<p>Ok, so I’m a little worried that if I don’t go to a very good state or private school, I’ll simply go to a state school that isn’t as good (think UC Irvine, Riverside, not that these are bad, but just not as competitive as UCB or UCLA). These schools are fine (the best state education in the nation, perhaps), and granted I go to a very good law school (Harvard, UPenn, Cornell, etc) perhaps my great graduate school will offset the fact that i went to a so-so undergrad school. I was looking on the website of a very prestigious law firm based in New York, which has 12 overseas offices. On the lawyers’ biographies, some of whom are not american, (this includes those who work in the 2 offices in the US as well as the other international offices) a good chunk of the lawyers’ education include excellent, if not very good undergrad AND (most importantly) Law school credentials; a typical profile may look like the following - (Undergrad: Cornell B.A. and Harvard Law School, J.D.) or (Undergrad: Sorbonne and Cornell Law School LL.M.). I mean, I know it’s a bit early to analyze all this right now, and I shouldn’t automatically tell myself “hey, you’re going to work at the best law firm, and therefore you need to go to harvard.” However, I need to make the decision very soon, on whether I should indeed attend the state school(s) aforementioned (let’s say UCI), or just go to a community college, save money and then transfer to UCLA (and after that who knows where to law school). In addition, I want to work overseas, and I don’t think I would have as much advantage going to UCI (undergrad) and then USC Law school, for example, than if i went to UCLA (undergrad) and maybe Columbia Law. Btw, I am a good student, but with admissions these days, especially at the UCs, you never know who’s going to get in. As they say, 2400 SATs get rejected all the time. So please, anyone else who is familiar with how law firms recruit their potential employees, tell me your advice on this topic. Another question, I might get a 4.0 GPA at an easier UC, but how will top law schools view an applicant like me, for example: UC Irvine 4.0 GPA vs. someone who went to Cornell w/ a GPA of 3.8 ; I mean, even if I do go to a “lower” UC and get that good GPA, will it be harder to get into a good law school ? Please help ! (and sorry if I may have put down some of the UCs, i didn’t mean it like that, lol)</p>