dozo/irvine/gw

[sluglaw]

which school would you choose?  cardozo and uci are both full rides while gw is probably close to sticker, which is hard to justify given that i'm looking towards public interest or government work.  cardozo has unique programs that interest me and i'd also like to go to nyc.  irvine seems like it might ultimately have a higher rank, plus better faculty, but seems like it might not have the best programs right now.  i'm also from california, so that should be considered.  gw has far and away the best rep of all three.  thoughts?

[one4theteam]

This is a tough one.  If you are interested in public interest, I'd pass on GW. 

If Irvine weren't in its first year, I'd say go for it.  I'm not really sure what sort of guidance you'd get towards a public interest career there.  An established clinical program would be nice, but I think its almost important to keep in mind that your career is a lot of what you make out of it.  Just because a school offers a nice public interest curriculum doesn't necessarily mean you'll be able to translate that into a career.  You'll have to make your own path no matter where you go.

Also are the requirements for keeping the scholly throughout all of law school relatively the same.  Are they conditioned on a specific GPA? 

NYC is also very expensive compared to Irvine.  Plus you'll be up against a host of other schools in NYC for the same job opportunities.  Irvine will undoubtedly be big dog in OC and will probably be well respected in the LA market as it is in the UC-system. 

[Marmot]

Irvine will undoubtedly be big dog in OC and will probably be well respected in the LA market as it is in the UC-system. 

Even with their star faculty, that's still a huge if.  The fact of the matter is that they're offering a full ride to the incoming class because they realize what a gamble it is to attend a brand new law school.  You may be right that it will one day surpass UC Davis, but there's no way to tell now.

Keep in mind that New York and SoCal are EXTREMELY different.  Cardozo is an excellent regional school, and you'll have fewer job opportunities available back West if you attend.  On top of that, while Cardozo places decently, it's in a saturated market that is currently hemmoraging jobs.  It's still really hard to argue with a full ride, though.

In your case, I'd probably pick either one of the full rides depending on where I wanted to work after graduation.  GW is a cut above, but as you said you'll be paying significantly more, and you may find yourself stuck in D.C. for awhile after graduating (which is not really a bad problem to have).

[devildog_jim]

You may find yourself stuck in DC for a few years just from the traffic.     I'm mulling a similar problem, and thinking of going part-time and working to cut down on the debt load.

[sluglaw]

This is a tough one.  If you are interested in public interest, I'd pass on GW. 

If Irvine weren't in its first year, I'd say go for it.  I'm not really sure what sort of guidance you'd get towards a public interest career there.  An established clinical program would be nice, but I think its almost important to keep in mind that your career is a lot of what you make out of it.  Just because a school offers a nice public interest curriculum doesn't necessarily mean you'll be able to translate that into a career.  You'll have to make your own path no matter where you go.

Also are the requirements for keeping the scholly throughout all of law school relatively the same.  Are they conditioned on a specific GPA? 

NYC is also very expensive compared to Irvine.  Plus you'll be up against a host of other schools in NYC for the same job opportunities.  Irvine will undoubtedly be big dog in OC and will probably be well respected in the LA market as it is in the UC-system. 

the scholarship is fairly keepable- 3.3 (top 40%).  i'm also going to raise my gpa come march so i'm hoping to negotiate at least some $$$ for living which i know they do for some folks.(i have other full-rides and schollys to negotiate with)  the big thing for me with irvine is the lack of programs- i'm absolutely positive that if i excel there i'd be able to get a good clerkship and maybe some work later on, but i'm worried about missing out on a lot of experience in law school and cardozo really stands out in terms of the programs and opportunities they offer during school.

[sluglaw]

Irvine will undoubtedly be big dog in OC and will probably be well respected in the LA market as it is in the UC-system. 

Even with their star faculty, that's still a huge if.  The fact of the matter is that they're offering a full ride to the incoming class because they realize what a gamble it is to attend a brand new law school.  You may be right that it will one day surpass UC Davis, but there's no way to tell now.

Keep in mind that New York and SoCal are EXTREMELY different.  Cardozo is an excellent regional school, and you'll have fewer job opportunities available back West if you attend.  On top of that, while Cardozo places decently, it's in a saturated market that is currently hemmoraging jobs.  It's still really hard to argue with a full ride, though.

In your case, I'd probably pick either one of the full rides depending on where I wanted to work after graduation.  GW is a cut above, but as you said you'll be paying significantly more, and you may find yourself stuck in D.C. for awhile after graduating (which is not really a bad problem to have).

the cali placement is definitely an issue if i don't want to stay in nyc.  ideally i would like to do a clerkship then come back west for some work, or work internationally first.  however, i have talked to several alums who got jobs in california immediately after graduation, so its not impossible.  not being able to go to an elite school like GW is kinda heartbreaking tho.