UCLA vs. GULC vs. CORNELL Forum

[snoopydances]

Hi TLSers! I'm hoping to get off several waitlists, but in the meantime, I'm considering my current acceptances. I've been combing through articles and TLS threads to make the decision process easier, but to no avail. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

I've been reading a wide variety of conflicting opinions about which is the better national choice and which is the better Northern California choice. Here's a list of pros/cons I've compiled:
UCLA: Amazing weather but terrible LA traffic. Regional school with a definite strong advantage over Georgetown and Cornell in the Southern California/Los Angeles area (but what about Northern California?)
Georgetown: Strong public interest and governmental connections. Large class size which means more competition in the area. Upbeat, urban location with more cultural and recreational activities as well as internship opportunities in the area.
Cornell: Strong feeder school into corporate BigLaw in the NY area (even against NYU and Columbia?) Small class size which allows it to achieve a higher employment rate. Higher ranking. Terrible weather/location.

While I love UCLA's weather, I dislike living in LA and would be open to experiencing a new environment in either Washington D.C. or NYC (post-Cornell). I would like to either work in Northern California right after school or eventually. Because I'm interested in both corporate BigLaw/international human rights but would like to keep all doors open just in case, I'm curious as to which school has the greatest national recognition and which school would have the greatest pull in Northern California. Are Georgetown and Cornell's higher rankings "worth" turning down UCLA and moving for law school (I am currently in LA) - as in, is it more difficult to attend UCLA and work on the east coast or more difficult to attend Georgetown/Cornell and work on the west cost?

So much to consider - thank you for reading and answering!!!

[northwood]

Assuming you have the numbers to get in, you should target Berkley. If you want to practice in California, then you should go to school in California. Unless of course you get into HYS.... but if you got into all three ( assume for a moment at the same cost) I would go to Stanford..

But to provide a better detailed insight, we need some more information: What are your 1) LSAT score ( and how many times did you take it), 2) LSAC GPA, and 3) the total cost of attendance for these schools?

[TheSpanishMain]

When you say working in northern California and working on "human rights" ( ) do you mean working for the state in Sacramento? I can't imagine there are a lot of international human rights gigs in northern California. To the extent that these jobs exist at all, they're going to be in NY/DC.

Anyway, I wouldn't go to UCLA because you say you hate LA, and employment in LA is the most likely outcome out of UCLA. I wouldn't count on any of these options being able to pull you to the opposite coast. Of course, Georgetown and Cornell do send grads to California, but not in large enough numbers to depend on. I also wouldn't pay sticker at any of the above.

LSAT/GPA?

[ucla2017]

UCLA has a strong human rights program/clinical. I think it is for international rights though. Not sure about details from GULC or Cornell though. I have no idea what I would pick for NorCal honestly. If in California go to California school? NorCal I would go Boalt though.