Decision time.... Help me out TLS Forum

[Rowinguy2009]

Alright so my cycle has come to an end. My two choices are Emory and Washington and Lee.

Washington and Lee gave me a full ride, provided I keep a 3.25, which is top 65% based off this years 1l curve ( I think it changes slightly from year to year, but top 65% is a good estimate of where I will have to be).

Emory gave me 81k all together, meaning total tuition debt would be just under 50k. No strings attached, just stay in good standing, which basically means don't fail out I think.

I have no undergrad debt, and my parents are gonna help me out with some living expenses. If you asked me to pick one school without thinking about money Emory would win out slightly because of location and job prospects, but only slightly, there are pros and cons to each school. I am alright with living anywhere in the southeast, which is why these are my final two schools. I want to do litigation, jag looks very appealing to
me, but I would like it if big/midlaw was at least an option. I am leaning heavily toward WL because of the 50 grand difference, the tuition strings do make me nervous though.

Give me some wisdom TLS, persuade me one way or another!

Ps, this was written on my phone, sorry for typos.

[MURPH]

emory. The tuition strings are gonna look a lot worse when you get a 3.24 GPA and they say tough luck kid. If you are really thinking about JAG then talk to a military recruiter. I don't know what they are offering but they are usually generous.

[LogosEther]

I vote Emory.

Ideally, you're gunna want to be top 65% no matter where you go, right? So either way, you're going to be worrying about that. If it was top 25% or something, that'd be a different story.

[thickfreakness]

If you want BigLaw/Mid-law then I think Emory's going to carry you further since it's located in the middle of the largest market in the south. 50K is a decent amount of debt, but if you don't have UG debt and can get some help with the living expenses then I think it's certainly manageable.

[rapstar]

i would try to get the requirement at w&l down to a 3.0 and then go there. what stats did you have to get 81k at emory, and was there anything else you did in particular there?

[badfish]

Remember, law school GPA is never a given. Smart people can do poorly and stupid people can do well. Take the guaranteed $. 50k is not a lot of debt at all.

[Rowinguy2009]

To answer some questions....

-I already tried to negotiate the W&L scholarship down, they said no. I am going to the ASW next week so maybe a one on one conversation will get them to change their minds, but I am not holding my breath.

-As far as stats go, I have a 166 and a 3.73. My cycle has made me think that people on this site slightly underestimate the importance of softs because I don't think my numbers alone were enough to get me the $ I was offered. I am a middle class white guy so no bump there, but I did apply very early, had three strong LORS at each school, and for someone right out of undergrad I think my resume is solid. I did get nominated for the Woodruff at Emory, which I think made a difference.

- One thing to keep in mind, my scholarship for my first year at W&L is guranteed. Worse case scenario I lose it for 2L and 3L years, which would make my tuition debt a little under 80K all together. Still a lot to pay, but not HUGELY different from the 50K I will definitely have coming out of Emory.

[Rowinguy2009]

One more thing, I think it's pretty established that Emory does not negotiate scholly money, so no way to negotiate their scholly up.

[Rowinguy2009]

Not to be impatient...but bump....anymore perspectives?

[Richie Tenenbaum]

Visited Emory yet? After you've seen both, you might have a better idea.

I would personally lean towards Emory. It's the better school and the GPA strings are scary.

[Tangerine Gleam]

Emory gets my vote. Atlanta is great and, more importantly, so is the school.