Law School Discussion

I’m surprised that this post has received quality answers and I thank everyone for taking the time to respond. I found both tj’s and zackdeblanc’s responses extremely helpful. That does not mean that the conversation is over though. I have tons of questions left to ask but first I will respond to calirestinpeace. Yes, I have looked at the University of Oregon but I do not think it’s for me. First, they did not send me a fee waiver. Yet that is not why I chose not to apply. It seems that they are extremely liberal and that is likely not going to sit well with me just as being conservative wouldn’t. I prefer a balanced view of the world and it seems I could not get that from them. I hope that Lewis and Clark is more moderate because I am politically a left wing moderate and do not like conspiracy theories from either extreme. I read that many people at the University of Oregon believe that the U.S. government planned the 9-11 attacks and I think that this perception is insane. I hope that this is not the case and was either posted as a joke or is a lie. Anyways, the last reasons for not applying to the University of Oregon was that they would likely have less job prospects than L&S, a worse faculty, and I would not receive in-state tuition. I may be totally wrong on all of my reasoning but this is the same viewpoint I have seen on this site and others given by University of Oregon students and applicants.

Tj, thanks for giving me a reality check. I know that there is no perfect place but I believe that there must be someplace more perfect than LA (a.k.a Portland, San Diego, or Santa Clara). I know that if I choose to study environment law or to live in Oregon that I would choose Lewis and Clark in a heartbeat. My initial response to both of these questions is yes. Yet I have never been to Portland and I have a narrow understanding of environmental law. So it would be very foolish of me to make any presumptions on where will eventually go but I am definitely leaning in Lewis and Clark’s direction. I am here primarily to get a better perspective of what Lewis and Clark is all about. However, I would also like to know what environmental law is all about, what job prospects in Oregon are like for an environmental law attorney, and what the lifestyle of Portland is like as compared to that of California. Also, is the curve really bad? I know that the professors can't have it above a 3.0 the first year but can lower it. So if it were much harder to get a good GPA as compared to another school then that would definitely sway my decision.

Zack, why do you say that if you get into Lewis and Clark that you MIGHT go? I read some of your posts and your scores seem to be below what L&C averages. So, not to be rude, but why are they not good enough (my assumption) for you? Also, it’s obvious that “Portland has a distinctly "Portland" feel to it…” because if it was not the case then the feel would not be named after the city. That sentence just made me confused because you know that I have never been to Portland since I am asking these questions. So this seems to be an irrational comment. Nevertheless, I don’t want to offend you or anyone else since your post has been the single most helpful response thus far and I thank you for that. In addition, what do you mean when you say that LA and San Francisco feel more alive than Portland? Are you saying that the nightlife is better in those cities? If that is the case, then I would be fine with that since I am more of a homebody anyways. Yet if I moved to Portland that would probably change because I would actually want to venture outside. Try walking the streets of LA or Riverside; it will drive you insane. At the very least, if I move to Portland, I would just be one more ex-Californian so at least I’m not alone on this. About the dog (Shadow), it’s not like I want to take my dog everywhere but I do expect to find a place that accepts dogs since California is extremely anti-dog (and cat) if you rent, especially if they are larger than tiny.

One last issue that I have to consider is my family. They are not going to be around forever and I don’t want to leave them but on the other hand I want my own life and I do not want that life to be in LA (where my family has chosen to reside perpetually). What makes this worse is that my mom just had twins in August and I don’t want them to not know me, not that I would have much time to spend with them going to Loyola or Southwestern (only if they grant me huge amounts of $$$). So this is a very complex situation already and I have yet to receive my first acceptance letter. I know I’m not unique in having any of these concerns so please speak up people.

P.S. I apologize for my dissertation sized comments.