Top Law Schools

Hello all,

Late post but I am in need of some advice.

I had already submitted my seat deposit for the University of Minnesota when I was admitted from the waitlist at UC Davis, creating a dilemma as to where to go.

I live in California therefore in-state tuition at UCD is about $47000 and out-of-state tuition at UMN is about $47000 as well. Both schools offered me scholarships of $17000 with similar terms. I do not plan on taking out formal loans, but instead will borrow the money from my parents and slowly pay them back (hopefully).

My dilemma is that UMN is higher ranked and seems to have more prestige nationally than Davis, but I plan on staying in California for practice and would prefer to stay close to my family.

Given just the two options at hand (others can feel free to chime in with retake/don't go) I'd say UC Davis no question.

well, you really haven't provided much information here
check out this post: http://top-law-schools.com/forums/viewt ... 1&t=206299
and edit your op
we need to know your goals, total coa, stats, among other things

in advance of that info i will say
don't go to umn if you're targeting ca
and davis at that price probably isn't worth it

Brut wrote:well, you really haven't provided much information here
check out this post: http://top-law-schools.com/forums/viewt ... 1&t=206299
and edit your op
we need to know your goals, total coa, stats, among other things

in advance of that info i will say
don't go to umn if you're targeting ca
and davis at that price probably isn't worth it

Perfect, I was assuming you would jump in here and say all of this.

scottidsntknow wrote:

Brut wrote:well, you really haven't provided much information here
check out this post: http://top-law-schools.com/forums/viewt ... 1&t=206299
and edit your op
we need to know your goals, total coa, stats, among other things

in advance of that info i will say
don't go to umn if you're targeting ca
and davis at that price probably isn't worth it

Perfect, I was assuming you would jump in here and say all of this.

somebody's gotta do it

I took the LSAT twice, while I was suffering through mono, both results (153 and 159) weren't as good as I had hoped or done on practice tests. My GPA was 3.83.

I majored in criminal justice in undergrad so criminal law interests me primarily, possibly work as a prosecutor or public defender. Otherwise, smaller law firms in areas such as family and employment law are also of interest.

Additionally, parents are willing to pay $10-15000/yr.

Russian0204 wrote: My dilemma is that UMN is higher ranked and seems to have more prestige nationally than Davis, but I plan on staying in California for practice and would prefer to stay close to my family.

You're operating on some unfounded assumptions. Ignore USNWR completely. These schools place locally, not nationally. Neither of them has "national prestige," and neither degree is portable. UMN places in Minnesota. Employers in CA will hold UC-Davis in much higher regard than UMN. That's how it works outside of the T14. You'd be completely insane to go to UMN with the intention of targeting CA. Between these two, Davis is by far the more reasonable choice.

That said, Davis' employment outcomes don't remotely justify what you would have to pay. You haven't even taken the LSAT (the most important part of your app) under acceptable conditions. The first thing you must do is retake the LSAT.

total cost of attendance at ucd?
davis is offering 17k per year right
any stips on that 17k
how about those living expenses
living at home and commuting?

Davis is not a smart choice for someone with a good GPA and a retake remaining. That said, it's probably better than going to a state school in a completely different part of the country when you want CA anyway.

Dude, I wouldn't take either of these options. Think it through.

This is your classic "Retake/reapply or don't go" scenario.

The suckle at the rich parents' teat move that we have seen so much of this cycle might actually really backfire if the OP somehow landed a PSLF eligible job.

OP didn't say where in CA they wanted to work. Berkeley and Stanford probably are out of reach no matter what but UCLA/USC for cheapsies are certainly real possibilities with a jump of 10 points or so. Definitely gotta retake, no question.

Hi OP, rank does not matter as much as employment prospects and the location where jobs are obtained.
I would say between the two, UC Davis is a no brainer for CA, and you would be hard pressed to return back from UMN.

Here is something you should look more towards:
http://www.lstscorereports.com/compare/davis/minnesota/

Please don't attend UMN if you're trying to practice in California, for your sake. Also you should retake for a higher LSAT score to capitalize on that high GPA.

Ti Malice wrote:

Russian0204 wrote: My dilemma is that UMN is higher ranked and seems to have more prestige nationally than Davis, but I plan on staying in California for practice and would prefer to stay close to my family.

You're operating on some unfounded assumptions. Ignore USNWR completely. These schools place locally, not nationally. Neither of them has "national prestige," and neither degree is portable. UMN places in Minnesota. Employers in CA will hold UC-Davis in much higher regard than UMN. That's how it works outside of the T14. You'd be completely insane to go to UMN with the intention of targeting CA. Between these two, Davis is by far the more reasonable choice.

That said, Davis' employment outcomes don't remotely justify what you would have to pay. You haven't even taken the LSAT (the most important part of your app) under acceptable conditions. The first thing you must do is retake the LSAT.

+1 to all

Thank you all for the advice, I appreciate it and I see that outside perpective is absolutely necessary in such a decision.

So Minnesota is out of the question. My excitement towards getting into the school with an LSAT score of 159 was clouding my judgement.

For UCD, all I have to do to keep the scholarship is remain in good standing (2.0 or above). I live 2 hours away so no way I could live at home.

I have been seriously considering all of the advice suggesting I capitalize on my remaining retake, but I'm wondering what sort of score would make it worth it? I was studying at least 12 hours a week the first time around, so I am worried as to how much I would be able to improve. With a prospective score of 163 or so (w/ my 3.83 GPA) would I have any chance of getting into USC?

Russian0204 wrote:Thank you all for the advice, I appreciate it and I see that outside perpective is absolutely necessary in such a decision.

So Minnesota is out of the question. My excitement towards getting into the school with an LSAT score of 159 was clouding my judgement.

For UCD, all I have to do to keep the scholarship is remain in good standing (2.0 or above). I live 2 hours away so no way I could live at home.

I have been seriously considering all of the advice suggesting I capitalize on my remaining retake, but I'm wondering what sort of score would make it worth it? I was studying at least 12 hours a week the first time around, so I am worried as to how much I would be able to improve. With a prospective score of 163 or so (w/ my 3.83 GPA) would I have any chance of getting into USC?

You'll get waitlisted, and then possibly offered admission at sticker.

it's great how we still don't know the COA
calculate that and then imagine paying it off on a $50k salary
use mylsn.info to get a sense of your USC chances with different stats

eta: but seriously, figure out your costs before deciding to attend any school
it takes all of 20 minutes
if you have questions about how to do so, post them here

I'm not sure how much my living arrangements would be so I can't give an exact figure for COA.

But as a general figure I would say $90000

Russian0204 wrote:I'm not sure how much my living arrangements would be so I can't give an exact figure for COA.

But as a general figure I would say $90000

any money saved up?
or will it just be parental loans + 17k per year scholarship

I wouldn't be taking out any loans to pay it back so no interest in the $90000

Is it worth it to hold off on a year and work while hoping to raise my score to 160+ the third time around?

Russian0204 wrote:I wouldn't be taking out any loans to pay it back so no interest in the $90000

Is it worth it to hold off on a year and work while hoping to raise my score to 160+ the third time around?

Unquestionably, yes

Neither option is feasible at this point in time

these numbers don't remotely add up
can you just say yes or no:
17k per year scholarship + parental loans to fund law school

it shouldn't be this hard to figure out coa jesus

yes

Russian0204 wrote:yes

in-state tuition cost inflation at 8.64% (five year average)
47,286 in-state is 30,286 1L
51,372 is 34,372 2L
55,811 is 38,811 3L
total tuition costs: 103,469

all living expenses - rent, utilities, food, phone, moving, going out, sundries, copays, office supplies, internet, laundry, entertainment, etc etc etc: 1,500 monthly: 54,000 over three years

books and supplements 1k per year: 3,000 over three years

transportation 1.5k per year: 4,500 over three years

bar prep costs (barbri): 3,850

grand total: $168,819
since no interest, to pay off in ten years, you'd need to chip away at it at a rate of $1,407 a month

a very solid outcome at uc davis: 60k per year
(assuming not part of the 22.4% underemployed, source: http://www.lstscorereports.com/schools/davis/2013/)
after california state and fed taxes: 3,935 monthly

is this doable? yes, technically, this is doable
is it a good idea? absolutely not, unless your parents are likely to forgive the debt and you're okay with that idea