<p>My parents are convinced that it's not possible to be a sucessful lawyer unless you attend an ivy, but i'd really like to stay on the west coast and in a major city. USC seems to be my best option to do that, and from what I've researched, I really like the school too. I've heard that if you want to get a job in L.A., that USC is a good school to go to, but I've also heard that a USC degree dosen't mean much anywhere other than L.A.</p>
<p>Is this the case?</p>
<p>Also, due to the economic conditions in California right now, my parents are suuuper reluctant to let me go to school there, but I figure that if it really is that bad right now, by the time i graduate law school in 2017 (a looong time from now, i know!) the situation out to be better.</p>
<p>Not living in California, I have no idea what the situation is like down there. Do things seem to be on the upswing?</p>
<p>I’m a prelaw business/accounting student, and I think that going to USC for undergrad was one of the best choices I ever made. The fact that not all the students are ivy league quality makes it that much easier to rise to the top of your class. Attending USC also allows you to explore a wide breadth of opportunities that will definitely contribute to your profile in the eyes of law school admissions staff.</p>
<p>USC has a good enough undergrad reputation that you should be fine with selective law school admissions, as long as your GPA is reasonably high and you do well on the LSAT. USC is above the threshold of reputable schools from which law schools like to draw their students.</p>
<p>While the undergrad institution matters some in law school admissions, I’d say it has very little effect on future employment. It’s where you go to law school and what you do there that truly determines your options for employment. </p>
<p>Based on what I’ve seen so far with my son, a rising sophomore, the storied “Trojan Family” is no joke. USC grads do seem to sincerely want to help USC students and other USC alums.</p>
<p>As for the state of California and its economy, a private school like USC won’t be as significantly affected as state universities. What is your parents’ concern, exactly? In the short run, maybe the cost of living will go down a bit, which would be nice while you’re a college student, and in the long run, you don’t have to live there if it’s not working for you.</p>
<p>I’d consider doing both undergrad and J.D. at USC, but that really depends on how I feel if and when I get there. I’m the kind of person that needs a change of scenery every now and then, so after four years in L.A. there’s a good chance I’ll want to be someplace else for a while, but then again, I may love it, so I don’t know.</p>
<p>My parents will only let me visit schools once I get accepted to them (they’re weird), but from what I’ve read and heard, I already kind of love USC. Far more than anywhere else I plan on applying. Also unlike most of the places my parents are forcing me to apply (H/Y/P/S, and the rest of the top ten) I actually have a decent chance at get in!!</p>
<p>FauxNom- okay, I’m a little confused. I’ve heard of the whole “Trojan Family” thing, and I really like that, but if I only go to USC for undergrad, go to law school someplace else, and want a job in L.A., will the “Trojan Family” still apply even though you said that undergrad has very little effect on future employment? I’ve heard “once a trojan, always a trojan”, but is that true even if only four years are spent as a trojan?</p>
<p>And that’s what I thought- sure, the school’s endowment may have suffered a bit, but given that it’s private I doubt it’s going to be in as bad shape as UCLA and UCSD are going to be in…</p>
<p>I know a couple people in law school right now. Most of which are in T14 schools, including my sister who is currently at U-Penn. I also heavily considered law for a long time and definitely researched all the nitty gritty details about law school.</p>
<p>It REALLY REALLY does not matter (for the most part) where you do your undergrad at. As long as its a semi-decent school you’re fine. 90% of the admission process is your GPA and LSAT score. It’s almost exclusively a numbers game. Your EC’s and the school you go to play a very small role. So if you’re worried about going to USC over an ivy and how that will affect your chances for law school, don’t. Just go to the school you will be happiest at, major in something that interests you, and get good grades. Study hard for the LSAT and do well. Follow these steps and you wont have any trouble going where you want for law school.</p>
<p>As the wife of a lawyer permit the following comments. If you go to Cal state Northridge and apply to Harvard Law even with straight As and outstanding LSATs they will not choose you over someone from UPenn with excellent stats. But from Northridge you can get into a decent law school. What really counts for getting a job is where in your law school class you finish. A top graduate from UCLA will get a job in any market, as will a top USC graduate. A mediocre grad from UCLA or USC will be challenged to get a job in any market. Go to school where you think that you want to work. (Disregard this if you are going to Harvard/Yale etc.) You will have made your connections in that city. You will have probably interned in that city.</p>
<p>As a current California resident, I’d have to say things are still financially up in the air. However, I don’t think you will be affected much at USC. </p>
<p>Although Stanford is considerably harder to get into than USC, it’s on the west coast and it’s close enough to the Bay area and that many students spend their summer there (my uncle being one of them). Additionally, my uncle did his undergraduate at Stanford and applied to Harvard Law, and was accepted… He turned them down for Stanford Law to stay in CA, though.</p>
<p>About the Trojan Family: I have very little experience with this, but it sounds like SC grads often are very helpful to other SC grads when it comes to networking an opening doors during a job search. So even if you attend USC only for undergrad, I imagine those doors will stay open. (And I guess that’s a narrow exception to my general statement that where you go to law school matters much more than where you went to undergrad.)</p>
<p>I agree with ellebud - where you go to undergrad actually does have more to do with law school admissions than students on these forums like to think. Law professors who sit on admission committees would much prefer to admit a top student from a highly regarded undergrad institution than from a middling one. But there are middling law schools too, so in a way, there’s a place for everyone.</p>
<p>I’m getting a letter of rec. from a man who graduated at the top of his class from USC’s law school. He worked for Gov. Gray Davis way back when and now works with my father. </p>
<p>If your parents are paying for law school, then they have a major say in which law school you decide to attend. If you are paying for law school, then the decision of which is school is yours.</p>