at T14+UCLA/USC. That's reasonable to me but what price should one pay for UCLA/USC? 150K? 125K? 100K? Genuinely curious.

Probably like $100k

is that with living expenses and interest? because for a CA school that seems to be around 105-120k in scholarship money needed to be able to do that. Thinking of it that way scares me :/.

[BigZuck]

I wouldn't go to either of those schools even if they were free and I got a stipend.

I hear that but there are so many CA kids who want to work in the state, what are they to do? I assume you're drawing the line at T14+UCLA/USC. That's reasonable to me but what price should one pay for UCLA/USC? 150K? 125K? 100K? Genuinely curious.

Probably like $100k

is that with living expenses and interest? because for a CA school that seems to be around 105-120k in scholarship money needed to be able to do that. Thinking of it that way scares me :/.

Keep in mind that every CA school ranked lower than Berkeley has 60-65% employment rate or worse. That sucks.

Although I haven't looked at the most recent numbers, hopefully UCLA and USC at least have improved in that regard.

[romothesavior]

But I guess this flies in the face of what everyone else says on this board.

It doesn't fly in the face of what people say on this board; people recognize that there are jobs out there like yours and there are opportunities outside of the typical JD/lawyer job. But you are an outlier. For the average student looking at schools like these, a great fellowship like yours is not going to be in the cards.

[romothesavior]

Go to Loyola and minimize debt. Speaking as a Pepperdine 3L, it really doesn't have the conservative attitude that people think it does on TLS. Regarding those who are telling you to retake, I probably wouldn't...nobody wants to set their life back a year nor do most people want to study for the LSAT again.

This is just beyond silly.

[150s_or_bust]

you have a 3.8 gpa

retake

The title of this post is "Loyola vs Pepperdine" not "Loyola vs Pepperdine vs RETAKE"

Not everyone is on the same boat... telling people to "retake" while not knowing all the factors is just pure ignorant and not constructive.


Anyway, if biglaw is not what you are into and you want to minimize debt as much as possible then I say go LLS. Whatever you decide OP, good luck!

[rad lulz]

The title of this post is "Loyola vs Pepperdine" not "Loyola vs Pepperdine vs RETAKE"

This is TLS

You get the advice you need

Not necessarily the advice you want

[Myself]

.

[megagnarley]

Retake.