USC LAW SCHOOL ACCEPTANCE

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Q. I finally heard from a law school, and at least it was an acceptance- -by USC. Any information, anecodotal and impressionistic or otherwise, on USC's reputation and placement clout both locally and nationally? Cost issues aside, how does the school compare to UCLA --both in terms of image, prestige and so on, and in terms of actual quality of teaching, breadth of curriculum, intellectual level of student body, etc.? Also, the acceptance letter said nothing about any financial aid. If anyone knows, does this mean what I suspect it does, that USC is NOT offering me any kind of scholarship, and that I should just get in line for the loans--or is merit-based aid, if any, handled along with need- based as part of a separate financial aid process?

A. Congratulations on your acceptance. USC was also the first school to reply to me last year, and since it came so early I expected a flood of acceptances from all the other schools I applied to. Boy, was I disappointed. I got turned down from Boalt and UCLA--didn't even make the wait list. I'm not trying to discourage you, but I do believe that getting into USC is a lot easier than getting into UCLA. All I know about USC is what I've heard from my friend who's a 2L there and what I've read. It sounds like an excellent school, with great facilities, faculty, job placement, and all that. But I have heard that the students are fairly competitive (more so than UCLA) and there is a great emphasis is placed on grades. I can't really think of any reason why someone would choose USC over UCLA. Well, USC does have nicer facilities and smaller classes, but I think UCLA has a better reputation. I think USC also has a higher average starting salary, but don't read too much into that. Personally, I don't think that means USC grads are better able to land the high-paying LA jobs than UCLA grads. I think that perhaps USC grads as a group are more inclined to take the high-paying LA jobs than UCLA grads, IMHO. I am a 1L at USC Law. I'll leave the questions about scholarships to the administration. Regarding the school, I think you'll find that most of the students have a pretty high opinion of the school. Ditto the employers--prestige-wise SC is about on a par with UCLA, at least in California. UCLA may have a bit of an edge, simply because it is harder to get into. It is harder to get into because of the low tution and consequent huge number of applicants. This may be why UCLA typically is shown a notch or two higher on the US News survey. (Despite somewhat higher starting salaries by SC grads, at least some years.) Bottom line is that your class standing at either school will probably make more difference regarding how you are perceived by employers than will attending one school vis'a'vis the other.

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