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Hello,

for anyone who has gone to either of the two LA T20s (UCLA USC,) what is the culture like in terms of:

1. Grinders vs. Laid back students

2. Ethnic and Socioeconomic Diversity

3. Psychology of the Student Body

4. Career Interests

Thanks

1. Identical.
2. Identical. (I mean literally almost identical; the 509 breakdown of JD students by race shows roughly the same proportions of minority students.)
3. Identical.
4. Identical.

You will find a place to fit in and socialize at any law school (or not, if you're the type of person who struggles to do so). Any differences in the school "culture" between schools that are literally in the same city are going to be absolutely minute.

Yeah they’re peers in almost every sense. One thing to point out is USC usually fairs better during economic uncertainty (see USC 60% big law+Clerkship vs UCLA 56% for class of 2020) (see also class of 2012/2013). Even this is minuscule since class preferences change each year. I’d just go to whichever offers more money.

1. Grinders vs. Laid back students: it's law school, so there are lots of grinders. A minority of laid back students who probably don't do that well.
2. Ethnic and Socioeconomic Diversity: USC is not bad on this front... Yes, there are rich kids who get bottles of Goose at bar review, but there's a good amount of variation.
3. Psychology of the Student Body: USC is fairly cooperative... 1L in general is a terrible dynamic and it's obvious that everyone in your section is competing against one another for grades and jobs. There are certainly cringy gunners who have to answer all the profs questions and are annoyingly well prepared for everything and are laser-focused on biglaw. But often times it's the quieter students who actually get the best grades.
4. Career Interests: USC is very business law focused. I think UCLA might be marginally better for PI.

Know people at both and they don't seem all that different from what I've heard.

Also worth visiting the two campuses, because you may like one or the other better. A good friend took a job at USC because he loved the campus.

I think UCLA has a nicer campus/area... but go with more money.

Re: grinders vs. laid-back students...

People are going to try in law school, anywhere, especially outside the T14. Unlike undergrad, everyone's acutely aware that most law students are six figures in debt and the number of jobs that can pay that back efficiently are limited and available primarily to students with solid grades.

In undergrad, you could count on most people not grinding all that hard. It's different when your working future's more clearly on the line.