In state v. Out of State

[mkvyat]

I applied to law schools and am currently waiting for responses. I am from california and would love to live here in the long run. I have gotten into several good out of state law schools that I would love to go to in theory. My question is to what extent do state bar exams vary and how well would a school in washington prepare me for the CA state bar exam.

[dramaticpaws]

I think you may need to look more into how well they place their graduates in California. Unless the schools you have gained admission to are ranked significantly higher, it will make the most sense to go to school close to where you want to practice. It will help the discussion if you give more specifics.

[nealric]

Most law schools don't prepare you for the bar exam, that's what Barbri is for. But you should plan on attending law school where you want to practice unless you are going to a national school (top 14-30 depending on who you ask).

[bigs5068]

Stay in California if you want to live here. I am in my first year of law school and choose to attend a lower ranked school in California rather than a slightly higher ranked one out of state. Do not listen to any of the horror stories about tier 4's they are not true they don't get kick out half the class, people get jobs, and pass the bar. Honestly, if you want to work in California go to school here unless you get into an ELITE school like Harvard or Columbia, otherwise the reality is you are going to work in the location you go to school. California also has all kinds of weird exceptions in the law that the majority of states don't have and I imagine the fact that I am learning them in school now will be beneficial to me when I take the California Bar.

The reality is that you should go to law school in the state and city where you want to live after graduation. If you know where you want to live after graduation then go to school in that area and don't worry about the rankings.

[Contract2008]

I applied to law schools and am currently waiting for responses. I am from california and would love to live here in the long run. I have gotten into several good out of state law schools that I would love to go to in theory. My question is to what extent do state bar exams vary and how well would a school in washington prepare me for the CA state bar exam.

Califormia is probably one of the few stats that have all type of law schools, ranging from Stanford to the bottom of tier 4. If you can get into Harvard, you should have a good chance at Stanford.  If you can get into Michigan, you should have a good chance at Boalt.  If you can get into UT, you should have a good chance at UCLA.  If you can get into a Tier 2 out of CA, you should be able to get into U. San Diego or something.  There is no need to go to any other school than the ones in CA if you want to stay in CA.