USD $$ v Cal Western Full Ride Forum

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anonymous37289

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USD $$ v Cal Western Full Ride

Post by anonymous37289 » Wed Apr 05, 2017 10:25 pm

I know this has been discussed but is there any changes within the last few years? USD is my first choice but they've only offered 16k renewable and tuition is 52k alone.. On the other hand, Cal Western is paying full tuition.

I visited Cal Western and thought it was okay, but I'm worried about my employment prospects from a 4th tier LS. I don't know what I want to practice yet (possibly tax/bankruptcy/maybe public interest). I've been extremely debt averse which I was originally leaning towards Cal Western. I plan to stay within SD/LA/OC area, and hopefully make a move to SF if that opportunity arises. Thoughts?

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UVA2B

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Re: USD $$ v Cal Western Full Ride

Post by UVA2B » Wed Apr 05, 2017 10:27 pm

At these prices, neither. USD for free is borderline acceptable if you just want small law firm work in SD, but currently they're both bad, bad options.

ambrajdurbra131313

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Re: USD $$ v Cal Western Full Ride

Post by ambrajdurbra131313 » Wed Apr 05, 2017 11:08 pm

Retake is the right call- I like USD but not for anywhere near that cost. I would be very concerned about Cal Western's employment numbers if I was absolutely forced to choose between those schools at those costs, I would do that to be debt free/much lower debt.

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luckyirish13

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Re: USD $$ v Cal Western Full Ride

Post by luckyirish13 » Wed Apr 05, 2017 11:10 pm

anonymous37289 wrote:I know this has been discussed but is there any changes within the last few years? USD is my first choice but they've only offered 16k renewable and tuition is 52k alone.. On the other hand, Cal Western is paying full tuition.

I visited Cal Western and thought it was okay, but I'm worried about my employment prospects from a 4th tier LS. I don't know what I want to practice yet (possibly tax/bankruptcy/maybe public interest). I've been extremely debt averse which I was originally leaning towards Cal Western. I plan to stay within SD/LA/OC area, and hopefully make a move to SF if that opportunity arises. Thoughts?
Cal Western is offering a full ride because they're terrible. Don't fall for that. https://www.lstreports.com/schools/calwestern/ only 60% of their graduates pass the bar, and only 37% even get a job in law. It is a waste of your time and study.

USD is a decent school with a beautiful campus, (I used to work right across the street from there) but it only works if you want to work in San Diego afterwards. A USD degree won't get you a job in San Francisco, but it does often work in and around San Diego.

If you have a full ride or near full ride to USD, it is worth the time as long as you intend to work in San Diego afterwards. But it is not worth it to spend a significant amount to go to a tier 2 school. Ideally, you should hold out on this years cycle, work really hard on LSAT study, retake the LSAT, and then reapply next year and get to USD on scholarship, or even aim higher and get into a top 25 school.

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