Can't Decide: LMU vs. UC Davis vs. Scripps College

I’ve been trying to decide for weeks, and I can’t decide.

Background:

  • English major, although I might change or double to Political Science
  • Plan to attend law school after undergrad
  • 4.0 gpa
  • Accepted into a lot of great schools (UCD, Occidental, BU, BC, NYU, Scripps, etc.). Unfortunately, the best/favorite schools I was accepted to are very expensive privates and so I’m unable to attend any of them except for ~possibly~ Scripps (Scripps is closer than the other privates I got into, so family would be more willing) and LMU (got a great scholarship)

LMU:

  • Got a great scholarship, live nearby
  • Worried it’s not academically up to par with the other private schools I was accepted to (was originally a safety)
    *Have not visited yet

UC Davis:

  • Affordable for my family
  • Visited last week and I don’t like the environment very much, don’t know much about it (reputation, etc.), farthest away from my family of these three schools; kinda got the feeling there isn’t much nearby to do

Scripps:

  • Next to NYU, was my top choice; love campus vibe, girls seem smart/academically rigorous; love environment
  • So expensive and received no aid what-so-ever; worried that there’s not much surrounding Claremont/Scripps to do

Any advice or input would be greatly appreciated!

If you got a great scholarship at LMU, I would go there. Law schools largely look at your GPA and LSAT anyway. Btw, LMU has a lovely campus.

I wouldn’t go into much debt to go to Scripps (law school is expensive) and if you didn’t like Davis, don’t go- four years is a long time to spend somewhere you don’t enjoy.

Agree with the above posters ^^^ and I happen to love UC Davis, but LMU is a well respected school and sounds like your best option.

@Emsmom1 Yeah. If I went to Scripps I’d expect 30k in debt at graduation. The scholarship at LMU essentially means that the cost to go to LMU would be just slightly above the cost to go to Davis.

@Gumbymom Wouldn’t you say that Davis is more respected & more well-known than LMU? I’m starting to convince myself that if I stay in Davis for a while I’d get used to it/like it, and if not I could transfer to another UC like LA or SB

Davis probably is more respected and well known than LMU, but law schools don’t really care about the undergrad institution you graduate from as anothe poster stated. You should go where you’re happy and can achieve the highest gpa because that is what law schools care about.

$30K in debt is not bad. Of course, it’s not as good as $0 in debt, but $30K in debt is manageable enough that you could repay that after graduation. How would you be only $30K in debt if you got no aid whatsoever? Scripps is about twice that price per year.

Maybe it’s not, but I would expect that wouldn’t matter now because you can’t afford the other schools to which you were accepted. You have to work with what you have.

I wonder if other commenters can comment on how difficult is is to transfer between UC campuses. I wouldn’t go to one school already knowing that you’d have to transfer to other schools to have the experience you want.

@obsessedwcollege Hi! Thank you for your input! I’m definitely wondering the difference in rigor between LMU and Davis, but I assume neither of them are easy.

@juillet You’re right. I mistyped. I’d be 40k in debt. 40K in debt is already more than I’m comfortable with, and I’d have that as well as the cost of law school and I don’t know how I could manage that. 40K because with work and the amount my family is willing to pay, I’d be taking out ~10k a year. With Scripps and the other expensive privates I got into, I wasn’t offered aid because my family’s income is considered pretty high. However, with yearly expenses/loans, etc., my parents can only contribute ~20-25k a year and my grandparent is willing to contribute around 30k~. These are all very rough numbers. I wouldn’t be able to conscience asking anymore than that from my family.

@juillet - I suspect that is what she would have to get loans for, but her parents can pay the rest.

Scripps is a great school, but if you are headed to law school you probably don’t want to be that deep in debt already. You definitely need to visit LMU with an open mind. Attend a class and talk to students.

@plzadmit:
You really need to visit LMU. Beautiful campus and there is much to be said for having your 4 year degree with little or no debt, especially if you plan to apply to Law School.

My UCD Senior was saying many of his friends are stressing as they are currently looking for jobs after graduation since they have to start paying back their student loans. He appreciates the fact that he will be graduating with no debt so definitely does not feel the pressure to find any job immediately.

As other posters have stated, where you go for Undergrad will not determine if you are accepted to Law school so pick the school the best fits you: academically/financially and socially.

UC Davis is a very good school but also very competitive (as all the UC’s). Like I posted above, I love UCD but you need to find your fit. You will have very large classes your first year or more (GE courses) and you may not get that more individualized attention you could get at LMU. I know 2 successful graduates from LMU- both Business/Accounting and they have very good things to say about their experience.

Also do not go into any school with the expectation of transferring. Try to make the most of the opportunities you are given and you will succeed.

Best of luck with your decision.