Top Law Schools

Posted: **Thu Apr 04, 2013 11:53 am**

UCs Davis, Hastings, Irvine

I have a scholarship that will pay for grad school tuition, so money is not really a factor here. Just wondering if I would be wasting my time considering what I hear about the legal market. I'd rather not have to apply again.

Posted: **Thu Apr 04, 2013 12:04 pm**

You're going to get a flurry of no's. But IMO, since you aren't paying tuition, definitely worth it.

Posted: **Thu Apr 04, 2013 12:12 pm**

If you have tuition paid for, why not retake the LSAT and get into a better UC school?

Posted: **Thu Apr 04, 2013 12:33 pm**

I'd retake and go to better schools.

But if you are set on not doing that, Davis for NorCal and Irvine for SoCal.

Posted: **Thu Apr 04, 2013 12:38 pm**

TripTrip wrote:If you have tuition paid for, why not retake the LSAT and get into a better UC school?

+1

What are the limits of your scholarship? If you can use it next year, assuming it's good for public schools and you are from Cali, you could go to Berkeley or UCLA for free. All you need are numbers good enough to get in--that's awesome. Take advantage.

Posted: **Thu Apr 04, 2013 2:04 pm**

unclepete wrote:You're going to get a flurry of no's. But IMO, since you aren't paying tuition, definitely worth it.

Especially this. You have to also realize that there's sort of a "YALE OR RETAKE" mentality on TLS.

Posted: **Thu Apr 04, 2013 3:19 pm**

b123 wrote:
unclepete wrote:You're going to get a flurry of no's. But IMO, since you aren't paying tuition, definitely worth it.
Especially this. You have to also realize that there's sort of a "YALE OR RETAKE" mentality on TLS.

I would make sure you actually want to go to law school/practice law. Don't just go because it's free law school.

Posted: **Thu Apr 04, 2013 3:28 pm**

ManoftheHour wrote:I'd retake and go to better schools.

But if you are set on not doing that, Davis for NorCal and Irvine for SoCal.

THIS

Posted: **Thu Apr 04, 2013 9:44 pm**

So by scholarship I mean a complicated family situation where an out of the picture dad has offered to pay for my tuition. But I think how likely this is to happen decreases significantly with time, which is why there's a downside to reapplying. I have a 3.2 GPA so I don't think I'm ever getting into HYS.

Basically my options would boil down to: should I take the current options with the full ride? Or would Berkeley/UCLA at sticker price be better?

(Also I thought you guys hated on Irvine?)

Posted: **Fri Apr 05, 2013 1:46 am**

carminka wrote:So by scholarship I mean a complicated family situation where an out of the picture dad has offered to pay for my tuition. But I think how likely this is to happen decreases significantly with time, which is why there's a downside to reapplying. I have a 3.2 GPA so I don't think I'm ever getting into HYS.

Basically my options would boil down to: should I take the current options with the full ride? Or would Berkeley/UCLA at sticker price be better?

(Also I thought you guys hated on Irvine?)

You won't be getting Berkeley with a 3.2 no matter how good your LSAT is. Irvine is too risky atm imo. I will admit it's off to a good start but still a risky bet. Davis and Hastings are okay, nothing special about them. If you have to go now and your dad is going to fork over the $50k, I'd opt for out of state. Maybe Arizona or ASU?

Also, where is Dre with the Irvine hate?

Posted: **Tue Apr 09, 2013 1:42 am**

what do you want to do, OP?

if biglaw, none of these options will be ideal, but hastings or irvine will probably be your best bets out of the bunch. davis is terrible for biglaw.

but yeah, these options are scary risky.

Posted: **Tue Apr 09, 2013 8:32 am**

b123 wrote:
unclepete wrote:You're going to get a flurry of no's. But IMO, since you aren't paying tuition, definitely worth it.
Especially this. You have to also realize that there's sort of a "YALE OR RETAKE" mentality on TLS.

Bullshit. There's a "do you want to have a good chance of being a lawyer and servicing your crushing six figure debt so why not spend $160 to give yourself a better shot of not being miserable for the rest of your life" mentality.

Posted: **Tue Apr 09, 2013 10:25 am**

NoodleyOne wrote:
b123 wrote:
unclepete wrote:You're going to get a flurry of no's. But IMO, since you aren't paying tuition, definitely worth it.
Especially this. You have to also realize that there's sort of a "YALE OR RETAKE" mentality on TLS.
Bullshit. There's a "do you want to have a good chance of being a lawyer and servicing your crushing six figure debt so why not spend $160 to give yourself a better shot of not being miserable for the rest of your life" mentality.

OP doesn't have an issue with debt, which drastically changes the outlook.

Posted: **Tue Apr 09, 2013 11:05 am**

nba101790 wrote:
NoodleyOne wrote:
b123 wrote:
unclepete wrote:You're going to get a flurry of no's. But IMO, since you aren't paying tuition, definitely worth it.
Especially this. You have to also realize that there's sort of a "YALE OR RETAKE" mentality on TLS.
Bullshit. There's a "do you want to have a good chance of being a lawyer and servicing your crushing six figure debt so why not spend $160 to give yourself a better shot of not being miserable for the rest of your life" mentality.
OP doesn't have an issue with debt, which drastically changes the outlook.

Not really. I'm of course assuming that the OP is going to law school with the goal of becoming a lawyer. There are less time consuming and better paying ways of getting letters at the end of your name.

Posted: **Tue Apr 09, 2013 11:56 am**

Also, what's your lsat? I have a 3.2 and got waitlisted at Irvine w/ a 167. Umph

Posted: **Wed May 01, 2013 12:59 am**

unclepete wrote:Also, what's your lsat? I have a 3.2 and got waitlisted at Irvine w/ a 167. Umph

You got waitlisted with a 167? Wow, that's tough. Could be trying to increase their medians, especially with their rankings placement coming up.

Posted: **Thu May 02, 2013 11:47 pm**

Micdiddy wrote:--ImageRemoved--

Posted: **Thu May 02, 2013 11:53 pm**

So what are the odds this out of the picture dad leaves you high and dry with $250,000 in debt and no job? Because that would scare me. I would want the money in an account in your name before going to these places.

And if I had that money I would probably just buy a duplex and rent it out.

Posted: **Thu May 02, 2013 11:56 pm**

Dr. Dre wrote:
Micdiddy wrote:--ImageRemoved--

lolz... i was waiting, and thankfully I was rewarded.

OP - if you think that one year drastically reduces your chances, then go for UCD/(maybe even hastings, as some older lawyers went there when it was still a good law school)/then UCI. If you think a one year break won't ruin things, then I would shoot for USC/UCLA if you think you can get that 167 to a 172 or so...

Posted: **Fri May 03, 2013 12:09 am**

Take a look at this thread OP
http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 2&t=208084

Also, don't let your GPA be the deciding factor in choosing not to reapply.

The tuition payment from your father is a good reason for your haste. However, if the decision is being made because you don't believe you can get more scholarship money or don't believe you can get into other schools, reconsider. Yes you're right that HYS is reasonably out of the picture. But CCN and down with money is not.

With fewer and fewer people taking the LSAT there are simply fewer people walking around with high scores. The bell curve forces the same distribution of scores relatively, but the absolute number of people with scores 170-180 is just smaller. So schools have to treat LSAT scores more preciously to keep their medians high unless they reduce their class size, which most have not been doing. High GPAs are a dime a dozen. High LSAT scores are becoming rarer by systematic consequence.

You can land t-14 with cash if you study HAM and do a quality retake, if you so desire. If you're more concerned with the window of free tuition from your father closing, I think you need to ask yourself what it is you're going to law school for. Is it desire to be a lawyer or just not wanting to miss out on vested money.

Posted: **Fri May 03, 2013 12:26 pm**

I've heard good things about Irvine in terms of scholarships for the first few classes and what they've done in the first few years.... definitely risky though.

Posted: **Fri May 03, 2013 1:44 pm**

Out of those I'd do Irvine

Posted: **Fri May 03, 2013 1:46 pm**

Tom Joad wrote:So what are the odds this out of the picture dad leaves you high and dry with $250,000 in debt and no job? Because that would scare me. I would want the money in an account in your name before going to these places.

This.

Posted: **Fri May 03, 2013 5:38 pm**

ChampagnePapi wrote:Out of those I'd do ~~Irvine~~ retake

Posted: **Fri May 03, 2013 6:29 pm**

Davis undergrad alum here. UC Davis Law is a great school, especially with respect to job placement. You can land a job in the Capitol easily and the Silicon Valley is right next door (if public interest/policy isn't an attractive option for you)

As for Irvine, Dean Chemerinsky is a legal beast who's really helping Irvine rapidly climb in prestige.

I'd say Davis and Irvine are worth it, but not Hastings (although it's in beautiful SF).

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