Advice: UC Berkeley vs. Full Ride at lower ranked school Forum

[clairebear24]

Hi All,

I am looking for some advice, any insight is appreciated! I am wondering if accepting an offer at UC Berkeley (my dream school) with little to no scholarship is worth taking over a full ride scholarship at University of Arizona Law (ranked 47). I plan to go into public interest and the thought of less debt is appealing, not to mention to cost of living in Tucson is significantly lower than Berkeley. I am from Arizona but I am not sure if that is where I ultimately want to live/practice. I feel like Berkeley will open more doors, however UA will provide the freedom of graduating with little to no debt.

Also, I currently live in Minneapolis and have a substantial scholarship (50%) to the University of Minnesota which I am also considering.

What should I do? Thanks in advance!

[cavalier1138]

Where do you want to work? If the answer is "not Arizona," then ASU is off the table. And what are your numbers?

Also, do you have a specific idea of what kind of public interest law you're interested in?

[The Lsat Airbender]

Cav is right (except his heinous conflation of U of A with ASU). These are all decent choices, although Minnesota is a bit weaker at that price, and the decision mainly depends on what you want to do after law school.

[Bigdawg98981]

If you are truly committed to public interest, check out Berkeley's LRAP: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/admissions ... e-program/

[cavalier1138]

(except his heinous conflation of U of A with ASU)

I didn't mean to confused the Sunbacks with the Razor Devils... the Jazz? Sports.

[Fireworks2016]

I went to Minnesota on a 1/3 scholarship and got a great outcome. So obviously that going to color my perception.

That said, if you want to remain in Minneapolis long-term, then I really believe Minnesota at 50% is much more palatable then Berkeley at sticker price. I'm less than five years out, and my loans are paid in full -- and I've been in government the whole time, no BigLaw salary to make crazy huge payments. I couldn't imagine having 200k hanging over my head.

[crazywafflez]

Truthfully, I'd go to Cal. I'm also originally from AZ before heading to the South, and have a couple of friends who went to U of A law and ASU law. If you want to do public interest Cal is better; it'll get you into more prestigious programs with the govt or just open a lot of doors. It also doesn't close the door on big law. U of A places like 15% in biglaw and ASU 20% (i'm not exactly sure so check LST). Neither place really outside of AZ and if they do they go into the Southwest- but really only like west TX or NM- Cali is too competitive unless you're going to riverside or something or have an in cause you are from there/with family there. Idk of any AZ grads from either school that went to east texas off the top of my head either.
I usually am a run for the cheapest option kind of guy. But with U of A (where grads are facing steeper competition from ASU grads and the growing PHX market), you'll for sure be in AZ and most likely Tucson. Cal just opens so many more doors and has great public interest/LRAP programs.
Idk enough about Minnesota but truthfully can't imagine it being substantially better than U of A and is a similar school but in MN- it may have slightly more pull in the Midwest and maybe on an outside chance can place into Chicago at the top of the class? I doubt public interest will change much between AZ and MN. I'd for sure go Cal.

[trebekismyhero]

I'd go with Cal as well. If you want to stay in MN long-term then UMN makes sense, but go back with the Cal offer and AZ full ride and try and get at least 75% scholarship from them if not more

[clairebear24]

Where do you want to work? If the answer is "not Arizona," then ASU is off the table. And what are your numbers?

Also, do you have a specific idea of what kind of public interest law you're interested in?

I am not sure where I want to live and work long term. If I thought that I would definitely end up in AZ, I would take the full ride at UA. However, I am open to living in anywhere, even internationally (I worked abroad for several years). This makes me think Cal is the better option since it has more name recognition nationwide where as UA has more pull in Arizona.

As far as public interest law, I've been working for an immigration non-profit for the past two years doing deportation defense for detained migrants. Although I very much enjoy immigration law, I would like to explore other areas of public interest law, perhaps civil rights or women's rights.

I have a 4.0 gpa (undergrad), 4.0 gpa (master's) and a 162 LSAT. Retaking the LSAT and applying next cycle is not an option for me. I am also in at Georgetown and UCLA but Berkeley is my top choice out of those three. I guess it boils down to whether taking on the debt will be worth it.

It might also be worth mentioning that I attended UA for undergrad and have worked in the legal field for several years in Tucson so I already have some established legal connections there. I also have no student debt from undergrad or my masters.

[The Lsat Airbender]

If you're truly open, I don't see why you shouldn't stay in Arizona and leverage the connections you already have. Going to Cal would just push the "where do I live" decision three years into the future.

If you really want Berkeley, then retake the LSAT and go for cheap. It's comically wasteful to spend a penny on law school with a 4.0 UGPA.

[QContinuum]

If you're truly open, I don't see why you shouldn't stay in Arizona and leverage the connections you already have.

I disagree. A UA J.D. will effectively limit OP to practicing in Arizona, even for public interest. In contrast, a T13 - Berkeley - J.D. would give OP flexibility. She'd be able to pursue the (much more plentiful) public interest opportunities in major markets like CA, NY and DC; at the same time, she'd still be able to pursue public interest opportunities back home in AZ, given her ties to the state. AZ PI orgs won't turn their nose up at OP because she has a Berkeley J.D. instead of an AU J.D. - if anything, the Berkeley J.D. should give OP an extra 'boost' around the margins.

I would only advise attending UA if OP was 200% committed to staying in AZ for public interest. In that case, the finances would point to UA. But OP isn't sure she wants to stay, and so I don't think it makes sense to prematurely foreclose the option of leaving AZ, especially since AZ isn't especially known for having a plethora of PI opportunities.