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03/24/2004: "Dilemma"
I have a huge choice on my hands right now, and I don't like it.
Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles is giving me $45,000 to attend their school. It's a scholarship that's only given to 20-25 students and is the highest honor they can award an incoming first-year student. The thing is, I have to notify them of my decision and pay a $300 tuition deposit by April 1. That's 8 days away. I have yet to hear from UCLA or USC, and I don't expect to within the next 8 days.
Con: UCLA and USC both rank in the top 20 out of all the law schools in the country. The other schools I've been accepted to so far, Loyola Chicago and Loyola LA, are both in the top 70. I'm still waiting to hear from but fully expect to get into Chicago-Kent, which is also in the top 70. Southwestern is a Tier 3 school, which means it's not in the top 100, but it's still ranked over many, many other schools.
Pro: However, the LSAC (Law School Admission Council) has a letter on their website that stongly denounces ranking systems and says to focus on factors important to you instead of numbers. This letter is signed by the deans of at least 200 law schools, including those that are ranked in the top 10.
Pro: Southwestern has sent me oodles of information about themselves in all these very-nicely made booklets that tell about things such as their alum and their faculty (many graduated from Harvard Law), and neither of the other two schools that accepted me have sent me anything other than an acceptance letter yet. Southwestern is making sure I know all about what they can offer me, and I'm very impressed by what I've seen so far.
Pro: Southwestern has the 2nd largest law library in California, which is impressive considering the state has all the UC branches and Stanford in it.
Pro: Southwestern is located on Wilshire Avenue in LA, which is a wonderful area and home of many million-dollar-plus apartments. It is close to my uncle's house, so the commute would be better than Loyola LA or USC, but probably a little farther than UCLA. They've recently expanded the campus area which they've made sure is a green area that doesn't seem like it's in the middle of the city. Most of the school itself is in the Bullocks Wilshire building, which is "one of the most admired and significant Art Deco structures in the world." The pictures are gorgeous. If I went to USC, I'd probably have to be worried about being jumped on the way to class every day. Not the case here.
Con: The scholarship won't make Southwestern any cheaper than UCLA; UCLA is a public school and with residency, will only cost me $10,000 per year. Southwestern is a private school, and is nearly $30,000 per year without the scholarship. With $15,000 per year from the scholarship, it will still be more than UCLA.
Con: My dream has been to go to UCLA. I don't know if I should pass this up for this scholarship when I don't even know if UCLA will accept me or not.
I plan on calling several people, including Southwestern's admissions office, to figure out what I should do here. Man, I liked it better when I applied to undergrad; I applied to one school, they wanted me, they offered me $2,000 a year in scholarships, I accepted no questions asked. This stuff is difficult.
And to think that I got this scholarship by filling out this tiny form included with my admissions materials that just required my name and for me to say I wanted them to review my application materials and be considered for the scholarship. I did it almost as an afterthought and figured nothing would come from it. Bah!