UT vs UCLA Forum

[imisscollege]

in an almost but not quite t14 "which one has a better national reputation" battle

lets use something like placement in dc or boston or something of the sort to keep it neutral

[hayman]

ut

[ViP]

I think UT.

But honestly, neither.

If DC: choose GW or obviously Georgetown, if possible
If Boston: choose BU or BC
If NYC: choose Fordham

I think all of the above would be wiser choices for the given regions than UT or UCLA.

[imisscollege]

well that's a given but this is working under the assumption that you have no idea where you want to live/work

[ViP]

well that's a given but this is working under the assumption that you have no idea where you want to live/work

Hahaha, really? Not even a preference?

Unless you can really break into the T14, you should take a minute to think about where you'd like to live and, more importantly, work.

[imisscollege]

well i've narrowed it down to southern cal, northern cal, boston, or dc. i don't know i've lived in boston my whole life i really just can't decide it's been tearing me apart to be honest. I'm really hoping I can get into gtown and for this reason I might even take part time but I'm not sure I'll get in at all. And then I guess the other option would be my decent shot at cornell but I know I don't want to live there for 3 years even if job prospects afterward are really good and portable.

[ViP]

well i've narrowed it down to southern cal, northern cal, boston, or dc. i don't know i've lived in boston my whole life i really just can't decide it's been tearing me apart to be honest. I'm really hoping I can get into gtown and for this reason I might even take part time but I'm not sure I'll get in at all. And then I guess the other option would be my decent shot at cornell but I know I don't want to live there for 3 years even if job prospects afterward are really good and portable.

I see.

Well, unfortunately all I can suggest is that you send applications everywhere and in the meantime try to decide where you'd prefer to live and work.

Georgetown would probably be best, because it dominates DC and it's a powerhouse throughout the Northeast.

In terms of west-coast vs. east-coast: does weather have any influence on you? Perhaps the field of law you're interested in? Public transportation (so-cal's is a disaster)?

[imisscollege]

I love warm weather and coasts and waves and surfing and being outside all year

I think I want to do something in government. Maybe DA's office? Maybe federal govt? Don't really know yet.

[j2d3]

then UCLA. UCLA dominates LA / SoCal, and once you come here you won't want to go back to Boston except to see relatives on holidays.

[ViP]

I love warm weather and coasts and waves and surfing and being outside all year

I think I want to do something in government. Maybe DA's office? Maybe federal govt? Don't really know yet.

If you're interested in the fed, obviously DC would be ideal. But aside from that, you should probably head out west if you love the warm weather and the ocean.

Just take a full-ride to Pepperdine and call it a day

...not really... Unless you really want to surf between classes...

[imisscollege]

thanks for all the advice. i really hope i get in and if i do, i will probably spend like 6 days there and really make a serious decision. getting into gtown, though, will make it quite a tough call.

[GeePee]

Yeah.. If you're strongly considering CA, and not even considering Texas a little bit, then UCLA is the much better call of the 2.

[kurama20]

Yeah.. If you're strongly considering CA, and not even considering Texas a little bit, then UCLA is the much better call of the 2.

It's somewhat mind boggling how regional schools become after you drop off from GULC.......

[jawsthegreat]

Yeah.. If you're strongly considering CA, and not even considering Texas a little bit, then UCLA is the much better call of the 2.

It's somewhat mind boggling how regional schools become after you drop off from GULC.......

Vandy

[johnstuartmill]

Public transportation (so-cal's is a disaster)?

It's not as bad as people say. I've been living in L.A. for the past three years without a car, and it's never been a problem for me. It's especially easy to get around in the part of town where UCLA is located.

[showNprove]

I think UT.

But honestly, neither.

If DC: choose GW or obviously Georgetown, if possible
If Boston: choose BU or BC
If NYC: choose Fordham

I think all of the above would be wiser choices for the given regions than UT or UCLA.

This is so wrong on so many levels. Many NYC and DC firms go out of their way to hire Texas grads. Many will interview at UT and not some T14 schools that are closer.

I think UT definitely has the best national reputation of the Texas/UCLA/Vandy crowd. It's on par with NCG. Look up the reputation scores.

[Jacques]

I love warm weather and coasts and waves and surfing and being outside all year

I think I want to do something in government. Maybe DA's office? Maybe federal govt? Don't really know yet.

Why are you going to law school? Ask yourself that question first. If you take the time to figure out where you want to go and what you want to do first, then you can apply with a more targeted approach in next year's cycle.

Also, don't pick a school just because of the climate -- going to SoCal for the surfing and "being outside all year" won't do you any good when you need to be pulling six to eight hour nights in the law library. If anything, it might make things worse.

I'd focus my attention on GULC's part-time program -- it will put you in D.C., it's well respected, and you can get an internship on the Hill while you start to specifically define what you want to do with your degree after graduation. Best of all, if you want to go full-time, you can switch after your first year.

[Cupidity]

Lets face it, they are both Super-Regionals.

[riburn3]

Yeah.. If you're strongly considering CA, and not even considering Texas a little bit, then UCLA is the much better call of the 2.

It's somewhat mind boggling how regional schools become after you drop off from GULC.......

UT has an incredible reputation across the country, especially compared to UCLA and Vandy. Like ShowNProve said, check the reputation scores.

And even if it were "regional", its region is the largest in the continental United States, with one of the biggest population centers in the world. Within just two hours of UT you have 3 of the top 10 largest cities in the U.S. and 6 cities within the top twenty call Texas home. It's a huge region, even comparing it to the reach of several schools in the T14.

And looking at the T14, outside HYS, lots of the schools are fairly regional. GULC is very D.C. oriented. NYU and Columbia grads tend to stick around in NY for obvious reason. Cornell grads also tend to stay in NY. Chicago and NW grads tend to stick around in Chicago. Boalt grads tend to stay in California, and even tend to stay in NorCal. If you wanted to work in Chicago and had to choose between Boalt or Northwestern, it would be a lot smarter to go to the school located in the region despite Boalts higher rank. Every school is regional to an extent, the big advantage of the T14 is they allow you to get good jobs in the countries biggest markets.

[Bronte]

Yeah.. If you're strongly considering CA, and not even considering Texas a little bit, then UCLA is the much better call of the 2.

It's somewhat mind boggling how regional schools become after you drop off from GULC.......

UT has an incredible reputation across the country, especially compared to UCLA and Vandy. Like ShowNProve said, check the reputation scores.

I've always thought of Vandy as the powerhouse out of the three, mainly because of its superior NLJ 250 placement on the old 2005 chart and also on the 2008 chart (although UCLA is much closer on the latter).

[imisscollege]

so to clarify the jump between a UT/UCLA and a Gtown/cornell is huge...in terms of national rep and stuff, right?

[Kretzy]

I'm currently trying to settle this in my own mind, because I really like both schools. I think, COL being the same, I'd go for UT-Austin by a smidge. They're focus on clerkships is impressive, they have a much better reputation in academia (for teaching at non-T20s especially) and for working in the Mountain West (my final desired location) they are well-respected. It also seems that a number of big-market firms will always try and hire a Texas grad or two, from looking at placement data.

I'd pick either over Vandy. UCLA lost a little luster in my eyes with Dean Schill leaving, but the Williams Institute and other interdisciplinary programs are very solid.

Just my .02. I will say, and this is a minority opinion on the boards, that I would pick either Texas or UCLA over a number of T14s.

[Bronte]

so to clarify the jump between a UT/UCLA and a Gtown/cornell is huge...in terms of national rep and stuff, right?

On this website, the belief is:

National: T14 >>>> Super-regional: UT/UCLA/Vandy/(some debatable additions) >>>> Regional: Others

[Applicant2010]

.

[imisscollege]

so to clarify the jump between a UT/UCLA and a Gtown/cornell is huge...in terms of national rep and stuff, right?

On this website, the belief is:

National: T14 >>>> Super-regional: UT/UCLA/Vandy/(some debatable additions) >>>> Regional: Others

what's your opinion on the accuracy of this?