WUSTL c/o 2016 Applicants (2012-2013) Forum

[dietcoke0]

And LA >>>>> Stl. I'm not a big fan of LA, out of the biggest 10 cities it's easily the lowest on my list. However, it beats the hell out of St Louis. This town gets straight boring.

*edit* forgot about Detroit. 9. LA, 10. Detroit

[goldeneye]

Dude, USC is located in Watts, one of the most dangerous parts of LA.

[DoveBodyWash]

Dude, USC is located in Watts, one of the most dangerous parts of LA.

[FKASunny]

All of this is stupid and irrelevant without more information.

[dietcoke0]

Dude, USC is located in Watts, one of the most dangerous parts of LA.

Like I said, I know nothing about the school or the area, but I'm not hearing a lot of reports about another person shot at USC. Therefore it leads me to believe it's a know your surroundings type area (and I've wandered around walking 2-3 blocks north of Delmar on foot with the sun setting, and it's not pretty. Had I known about that area at the time, I would've steered clear of it)

I figured out quickly the neighborhoods to stay away from in St. Louis. Guessing LA would be the same way.

[dietcoke0]

Dude, USC is located in Watts, one of the most dangerous parts of LA.

And you should be working on your Case Comment anyway, not arguing with me.

[goldeneye]

Finished with it. And also, google "usc students shot" and there are more stories than there should be

[Randomnumbers]

Unless the school is located in one of the worst sections of Medellin or in Somalia, the safety of the surrounding neighborhood (hint: it's a major US University, the neighborhood is fine) shouldn't be a factor in any way. Location, where you want to work, cost, employment prospects, the type of work you want to do, etc - those are what matters. (And this fucking case comment looks like it's gonna be an all-nighter for me - g0g0 procrastination. Somebody get the Dean on the line for me.)

[FKASunny]

Unless the school is located in one of the worst sections of Medellin or in Somalia, the safety of the surrounding neighborhood (hint: it's a major US University, the neighborhood is fine) shouldn't be a factor in any way. Location, where you want to work, cost, employment prospects, the type of work you want to do, etc - those are what matters. (And this fucking case comment looks like it's gonna be an all-nighter for me - g0g0 procrastination. Somebody get the Dean on the line for me.)

But Columbia is practically in HARLEM! Don't you know how dangerous that place is?!

[dietcoke0]

Finished with it. And also, google "usc students shot" and there are more stories than there should be

Wow, Mr. Smarty worker are we. Didn't see anyone from our section announce their completion yet, so was guessing no one was done yet from our section.

[goldeneye]

y'all are scaring the 0Ls unnecessarily

[dietcoke0]

I'm deeply pissed off about write on right now, so I'm a bitter old fool. Come 4 p.m. tomorrow, I'll be singing the praises of Wash U again.

[Randomnumbers]

Write-on is an evil and horrible hazing, passed down for generations of law students. Alas, it'll happen no matter what school you go to. If we scare the OLs, it's only to let them know the truth, and escape the horrible clutches of such time-sinks while they still can.

[RedGiant]

I'm not saying there aren't rough parts of STL, but I grew up in LA, and USC is truly located in a very dangerous part of the city--south central. There's a reason it is a closed campus, with security guards checking IDs and cars out at any possible entrance. Very few students live anywhere near campus. When my team went there to play SC in college, we stayed in downtown LA--there weren't any safe hotels closer. And yes, about a quarter of my high school went there undergrad...and everyone lives in the beach cities and commutes 45 mins to school. South Central is not safe unless you're from there and know the neighborhood. Period.

Also, as someone who investigated WUSTl's CA placement / possibilities, I would just say they are schools that provide pretty distinct geographic opportunity sets. Neither is "better" without more info. I really liked WUSTL, but getting back to Cali from there was going to be difficult, based on advice from Diet Coke, Romo, anecdata from ASW and placement stats.

[JesusChrist]

I'm not sure where I want to live or practice. It breaks down to an extra 10k a year and where I'd be happy at. I'm trying to remember what I liked and disliked about Los Angeles. And I'm starting to think it'd be nice to be home. I think I like WUSTL as a school more, and I grew up really hating USC. But damn, I don't know if I can turn this down. USC has the employment numbers.

[Fiona91216]

Same boat, $60k@USC, $105k@WUSTL. Blargh.

[DoveBodyWash]

Same boat, $60k@USC, $105k@WUSTL. Blargh.

I'm not sure where I want to live or practice. It breaks down to an extra 10k a year and where I'd be happy at. I'm trying to remember what I liked and disliked about Los Angeles. And I'm starting to think it'd be nice to be home. I think I like WUSTL as a school more, and I grew up really hating USC. But damn, I don't know if I can turn this down. USC has the employment numbers.

I'll bite. I'll advocate for WUSTL, and someone else can make a case for USC.

USC is going to be significantly more expensive than WUSTL:
-USC has higher starting tuition than WUSTL. 52k vs 48k. They'll both probably increase 3-4% a year. This means that getting 60k from USC isn't the same as getting 60k from WUSTL. WashU's scholarship has more relative worth. And this is before considering that you guys got larger schollies from WashU to begin with.
-Los Angeles housing is more expensive. And your buying power will be reduced in general as far as groceries and socializing.
-You will need a car if you go to USC. Public transit is not a thing. Unless you manage to find roommates/friends willing to drive you places.
-Gas is friggin expensive down there. And you will be driving a lot.

Re: USC's placement.
Yes it's slightly better. And you've already been told about the geographic limitations so I won't bother with that. But consider this, BigLaw placement is a two-sided issue. On one side is how well the school can place you. We already established that USC has the edge here. But the other side is how much you NEED to be placed into BigLaw. So ultimately you guys need to decide. Are you willing to put yourself in a BigLaw-or-Bust situation in exchange for slightly better chances at it? Keep in mind that you could strike out...or you could get laid off...or your firm could dissolve...or you might hate it and leave. All of these things could happen to anyone, no matter where they go. But they are exacerbated if you have more debt, which you will have if you go to USC.

So the question is,
Would you rather have a slightly-better-but-not-guaranteed chance at BigLaw but most definitely need it?
Or would you rather have a slightly lower chance at BigLaw but be able to get by without it?

All of this is assuming that you guys don't care about geography, which seems to be the case. I also don't know anything about your respective career goals, so my apologies if you guys are gunning for PI or something, cuz that would change things

ETA: Actually, USC probably has better hoodies and junk. Nvermind, go to USC.

[dietcoke0]

Beaches, Babes, Bottles and Bros. USC all the way.

[bananasplit19]

ETA: Actually, USC probably has better hoodies and junk. Nvermind, go to USC.

I dunno, it's slim pickings over there too: http://uscbookstore.com/c-74-usc-gould.aspx

[Xs20]

ETA: Actually, USC probably has better hoodies and junk. Nvermind, go to USC.

I dunno, it's slim pickings over there too: http://uscbookstore.com/c-74-usc-gould.aspx

BETTER THAN WHAT WE HAVE

[romothesavior]

And to answer the question, depends on where you want to work after graduation. If it's in Cali, Oregon or Washington State, or a state that touches one of those states, then go to USC. Any other state, then probably Wash U.

I haven't agreed with much of what you said on this page, but I agree with this. And Cuse is right that WUSTL will be significantly cheaper, maybe by 60k or so.

For the Fiona person, 105k at WUSTL vs. 60k at USC is easy. WUSTL wins that hands down unless you are 100% set on California, in which case you should retake the LSAT. I wouldn't spend anywhere close to 200k on a degree from USC, which is what you guys are looking at with only a 60k scholarship.

[DoveBodyWash]

And to answer the question, depends on where you want to work after graduation. If it's in Cali, Oregon or Washington State, or a state that touches one of those states, then go to USC. Any other state, then probably Wash U.

I haven't agreed with much of what you said on this page, but I agree with this. And Cuse is right that WUSTL will be significantly cheaper, maybe by 60k or so.

For the Fiona person, 105k at WUSTL vs. 60k at USC is easy. WUSTL wins that hands down unless you are 100% set on California, in which case you should retake the LSAT. I wouldn't spend anywhere close to 200k on a degree from USC, which is what you guys are looking at with only a 60k scholarship.

Fiona, I ran the numbers for you using the estimated figures from both schools' websites. I assumed 3% tuition increase per year and that other costs would stay the same (like housing). I didn't account for interest, but I'll also list how much of the cost would be GradPLUS (7.8% interest)

WUSTL cost per year with 105k scholarship and 48,345 starting tuition
1L: 36,285 (15,785 GradPLUS)
2L: 37,735 (17,235 GradPLUS)
3L: 39,229 (18,729 GradPLUS)
Total: 113,249

USC cost per year with 60k scholarship and 52,814 starting tuition
1L: 58,675 (38,175 GradPLUS)
2L: 60,259 (39,759 GradPLUS)
3L: 61,890 (41,390 GradPLUS)
Total: 180,824

Obviously your living costs will fluctuate. I know WashU's estimates are overestimated. I'm renting a slightly more expensive apt, bringing a new puppy and a car and my expected COL is still less than the 25k estimated by the school. I dunno whether it's possible to live cheaply in LA, so i won't make any assumptions there.

ETA: Updated to include GradPLUS loans per year

[dietcoke0]

And to answer the question, depends on where you want to work after graduation. If it's in Cali, Oregon or Washington State, or a state that touches one of those states, then go to USC. Any other state, then probably Wash U.

I haven't agreed with much of what you said on this page, but I agree with this. And Cuse is right that WUSTL will be significantly cheaper, maybe by 60k or so.

For the Fiona person, 105k at WUSTL vs. 60k at USC is easy. WUSTL wins that hands down unless you are 100% set on California, in which case you should retake the LSAT. I wouldn't spend anywhere close to 200k on a degree from USC, which is what you guys are looking at with only a 60k scholarship.

What don't you agree with me on? Is it the beaches?

[Fiona91216]

Yeah, I know, I've been pretty set on WUSTL, and got pretty lucky with that scholarship with my numbers. Thanks for talking me down Cuse I think I just miss stressing out about where to go.

Update- USC is now at $25k. I miss this.

[DoveBodyWash]

I think I just miss stressing out about where to go.

+10