San Francisco vs San Diego Vs Loyola Forum

[bigmnstyle]

I have applied to all of these and was hoping to get some feed back on what everyone thinks. Which school offers the most opportunity for big firm jobs as well as which one just offers the most opportunity for jobs in general. I am not set on big firm law and understand that without going to a top notch school the chances are small anyways. My life will not end if I don't get a BIG LAW job so I was hoping just some advice on which you would pick between these three and quality of living for each of them if you have experienced it. I doubt I will get any money from any of them, would you suggest looking at lower rank schools and trying to get a little bit of scholarship money or sticking with these schools and just paying sticker price and hoping to perform well and get a little money 2nd year. Thanks!

[FunkyJD]

You'd be better off sitting out a year and re-taking the LSAT than you'd be paying sticker at either of these schools. Do not do it.

[Great Satchmo]

You'd be better off sitting out a year and re-taking the LSAT than you'd be paying sticker at either of these schools. Do not do it.

This is under the assumption that you can do better on the LSATs (the percentiles are percentiles, not everyone is able to score in the top 5-10%). It's also under the assumption that you do well enough to garner a signification scholarship. It's also under the assumption that you do not get the scholarship, but then are not in the top 1/4 or 1/3 of the class, whatever the stipulations end up being and losing it after one semester.

I'm not saying don't retake it, it may be the right choice for you - but I just don't see it as clear cut either way.

That being said, don't expect big-law from any of those places, at least right out of school. Pick where you want to live/work, then if it's still up in the air, look at employment statistics.

Also, you could go to USF and ask for consideration for scholarship, as you've been admitted to a school ranked 61st...just a thought.

[FunkyJD]

Sorry, but you couldn't devise a scenario for me where paying sticker at either one of those schools makes sense.

[Great Satchmo]

Sorry, but you couldn't devise a scenario for me where paying sticker at either one of those schools makes sense.

And that's fine, you are part of the applicant pool that will not go without scholarship.

I get why it's not the smartest purely fiscal decision to pay $180k for a law degree from a school where you may have to actually take those 20-30 years to pay it back.

However, pure economists are shitty are describing and predicting human behavior as well as quantifying intangibles.

If this is a school withing academic means, it's in the market you want to go to school in, live in, and will make you happy going to....that certainly carries "utils" - much of which is not captured in the "how much do you pay vs. what is the probability of biglaw".

That being said, I'm in with $26k first year only, and I'm still a bit on the fence. However, some data shows they place decently in firms/business in the city, and that's what I'm looking for. If I get into Hastings/Davis, I'll be there at full cost.

[FunkyJD]

Sorry, but you couldn't devise a scenario for me where paying sticker at either one of those schools makes sense.

And that's fine, you are part of the applicant pool that will not go without scholarship.

I get why it's not the smartest purely fiscal decision to pay $180k for a law degree from a school where you may have to actually take those 20-30 years to pay it back.

However, pure economists are shitty are describing and predicting human behavior as well as quantifying intangibles.

If this is a school withing academic means, it's in the market you want to go to school in, live in, and will make you happy going to....that certainly carries "utils" - much of which is not captured in the "how much do you pay vs. what is the probability of biglaw".

That being said, I'm in with $26k first year only, and I'm still a bit on the fence. However, some data shows they place decently in firms/business in the city, and that's what I'm looking for. If I get into Hastings/Davis, I'll be there at full cost.

Low debt means you don't need biglaw. High debt means you need whatever pays the bills. If you go into high debt at a school with poor biglaw placement, that's a recipe for serious financial hurt. You can't pay the mortgage with utiles.

If you're getting $26k, cool, congrats ... OP doesn't seem to be getting anything at the moment. Good luck to him, I hope he finds some resources.

[Great Satchmo]

Sorry, but you couldn't devise a scenario for me where paying sticker at either one of those schools makes sense.

And that's fine, you are part of the applicant pool that will not go without scholarship.

I get why it's not the smartest purely fiscal decision to pay $180k for a law degree from a school where you may have to actually take those 20-30 years to pay it back.

However, pure economists are shitty are describing and predicting human behavior as well as quantifying intangibles.

If this is a school withing academic means, it's in the market you want to go to school in, live in, and will make you happy going to....that certainly carries "utils" - much of which is not captured in the "how much do you pay vs. what is the probability of biglaw".

That being said, I'm in with $26k first year only, and I'm still a bit on the fence. However, some data shows they place decently in firms/business in the city, and that's what I'm looking for. If I get into Hastings/Davis, I'll be there at full cost.

Low debt means you don't need biglaw. High debt means you need whatever pays the bills. If you go into high debt at a school with poor biglaw placement, that's a recipe for serious financial hurt. You can't pay the mortgage with utiles.

If you're getting $26k, cool, congrats ... OP doesn't seem to be getting anything at the moment. Good luck to him, I hope he finds some resources.

Honestly, I don't think $26k in the course of $180k truly mitigates much of the sting.

Some people will not have a great standard of living for a while out of law school, but guess what - that same case occurs in ALL faucets of occupations and careers.

I think there is this overarching expectation here that everyone is going to be, expecting to be, or should be in the wealthiest segment of society. Sure, we are looking at spending big money and making a big commitment, but that does not guarantee some large income and comfy lifestyle.

There are plenty of people who pay full tuition at marginal schools and are happy and make their way through life. Similarly, there are people who do the same but are miserable and broke.

Welcome to life.

[lmeinke]

I have applied to all of these and was hoping to get some feed back on what everyone thinks. Which school offers the most opportunity for big firm jobs as well as which one just offers the most opportunity for jobs in general. I am not set on big firm law and understand that without going to a top notch school the chances are small anyways. My life will not end if I don't get a BIG LAW job so I was hoping just some advice on which you would pick between these three and quality of living for each of them if you have experienced it. I doubt I will get any money from any of them, would you suggest looking at lower rank schools and trying to get a little bit of scholarship money or sticking with these schools and just paying sticker price and hoping to perform well and get a little money 2nd year. Thanks!

Okay, this is my impression of san francisco. i have lived here the past 3 years for college. It is a great city that has a lot of diverse things to offer but if you have grown up with a slower lifestyle you may not like it. USF is obviously very expensive and you will be paying at least 800/month for rent if not more. If you want to have your own place without roommates rent is ridiculously high, which you may want to consider if you end up here. I know So-cal costs of living are high, but I'm very sure they do not come close to rent in San Francisco. However, there is excellent transportation here so you wouldn't need to worry about depending upon and financing a car. It's irritating if you are set on bringing your car up here though because parking is usually impossible (well, free parking) unless you live in the Sunset district or the Presidio (which is something close to USF.....so is haight). I have done some interning at the San Francisco Superior Court and got the feel that despite being ranked somewhat low, USF has a very solid reputation here. It was highly respected among those I worked with in the courthouse and USF will likely give you a strong network to rely on after graduation and has the perk of being a Jesuit school, which will probably give you more contacts because of that connection.
Whew! Well let me know if you have any other questions about SF. Where are you from?
Good luck!!

[bigmnstyle]

Appreciate it... I am from St.Louis. I was offered scholarship to Whittier and haven't heard anything from Southwestern but I figured going to the higher ranked schools would be a better bet then stooping to the former 2 just mentioned. I also applied to Brooklyn part time and hoping to get in there. They seem to place pretty well in big firm law in the city. I guess in the end it is up to you. Graduate at the top and your good to go.