Why do you think Hastings will be "3 years in hell?" I don't know a lot about the school, but you're in the middle of one cf the coolest cities in the world.
I love San Fran. I grew up in the Bay Area. I might be the biggest 49ers fan in the world. Unfortunately, despite that, a lot of things make me wary of Hastings:
1) Alumni and current student reactions. I've talked to people who are current students at Hastings, as well as one of their former student body President's, and I always hear basically the same thing. "It's cutthroat" "The grading curve is one of the toughest in the nation." "The school is intense." "A lot of the students are assholes." "You can feel the competition by just being there". Only the former prez mentioned all the times he got drunk with fellow students... after he mentioned the "super competitive" atmosphere.
2) Another thing I heard was "There isn't really a campus life". The former prez did acknowledge that the lack of campus life (other than their 'beer at the beach' event once a month) wasn't as bad as it may seem, because you can hang out at other people's apartments and you have all of San Fran, "The City", as it is called, at your disposal. That would be cool, but having lived in SF my whole life, it's kind of a 'been there, done that' deal in my case. Also, the 'campus' is just two buildings and the tower of dorms. As soon as you leave one of these buildings you are in the Tenderloin, ie the hood. It's the shadiest part of SF. I'm not a big fan of that fact.
3) The school is not attached to a large scale university. Most law students don't care about this. Many even prefer it, because there are 'no stupid undergrads' around to actually enjoy their lives and cause noise that would distract from studying. For me, this is huge. Even though my undergrad was a large public school, it was set up in a way that made it contrary to the 'college experience'. The biggest thing was there were no D1 sports, no football team, and no greek row. This had a HUGE negative effect on student morale. I don't need a greek row at this point in my life, but few things in the world make me happier than football. It's hard to explain to someone who isn't into sports, or even a casual fan. Football is my life outside of school. At one point I even wanted to be a coach. And it keeps me centered. I always perform best academically when I am surrounded by football. I KNOW that I will perform better at an institution with a football team to help release my stress on Saturdays. That's just the way I am. Hastings, being a stand alone law institution, doesn't even have a MASCOT to my knowledge. I'd hate to have no pride in my undergrad AND law school, being a person who is very prideful in his affiliations.
4) I always hear of students turning down Hastings for lower ranked schools, which is odd. In the past year I have met four students who chose T2 USD over Hastings, citing quality of life as their main concern. US News wise that is a 50 spot drop. I've talked to them since then (one is a 1L, the others are 3Ls) and they are ALL CONVINCED THEY MADE THE RIGHT DECISION. That's kinda scary. I'd pick Hastings over USD every day of the week, so it's a little disconcerting that all these kids are taking lower ranked schools over Hastings and doing so with a smile on their face.
Hastings grads do get amazing jobs though, like the OP said. If you go there you're pretty set. If you don't care about all the things I do, Hastings will put you on a great career path.
A lot of the facts in this post are inaccurate and I am jumping in to set the record straight (at least from this Hasting 1L's perspective).
1) Rigor. Yes the grading curve is rough, but it's not really a big deal (except for the ego). Employers know you cannot compare grades from school to school so they take the curve into account. As for the talk about Hastings being super competitive, that is just silly. It was probably competitive at one point in time (90's?)... but not any more. My section is pretty laid back and people share class notes freely. Based on my discussions with friends at other bay area schools, Hastings is as competitive, or less competitive. It's rigorous, not cutthroat. This is law school, not undergrad, and you will have to deal with rigor no matter what law school you choose.
2) Campus life. Beer on the beach is every other week, not monthly. The student organizations are very active and there are tons of things to do. There is a lot to do within the campus community: sports (soccer, basketball), every week there is a bar review type thing sponsored by a student orgs... there are pizza parties, ice cream socials, bingo, talks, and all sorts of crap all the time (e.g. weekly). The campus life is very active.... As for the tenderloin, you are on the EDGE of the tenderloin, not dead center so that is a false comparison. Also, SF as a whole is a fantastic and diverse city.
3) Stand alone school. While Hastings does have a mascot (the Shark), you are correct about the lameness of not being attached to an undergrad institution. well said. I really wish we were associated with an undergrad institution. rooting for the soccer club to beat Boalt or Stanford's soccer club is simply not the same as real college sports.
4) ?? If your friends are turning down Hastings for lower ranked schools, I would consider getting new friends. USD grads cannot compete with those at the mid-bottom of Hastings' class. Sorry, but the Hastings name travels well throughout the State (and to a less degree nationally). Other, lower ranked schools like USD, do not have the same name recognition. The top few percentage points of USD grads can compete with us, but beyond that it's not even close.
In sum, I chose Hastings over other similarly ranked schools (+/- 15 spots), and am glad I did so. UC Hastings prepares you for legal practice and gives you the theoretical training necessary to perform well in many situations. Our alumni network is one of the strongest in the nation and the opportunities available to Hastings grads are competitive with other schools within the State and Nation. The students are phenomenal and I'm glad to associate myself with such a diverse group of intelligent and accomplished students. I don't mind when people weigh characteristics of law schools, but please make sure you have the correct facts and are not relying on decade old information.
Hopefully this helps some of those wandering 0Ls out there.. feel free to PM me or post in this thread. I don't check LSD very often, but I will do my best to keep an eye on this thread for the next few weeks.
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