Top Law Schools

I got basically nothing from Berkeley in aid, UCLA gave me quite a bit. Here's what's going through my head:

-I'm SoCal born and raised, and thought it would be nice to get the experience of going elsewhere for law school.

-Berkeley is a T14, vs UCLA at T20

-I'm strongly considering IP law (for which Berkeley is ranked #1 and UCLA is ranked #26) but that could change throughout my law school career.

-My family and SO will be in SoCal while I'm in law school

-I do want to end up working in SoCal in the long run.

-I've been hearing many differing opinions on how well UCLA Law grads are doing in terms of job prospects, and it definitely scares me in terms of job security post law school. At the same time, a mountain of debt isn't any less scary.

I'm so incredibly stuck on whether it's worth it to pay sticker for Berkeley or come out with a lot less debt from UCLA in terms of job prospects, experiencing a new environment, rankings, loans etc. The SIR dates are fast approaching, help what do I do?? Any help would be appreciated, I am at a complete loss here.

Berkeley is out based on cost

Sounds like UCLA might be out based on cost as well. How much will you be in debt once everything is factored in (including interest, loan origination fees, etc.)?

Sorry I should have clarified, UCLA gave me about 35k/year, Berkeley about 5k/year. My parents are willing to help out with housing, so basically total debt from Berkeley would be about 130k and for UCLA would be about 40k.

Have fun at UCLA!

ManoftheHour wrote:Have fun at UCLA!

tcr

Go to UCLA.

1L work your ass off and worry about almost nothing else, other than looking mid-year for something worthwhile to do over the summer.

2L begin to network more, get involved in the community/bar associations, and still work your ass off.

3L ride the home stretch and capitalize on the fact that a lot of people will be on autopilot by that point.

I don't think the improved shot at BigLaw from Berk justifies the cost and relocation. A UCLA degree is a fine degree to have, especially if you want So Cal anyway.

thelalagirl wrote:
-My family and SO will be in SoCal while I'm in law school

-I do want to end up working in SoCal in the long run.

When you combine those considerations with the $90K COA difference, I think you gotta go with UCLA.

A couple of things to keep in mind: chances are you won't get big law out of UCLA. And, unless you have a STEM degree, chances are you won't do IP. You can get IP lit/trans out of SLS or Boalt without a tech background, but it's really hard to do out of UCLA.

Again, I think UCLA is the right choice for personal and financial reasons, but you should probably tweak your career expectations a bit.

thelalagirl wrote:I got basically nothing from Berkeley in aid, UCLA gave me quite a bit. Here's what's going through my head:

-I'm SoCal born and raised, and thought it would be nice to get the experience of going elsewhere for law school.

-Berkeley is a T14, vs UCLA at T20

-I'm strongly considering IP law (for which Berkeley is ranked #1 and UCLA is ranked #26) but that could change throughout my law school career.

-My family and SO will be in SoCal while I'm in law school

-I do want to end up working in SoCal in the long run.

-I've been hearing many differing opinions on how well UCLA Law grads are doing in terms of job prospects, and it definitely scares me in terms of job security post law school. At the same time, a mountain of debt isn't any less scary.

I'm so incredibly stuck on whether it's worth it to pay sticker for Berkeley or come out with a lot less debt from UCLA in terms of job prospects, experiencing a new environment, rankings, loans etc. The SIR dates are fast approaching, help what do I do?? Any help would be appreciated, I am at a complete loss here.

Depends on how significant SO is. Without it easily Berkeley.
Those extra $90K aren't suffocating when the whole debt is $130K and you live in So Cal and work at Big Law. Chances to get BL are much better after Berkeley. If you don't want BL then UCLA of course.

rpupkin wrote:

thelalagirl wrote:
-My family and SO will be in SoCal while I'm in law school

-I do want to end up working in SoCal in the long run.

When you combine those considerations with the $90K COA difference, I think you gotta go with UCLA.

A couple of things to keep in mind: chances are you won't get big law out of UCLA. And, unless you have a STEM degree, chances are you won't do IP. You can get IP lit/trans out of SLS or Boalt without a tech background, but it's really hard to do out of UCLA.

Again, I think UCLA is the right choice for personal and financial reasons, but you should probably tweak your career expectations a bit.

Would you say any different if I was pretty set on IP law then? I do have a science background, and have the required classes to pass the Patent Bar Exam, and I love the idea of patent law. I said it could change on the off chance that I fall in love with some other branch of law during school. But if UCLA will prevent me from IP I'm not sure if the lack of debt would make it worth choosing over Berkeley. Sorry for all the questions, I've just been so lost these past couple of days and I had no idea where to turn but here (thanks fellow law people <3 )

thelalagirl wrote:Would you say any different if I was pretty set on IP law then? I do have a science background, and have the required classes to pass the Patent Bar Exam, and I love the idea of patent law. I said it could change on the off chance that I fall in love with some other branch of law during school. But if UCLA will prevent me from IP I'm not sure if the lack of debt would make it worth choosing over Berkeley. Sorry for all the questions, I've just been so lost these past couple of days and I had no idea where to turn but here (thanks fellow law people <3 )

UCLA won't "prevent you from IP"; it will just be significantly harder to get IP out of UCLA than Berkeley. It helps that you have a science background and are patent-bar eligible. If you network and focus on patent firms, and if you get decent grades, you'll probably be fine at UCLA. You'll just have a little less room for error (because your grades will matter more) and your options might not be quite as good (though some of that has to do with being in SoCal instead of the Bay Area).