nakedjuice (2022-2023)

LEGEND
Sent: Date I submitted the application on LSAC
Received: Date school requested application from LSAC
Complete: Date school told me I had a complete file
Decision: Date of Letter
$$$$: Amount awarded per year
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http://www.thelawschoolreport.com/

REACH
USC
UCLA
UC Berkeley
UC Irvine

TARGET
Washington
San Diego
Arizona
UC Davis
UC Hastings
Cardozo
Loyola
Pepperdine
Santa Clara

SAFTEY
California Western
Chapman
Southwestern
Pacific McGeorge
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7/17/09 - Since being put on the Waitlist at UCLA, I have grown a "waitlist beard." Know as a playoff beard in the NFL and NBA, a player stops shaving when his team enters the playoffs and does not shave until his team is eliminated or wins the title. One recent example is Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Roethlisberger and his beard led the Steelers to their Super Bowl XL victory, and later had his beard shaved by David Letterman on air during his appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman.

Until I'm officially in or out at UCLA, the beard will stay. I hope to spread this ritual to all future law school applicants. May the Waitlist Beard thrive in coming cycles.

6/15/09 - After a lot of soul searching and a minor mishap with Davis' admitted student website, I finally decided on USD at 11:54 PM. A small excerpt from ATL about the new rankings explained my situation the best:

"Out west, we see that UC - Davis is still higher ranked than UC - Hastings. But can either compete with the new UC - Irvine and its free tuition? Or maybe you want to go to Arizona, work in Phoenix, and live in a state that is affordable and not likely to quake off into the ocean anytime soon?

These are all good schools, but to make the best choice you need to think more critically about where you want to practice once you graduate. Sure, the top five percent from these schools can go anywhere. But (and you can check my math on this) 95% of the students at these schools will not end up in the top five percent of their class."

I'm looking forward to staying in SoCal. With that said, here's to hoping UCLA admits me off their Waitlist! :)

6/8/09 - Not much new. Mailed in a LOCI to UCLA on May 21st from abroad, where I'm currently staying for the summer. I plan on sendinging in another LOCI immediately I fine tune it a bit more. Hopefully, I get in since I would attend UCLA without a doubt!

5/8/09 - Waitlisted at UCLA, sweet. :)

4/15/09 - Called home to find out that I was dinged from UCI like so many others on LSN. At least that's out of the way. :)

Sent deposits to both USD and UC Davis to buy some more time. I essentially have 6 more weeks before USD's second deposit on June 1st to make my final decision.

4/13/09 - Unofficially withdrawing from Hastings and Pepperdine (i.e., no e-mail sent). Hastings is a fantastic school with excellent job prospects, but the high cost of living and the meager grant I received is just much more than I'm willing to pay. Same story with Pepperdine, except the job prospects aren't anywhere as great in my opinion. If I wanted to work in Los Angeles, Loyola would be a much better option because of the greater number of firms that show up for their OCI.

Barring a Hail Mary from UCLA or UCI, it's between Davis and USD for me. I'm flip-flopping every other day. On one hand, I'd save a lot of money by living at home in San Diego. On the other hand, my employment prospects as a USD graduate would be limited to the San Diego region, where the legal market frankly isn't that large. I'd like to practice in San Diego, but am open to the entire Southern California region if it means a better paying position.

Tuition between the two schools are the same, but I'll be paying at least 30-35k more over the course of 3 years by living in Davis. Arguably, that's not too much. However, 30-35k in addition to 60k in tuition isn't exactly a few pennies here and there. The obvious benefit of Davis over USD is its name, small entering class (170 per year, and 35 students per section), and my gut feeling that I would simply enjoy my legal education at Davis more than San Diego. In regards to the last factor, you would think my decision should be fairly straightforward and easy. If only.

Feel free to comment, I'd love to hear everyone's opinions. :)

3/28/09 - Withdrew from Pacific, Arizona, and Loyola for various reasons via e-mail.

Arizona - way too hot
Loyola - absurd scholarship renewal requirements, top 10%
Pacific - limited employment opportunities outside of Sacramento

3/21/09 - In at Arizona with a $12,000 Dean's Achievement Scholarship, eligible for renewal each year by remaining in "good academic standing." Decision came by mail in a large white envelope. I'm looking to stay in California, so I'll be withdrawing soon.

In other news, I feel vindicated after UW's lost to Purdue in today's tournament game. :)

3/20/09 - Dinged at University of Washington. I suspected as much when I found out that other TLS applicants who also received a 3/13 decision date were rejected. I have no regrets applying, it was worth a shot.

3/16/09 - I spent this past Thursday through Sunday visiting some schools in Northern California. Specifically: Pacific McGeorge, UC Davis, UC Hastings, and the University of San Francisco. I understand a number of people are also in the same boat as me in deciding between some of these schools, so I'll go ahead and give a few quick thoughts about each. If anyone wants more information, feel free to PM me. I'm more than happy to respond.

UC Davis - I e-mailed their Admissions Office a week prior to schedule a tour and class tutor. Both the staff and the 1L student who gave me a tour were extremely inviting. Even though the building itself is a bit dumpy, I can honestly say that Davis had the best student atmosphere of all the schools I saw this weekend. I noticed everyone was upbeat, bright, and smiled a lot; it was like they weren't even law students! Needless to say, I really enjoyed my time visiting Davis. Note: their King Hall expansion which was supposed to be completed Fall '09 is now scheduled to be ready by Summer '10. The California budget crisis played a number on their plans.

UC Hastings - Since I didn't schedule a tour, I wasn't able to even step inside the building. Hastings is definitely serious about their security, which is pretty nice for anyone concerned about their location in the Tenderloin. However, I would say the Tenderloin was definitely no worse than any average neighborhood in America, so don't let Hastings' location scare you. On another note, the size of their two primary law buildings is certainly impressive. I would say both units combined are at least 4 times larger than UC Davis' law building. However, Hastings lacked the vibrance that Davis had. In stark contrast to Davis, I saw no students anywhere around the building. Davis had students sitting randomly around benches outside the building, in the hallways making small talk, etc. I would say Hastings certainly lives up to its stereotype as a major commuter school.

Pacific McGeorge - Pacific was the primary reason why I was even up in Northern California to visit the 4 schools. Their Legal Scholars Day provided travel reimbursement for my plane ticket and car rental. As a result, I'll always have a small place in my heart for them. This is not to say their law program is in any way inferior to the other schools I visited in any way. In fact, I would argue that McGeorge has some compelling factors in its favor. I was like their faculty a lot, they were quite enjoyable in the classes we sat in on. Also, the campus itself is super charming. Everything looks homey, the campus is very green, and everyone was super down to Earth. The Dean, herself, lives in a small shack right across from the on-campus student apartments. If my long term plans were to live in Sacramento, I can honestly say I would attend Pacific McGeorge without a second thought.

University of San Francisco - Of all the schools I visited this weekend, San Francisco undoubtedly had the best law building. Everything looked like it was constructed within the last 5 years and looked modern contemporary. Beyond that however, it seemed like a major commuter school and no one was really around/inside the building. In other words, it was essentially like Hastings. I did not apply here.

3/15/09 - According to the University of Washington's status checker, a decision on my application was made on 3/13/2009. Seems like a small group of people on Top-Law-Schools are also in the same group as me. It's going to be an interesting next couple of days, that's for sure.

3/5/09 - Dinged at USC. :P

10/24/08 - I uploaded the wrong version of my personal statement last night when I was submitting my applications through LSAC. Fortunately, all the schools were happy to update my application with the correct version when I contacted them by e-mail. Live and learn. :o