Top Law Schools

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I think it really depends upon your goals, but Cal will open a lot of doors for you..

Do you have a burning desire to work outside of AZ?

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b1ue wrote:^^I would stay in Phx forever, if I could. .

If that is actually true, then I change my vote to ASU, LR, and big scholly.

if you love phoenix, staying put makes a lot of sense

Stay at ASU. I don't think that leaving is warranted when you like Phoenix so much even in spite of the economy.

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you know we are all crazy right? You have friends or contacts in the law field you can talk to? Just take everything said here with a grain salt, an input point, but nothing more

b1ue wrote:

pocket herc wrote:if you love phoenix, staying put makes a lot of sense

yeah. however, i feel like i can come back to phx with a Cal degree much more easily than i can leave phx with an ASU degree. and i'd like to have the option to work nationally.

maybe this is something i caught from TLS in the past few weeks, but i really can't shake the feeling that having a degree like Berkeley on my resume for the next 30 years will pay benefits that shouldn't be disregarded.

Obviously. But you were talking about staying in Pheonix and top 5 student w/ law review will not be at a disadvantage compared to transfer Berkeley grad in PHEONIX. Sure, anywhere else, Berkeley.

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Assuming that you have been admitted as a transfer student to UCal-Berkeley, then this is a tough choice. UC-Berkeley has about 290 first year law students while ASU has approximately 187. Currently you are in the top 3% at a well respected law school located in the city where you want to practice &. you also have a realistic shot at finishing as the top law student in your class. (As well as a great possibility of obtaining a federal judicial clerkship in Arizona.) Berkeley has a much larger class of significantly brighter students which suggests that your chances of graduating in the top 10% to top 15% at Berkeley are uncertain.
Are you willing to share your LSAT & undergraduate GPA stats? Although the LSAT & GPA scores greatly diminish in importance after the first year of law school, your numbers (3.85 & 175 LSAT) suggest that you might enjoy the increased intellectual challenges offered at Berkeley.
I am a bit surprised that you are not receiving a full tuition scholarship at ASU based on your LSAT & GPA stats combined with your stellar first year performance. Are any of the other top 5 students in your class thinking about transferring to another law school? If so, then there should be an opportunity to negotiate a more generous scholarship from ASU.