Top Law Schools

university of san francisco with ~1/2 tuition scholarship
golden gate university with full tuition scholarship

both contingent on 3.0 gpa after each spring

would live with parents
born/raised in san francisco
lsat 158
gpa 3.5 from USF, but lower overall (transfer)
goal: not sure yet but probably too old for biglaw anyways
took lsat once. not taking it again fwiw

denied by berkeley, havent heard from stanford (lol), hastings, SCU, davis

Approximately 80% of graduates from these schools are unable to find work as a lawyer. These schools have some of the worst employment statistics in the country. There is no situation where attending either of them is a good choice.

http://www.lstscorereports.com/?school=goldengate
http://www.lstscorereports.com/?school=sanfranciso

Only two law schools worth going to in your area. Maybe if you were cool with doing small law people would say Hastings (which I still wouldn't do because the chance of practicing law is pretty low), but these schools really give you no chance. I wouldn't go if they were paying you. You have very little chance of actually becoming a lawyer, plus you are giving up a career. Definitely don't go.

If by full-ride you mean full-tuition and stipend that will actually cover your living expenses then I guess GGU is ok, but I wouldn't give up a decent career in another field for it.

Nomo wrote:If by full-ride you mean full-tuition and stipend that will actually cover your living expenses then I guess GGU is ok, but I wouldn't give up a decent career in another field for it.

That stip is awful, considering that's probably top 25% at GGU. Therefore even GGU is a horrible decision. These choices truly are TTTT, regardless of scholarship offers.

Post removed.

what is your overall lsac gpa?

Dingo Starr wrote:what is your overall lsac gpa?

Degree (summary) 3.64
Cumulative 3.06

Thanks for the replies, all

ncj wrote:

Dingo Starr wrote:what is your overall lsac gpa?

Degree (summary) 3.64
Cumulative 3.06

Thanks for the replies, all

Retake. The only plausible answer.

I'd be extremely wary of either option, the employment numbers paint a pretty grim picture.

At GGU, only 39.8% of graduates had a JD-required job nine months after graduation. A little more than half of that group (21.5% of the overall class) were working in full-time, long-term, JD-required jobs. The rest were either short-term, part-time, or both. In contrast, 36% of graduates were either completely unemployed or working in non-professional jobs.

At USF, 40.7% of graduates had a JD-required job nine months out. Only 22.6% of the class had a full-time, long-term, JD-required job, compared to 39% of graduates who were completely unemployed or working in non-professional jobs.

That means that your average GGU/USF graduate is significantly more likely to be unemployed or working a non-professional job than be working in a full-time, long-term, JD-required job nine months after graduation. Needless to say, that's shocking, and the administrations of both schools should be ashamed of themselves.

Both options are very poor, but if I had to, I'd go with GGU for free. Paying any amount of money for either school is inadvisable. If you decide go that route, I recommend continuing to maintain relationships and network in your current field, in the event that you're unable to find a legal job after graduation.

Best of luck to you.

ncj wrote:took lsat once. not taking it again fwiw

ncj wrote:university of san francisco with ~1/2 tuition scholarship
golden gate university with full tuition scholarship

both contingent on 3.0 gpa after each spring

would live with parents
born/raised in san francisco
lsat 158
gpa 3.5 from USF, but lower overall (transfer)
goal: not sure yet but probably too old for biglaw anyways
took lsat once. not taking it again fwiw

denied by berkeley, havent heard from stanford (lol), hastings, SCU, davis

What does your life look like if you don't go to law school next year? What's your current employment/living situation now?

ncj wrote: not taking it again fwiw

Then you shouldn't go to law school. There really are just no good options for a 158, 3.0 applicant. Berkeley and Stanford are probably forever out with that GPA, but USC and UCLA would be in play with a sufficient LSAT. Even Hastings with $$$$ and no COL would arguably okay. If you won't raise your numbers, there's basically no way to make this work.*

*And by work, I mean going to a school that gives you a reasonable chance of getting a legal job without burying yourself in life ruining debt.

Of the two, I say USF because it's better than GGU. But realize USF's employment will be tough. I do hear they have a lot of their grads going to DA and such, which doesn't get captured in the employment stats given their late start date of work.

I'm generally not a fan of telling people they shouldn't go to law school, but this is the exception.

Both of these schools are TERRIBLE decisions if you actually want to be a lawyer. Both schools are raging tire fires, and probably aren't worth going to even if you have a full ride and no COL. The stips are worse, and both schools stack their sections. You will be competing with other scholarship students to keep your scholarship.

That said, I ended up at Hastings in large part because, like you, I have no COL going there. I'm surprised you wouldn't get in there, given that median now is a 159 (and will probably slip further this cycle, lets be honest.) I wouldn't recommend it if you can do better, but with your numbers you can't do better. Feel free to PM me if you have questions.