Hello, I’ve never used College Confidential before so my apologies if I do something wrong…
I am looking for help deciding where to attend (mainly looking for advice of anyone who has been in my shoes and has gone on to Law School as I am trying to be forward-looking). I was accepted into 6 schools, but am mainly only considering UCLA, USC, or UCSD. I plan on majoring in political science, am hoping to either double major or minor in music performance somewhere down the line (I am a saxophonist), and am looking to attend Law School 4 years from now.
Call me an optimist, but my pros/cons list doesn’t really have cons. The only cons I can think of for these schools is if I start comparing them (i.e., con for USC is it doesn’t have “x” that UCSD does have). These are really all just pros that I need help comparing.
UCLA
- Beautiful campus in a beautiful area
- Herb Alpert is a world-renowned music school for me to be able to join down the line
- That UC prestige (in all honesty, I do not care about this; Law Schools, especially Ivies like I would like to attend later on, I would assume do; notice the assume, hence why I am here)
- Great political science program
USC
- Beautiful campus
- Thornton is, again, a widely renowned music school for me to look into down the line
- That private school prestige (AGAIN: in all honesty, I do not care about this; Law Schools, especially Ivies like I would like to attend later on, I would assume do; notice the assume, hence why I am here)
- Great political science program
- Deans’ Scholarship (I can’t say this is a pro for financial reasons as even with this one quarter tuition award the school is still far more expensive than the UCs, not a deciding factor I will add, more a pro for the benefits and potential of staying at McCarthy)
- The potential of staying at McCarthy (see above; unfortunately, I won’t know if I can until after I accept the offer and commit in May, so this would be a big risk to take)
- My family would love me (SC football, anyone?)
- The potential of joining marching band as I did all through high school
- Pre-Law track program to guide me in the right direction to prepare for graduate school
UCSD
- Beautiful campus in my favorite area (I have spent time in both LA and San Diego; I prefer San Diego immensely, though it’s not as impactful because La Jolla is not San Diego, of course)
- Best political science program out of the three (from my understanding; correct me if I’m wrong)
- Many close friends (including best friend of many years) have committed here; I understand its often recommended to not make other people a consideration, but I can’t avoid it (I also think it would especially help as Covid is still limiting socialization and just the idea of having a base of people to fall back on with the all the awkwardness of meeting new people as a freshmen)
So that’s the situation. I will note that I was waitlisted by my two dream schools: Stanford and Harvard. While this is a shot in the dark, it makes it even more important to make the right decision here. If they don’t work out, I want to be somewhere I will be happy for the next four years (the idea of transferring isn’t appealing to me, though this could of course change).
All in all, I need advice on how these schools will affect my chances of getting into a prestigious Law School down the line. Any advice on this or my selection in general is greatly appreciated! 