UVA ($0) v. UCLA (60K) v. USC (100K) Forum

iluvboppers · Post by **iluvboppers** » Wed Apr 01, 2015 4:12 pm

Any input would be much appreciated! I am not wholly set on going into BigLaw, but I want to keep my options as open as possible.

Also, would love to ultimately live in California, but not totally set.

I'm really at a loss for which is the better choice.

commandercup · Post by **commandercup** » Wed Apr 01, 2015 4:20 pm

I've been waiting so long to do this!

In order to receive the best feedback in this forum, please provide as much of the following information in your original post as possible:

-The schools you are considering
-The total Cost of Attendance (COA) of each. COA = cost of tuition + fees + books + cost of living (COL) + accumulated interest - scholarships. Here is a helpful calculator.
-How you will be financing your COA, i.e. loans, family, or savings
-Where you are from and where you want to work, and other places where you have significant ties (if any)
-Your general career goals
-Your LSAT/GPA numbers
-How many times you have taken the LSAT

buckiguy_sucks · Post by **buckiguy_sucks** » Wed Apr 01, 2015 4:22 pm

Post removed.

OhBoyOhBortles · Post by **OhBoyOhBortles** » Wed Apr 01, 2015 4:24 pm

buckiguy_sucks wrote:How in the hell is UVA free and USC/UCLA not? Go to UVA. I'm sure it could get you to Cali if you try hard enough

timbs4339 · Post by **timbs4339** » Wed Apr 01, 2015 4:26 pm

I assume those are scholly amounts, not cost.

buckiguy_sucks · Post by **buckiguy_sucks** » Wed Apr 01, 2015 4:27 pm

Post removed.

rwe13 · Post by **rwe13** » Wed Apr 01, 2015 4:28 pm

Personally, I could not justify UVA at anywhere close to sticker-if you choose one of the LA schools, you're pretty limited to CA and Big Law chances aren't super good. Retake may be the best option if you want a bigger set of geographical options and better BL chances, but, if you're fine with CA and some debt, I'd negotiate with UCLA and then maybe try with USC. They're pretty similar, so $/personal preference would be my deciding factor.

edit-this is assuming those are scholarship offer amounts not COA

iluvboppers · Post by **iluvboppers** » Wed Apr 01, 2015 4:33 pm

Sorry first time posting this kind of thing!

The dollar amounts are scholarship offers (I haven't begun negotiating yet)

COA: UVA (285,415), UCLA (187,899), USC (198,462)
Financing COA through small savings (15K), plus loans.

I'm from AZ, definitely prefer the west coast, but with no experience outside AZ/CA it's hard for me to have a strong preference on where to live.

I think I would like to eventually be doing high-profile personal injury work, but am open to traditional BigLaw.

168/3.4

I've taken the LSAT once.

Thanks for the help!!

TheOnePercent · Post by **TheOnePercent** » Wed Apr 01, 2015 4:39 pm

iluvboppers wrote:COA: UVA (285,415)...Financing COA...loans.

!!!

Don't do this - for your sake.

adil91 · Post by **adil91** » Wed Apr 01, 2015 11:50 pm

Did you apply and get into Vanderbilt?

Rigo · Post by **Rigo** » Thu Apr 02, 2015 12:24 am

Definitely negotiate aggressively between UCLA and USC. UVA should definitely be crossed off the list though.

As it stands now, both UCLA and USC are both too expensive. I'm not sure how much negotitiating room you have with that GPA, but definitely be aggressive and take full advantage of this buyer's market.

hearsay77 · Post by **hearsay77** » Thu Apr 02, 2015 6:55 am

Send the USC/UCLA offers to UVA and ask for money.

iluvboppers · Post by **iluvboppers** » Thu Apr 02, 2015 3:57 pm

adil91 wrote:Did you apply and get into Vanderbilt?

Yes, I was accepted to Vanderbilt with a 60K scholarship.

MistakenGenius · Post by **MistakenGenius** » Thu Apr 02, 2015 4:07 pm

Post removed.

CanadianWolf · Post by **CanadianWolf** » Thu Apr 02, 2015 10:55 pm

If you want to do personal injury work, then Arizona or ASU with a full tuition scholarship is the best choice.

iluvboppers · Post by **iluvboppers** » Sat Apr 04, 2015 4:03 pm

CanadianWolf wrote:If you want to do personal injury work, then Arizona or ASU with a full tuition scholarship is the best choice.

I was accepted to ASU with a full tuition scholarship, but I'm worried about being stuck in AZ. Is it true that w/ regional schools you can only really hope to work in that area? Or is this only true a few years out of law school?

I want to have some mobility and I'm worried ASU will leave me trapped in a particular market.

Thank you for your help!

Rigo · Post by **Rigo** » Sat Apr 04, 2015 4:06 pm

iluvboppers wrote:
CanadianWolf wrote:If you want to do personal injury work, then Arizona or ASU with a full tuition scholarship is the best choice.
I was accepted to ASU with a full tuition scholarship, but I'm worried about being stuck in AZ. Is it true that w/ regional schools you can only really hope to work in that area? Or is this only true a few years out of law school?

I want to have some mobility and I'm worried ASU will leave me trapped in a particular market.

Take the fully at ASU. UCLA and USC are regional schools as well, and UVA (not a regional) is not worth that price for the type of work you want to do.

BigZuck · Post by **BigZuck** » Sat Apr 04, 2015 4:33 pm

iluvboppers wrote:
CanadianWolf wrote:If you want to do personal injury work, then Arizona or ASU with a full tuition scholarship is the best choice.
I was accepted to ASU with a full tuition scholarship, but I'm worried about being stuck in AZ. Is it true that w/ regional schools you can only really hope to work in that area? Or is this only true a few years out of law school?

I want to have some mobility and I'm worried ASU will leave me trapped in a particular market.

Thank you for your help!

You want to go into a field where you have to get licensed to work in a particular state. It's also a field where building up a book of business and developing connections is really important. Not sure it's the right field if you want geographic mobility.