University of San Diego 2015 Forum

[Aria.S]

Got my acceptance on Christmas Eve--anyone else attending?

[mertle]

i think i probably will. torn btwn santa clara and usd but san diego has such a peaceful happy quality of life. i'm ready for some sunshine!

[vkgarrett]

Still deciding - but it's def one of my top! Are you going to admitted students day?

[Aria.S]

I'm going to admitted students day but I haven't decided which one yet. Anyone else going?

[vkgarrett]

I'm going to admitted students day but I haven't decided which one yet. Anyone else going?

Just decided on march 26. Come then!!!

[Aria.S]

I'm going to admitted students day but I haven't decided which one yet. Anyone else going?

Just decided on march 26. Come then!!!

Haha that works!

[danicab]

I'm crazy about USD but uneasy about the cost (I know, I'm highly original). So, out of curiosity, what are some of the pros and cons that everyone else is weighing in terms of whether or not to attend USD?
I love San Diego and would be beyond content to practice there, but I have a full-ride to another school (albeit in a less desirable part of the country)...

Just want to know what everyone else is thinking.

[vkgarrett]

I'm crazy about USD but uneasy about the cost (I know, I'm highly original). So, out of curiosity, what are some of the pros and cons that everyone else is weighing in terms of whether or not to attend USD?
I love San Diego and would be beyond content to practice there, but I have a full-ride to another school (albeit in a less desirable part of the country)...

Just want to know what everyone else is thinking.

SD is GREAT if you want to live in san diego, it has a very good network here... so keep that in mind

[Unmondodolce]

I'm unfamiliar with the San Diego area, does anyone know where most law school students live? Their housing page wasn't particularly helpful...

[mjb919]

Mission beach, Mission Bay, Mission Valley. Each are pretty close

[buddyluv545]

I'm crazy about USD but uneasy about the cost (I know, I'm highly original). So, out of curiosity, what are some of the pros and cons that everyone else is weighing in terms of whether or not to attend USD?
I love San Diego and would be beyond content to practice there, but I have a full-ride to another school (albeit in a less desirable part of the country)...

Just want to know what everyone else is thinking.

More on this please! I know it has strong regional ties but I'm a military spouse so I can't guarantee we will stay in the area (although we hope we will stay). Although, since most schools ARE regional I probably take a risk going to ANY law school being a military spouse.

I haven't made any final decisions yet but San Diego is my number one choice at this point!

[WWAD]

A lot of schools are very helpful when it comes to transferring for military reasons. USD has a lot of spouses and military in the school. I have been very surprised how nice everyone is there.

[DC_Patent_Law]

I'm in at San Diego but torn between it and Loyola LA. I guess a visit will help. Does anyone else have the same dilemma?

[anne922]

Me- I'm completely torn between the two.

To answer everyone else's questions... San Diego is awesome. Went there for undergrad from out of state knowing not much about San Diego, love it, now call it home. Yeah a lot of students live in the area near school (there are some apartments, grad housing, and they are currently building a new complex) but if I were to go there I'd live in Little Italy or downtown with a lot of the other young professionals. A lot of Mission Beach/PB are college fratty scene, Mission Valley would probably be more affordable since it's not on the coast or downtown and it's close to school/grocery stores/malls/everything (think commercial area).

And to the military spouse-- you'd probably feel pretty comfortable at USD. I had a lot of military/spouses etc. in my classes even in undergrad... always see ROTC walking around campus etc

[smittelman6]

Hey guys. I'm a 1L at USD right now, and this forum helped me a lot with my decision last year... so when I signed in to check a PM, I thought I'd say hi. Feel free to post questions or PM me if you want to bounce ideas off of someone.

For what it's worth, I'm from NY and was deciding for law school between Hastings, Loyola LA, USD, Cardozo, and a full ride at Hofstra. I chose USD because this is where I want to live, and I am 100% happy with my decision.

[Phightins]

Hey guys. I'm a 1L at USD right now, and this forum helped me a lot with my decision last year... so when I signed in to check a PM, I thought I'd say hi. Feel free to post questions or PM me if you want to bounce ideas off of someone.

For what it's worth, I'm from NY and was deciding for law school between Hastings, Loyola LA, USD, Cardozo, and a full ride at Hofstra. I chose USD because this is where I want to live, and I am 100% happy with my decision.

What does the 1L employment situation look like for the upcoming summer? How helpful is the career services office? Do the law school students have access to all of the athletic facilities that undergrads do?

Thanks in advance! The first-hand perspective is invaluable.

[Dreas]

Was admitted in January, definitely considering attending.

I'll be at the March 26th ASD so I hope to see some of you there!

Hey guys. I'm a 1L at USD right now, and this forum helped me a lot with my decision last year... so when I signed in to check a PM, I thought I'd say hi. Feel free to post questions or PM me if you want to bounce ideas off of someone.

For what it's worth, I'm from NY and was deciding for law school between Hastings, Loyola LA, USD, Cardozo, and a full ride at Hofstra. I chose USD because this is where I want to live, and I am 100% happy with my decision.

What does the 1L employment situation look like for the upcoming summer? How helpful is the career services office? Do the law school students have access to all of the athletic facilities that undergrads do?

Also interested in hearing about 1L employment prospects as well as access to the athletic facilities. Thanks again!

[smittelman6]

- Job Prospects -
The job market is terrible everywhere. This is something that anyone going to law school needs to keep in mind. It's getting better, but it's nowhere near what it was five years ago. I can't speak to jobs post-grad, since I'm a 1L and don't know any post-grads, but hopefully later in the year I will have some more info on that from my 3L friends.
As far as summer employment for 1Ls goes, it's relatively good. Almost all of my friends have jobs already, many in SD, some in their hometowns. On campus interviewing was great, we had a lot of employers, and many students were offered jobs through that. I got my job (working for a Superior Court judge) through a networking event and through career services (sort of combined). If there's one thing I can't stress enough, it's NETWORK! No matter where you go, you need to be on top of all of the networking events your school offers, and go to as many as possible. Alumni want to help you. You looking good makes them look good; it ups our ranking and our reputation in SD and throughout the country. Every USD alum I have met has been 100% eager to help me out in any way they can. This doesn't always mean offering you a job, but I promise that the more people you know the better it will be in the long run.

- Career Services -
They are great. I have heard some stories and I know that not every single person has had a great experience, but mine has been absolutely amazing. You can't expect CS to do the work for you... you need to be out there looking for jobs and networking, but that being said, their job is to help you and they do a great job at it. Don't be afraid to go into your advisor, and ask for help. They can't do anything to help you if they don't know who you are. Several of my friends got jobs through spring OCI with the public defender, US attorney's office, and JAG. These are great positions that are going to go a very long way on their resumes.

- Athletics -
We have access to all of the same facilities as the undergrads. There is a main gym in the pavilion next to the football field, with all of the machines/etc you would expect or I'm sure you have at your undergrad gym. There is also a dorm-gym that has slightly different hours which is good, so that you have choices and can go pretty much whenever. We also have law-intramural-softball, which is a huge thing here. We play Thursday nights throughout the year, champs get t-shirts (and bragging rights ), and (my favorite part) everyone goes to a bar right off campus after the games for drink specials.

[Phightins]

Thanks, smittel. That's really good info. It sounds a though the opportunities to network are definitely there, which is huge.

[Dreas]

Excellent Smitt, you hit all the points in great detail.

Thanks a bunch on behalf of us all, I'm sure!

[jlr29]

Thanks everyone for all the great info. See some of you at the campus visit on March 26th!

[martorem]

Hey guys! I will also be at the Admitted Students Day on the 26th. Looking forward to meeting some of you! Right now I'm deciding between UCI and USD...I like UCI better but USD gave me an awesome scholarship soooo a visit is in order!! I'm excited for my trip!

[Beachbum89]

Hey guys! I will also be at the Admitted Students Day on the 26th. Looking forward to meeting some of you! Right now I'm deciding between UCI and USD...I like UCI better but USD gave me an awesome scholarship soooo a visit is in order!! I'm excited for my trip!

I'm in the same boat although I can't decide between UC Davis, UCI, and USD (big scholarship as well). I think I'm leaning toward Davis but I will be attending the event on the 26th so hopefully see some of you there!

[Dreas]

So, any opinions regarding USD bumping up to 65th in the rankings this month?

TLS hasn't updated the ranking list so I can't really comment on the refreshed GPA/LSAT brackets but thought that the recent ranking release may be a pleasant topic to also discuss in this thread, as well as what the trend has been for USD over the past four years (i.e. 61st to 56th to 67th to now 65th).

Personally, a higher jump this year would have been nice to see after the fall from 56th and the somewhat significant jumps for both Pepperdine and Loyola LA, but I guess some upward movement is better than nothing at all. I'm just not sure about what potential there is for further upward movement for USD over the next few years (maybe those with better insight, or current USD students, can chime in).

Anyone know how the rankings per year affect the incoming/graduating classes? What I mean, specifically, is if this year's 65th ranking will stick with the class of 2015 or does the ranking following the year of graduation actually stick with the class? I know many on here are under the opinion that the rankings don't mean anything at all, however, for the sake of this topic let's just go with the general understanding that rankings do in fact matter.

EDIT: I'm more concerned about the quality of education and read the rankings as a measure of whether or not the school is improving.

[splitsplat]

rankings are based on us news dark math so there is really no correlation you can draw based on ranking movements from year to year as it concerns the quality of education.. especially in Tier 2