HELP choosing a law school....san diego vs. chicago??

[mkmoss033]

Ok. Im new to this and I'm looking for a little help choosing a law school. The two schools that I'm seriously considering are thomas jefferon where i'll have a 60k scholarship (housing grand included) or move to chicago and attending either depaul or chicago-kent (still waiting to hear back). Depaul is offering me 32k, which isnt much but it's something. I'm also waiting to hear back from southwestern, a tier 3 but I really don't want to live in LA. But again its a tier 3, better than a tier 4 for the most part. My primary issue is I'm a little hesitant to pass on Depaul since it's a tier 2 and go to thomas jefferson which is a tier 4. I'm not nieve in thinking that a T2 will offer many more career prospects than a T4 however, Depaul seems to have a  a pretty solid reputation within the chicago area, and I can definitely see myself living there. Whereas Thomas Jefferson is one of three law schools in the san diego area and is ranked the lowest of the three. It competes with Univ. of San diego and Cal western which in my opinion cal western should be viewed as equal but Univ. of san diego a T2 may put me a disadvantage....so....please someone help....any thoughts??

p.s. I have no real ties to chicago, I've just always seen myself living in a big city. When I visited i did enjoy the environment and being in the city, however, I'm from california and I would leaving my family, friends, and boyfriend to move to chicago by myself.

[haus]

Lets set aside law school for a few minutes. Having lived for several years in Central Wisconsin, where I would visit Chicago fairly frequently (or heading south as we would say), I can tell you with no hesitation that Chicago is not like California, especially Southern California. It is not a small thing to consider that the climate in the winter has the potential to be brutal, between the cold, wind, snow and ice. For those not acclimated, it can be an attack on the senses.

Obviously this is something that most can adapt to, but keep in mind that if you have not been through, it will be an extra item to toss onto the pile while you are going through the big adjustment of being a 1L. If you do opt to go to Chicago, may I suggest buying a very warm winter coat, set your wardrobe up for dressing in layers, by and wear wool socks. Anytime that you plan on going outside, be sure to leave yourself more time to get from place to place then your California trained brain will tell you that you need to get from point A to point B as you adapt to dealing with piles of snow, buried and/or ice covered sidewalks and parking lots, etc.

Despite the not nice weather, Chicago is an interesting city, one that I recommend that most people should see, although I find it a nicer place to be in the warmer months.