Is Pepperdine worth it?

[Cabra]

no, at the OP.

okey doke.

[biggame]

I'm also tryin to decide if pepperdine will be worth it. I have a full ride there and I'm still not sure. I definitley would love to live there and I know the school will be good, but the job opportunities on the way out make me nervous enough to think about it a couple times before committing to them and I have a full scholarship. I don't know how kids will go there paying full tuition. Crazy! No offense to anybody that is.

[Cabra]

I'm also tryin to decide if pepperdine will be worth it. I have a full ride there and I'm still not sure. I definitley would love to live there and I know the school will be good, but the job opportunities on the way out make me nervous enough to think about it a couple times before committing to them and I have a full scholarship. I don't know how kids will go there paying full tuition. Crazy! No offense to anybody that is.

What are the requirements to keep the scholarship?
Pepperdine does a great job mentoring its top students--and the top 15% get a lot of fancy jobs--but if the scholarship is hard to keep and/or you're in at a t14 school, it might not be worth it.

[chammon2]

I never said I knew I would do well enough in law school to get a big law job, I just said I'd like to.  I hope I do well at law school.

And you don't need a 170 to get a great job.  People outside of the T14 get big law jobs. 

[UVAnProud2L]

I am from Ohio and I'm not looking at staying in state.  Was accepted by Pepperdine with no money since my LSAT wasn't in the 88th percentile.  USN reports that average indebtedness is $105,567 and median salary is $82,350.  Law school is going to be 100% thru loans.  I'd like to work a big firm job if possible.

Considering the cost of living, debt, and competition in the LA market (including consideration for Pepperdine relative to all schools competing for LA jobs), would it be stupid to go to Pepperdine over Georgia State or Richmond?

I prefer LA, but money is a huge factor.

If you prefer LA, Pepperdine does fine there as long as you get good grades. If you do above average and interview well, you should be able to land a decent firm job if you tap into their alumni network. Pepperdine's reputation is growing and their campus looks great. Good luck.

[RockShox007]

One piece of anecdotal advice: A good friend of mine went to Pepperdine over a T1 state school, because of the draw of Malibu.  Near the end of the first semester he told me that he wished he'd never gone there and instead stayed at the state school for about a 1/3 of the cost.  Why?? Because he realized then that he'd be taking on almost 100,000 in debt, and the job prospects looked gloomy.  He said he was competing w/ USC, UCLA and Loyola over Pepperdine and couldn't even find a paying job after 1L, despite even getting his 1st semester grades yet.  It's a nice school w/ a lot of draw, but think long and hard about what you want out of law school: location w/ lower pay or higher pay w/ out Cali lifestyle.... Pepperdine isn't necessarily the wrong choice, but you have to go in understanding the whole picture.

[UVAnProud2L]

One piece of anecdotal advice: A good friend of mine went to Pepperdine over a T1 state school, because of the draw of Malibu.  Near the end of the first semester he told me that he wished he'd never gone there and instead stayed at the state school for about a 1/3 of the cost.  Why?? Because he realized then that he'd be taking on almost 100,000 in debt, and the job prospects looked gloomy.  He said he was competing w/ USC, UCLA and Loyola over Pepperdine and couldn't even find a paying job after 1L, despite even getting his 1st semester grades yet.  It's a nice school w/ a lot of draw, but think long and hard about what you want out of law school: location w/ lower pay or higher pay w/ out Cali lifestyle.... Pepperdine isn't necessarily the wrong choice, but you have to go in understanding the whole picture.

Some students at my T14 school could not find paying jobs after 1L either. In general, it is difficult to find a summer job after 1L. This difficulty applies to almost all law students including the T14.

[nhutchin]

I am a 1L at Pepperdine and some of my classmates do have paying jobs already setup for the summer and I know plenty of 2Ls that had paying jobs last summer.  I would also reiterate the fact that paying jobs after your first year are relatively rare no matter where you go.

[biggame]

I'm also tryin to decide if pepperdine will be worth it. I have a full ride there and I'm still not sure. I definitley would love to live there and I know the school will be good, but the job opportunities on the way out make me nervous enough to think about it a couple times before committing to them and I have a full scholarship. I don't know how kids will go there paying full tuition. Crazy! No offense to anybody that is.

What are the requirements to keep the scholarship?
Pepperdine does a great job mentoring its top students--and the top 15% get a lot of fancy jobs--but if the scholarship is hard to keep and/or you're in at a t14 school, it might not be worth it.

I just have to stay in "good standing" Which I assume means not to get all C's and a D, or something similar

[nhutchin]

Good Standing means you cannot be on academic probabtion, which under the rules that were recently changed means you need to have above a 2.0