Top Law Schools

Hello, I was accepted at UCLA and Northwestern as a transfer; i.e., I will be paying sticker at both, but if I go to UCLA I will not have to take out any loans (savings). I will have to take out loans for the last year at Northwestern (80k).

If, ideally, I want to work in SoCal BigLaw, what would be the smarter course of action: attending UCLA or Northwestern?

After performing a basic cost-benefit analysis, I am leaning towards UCLA, on the theory that the benefit of attending Northwestern (ending up at median and still getting BigLaw) has largely disappeared, while the benefit of attending UCLA (attending school and networking in my target market) is still in play. Further, the cost of attending UCLA (the risk of ending up at median and doing poorly at OCI for that reason) has already dissipated, while the cost of attending Northwestern (taking out loans for the last year) is still in play.

Given my SoCal focus and above-median grades (top 25% at BC/BU), I don't see much of a benefit to attending Northwestern, other than the added prestige of being in the T14 as opposed to the T20. Are there factors I'm missing here?

Said another way, will I see any meaningful boost in SoCal employment prospects by going to Northwestern, or will my top 1/4 GPA at BC/BU be sufficient at UCLA for my OCI process to be similar as between both schools (if I am targeting SoCal biglaw). I am thinking that at this point my OCI process will be the same at both schools and that it will really come down to my interviewing skills. If so, I don't see a point to take out loans to attend Northwestern.

Thanks for your responses!

Will you be able to participate in 2L OCI at UCLA? If yes, then I'd be in favor of attending UCLA if you're locked in to SoCal BigLaw. NW is better for BigLaw overall, but I don't think it beats UCLA for SoCal BigLaw specifically. The vast majority of NW students who land BigLaw do so in Chicago and NYC.

But again, this assumes you will be eligible to fully participate in UCLA's 2L OCI. If not, and if you'd be eligible to participate in NW's 2L OCI, then you should attend NW.

Congrats on your 1L performance and your transfer offers!

If I were in your shoes, I would attend UCLA. Go, Bruins!

QContinuum wrote:

joojoobearmarket wrote:If I were in your shoes, I would attend UCLA. Go, Bruins!

OP, why did you create an alt to respond to your own post?

Potentially dissociative identity disorder.

Capstone wrote:

QContinuum wrote:

joojoobearmarket wrote:If I were in your shoes, I would attend UCLA. Go, Bruins!

OP, why did you create an alt to respond to your own post?

Potentially dissociative identity disorder.

I don't know what it is, but regardless, I've banned the joojoobearmarket alt and issued a warning to OP, as TLS does not generally permit sock puppet accounts.

Did UCLA interview you before acceptance?