My turn: Please advise on a tough decision...

[chidochido]

So I was all set on going back to law school at Berkeley (back in CA, where I'm from) but I just got the acceptance from Columbia (in NYC, where I've been working since graduating college)...

I know lots of people think it's insane to even think about going back to Boalt now, but I'm really considering it for the following reasons:

1) I miss my people. I'm really family oriented and all of my best friends are back in CA...even though I've made some great friends in nyc I think having all my peeps around me might help with the stresses of law school...

2) I eventually want to live in CA...even though I like the prospect of the CLS connections in nyc firms and clerkships, I know that I would eventually like to settle down in CA...

I wouldn't even trip about this but I feel like going to CLS isn't just a three year committment but more like a 7-to-10 year committment when you think about working after school and all...I love it here in nyc but that just seems like way long to be away from my loved ones back on the west coast...

Is this really a choice between family and career? What do you guys think?

[M DOT]

if your family friends and future are in cali then i think boalt would be the best, although im sure your wouldnt have a problem finding work in cali out of CLS...but def boalt, good luck with your decision!

[jorge]

From what you posted, it's not clear to me why you would consider attending Columbia at all.

[Poetgrl21]

Boalt...absolutely...

[chidochido]

Thanks for all the replies, all...

I am considering CLS bc all of my friends that are lawyers or in law school say it's worth it career-wise...I guess it is just more marketable in their eyes and apparently it would be easier to get a job after school...it seems to be the way to go for heavy-hitter clerkships as well...

[jorge]

Do you really think you'd have trouble getting a job after attending Boalt? Surely Columbia would place betterin New York (and the east coast), but it sounds like you want to spend most of your life in California. The prestige and opportunity difference are not worth the 7+ years (I agree with your assessment in that case) away from your friends and family.

[check01]

It sounds to me like Boalt is the best decision -- if you know you want to be in California near your family and that's where you want to settle, there is almost no advantage to going to CLS. Boalt is extremely well-regarded, so don't think you'll lose out on prestige. Plus, the friends you make in law school are the roots of your career network, why plant those roots in NYC only to pack up and leave them behind forever?  You can make the decision even easier by trying to use the CLS admit to get some money out of Boalt.

Full disclosure: this is from someone who is 99% certain to turn down a T10 school to go to the local school where I've decided to settle down.

[Pancho]

I vote Berkeley.

[Groundhog]

Going to have to disagree with you on this one, George Jefferson. Not only are Boalt's LSATs significantly up this year per new LSAC data, most funding issues have been resolved and they have a new fundraising campaign.

If you want to end up in California, Boalt is definitely the way to go. You can get jobs at all the offices easily with more access to California firms.

[chidochido]

Since I haven't gotten money offers from either, where do you think there is more security for a high-paying job afterwards? How high would you have to place in the class? I know Boalt has the chill grading system, but I would think you could have a lower class rank at CLS and still get a pretty good job...any thoughts?