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Hi all,

I am thinking about EDing to the UCLA Distinguished Scholars Program. It is a full tuition scholarship. If I don't ED, I'll apply to the UCLA Law Achievement Fellowship Program which is non-binding but full tuition. It's for disadvantaged students (I fit the bill). You can't apply to both.

My goal is to do transactional work in SoCal biglaw and I have no ties to California. I'm from the east coast and I want to study in California. I'm moderately debt averse, and would not pay sticker anywhere besides maybe Stanford. These are the schools I'm seriously considering:

Stanford: My ideal choice. I doubt I would get in with my GPA. My GPA is not a 4.0 because of one semester only, for which I'm writing an addendum. My LSAT is at their median. I'm unlikely to get in and I'm aware but I wish I could get in, lol. I'm not too sure if it would be worth the big price if I just want Los Angeles biglaw. I don't want a federal clerkship or a gig at an elite litigation boutique.

Berkeley: Seems all around perfect for my goals, but they are stingy with scholarships. I was thinking of applying to other T-14s to try and match scholarships here.

UCLA: If I got in with a full scholarship, it would be a solid choice as I want to practice in Los Angeles and their biglaw + federal clerkship rate is about 45%. That figure impresses and scares me. I know that 15% does PI. But I basically don't know how competitive it will be to get biglaw. TLS says to assume median, and if I am, then I don't know if I'll be in a good enough position.

USC: If I got the Rothman full tuition scholarship, I'd take it in a heartbeat. It also comes with a stipend and a guaranteed 1L SA at Skadden. But it's only given to one student and I doubt that would be me. Otherwise, I wouldn't go to USC and would go to UCLA instead.

What do you advise, TLS?

Honestly, the best advice for your goals would be to apply across the T14 (and add UCLA and USC). That way you can maximize your scholarship and employment numbers. Then get a California 1L summer job and manufacture as many ties as possible.

with those numbers, i'd be shocked if UCLA didn't throw you a full (or close to full) scholly even if applied regular decision.

apply broadly. you're not missing anything by keeping your options open.

Dcc617 wrote:Honestly, the best advice for your goals would be to apply across the T14 (and add UCLA and USC). That way you can maximize your scholarship and employment numbers. Then get a California 1L summer job and manufacture as many ties as possible.

Dcc is correct. OP, I get that you don't have CA ties. But, firms generally don't count attending law school in a state as a legit "tie." So, you wouldn't gain as much as you might think by attending a CA law school. Of course you'd be golden with Stanford (same with Yale), but otherwise, for SoCal BigLaw you should attend the best-priced/highest-ranked T13 you can get into. You would absolutely have a better shot if you were to go to, say, CCN, versus if you were to go to UCLA or USC.

LA is ties-sensitive among major markets but it's not ties-necessary like Seattle or Nashville or Miami.

Do you have a particular compelling reason for wanting to study in California, besides wanting to work there? Would you rather make $60k as a lawyer in SoCal or get biglaw elsewhere? I'd only pick UCLA over a T14 (e.g. Michigan) if you have good reasons to say "yes" to both questions.