UC Davis or McGeorge? Am I nuts?

[Luxhx77]

Alright so I need to make a decision in the next day or so.

I would like to live and work around Sacramento area after graduation.  Positive that I am not interested in Big Law, interested in mid sized practice to private practive.  Also have interests pursuing a career as judge.

I have been accepted to UC Davis, McGeorge, Loyola, Southwestern, but pretty sure I dont want to be in LA ever again in life.

So I am left with Davis and McGeorge.  Based on rankings I would be a fool to choose McGeorge right? 

I came from UCLA as an undergrad and know how anonymous the UC system is with their students.  Even though I graduated from one of UCLA's prime schools, the alumni help after graduating was non-existent.  I am worried about the same thing at UC Davis.  I get the feeling that McGeorge would want me to succeed and it seems they work a bit more to prove themselves.  I also like the fact that I would come into McGeorge with superior numbers than my classmates. 

Naturally, my ego feels like I want to compare myself against the best minds.  The challenge of getting into the top 10 percent of the class at Davis turns me on.  But again, I have no aspirations of big law, and I dont care about the money aspect.  So the rankings lose some value, correct?

Any thoughts on this? I am leaning towards McGeorge, but does that happen?  Does this make sense?

[greenie]

It does but you can't think about it that way.  Law school is a completely different animal than undergrad.  You can't just Davis Law by UCLA UG.

Go to Davis, you'll be happier in the long run with better employment prospects.

[Changed Name]

I agree with the poster above in that you can't judge UC Davis law by your undergrad. experience at ULCA. Trust me, I know how it is. I went to Berkeley undergrad. I definitely felt like a number most of the time. However, from what I've heard, Davis Law is much smaller and tight knit. I think that in the long run, you'd be much happier with your decision to attend UC Davis. Something you didn't mention is if you were offered a scholarship to McGeorge. I would definitely not consider McGeorge for full price versus Davis. Maybe a substantial scholarship would be worth considering, but still, I'd probably pick Davis.

[Luxhx77]

I did get a good sized scholarship from McGeorge.  UC Davis will cost me 8k more per year.  I figure that is a wash, I dont know if the finances tilt the decision one way or another.

What I have noticed is that everytime I try to get info from Davis it is like pulling teeth and McGeorge seems to bend over backward for me.  Are there any Davis law students around?  Is this indicative of what happens.  As a side... when i was an undergrad at UCLA, I knew quite a few grad students... even was in a couple classes with them, and they didnt get a whole lot more attention than the undergrads did.  (I was in a smaller major)

Is the law school at Davis a much higher priority?  How much help do they give there graduating students?

[rekopter]

With the current numbers as they are you are pretty crazy to be considering this. That said, You should negotiate with McGeorge--that you've waited this long to make the decision and the fact that you seem to have spoken to them at length about their school bodes well for you getting more $. If the difference were twice what it current were I think you're okay to consider McGeorge.

Again, as it is now it's a crazy idea.