Deleted. Forum

[zarzamora]

Deleted.

[SemiReverseSplinter]

With your numbers, you can get more from USC. 50k/year was good several years ago, but now tuition is nearly 60k. With your numbers, you should be getting a full ride, or at least 55k/year. And DAs are very competitive in Los Angeles area. But there are a lot of counties in CA (think Central Valley) that people don't want to go to, and those counties are far less competitive for gov't positions. That's not to say it will be easy though.

Your numbers make you a coveted applicant for UCLA and USC. You should go to the one that will give you a full ride.

[rwe13]

Just weighing in on the money; 3.97/169 at USC- got $55,000/yr (applied last year); I would anticipate that you'll get offered at least that, if not a full ride, at some point

[AZ123]

Did you apply to any T14 schools? 4.0/170 should get you a decent scholarship from some of the lower T14. Even if you don't want biglaw, a degree from a top school opens more doors. At a school like USC/BYU you would need to graduate towards the top of your class (10-20%) to even have a shot at some of the best jobs. At USC you will likely be limited to working in CA, and at BYU you will mostly be limited to working in Utah. Going to a top school would open doors to additional markets. If you haven't already, I'd recommend looking into UVA, which has a significant number of LDS students. (With your numbers, you may be close to a full ride from UVA, but I'm not sure, I haven't been following admissions this year).

[fliptrip]

I agree that you should be able to get USC up and then hopefully you can use that to get UCLA to match. Frankly, with your goals, I'd lean heavily towards UCLA. Their LRAP looks a ton better than USC's (UCLA lets you make up to $80k, USC's limit is $50k and UCLA will pay your whole payment (on IBR) if you make $60k or less. By all indications, UCLA Is a great school that you will enjoy and will train you to be a fine, fine attorney. Sounds like a win to me.

I'd go ahead and pass on BYU. I know 18% of their grads end up in CA, but honestly, going to BYU sounds like a great pathway to living and working in Utah.

With your goals and what you already have on the table, I really don't think you need to scrap everything and try to go to a T-14. I also definitely don't think UVA makes sense for you. Yes, you have Dillard numbers, but I think you're going to have a hard slog trying to get an ADA position in southern California from UVA--for those kinds of jobs I would imagine that boots on the ground in your face kind of effort is paramount. Honestly, even if your goals were biglaw I wouldn't bet on UVA to get me back to California.

Yes, if you want to, you can retake your LSAT, get to 172 and you'd have a great shot at H and an outside shot at S, but for your goals, those schools seem like real overkill.

[zarzamora]

Thanks so much for y'all's replies! I did apply to some t14s and got quite a bit of scholarship money from Michigan and Duke so far. However at this point I've pretty much eliminated those schools because of my goals and my desire to be on the West coast. That's a good point about the LRAP programs though, I'm definitely going to look into UCLA and USC's specific requirements for that.

[cron1834]

Have you asked USC for a scholarship bump? They should offer you full tuition if you suggest that you'd deposit when they offer.

[lymenheimer]

Thanks so much for y'all's replies! I did apply to some t14s and got quite a bit of scholarship money from Michigan and Duke so far. However at this point I've pretty much eliminated those schools because of my goals and my desire to be on the West coast. That's a good point about the LRAP programs though, I'm definitely going to look into UCLA and USC's specific requirements for that.

Have you looked at Duke's 509 and employment stats? If not you should. They place a decent percentage of their class in California. If you wanna be on the west coast during school, then disregard. But east coast schools can place you back in CA if you want both options.

[cron1834]

Michigan also places a number of people in CA. It has a diverse geographic base for placement. If Mich or Duke gave you enough money, it wouldn't be crazy.

But, man, with that said - full scholarship at a top regional school IN THE REGION where you want to be is pretty hard to turn down if you're definitely not going biglaw. See if USC will play ball - I had slightly worse stats than you two years ago, and they offered me a fully after I negotiated. That would really be the ideal outcome, imo.

[zarzamora]

Thanks so much for y'all's replies! I did apply to some t14s and got quite a bit of scholarship money from Michigan and Duke so far. However at this point I've pretty much eliminated those schools because of my goals and my desire to be on the West coast. That's a good point about the LRAP programs though, I'm definitely going to look into UCLA and USC's specific requirements for that.

Have you looked at Duke's 509 and employment stats? If not you should. They place a decent percentage of their class in California. If you wanna be on the west coast during school, then disregard. But east coast schools can place you back in CA if you want both options.

I have, and I get that it's definitely possible to get to California from those schools, but I still feel like the benefit of actually being able to network while in law school would be more beneficial. Plus the t14s I mentioned would still cost me so much more $$ than USC.

[fliptrip]

Thanks so much for y'all's replies! I did apply to some t14s and got quite a bit of scholarship money from Michigan and Duke so far. However at this point I've pretty much eliminated those schools because of my goals and my desire to be on the West coast. That's a good point about the LRAP programs though, I'm definitely going to look into UCLA and USC's specific requirements for that.

Have you looked at Duke's 509 and employment stats? If not you should. They place a decent percentage of their class in California. If you wanna be on the west coast during school, then disregard. But east coast schools can place you back in CA if you want both options.

I have, and I get that it's definitely possible to get to California from those schools, but I still feel like the benefit of actually being able to network while in law school would be more beneficial. Plus the t14s I mentioned would still cost me so much more $$ than USC.

Thank goodness you have your head on straight. As cron said, if you get USC or UCLA to full scholarship, with your goals, you will have won the game and need to take your prize and get off the stage. Going to some t-14 just because of rankings or employment stats that are not relevant to you would be insane. Prestige is a local thing too, and USC/UCLA are deeply respected in their regions.