Columbia ($) vs. UCLA ($$$) Forum

[Ray_Alto]

The subject pretty much explains it. Went to school in LA. Part of me wants to try a new city, though that probably shouldn't be the sole reason for choosing a school.

Columbia - 40k scholarship - COA ~$215k
UCLA - 120k scholarship - COA ~$100k

Will be paying with loans.

My ultimate goal would be to work in public interest or government. Probably back in CA as I have strong ties there, though I wouldn't rule out NY or DC. Not terribly interested in big law, though I understand that many choose that route from Columbia for long-term career reasons + paying off that tremendous debt.

LSAT: 173 (taken twice)
GPA: 3.6

[Winston1984]

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

[Hand]

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

I must say I like how you have made it your job to post this every time

[Clyde Frog]

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

I must say I like how you have made it your job to post this every time

[BigZuck]

UCLA

One thing to keep in mind is that you probably won't do PI unless you have a true THIRST for JUSTICE. Tons of people say they want PI, tons of those people don't do PI. If you end up trying to do big law there might be better options.

Also, not sure you're calculating cost of attendance correctly, Columbia with 40K should put you at least 250K in debt if the rest is debt financed.

[Winston1984]

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

I must say I like how you have made it your job to post this every time

Just my calling.

[jbagelboy]

Columbia is well worth the added $80-100k over UCLA, even for CA. I had a little more money a few years ago from schools like this but a similar spread, and I'm pretty confident in the CLS-type choice.

That being said, another T14 with $90k+ would be optimal, since that's still a lot of debt for cls.

[BiglawAssociate]

UCLA, although best option is:

Just do trust fund kid/fully scholly somewhere --> work for free for a year at PI --> full time offer at PI. And yes to land a PI job you will often have to work for free after graduation before landing a full time offer