Top Law Schools

I'm planning to go into public interest, and I know I want to practice in CA. UC Irvine is offering a full ride offer, and added perks (mentor, and additional research funding) while Columbia so far is offering very little money. My short term goal is to clerk, then to do litigation.

Unsure what to do. I visited both, and Columbia felt extra competitive and unsure how I feel about swimming upstream as a public interest person. Visited UC Irvine and it felt more collegial, and students were genuinely happy. Also, they have been doing really well in producing students who secure clerkships.

Advice?

How are these your only two options? What about Boalt, UCLA, USC?

Both options carry some risk: at UCI, you risk being unemployed or severely under-employed or fighting much harder to break into your field; at CLS you risk being drowned in debt and falling into biglaw. However, the risk at UCI is much greater, and the upside at CLS more certain. Columbia has one of the best LRAPs in the country, and an exponentially vaster network in government and high profile public interest positions, not to mention the private sector. UCI is a relatively untested school that has had declining numbers in both employment and student quality ever since it opened (don't think the Yale-status clerkship numbers from the first graduating class are reflective of UCI's placement power for the class of 2020). I can never encourage attending law school at this cost, but I still think Columbia is the better gamble here, and I'm tempted to ask what your numbers are and how your cycle only resulted in these two choices.

Also, what did you find competitive about Columbia? The student culture there has never struck me as particularly competitive, beyond the normal competitive nature of a top law program.