I'll get right to the point. No wait, actually, I'll ramble.
My "stats": female, white, 1570 SAT (800v), 3.55 unweighted/3.91 weighted GPA at your run of the mill, pretty good suburban high school in Maryland.
Lots of my friends are killing themselves to get into NYU/Georgetown/UVA/etc as undergrads (and they will all go into debt for it) but I applied to four schools which might give me merit aid, most notably The University of Maryland, Baltimore County - a great school I really love.
I plan to major in political science, and either graduate with honors or (if I'm admitted) get through the school's Public Affairs Scholars Program. Also, getting a Certificate in Communications and Media Studies (and possibly one in Spanish).
QUESTIONS:
1) UMBC has a great regional reputation, but I don't think it's as nationally known as UMCP (College Park). Will UCLA (my preferred law school) consider my application (if I get LSATs and a GPA in their 50 to 75th percentile - or higher - range)?
2) If I can actually get admitted to and graduate from UCLA Law and pass the CA bar exam, but want to move out of state, will I conceivably be able to pass other states' exams? Is this realistic?
3) Does UCLA have a good reputation for its intellectual property and entertainment law divisions? I only know of its' reputation as an overall school - obviously very esteemed.
4) I plan to live in CA for a year (registering my car, paying taxes, and voting there) to establish residency - will I be able to get in-state tuition?
The good thing is that I'm going to graduate undergrad debt-free either way, and if I get merit aid from UMBC or another school I applied to, I might even have as much as $80k saved for law school (a drop in the bucket, I know, but better than starting with debt).