bferamics30

I never thought I'd be asking this question, since most people (whether counselors, fellow classmates, or just random ppl online) have always said the opposite, but I just read someone's rant about California's supposed "master plan for education" and how it ensures that students going to CSU's have almost no chance of getting into graduate/professional schools, especially those in California (ahem, the UC's). This can't be true, right??? I mean, it was just an online rant (and from Collegeconfidential, at that) but why would someone just make something like that up?

I'm specifically interested in law school (any of the UC law schools would be nice) and the one thing that's been drilled into my head ad nauseum from past and present law school students is that 90 percent of law school admissions is undergrad gpa and lsat score, and where you went to school matters little. But this person has me freaking out!!!

Can someone shed light on this?

On a personal note...several of my friends who went to top UC's for undergrad (berkeley, LA) ended up at Sacramento State (a CSU) for their master's...it can't be that bad right??!?

bferamics30

Thank you for the response! That's comforting.

I guess it depends on the grad/professional program then. it seems to be a general consensus that going to a CSU would hurt you majorly for med school admissions, but that's irrelevant to me since I'm interested in law school :~

LAforlife

^I think Sunburst meant Davis' law school is not worth the price, not undergrad. In fact, getting into a top law school is very difficult, even with great stats, so you may want to to consider going to a good school for undergrad if getting into a top law school doesn't happen, so that you can easily switch to something else.

bferamics30

No, I know what he meant.

And I wasn't necessarily interested in "top" law schools like Berkeley or Stanford. I was just wondering if going to a CSU ruined your chances of getting into a good/decent law school/graduate program, like the top 50 (for ex: UC davis or Hastings with some scholarship money).

I was just randomly reading a thread about med school admissions and it sent up a red flag about going to a CSU, but law school admissions is completely different. For one there's a much wider range in quality and admissions selectivity. And all this time I had heard that law school was first and foremost a numbers game, whereas which undergrad you went to would be secondary in importance

LAforlife

Oh ok, just making sure. Ya, I don't think going to a CSU will hurt you either. But I also agree with Sunburst that going to one of those law schools may not be worth the tuition.

Shannon13

Not at all. CSU graduates go on to get into top schools all the time. I know of a couple that have gone on to HYPS and many more that went on to top 20/40.

andrewexd

Do your research on Law School and the job prospects of lawyers. I was interested in Law School, but I decided the poor job prospects, long hours and enormous debt was not for me.

UCBhopeful16

Law School Transparency is a great resource full of useful information.

theresistance

I recently heard about a girl who graduated from CSU Long Beach and got a Rhodes Scholarship, which I believe is at Oxford University, which is kiiiiinda one of the most prestigious schools in the world.

jleemd21

just get a good gpa no matter where you go. and get some EC's in. best of luck!