ED UCLA? Thoughts please

daphne06-1-1

Hi! So i'm having a tough time deciding whether or not to ED UCLA and would love some input. CAS GPA is 3.51 and LSAT flex (july) is 175, so I know I'm a splitter but I've been working at a law firm for what would be two years so I'm hoping that helps? I honestly really love almost everything about UCLA and if I applied ED it would be to a program that would guarantee me full tuition scholarship if accepted, which is a big deal for me. I guess I'm wondering if not going to the T14 is worth it? I've seen a lot online about how its a lot harder to work in big law if you don't go to a t14 and it seems like ranking plays a huge role in future career opportunities. I'm not sure I'd even get into a t14 cause my gpa is way below the 25% but I want to know if its worth committing without even finding out?

canihazJD

What are your goals (you mentioned BL but is this your only focus? Exit opportunities?) to include region and potential for portability, and is the ED program binding?

LOWERCASE EVERYTHING

i'm assuming that you're talking about ucla law's "distinguished scholars program" which is a binding early-decision program providing full tuition for three years to exceptionally qualified students ready to commit to ucla law. i happened to just talk to the director of admissions at ucla (danae) yesterday, and this program is really competitive and is intended to attract people who are unquestionably qualified to go to a t-14, but would rather attend ucla with a full-ride. you have a really great lsat score, but i think there still are uncertainties to get accepted to a t-14 (and thus the ucla full-ride ed program). don't get me wrong: i think you have a really fair shot, and some t-14s will be happy to take you. but i'm not sure which one that will be and if it will be the ucla full-ride ed program (here, i'm equating the chances to get into the ucla's full--ride ed program with a t-14 school).

if scholarships attract you, why not apply ed to northwestern? northwestern gives $120,000 merit scholarship to all admitted, and they say that they evaluate early decision applications according to the same selection criteria as regular decision applications (https://www.law.northwestern.edu/admissions/applying/documents/early-decison-certification-2020-21.pdf). if accepted, then great! you're in at a t-14 school. if they deny you, they would've denied you anyway even in regular decision, and you still have shots remaining in other t-14 schools plus ucla. moreover, northwestern may even consider you again for regular decision: "applicants who are not admitted through the early decision program may be held and evaluated again as part of the regular applicant
pool."

VerdantZephyr

@"LOWERCASE EVERYTHING" I think the problem with Northwestern versus UCLA is that UCLA is a full ride. Northwestern is only 40k a year, which still leaves a sizeable debt. I think @daphne06 was interested in the pros of full ride at UCLA (which is 15th this year I think, I am not up on West Coast schools) versus T14 schools. Full ride at a school in the mid teens is, to me, a much better deal than no scholarship at lower T14 and I do not think it is close. Texas, UCLA, Wash U, Vanderbilt all do a wonderful job of placing grads into BigLaw. Bottom line though, I think, if what was said about UCLA's ED program is true and it is more competitive than regular decision you are better off blanketing the lower T14 and teens. Apply to all of them and look for the money. That is just my opinion though. I have already decided that, as much as I really want to go to Duke, Penn, or UVA, I am not attending any law school unless I get a very large scholarship. I am not happy about it, but if that means I am at Boston or Emory instead it is what I have to do. Not everyone feels the same, so how do you feel about spending many years paying back the cost of law school?

LOWERCASE EVERYTHING

@VerdantZephyr i agree with you. i wanted to make the point that ucla ed full-ride would be equally competitive (if not more) than some of the schools in the t14s, if what i heard from danae was true, and that northwestern (with 40k a year) might even turn out to be easier to get than the ucla ed full-ride program. since i had the impression that the op was contemplating on the missed opportunities from not going to a t14 school but money still was a big factor, i had brought up northwestern as a balancer taking both money and ranking into account: it still gives you a lot of money (though not a full ride) but is a t14 school. it's not ucla and might not have all the good things that op likes about ucla though.

@daphne06 to add in more of my opinions, i don't think a sticker price at a lower t14 is much better than attending a t-20 school with scholarships. but this is just me, because i'm not super into biglaw and am cognizant of the law school debts. it'll depend on what you want to do with your law degree and where you want to practice. but i did hear that you can still do biglaw from a t-20 (though it might be harder). los angeles also has a pretty good legal market and i think ucla will serve you good. good luck!