Whittier vs Cal Western for 1L

[cconnoll]

Iv Gotten a lot of feedback from this site. appreciate all of it!

I'm debating between Whittier (11,200 scholarship) or Cal Western (no scholarship).......I plan to be at the top of my class and transfer (I know I know, everyone who plans on attending T4 schools plans to transfer, and I understand that it will not be easy).
If any of you knew that you would not be retaking the LSAT again (154), which school would you attend based on the premise of being top 10-15% of class and seeking to transfer to:

UC-HASTINGS
UC-DAVIS
BERKLEY
UCLA
USD
ASU
possibly USC, STANFORD

Also, I understand that alot of 1L's @ T4's go in with the idea of transferring, does this mean that your average T4 1L class  could have very stiff competition in terms of GPA, considering that sooo many students are looking to pull off 4.0 GPA in hopes of transferring. Even stiff-enough competition to be on par with T3's? T2's?

ANY feedback is much appreciated  :mrgreen:

[bl825]

I know that this is probably going to be unwelcome, and I know that you've already said that you know that transferring will be extremely difficult, but you did say ANY feedback is appreciated, so I'm just going to reiterate that going to a law school based on the assumption that you're going to be at the top of your class and transfer is extremely ill-advised.  If anything, you should be doing the opposite: consider which school is the better option assuming that you don't transfer.

[cconnoll]

Never never never....thats completely welcome! I appreciate it alot! I am trying to weight my options between the two schools. i do still plan on transferring, but I do accept the fact that I may end up going all three years to either school. any thoughts on whittier with 12,000 scholarship or cal western without a scholarship? thanks alot!

[bl825]

Never never never....thats completely welcome! I appreciate it alot! I am trying to weight my options between the two schools. i do still plan on transferring, but I do accept the fact that I may end up going all three years to either school. any thoughts on whittier with 12,000 scholarship or cal western without a scholarship? thanks alot!

I'm not too familiar with west coast schools unfortunately.  But if they're comparably ranked and it doesn't appear that one has a marked advantage in terms of alumni base, then I would opt for whichever allowed me to keep my debt burden as low as possible.  I'm guessing that this would be whittier in this case.  It also depends of course on what kind of conditions come with the scholarship. 

[Matthies]

Have you thought about applying to any T2 schools part time? A 154 is not that bad for some part-time programs like Denver, Houston, Indy, Seattle (or at least it was not when I applied a few years ago). Might be too late for this year though.

 The only thing I can say about your current choices is go with whichever is in the bigger legal market, contacts will be KEY to finding  a job so you need to be out there in the local bar association active as a student member so you can meet as many lawyers and judges as you can before you’re a 3L. Who you know can beat where you go, if you actively network from day one. But next to grades, networking needs to be your number one priority, an everyday thing to overcome coming from a t4 school, not half assed, you need to be out there each week shaking hands and kissing babies. 

Good luck! 

PS stoping spmaing the baord with the same question, people will see this thread and repond if they want to. 

[cconnoll]

thank you mathies! sorry, I wasn't trying to spam, just trying to cast my net as wide as possible. but duly noted.

any advice on ways/methods to network in San Diego? I will be moving there august 1st, but I live in Eugene and dont know too much about San Diego's legal community.

thank you much!!

[Matthies]

thank you mathies! sorry, I wasn't trying to spam, just trying to cast my net as wide as possible. but duly noted.

any advice on ways/methods to network in San Diego? I will be moving there august 1st, but I live in Eugene and dont know too much about San Diego's legal community.

thank you much!!

Here is a link to some netwrorking advice I posted a while ago http://www.lawschooldiscussion.org/prelaw/index.php/topic,4013253.0.html  also reading this book between now and Aug 1st would be a good use of your time http://www.amazon.com/Guerrilla-Tactics-Getting-Dreams-Employment/dp/0314176772/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1237496573&sr=8-1

[dreameca]

will you consider transferring into some second tier or 3rd tier schools? sorry this might sound cruel, but I think jumping form a t4 to a top tiered school such as UCLA, Berkeley... USC seems to be a little unrealistic. remember, these schools also have people who has 4.0s and trying to transfer from t2 or t3 schools. try to check out where did the transfers got into from Whittier v. WEstern. goodluck!

[Ninja1]

Cal Western, if you have to pick one.

[southerncallaw]

Hmmm, San Diego resident here.  Cal West is competitive.  The San Diego legal market is flooded with lawyers.  I know two recent grads of Cal West who were on law reivew and are looking for work.   

Whittier will have the problem of being 10 miles from the first wave of grads from UCI.  That is going to hurt.  People dont transfer from Whittier and Cal West to UCLA.  Never.

Be happy with the school you choose and be honest with yourself about your prospects.