Berkeley v UCLA for PI Forum

[lawbug7]

Hi all,

Which school is best for public interest work and/or criminal law??

Would scholarships affect your vote?

[TheatreofDreams]

http://www.lstscorereports.com/national/

This is a no-brainer.

[GreenEggs]

Hi all,

Which school is best for public interest work and/or criminal law??

Would scholarships affect your vote?

All else being equal can't see why UCLA would be chosen over Berkeley unless you wanted to only ever live in LA.

[twenty]

This is absolutely not a no-brainer.

OP: If you want to work in a high-prestige PI gig (i.e, ACLU, DOJ) Berkeley is definitely the best choice. However, if you want to work in criminal law which would presumably be a DA's office or a PD's office, it is much more important to pick a school based on your financial situation and where you ultimately want to work. Pick Berkeley if you want to work in Northern California, and UCLA if you want to work in SoCal.

[lawbug7]

I got into Berkeley last year at sticker (I rejected all admissions because of an incident that ruined the timing). I haven't heard back from UCLA yet but I've been offered a large scholarship from USC - I'm hoping it'll be in a similar ballpark. My dream job is working in juvenile court at the PD's office and it's likely that I would move to back to LA on graduation. There's also a chance I might move abroad (my partners foreign) so I'm tempted to make the expenditure at Berkeley considering it's such a recognisable name...

But I feel like at this point I might be throwing away money for prestige. I really want to know which school is going to give me the best education at the end of the day, and whether the difference is really as big as people are making out between the two schools!

[twenty]

For all purposes, the education you receive at all three schools (Berkeley, UCLA, and USC) will be indistinguishable. Another thing to keep in mind is that if you'd be counting on LRAP/PSLF at Berkeley, almost all international public interest jobs will not qualify for federal PSLF, which could seriously screw up your repayment if you do decide to move abroad.

The big difference between UCLA/USC and Berkeley is in biglaw hiring, and for that there is a significant difference between the two schools. But even still, it would be hard to justify Berkeley at sticker even if you really wanted biglaw.

[lawbug7]

"hard to justify Berkeley at sticker even if you wanted biglaw"

So true! I've read posts saying that there isn't a single law school worth paying for at sticker, and you know what, that's probably completely right. The expense is unbelievable, especially for someone with small dreams of becoming an ill-paid public defender... I think I've just always struggled believing in myself and would love the personal validation of being able to say I went to Berkeley. Not sure that should be worth such expense.

[chooy]

Do you want to live in norcal or socal

[lawbug7]

I would prefer to live in LA since I've got some family and friends there.

[chooy]

Then it's a no brainer
-you want PI
-you want to work in LA
-your family's in LA
Berk<UCLA$

But if you are paying sticker either way.. Then i'm not sure

[lawbug7]

Yeah I think you're right, that's going to be the deciding factor.

$ at UCLA and I'm there... sticker either way and it'll probably be Berkeley.

Either way, thanks for your advice y'all! I really appreciate it, you've helped provide some perspective.