Top Law Schools

Hey all, I wanted to possibly hear some thoughts on rather or not HYS is always the best option, especially when these schools don't offer merit based aid.

Im especially interested in LA. If I know I want to work in LA would it be wise to turn down near full to full-rides from USC or UCLA? I think the free money and the networking say enough but are HYS that big of a deal? Im not into prestige but I like success a great deal lol. Thanks

Unless you have a ton of money to burn, then I would imagine full rides to Chicago/Columbia/NYU would be a far superior option (most of the T14 for free is probably a better deal). HYS gives need aid fairly generously from what I understand, but I don't think it is to the point of being able to graduate with very little debt if you don't already have money to spend.

Do you already have ties to CA? If no, then I can see why Stanford would be advantageous. If yes, then go to an elite school for as cheap as possible. The Hamilton/Ruby (comes with a living stipend)/Vanderbilt at CCN seem like the best outcome imo, on the exception of maybe Yale.

UCLA and USC are a pretty big step down from HYS, though.

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We'll I'm pretty broke lol. I have SoCal ties and I agree that SC and UCLA are a big step down. Yet I've been told by many including an SC economist that UCLA and SC will get you further IN LA than HYS. Im skeptical about such claims yet as troll through LA firms and their, I do see a many UCLA and SC grads.

Max need based awards at HYS are around 35k right? Even at Berkeley you can get a full-ride plus a living stipend. I didn't know that the Hamilton and Ruby came with attached stipends, cool beans to consider. Thanks

muggman2015 wrote:We'll I'm pretty broke lol. I have SoCal ties and I agree that SC and UCLA are a big step down. Yet I've been told by many including an SC economist that UCLA and SC will get you further IN LA than HYS. Im skeptical about such claims yet as troll through LA firms and their, I do see a many UCLA and SC grads.

Max need based awards at HYS are around 35k right? Even at Berkeley you can get a full-ride plus a living stipend. I didn't know that the Hamilton and Ruby came with attached stipends, cool beans to consider. Thanks

Honestly, I feel like HYS to UCLA/USC is just too big of a drop in potential career prospects to make it a wise choice. Hopefully, you get max aid at your dream school and if that is one of HYS I believe your estimate of about 35k is correct.

If Berkeley gives you a ton of money, then it seems like a great option for you. I can tell you from personal experience Berkeley giving you money isn't guaranteed though. I got a pretty dang good scholarship from one of CCN and full rides from elsewhere in the T14 and Berkeley gave me absolutely nothing.

Also, only Chicago's full ride (Ruby) comes with a stipend I believe. Perhaps other people have more info about other T14 schools, but I don't believe the Hamilton (Columbia), Vandy (NYU also has other full ride scholarships), the Dillard at UVA etc. have living stipends though.

If you want more info, feel free to PM me. I also made my decision based on getting back to the west coast and limiting cost. Good luck!

Don't compare the best case scenarios at these schools. Compare worst case scenario. There is a 33% chance that you might be bottom third at any of these schools. If that was to materialize, which schools give you the best bed at obtaining your goal(s)?

That may sound pessimistic but better to be pessimistic now than sorry later.

I'd say go for the full ride/big money at CCN/Berk before UCLA.

IF you are broke, you'll probably get aid from HYS. I'm in the minority here, but even for LA I'd take a small amount of aid at HYS in a heartbeat before UCLA/USC.

bottom 33% with no debt from UCLA>bottom 33% with 300k from Harvard if you want to work in LA alone.

I'm not from LA, but in Texas if someone faced this choice with UT (free) v. HYS (at cost), I'd advise them to do UT in a heartbeat if they are content with working in Texas immediately after law school.

You can pay debt. You can't rebuy a chance for HYS on your resume.

OP here, Thanks Everybody, all of you offer great points. the full ride at berk would probably be ideal and yes I've heard that can be a crapshoot. flawschoolkid, thats real. The most common advice I get is to shun anything outside of t-14, wanted to test the TLS waters to see if the trend persists.

flawschoolkid wrote:You can pay debt. You can't rebuy a chance for HYS on your resume.

dat PRESTIGFE

Transcends all

Even crippling debt

flawschoolkid wrote:You can pay debt. You can't rebuy a chance for HYS on your resume.

Indeed. No price is too high to follow your dreams.

flawschoolkid wrote:You can pay debt. You can't rebuy a chance for HYS on your resume.

I would assume this was a joke, but it seems a majority feels this way. I'll say that personally, having HYS on my resume would be worth exactly $0 more to me than the name that will be on my resume. HYS would not translate into higher pay or better work/life balance. Prestige is only matters to the extent that it will make a tangible difference in your life. And the HYS prestige will do just that for some, but having less debt matters a lot.