Notre Dame vs. William & Mary vs. Fordham Forum

[im_blue]

anybody know when the next USNEWS rankings come out?

The current US News online subscription ends 4/13, so the rankings should come out then.

Fordham if you're dead set on working in NYC, otherwise ND for the best job prospects nationally.

[jwrit07]

Has Fordham or Notre Dame released their 2009 employment numbers yet? W&M released theirs and shockingly.....it's pretty good. Median starting salary for private practice was $140,000 with over 70% reporting. Curious to how Fordham and Notre Dame did for 2009...Im sure Fordham got destroyed...

[im_blue]

Has Fordham or Notre Dame released their 2009 employment numbers yet? W&M released theirs and shockingly.....it's pretty good. Median starting salary for private practice was $140,000 with over 70% reporting. Curious to how Fordham and Notre Dame did for 2009...Im sure Fordham got destroyed...

Yeah, but the real bloodbath will be 2010 and especially 2011.

[jwrit07]

It's official Fordham is out of the picture! With ND and surprisingly even W&M, NYC employment is still very possible. No sense in having to be stuck in one job market like I would have been with Fordham.

Oddly, I spent the last 3 years trying to get into Fordham and now that I am in I wont even be attending. AMAZING

[danidancer]

It's official Fordham is out of the picture! With ND and surprisingly even W&M, NYC employment is still very possible. No sense in having to be stuck in one job market like I would have been with Fordham.

Oddly, I spent the last 3 years trying to get into Fordham and now that I am in I wont even be attending. AMAZING

What changed your mind, jwrit? I ask because I was also choosing btwn ND, W&M and Fordham, and I'm 99.9% certain I'll be at Fordham now...

[jwrit07]

After much consideration I realized I would be better suited at a smaller school in a smaller city--William & Mary or Notre Dame. I think going to law school in the middle of Manhattan, at least for me, would be a bit of a culture schock and I'm not sure I could balance school + being in the middle of one of the busiest cities in the world. Im from a big city, Houston, but have never even visited NYC.

Also whats very important to me is portability with my degree. William & Marys reach is limited to the Mid-Atlantic region but that enompasses anything from DC to NYC-- if I really want it. With Notre Dame just about every legal market seems to be possible (or at least USED to) from NY to LA. Not to mention I would not be recieving scholly money from any of these schools and W&M and ND are far cheaper then Fordham.

My decision essentialy comes down to just personal preference from equally good schools, certainly a good problem to have.

[jwrit07]

And of course not to mention William & Mary released their 2009 employment numbers and reported a starting salary of $140,000 in private practice with over 70% reporting....Thats gotta be better then Fordhams right now....

(Realize this is to be taken with a grain of salt)

[vanwinkle]

And of course not to mention William & Mary released their 2009 employment numbers and reported a starting salary of $140,000 in private practice with over 70% reporting....Thats gotta be better then Fordhams right now....

(Realize this is to be taken with a grain of salt)

But that's average starting salary of those who got jobs at law firms. There's no guarantee at all you'll get one from W&M. I hope you realize that.

[danidancer]

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 1&t=110795

[jwrit07]

True, but I'll take those odds anyday...I'm dying to see Fordhams 2009 employment numbers...I wonder whats taking so long for Fordham to release them...

[jwrit07]

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 1&t=110795

Thanks danidancer! Out of curiousity what made you choose Fordham over the rest?

[danidancer]

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 1&t=110795

Thanks danidancer! Out of curiousity what made you choose Fordham over the rest?

Haha, pretty much the exact reason you decided against it. I'm in NYC now, I don't want to move, and I'd eventually like to practice here. Fordham being "regional" isn't really an issue, since it does astoundingly well in NYC for a non-t14 and that's where I want to be. Choosing William and Mary or Notre Dame, I'd be much less likely to be able to come back to NYC. That said, I'm on about a million WLs and if I get into a t14 over the summer, I'll gladly move and pay sticker over Fordham.

[jwrit07]

.

[timertimer61]

And of course not to mention William & Mary released their 2009 employment numbers and reported a starting salary of $140,000 in private practice with over 70% reporting....Thats gotta be better then Fordhams right now....

(Realize this is to be taken with a grain of salt)

fordham released their 2009 stats, and they seem to be better than william and mary's with more than 90% reporting.

[jwrit07]

And of course not to mention William & Mary released their 2009 employment numbers and reported a starting salary of $140,000 in private practice with over 70% reporting....Thats gotta be better then Fordhams right now....

(Realize this is to be taken with a grain of salt)

fordham released their 2009 stats, and they seem to be better than william and mary's with more than 90% reporting.

Ya your right, i just found it. Here's the link in case anybody is interested...

http://law.fordham.edu/career-planning/17281.htm

98.9% reporting....i dont know but I just find that hard to believe.

Median salary $160k for 2009...dont know what to say about that but it sure beats ND and W&M.

[jwrit07]

Oh and Danidancer, I predict you will be at Notre Dame come this Fall
(unless of course you get into a T14)

[jwrit07]

.

[danidancer]

Oh and Danidancer, I predict you will be at Notre Dame come this Fall
(unless of course you get into a T14)

We shall see.

[jwrit07]

?

[84Sunbird2000]

Just to add on about employment numbers: 140k (or even 80k) in Virginia/DC/Mid-Atlantic > 160k in NYC in terms of what you get (COL comparisons). Since Fordham is NYC or NYC, 95% of their 160k jobs are in the place where 160k goes the least far. W&M's numbers are very non-NYC, and thus I'd take 115k - assuming the worst regarding the 20% gap for those who didn't report at W@M - from W&M every day.

[timertimer61]

Just to add on about employment numbers: 140k (or even 80k) in Virginia/DC/Mid-Atlantic > 160k in NYC in terms of what you get (COL comparisons). Since Fordham is NYC or NYC, 95% of their 160k jobs are in the place where 160k goes the least far. W&M's numbers are very non-NYC, and thus I'd take 115k - assuming the worst regarding the 20% gap for those who didn't report at W@M - from W&M every day.

thats subjective. new york city has so much more to offer (variety) that cannot be matched by anywhere in virginia, so the QOL might not be as comparable as you make it to be.

[Dr. Strangelove]

All three schools are similar in many ways. However, Notre Dame is probably slightly better than the other two for BigLaw (unless you definitely want NYC.. then Fordham). Overall, ND is tops.

[84Sunbird2000]

Just to add on about employment numbers: 140k (or even 80k) in Virginia/DC/Mid-Atlantic > 160k in NYC in terms of what you get (COL comparisons). Since Fordham is NYC or NYC, 95% of their 160k jobs are in the place where 160k goes the least far. W&M's numbers are very non-NYC, and thus I'd take 115k - assuming the worst regarding the 20% gap for those who didn't report at W@M - from W&M every day.

thats subjective. new york city has so much more to offer (variety) that cannot be matched by anywhere in virginia, so the QOL might not be as comparable as you make it to be.

Oh, I understand that NYC's "attractions" trump the COL considerations for some people. I guess I don't understand what you can get in a city of 10 million that you can't get in a city of 2 million, so in that sense I was biased.

However, when it comes to how much housing/food/savings you can get at X dollar amount, it's not really that subjective. You can buy a nice 3-bedroom house and have equity, while in NYC you would probably be living in a small condo or paying rent. COL calculators have a certain statistical usefulness.

Of course, I'll probably live in a custom-constructed 500-square foot energy efficient 2BR/1BA pad on the corner of a farmer's field. BUT, I just like pointing out that Fordham and Cardozo's big salary numbers don't necessarily beat or equate to other schools' lower median salaries with different placement regions.

[jwrit07]

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