Santa Clara Vs. U of San Diego for Patent/IP law

[Einstein]

I am an EE and would like to pursue a career in Patent/IP law.  I was just accepted to Santa Clara.. I know that Santa Clara is really well regarded in IP law.  Up until this point I was 100% sure about attending USD, but now I am second guessing.. I am still quite sure I will be in San Diego this Fall, but I wanted to post this to see the responses I get.. Maybe they will sway me one way or the other.

[slacker]

Since you appear to have decided, what's your reason for wanting USD?

[Roman815]

So you aren't going to room with me at USD? lol

Well, good luck on figuring this out. Maybe Santa Clara would be better for IP but then I always hear that you should go to the best school since employers don't care about specific programs, they only care about the schools name. In which case, perhaps I should go to Case Western Reserve.

[Einstein]

So you aren't going to room with me at USD? lol

Well, good luck on figuring this out. Maybe Santa Clara would be better for IP but then I always hear that you should go to the best school since employers don't care about specific programs, they only care about the schools name. In which case, perhaps I should go to Case Western Reserve.

I still want to go to USD, but everytime I get an acceptance and withdraw I feel kinda sad... I guess it is normal after putting so much into this cycle. I felt the same way about my Denver and Stetson acceptance.. Oh well.. off to paradise and a top 25 faculty.

USD it is! 

My cycle is officially over!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Krisace]

Just decide which region you'd rather live in.  As an EE, you won't have a problem finding a good job.  Santa Clara may provide slightly better BigLaw opportunities for patent work but there's plenty of patent law going on in SD and really, this should just come down to where you want to live. 

For your situation, I'd say the schools are almost indistinguishable.

[donvito]

i just had a meeting with an employment counselor for 3Ls at santa clara today.  he said that most of the high tech stuff ends up going to the top 20% of the class.  i actually thought the meeting was pretty informative.  he was very honest.  like only about 50-55% of students are actually employed upon graduation in some sort of non-temp legal job.  the ABA on the other hand considers any job as employment so that's what all the schools report.  and santa clara's average salary is about 70-75k for small to medium sized firm.  it didnt particularly excite me, but he was pretty honest.  i'm really only considering santa clara because of the 42k scholarship they are giving me.  i guess i still would prefer Miami, but i have to visit them first.

[sno]

So...you've decided? I'll throw in my .02 anyways.

Go to the region you'd rather be in. SCU has a decent rep for IP law, mainly because it's in the heart of silicon valley. The only problem I have with SCU being known for IP/Patent law is whether or not they're known for it because that's essentially ALL they can place their people into (I don't mean that literally, I merely mean do they have a hard time getting their alum into everything else). I really don't know, I merely pose it as a possibility. I honestly don't know how different they could possibly be from everywhere else. I mean, I would think if you want to get into a top firm, you still have to finish at the top of your class. I don't question the possibility, however, that they're better for IP/patent law because there may be more smaller/medium firms in that region that deals with IP/patent. Just keep in mind you're still competing with Stanford, Boalt, Hastings, Davis, and probably USF.

[plex]

/wave at fellow EE Patent law!

They're both in the same state, so the location is mostly out of the question. Santa Clara is ranked 8th in IP law, while San Diego doesn't even show up. Does this really matter though, not really, it just means there is likely to be more IP classes offered at Santa Clara. It is really going to come down more to which costs less, is cooler looking and you just have an overall better feeling towards.

Start looking at the patent bar, that will probably help your job prospects more than picking between two similar schools.

[sno]

/wave at fellow EE Patent law!

They're both in the same state, so the location is mostly out of the question. Santa Clara is ranked 8th in IP law, while San Diego doesn't even show up. Does this really matter though, not really, it just means there is likely to be more IP classes offered at Santa Clara. It is really going to come down more to which costs less, is cooler looking and you just have an overall better feeling towards.

Start looking at the patent bar, that will probably help your job prospects more than picking between two similar schools.

not quite accurate...cali is a HUGE state and it does matter...sd = so cal, scu = bay area...imo, sd is a "better" school, but let's face it, they're both regional and nor cal and so cal are not really the same region so if you want to be in the bay, go for scu

[Krisace]

Agreed.  There's a big difference between SD and Santa Clara.  Just pick the area in which you want to live and work.  Also, those IP rankings the US News does, and any other program specific rankings, mean next to nothing.

For example, McGeorge has a "top 20) International Law program.  What does that mean?  Nothing.  None of their students are working abroad and I'd be surprised if a single student ends up working in some sort of government position dealing with intern ational affairs.