I retract my previous post. Compared to Peoples College of Laws the PR schools look like HYS! Seriously, all of the students at Peoples College of Law look like illegal immigrants. Not to mention they freely admit they're communist. Also has anyone seen that picture on their site ofthe school logo? It looks like a Soviet propaganda poster done in a southwestern motif. The best part is that if you look closely at it, it appears to be an old poster that has been crumpled, torn, taped back together and mounted in a 50 cent frame!
http://peoplescollegeoflaw.edu/photos/pages/2004_0331_165338AA_JPG.htm

It is an old poster.  I hardly know anything about hispanic culture but it was obvious to me in 2 seconds it was from back in the Cesar Chavez days:

http://www.nevadalabor.com/cesar/cesargraphics/ufwflag395wx285h.jpg

Yes i do associate public interst work (working for the poor, etc.) with the broad category "liberal", and yes i do consider the sentiment to help the poor and underprivilidged to be a "liberal" one.

Catholic Univ.'s school policies are far from "liberal", though the student body is mixed.  That being said, they have a LOT of clinical programs for the poor and elderly, which is recognized by USN in their clinical rankings.

http://law.cua.edu/academic/cle/clinics_columbus.cfm

TOTALLY agree with Reasoning number 2, not so with number one.  Congressmen will pass laws that get them reelected, whether they were lawyers or not.  Once you are in congress, your ass as a politician is on the line, not as a lawyer.  Lawyers losing their jobs is not going to get much sympathy from constituents.  But yea, I agree with your overall argument because of number 2.

I agree that my #1 reason is very subjective.  However, one only has to examine the lack of progress with Tort reform in this country to realize that the legal industry has an incredibly effective way of getting their needs taken care of in Congress.  Now, that can cut 2-ways, exisiting parterners might see their profit sharing increase if they can cut cost through outsourcing, so they might want it.  However, given how risk averse lawyers are, I see them calculating the liability # in their head if some major client is screwed over by someone in a foreign country.

I'd take Georgetown.  It's the best program in one of, if not the top legal areas in the country (DC).  You can easily take that degree and related DC experience anywhere in the country with you.  There is nothing unqiue about Chicago that you probably can't get in any other major city.  DC will likely expose you to a much broader range of law related jobs that aren't necessairly at a law firm.  There are so many government agencies, lobby groups, think tanks, etc. etc.

Wasn't the blonde chick who was runner up on the 1st Joe Millionaire a Southwestern law student?  I know for a fact she was a George Mason undergrad.  Anyway, whenever I see Southwestern mentioned, I remember the "gulp, slurp" subtitles of her going down on Joe in the woods...

My vote would be go to Vermont if you think you could handle living there.  I mean, worst case scenerio, you'd definitely be able to practice law in Vermont!  Southwestern, you're at the bottom of the rung in Cali and your only hope may be Joe Millionaire...

If you could wait a year to reapply, you might want to consider some schools like American, or CUA in DC.  Both are attainable with your #'s, and both have good public policy, public interest, and international programs.  American's international program is outstanding, and CUA's gets grouped under USNew's "Clinical" ranking (#14) because they have several specialty programs.

By the way, I'm there with you on your frustration with WE and other non-number related qualities being counted.  I know it's hard to process all the applications and make sense of what everyone uniquely brings to the table, but the emphasis placed on the index score is over the top.  I think a reasonable solution would be to do what most Business Schools do and require 3 to 5 years of WE before applying for an MBA.  The legal industry would never go for it, though.  They need the 24 year old graduates willing to give up their lives for a few years before they burn out.  Those of us who have gone through our 6-figure, 80 hour a week stage of life already aren't the ideal BigLaw drone.

One positive way to look at your WE, it should help you to land a 1L job easier because you have a track record of proven functionality, they don't have to "teach" you how to work and generate value.  I've already had 2 interviews (1 law firm, 1 think tank) for 2005 1L summer with at least 4 more loaded for later in the summer and I haven't even stepped foot in school yet.  A real resume, honed interview skills, and understanding what it's like to be on their side of the table will go a long way for you.