Help: Seattle U, Case, Mississippi, Temple, Utah, W&M, W&L Forum

[fwlan]

I have to get my head out of the sand and start working on this decision.

The list of schools to which I've been accepted or am still waiting on:

Seattle U, Case, Mississippi, Temple, Utah, W&M, W&L

I am currently in SLC Ut, so the perk to Utah is not having to relocate. My wife has extensive connections in Seattle and has worked it out so we will have free room and board if we go there. My first choice is split between Case and W&M. I am planning on focusing on international human rights law so these would both be excellent choices. I am married and have two young kids so the financial considerations are huge.

Any thoughts from people in similar circumstances? My hope is to not have to work too much while I'm in school so I can focus on my studies. My fear is of moving somewhere without any support and having to drop out due to family considerations. I have never had to finance anything this huge short of a house. I would like to avoid racking up too much debt, but am not sure it is worth it to take that risk for a better school. Also, I worry about taking out loans for cost of living expenses.

Obviously, this is not well thought out at this point. I will check back often and hope you guys can come up with some good advice or factors I have not considered. Thank you all.

Micah

[saltoftheearth]

Which of the schools are you still waiting on, exactly?

Best city in that list: Seattle
Worried about loans for cost of living? Free room and board via wifey connections: Seattle

I would consider W&M (for your interests) and SeattleU with a scholarship plus the incentive of free housing

[fwlan]

Waiting on Temple, Utah, W&L and W&M. I've been accepted at the other three.

[HERetICal]

Waiting on Temple, Utah, W&L and W&M. I've been accepted at the other three.

W&L would be a nice area to raise a family and a low cost of living, but if your wife wants to work, employment may be slim (depending on the field).

[macattaq]

Having recently moved to Seattle to attend Seattle U, I can say the following:

Seattle is a great city. It has been really easy to settle in here. I think that the overall ethic of the city is family friendly, and I would certainly stay here, if only for that. The flipside is that the cost of living is much higher than where I am from, but if you don't have to pay for room and board, then you should be completely fine as far as making financial aid work for you. The school is good, and the professors generally make it obvious that they want you to succeed. The community is pretty nice too, students get along well with each other, and we socialize quite a bit.

I can't speak to the other places, otherwise I would.

[erniesto]

Depends on the market you want to try to enter

Since I've heard horror stories about Seattle Univ and job placement I didn't apply (plus the bastads [sic] didn't give the fee waiver I asked them for). However, I did apply to UofWash but am starting to hear their career prospects are dim to grim given the Pacific NW's small legal market. Keep in mind you're going to be competing with UofWash and the Cali schools for positions here. Though your CoL is small here.

As far as Virginia/DC market, I'd go to W&M (I'm assuming you don't have the numbers for UVA) for the tuition and similar job prospects. From what I understand W&M has pretty good name recognition. Williamsburg isn't bad for suburbanite America and is relatively inexpensive. Bush Gardens is right down the road, as is Richmond. VA Beach is only 2 hours away. Your family will have plenty to occupy themselves.

[mhd08]

Depends on the market you want to try to enter

Since I've heard horror stories about Seattle Univ and job placement I didn't apply (plus the bastads [sic] didn't give the fee waiver I asked them for). However, I did apply to UofWash but am starting to hear their career prospects are dim to grim given the Pacific NW's small legal market. Keep in mind you're going to be competing with UofWash and the Cali schools for positions here. Though your CoL is small here.

As far as Virginia/DC market, I'd go to W&M (I'm assuming you don't have the numbers for UVA) for the tuition and similar job prospects. From what I understand W&M has pretty good name recognition. Williamsburg isn't bad for suburbanite America and is relatively inexpensive. Bush Gardens is right down the road, as is Richmond. VA Beach is only 2 hours away. Your family will have plenty to occupy themselves.

Can anyone comment further on this? I applied to Seattle and love the area but I wasn't planning on doing too much research on employment stats until I got a decision from tehm.

[erniesto]

My info was mostly anecdotal from Seattle alumni who were left unemployed for long periods after graduation (even joined the military to cover costs). Just didn't seem worth the risk for me to move cross country and hope for a good career coming out Seattle U.

However, according to TLS only 68% are employed at graduation, with 24% in business, w/e that means . ITE who knows. But apparently UofWash had a nuked OCI, so I can imagine things aren't looking great at Seattle. Might be wrong though.

[macattaq]

I think it depends. If you want BigLaw, your chances are actually about on par with students from UW. I have met a good many associates and partners who graduated from SU, but a smaller number who graduated from UW. Even fewer from the CA schools, although I have seen that HYS, UVA, and Michigan have a good number of grads out here as well. On the other hand, I know there are a bunch of 3Ls who are sweating because they haven't got a job lined up. Some are looking at getting an LLM, just because it will enable the economy to recover for another year before they have to look for a job. Then again, this is the case across the country, unless you are in the T10-15.

[darknightbegins]

Waiting on Temple, Utah, W&L and W&M. I've been accepted at the other three.

I'm still waiting on W&M too. I'm starting to think I won't hear from them until Mid to late March at best and I may have a waitlist in my future...but enough about me.

Of the schools you have gotten into so far Case is the best, however you have other considerations and your room and board are covered in Seattle. Tough tough choice. With a family to consider and your expenses at least somewhat covered in Seattle that might be the most practical choice. If you were single I'd say Case. If you get into W&M that should be a definite slam dunk. If your wife can secure employment then I would lean toward case over everything else but W&M but as it stands now Seattle is the best way to go.

[fwlan]

I think the choice is going to come down to Utah, Case, Seattle and W&M. Anyone have words on how Utah compares to Case and W&M?

[darknightbegins]

Utah is a fine school, I've applied there myself. There is a Utah thread floating around here somewhere, I would suggest checking it out. I think generally Utah is on par with Case, just different regions obviously, with both being below W&M.

[fwlan]

I think I'm down to Utah, Seattle and W&M. Case would be a bit too pricey for me, I think. The three schools look very similar with regard to their International/Human Rights offerings with William & Mary having the obvious locational advantage. I'll place the appropriate posts on the appropriate boards, but does anyone following this have any experience in the field?

[macattaq]

I don't have particular experience with this area of law, but I have talked to some people about it. At SU, we have a 3L internship at The Hague, and there is also one at the International Criminal Court. We have a program where you can assist with the prosecution of the Khmer Rouge leaders in Cambodia. The Hague internship and Cambodia internship will be going on for some time, and have guaranteed placement for an SU student. The one at the ICC is likely to be wound down soon, because the current trial is expected (although may not be) the last one. All three of these can be done as either a semester or yearlong externship, so you would get up to 15 credits for participating. One of our professors is in Kenya facilitating the reconciliation process. He is the only non-Kenyan working on the panel, and IIRC, takes students as interns.

These are some of the things that are available, but whatever you can think of, the school has people who can help get you where you want to be. I sniffed around this area early on in first semester, but decided it wasn't for me. If you're interested, PM me, and I can try to get you in contact with a 2/3L who is actively working in this area.