<p>Consider this scenario. You can see into the future and know you will get a 3.2 GPA in your last two years at UC Berkeley and a 3.5 GPA in your last two at UC Davis. Where would you go? I'm like 90% in favor of Cal but I wanna hear what other people have to say. The 3.2 vs 3.5 is me being cautious by the way.</p>
<p>Well, are you going to grad school? What’s your major?</p>
<p>i would choice 3.5 GPA. because 3.2 is pretty low and where ever you go for undergrad, doesnt matter…all matters is where you go for you Master or professional school…good luck in your choices. :)</p>
<p>I’m Political Science and LSAT trumps GPA.</p>
<p>even with a superb LSAT, a 3.2 will keep you out of nearly ALL t14s. Save northwestern and Cornell perhaps.</p>
<p>My dad went to Northwestern so that would be cool with me.</p>
<p>I’m not so sure if LSAT TRUMPS GPA.
While I do not have first-hand experience, I have found this website to be helpful in determining the relative importance of GPA and LSAT for admissions into law schools: </p>
<p><a href=“https://career.berkeley.edu/Law/LawStats.stm[/url]”>https://career.berkeley.edu/Law/LawStats.stm</a></p>
<p>I also know a friend who got into Duke law from UC Davis. </p>
<p>It really doesn’t matter where you go for undergrad–as the saying goes–what really matters is how you come out of it. </p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>Davis isn’t that far behind Cal in terms of rankings. A decision between 3.2 Cal and 3.5 CSU is definitely legitimate, but getting a 3.5 from Davis will probably be a lot more beneficial unless there are big differences between the specific departments.</p>
<p>3.5 most definitely </p>
<p>3.2 will kill all chances of getting into a t20 law school and without a law degree from a t20 your kinda screwed </p>
<p>a 170 on lsat wouldn’t get you even close with a 3.2 gpa</p>
<p>Lol it seems like you’ve been defending cal by your responses! Why don’t you go there , you might be happier with the choice and do better in school!</p>
<p>The only negative I see in going to Cal instead of Davis is a little hit in my GPA. I have no idea what grades I would get. I could always get a masters in public policy.</p>
<p>I’m polisci too, and transferred last year to Berkeley. I had the same thoughts as you considering graduate school. I figured if I couldn’t face a more challenging undergrad program at Berkeley, then I wouldn’t be able to face a good graduate program. Berkeley is the sensible choice.</p>
<p>Had a 3.9 at CCC. Berkeley GPA looks like it will be about 3.7 after one-year. You’ll manage the transfer, so go to Berkeley.</p>
<p>“without a law degree from a t20 your kinda screwed”</p>
<p>This is a joke right. I highly doubt “your screwed” if you don’t get into a top 20. I’m from the Northeast and many of my friends’ parents went to either Boston College or Suffolk University. Neither of which is in the Top 20 on most lists (some of BC). If their quality of life is considered screwed-- Where do I sign up?</p>
<p>I think it’s really splitting hairs…if it were me, I’d go where I felt more comfortable. if you enjoy where you’re at, you’ll probably do better anyways, and I hardly think your life is over if you graduate with a 3.2 from cal. I know it sounds ridiculous, but some companies will still hire you even with a lowly ba/s from ucb ;)</p>
<p><a href=“http://informeddecisionmaking.blogspot.com%5B/url%5D”>http://informeddecisionmaking.blogspot.com</a>
<a href=“http://calicocat.com/2004/08/law-school-big-lie.html[/url]”>http://calicocat.com/2004/08/law-school-big-lie.html</a>
<a href=“Latest News - ABA Journal”>http://abajournal.com/news/triplt_bad_news_for_law_students_three_firms_aX_summer_associate_programs/</a>
<a href=“Latest News - ABA Journal”>http://abajournal.com/news/as_rio_tinto_saves_millions_other_corps_will_outsource_too_counsel_says/</a>
<a href=“http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2009/02/03/dont-try-to-dodge-the-recession-with-grad-school/[/url]”>http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2009/02/03/dont-try-to-dodge-the-recession-with-grad-school/</a>
<a href=“http://lawschoolscam.blogspot.com%5B/url%5D”>http://lawschoolscam.blogspot.com</a>
<a href=“DealBook - The New York Times”>DealBook - The New York Times;
<a href=“http://media.www.dailyorange.com/media/storage/paper522/news/2009/09/15/News/Law-Students.Face.Tough.Job.Market-3771810.shtml[/url]”>http://media.www.dailyorange.com/media/storage/paper522/news/2009/09/15/News/Law-Students.Face.Tough.Job.Market-3771810.shtml</a></p>
<p>[Law</a> school: the big lie](<a href=“http://calicocat.com/2004/08/law-school-big-lie.html]Law”>http://calicocat.com/2004/08/law-school-big-lie.html)
very good quote from the above article
"There are some lawyers who start out with a good salary. They work for what they call “BIGLAW” on the internet message boards. Big law firms pay their associates a starting salary in the six figures. But here’s the sad news: only a tiny percentage of law school graduates will ever get these six figure jobs at big law firms. Unless you go to a top law school, the six figure big law firm job will most likely not be yours.</p>
<p>There are only 14 top law schools. That’s right. Not 10, not 15, but 14. They are, in descending order of prestige: Yale, Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, NYU, Chicago, University of Pennsylvania, University of Michigan, University of Virginia, Duke, Northwestern, Cornell, UC Berkeley, and Georgetown. And that’s it. Go to any other law school, and your chances of getting a big law firm job will be slim to none.</p>
<p>There are also distinct levels of prestige within the top 14. Yale, Harvard, and Stanford are head and shoulders above the rest. Then Columbia, NYU and maybe Chicago round out the top 6. Attending one of these top top law schools will vastly improve your odds. The guy graduating at the bottom of the class at Harvard will have better career opportunities than the guy graduating at the top of the class at an ordinary law school.
"</p>
<p>You don’t go to a T20 your not getting recruited which in this job market for lawyer is KILLER. </p>
<p>Obviously you know people that are exceptions but don’t except these law firms to come knocking. You might believe your the next Johnny Cochrane however unless your in a T20 the door will basically be shut.</p>
<p>Hell according to that article if your not in a t14 law school your shot at a big firm is nil</p>
<p>I can go on and on with website that prove this and if you don’t believe me because obviously you won’t then i wish you the best of luck
and don’t say no one warned you</p>
<p>they say this about big investment banks as well, but it’s not right. the last two interns before me at mssb became vps for goldman sachs. they went to ‘good’ schools, but not ‘top’ schools. a large percentage of the time ‘who you know’ can be just as important as ‘what you know.’ don’t bother flaming me if you think it’s all about numbers and %s. it’s my .02 based off of my limited experience.</p>
<p>@Mkcman17 </p>
<p>You have a much better chance of getting into one of those banks because they are based on merit much more than other professions. </p>
<p>The truth is if you don’t end up at a big investment bank your economics/BA/MBA/etc degree has ALOT more uses in all facets of business than a Law degree. </p>
<p>If you were unable to find a job involving law how would you explain to another business why you aren’t practicing it and trust me anything you come up with will not help you get hired</p>
<p>there’s plenty of reasons to explain not pursuing law. my old philosophy professor quit his firm because he grew tired of the bureaucracy. <em>i hear</em> that this is pretty common. besides, most people don’t truly know what they want to do out of college. in my opinion, i think you’re making the world out to be more cynical and unforgiving than it really is. i am not a believer that X.XX gpa and X class rank = $XXX,XXX salary. you can graduate top of your class from a t14 and still be a social boob. maybe i’m wrong. however, i’m still convinced that anyone can get a VERY substantial career with a degree, at least one good contact, and a good interview.</p>
<p>The old saying plan for the worst and hope for the best is a good model is live by.</p>