Loyola Law (LA) or Pepperdine? HELP!

[splmu]

I have heard back from most of the law schools that I have applied to and have so far narrowed my choices down to Loyola Law School in Los Angeles and Pepperdine Law School in Malibu.

Any suggestions as to where I should go and why?  I want to practice in the Los Angeles area once I graduate.

I appreciate any advice I can get!

[bigs5068]

Both schools are well respected in L.A. and are practically equal in every way, but if I had to choose I would go to Pepperdine, because it is probably the most beautiful campus of all time. Not that you will get that much time to enjoy it being in law school, but aesthetic value goes for something right? 

Malibu is also a less stressful living environment than the REAL L.A, where LMU is. Malibu is more a beach town and day to day life is more manageable i.e no 3 hour traffic jams to go 5 feet.  While LMU, is in the heart of L.A. and you will likely have to drive to school and deal with the 3 hour traffic jams everyday, which SUCKS and would make law school harder to deal with. 

There is no bad choice, they are both fine schools, but as far as living conditions go I would say Pepperdine wins hands down. Living conditions are a pretty important of life no matter what you are doing and is something to consider.

[MCB]

I concur with the sentiment that Malibu offers a nicer quality of life, and quality of life is a serious concern when choosing a school.  However, Malibu is FAR from other parts of L.A., and specifically, anywhere you might get a legal internship or have an interview.  "LA" covers a very large area and Malibu is on the extreme outskirts, particularly when you consider traffic.  And outside of job concerns, Malibu is a very quiet town and inconveniently far from most socially appealing parts of LA.

Loyola is located in a toilet bowl in the middle of filthy, smog-ridden downtown, but that's exactly where all the firms are.  Like, you could walk from campus to many downtown firms.  And even though there is a lot of traffic, you aren't going to be that far away from some much cleaner, livable, interesting areas.  So there's a pretty extreme trade off going on between these two choices.  Definitely visit both.  You may fall in love with Pepperdine, you may actually like Loyola.  

My anecdotal experience is that I've seen many more Loyola grads in LA firms than Pepperdine grads, but that could have to do with the sheer number of graduates that Loyola produces vs. Pepperdine.  An absolute top student at either school may have a decent shot at Big Law, but I wouldn't make any decisions based on the assumption that you will do that well at any school.  All that said, I also got into these two schools and would have chosen Loyola for practical concerns (and also because I am an LA native and impervious to smog) but decided to relocate to San Diego in the end.  Whatever you decide, congrats and good luck!