NYU or UCLA (~$75k)
Posted: Sun Apr 14, 2019 6:16 pm
I apologize in advance for the long post. I am currently deciding between NYU (still waiting to find out if I will receive any aid) and UCLA (~$75k total merit scholarship). My assumption is that if I get any aid from NYU at all, it will be significantly less than UCLA's offer, as although I am above the 75th percentile for GPA at NYU, I am below their 25th for LSAT scores.
My ultimate goal is to work at a BigLaw firm in Northern California -- I am from NorCal and am highly intent on returning to the area. It is my understanding that the top 1/3 of UCLA students and about 70% of NYU students land BigLaw jobs. However, only about 6.5% of NYU grads ended up in CA based on the latest data. Additionally, I am assuming that while both schools have high-caliber students, it would be much more difficult to graduate near the top of my class at NYU than at UCLA. That being said, is UCLA my safest option for CA BigLaw? I know that NYU would be my best choice for BigLaw in general, but I have no desire to stay on the east coast after graduating and am wondering how high I would have to rank in my class in order to get back to CA. Or do you think NYU would increase my chances at NorCal BigLaw over UCLA?
I was also waitlisted at Stanford and Berkeley, so I have been debating retaking the LSAT (it would be my third time) and trying again for those two schools. However, doing this would be a gamble since there is no guarantee I'll actually improve my score (I've never had issues with tests before, but the LSAT gives me hugeee testing anxiety), and I may just end up putting myself in a worse position.
What do you think the most risk-averse option is?
My ultimate goal is to work at a BigLaw firm in Northern California -- I am from NorCal and am highly intent on returning to the area. It is my understanding that the top 1/3 of UCLA students and about 70% of NYU students land BigLaw jobs. However, only about 6.5% of NYU grads ended up in CA based on the latest data. Additionally, I am assuming that while both schools have high-caliber students, it would be much more difficult to graduate near the top of my class at NYU than at UCLA. That being said, is UCLA my safest option for CA BigLaw? I know that NYU would be my best choice for BigLaw in general, but I have no desire to stay on the east coast after graduating and am wondering how high I would have to rank in my class in order to get back to CA. Or do you think NYU would increase my chances at NorCal BigLaw over UCLA?
I was also waitlisted at Stanford and Berkeley, so I have been debating retaking the LSAT (it would be my third time) and trying again for those two schools. However, doing this would be a gamble since there is no guarantee I'll actually improve my score (I've never had issues with tests before, but the LSAT gives me hugeee testing anxiety), and I may just end up putting myself in a worse position.
What do you think the most risk-averse option is?