Georgetown vs. Northwestern AJD Forum

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SirWilliam1022

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Georgetown vs. Northwestern AJD

Post by SirWilliam1022 » Sat Feb 05, 2011 8:32 pm

The other offer that I received was from Texas with $93,000 in aid. I am honestly very open to living in any of these areas although I would find the Dallas/Houston legal market less preferable than say Chicago, DC, New York. I also have political connections to DC, Union and family connections to Chicago, and more connections in Arizona. Location is less of an issue than stability. At first glance, I rated Northwestern > Georgetown > Texas. With the scholarship money this then became Northwestern > or = Texas > Georgetown. That said, a colleague of mine suggested that I reconsider everything in light of the alumni connections suggesting that both Texas and Georgetown have deeper alumni bases (by virtue of size) vs. Northwestern. While this is true, the counter to that would seem that they hire deeper into their class (Northwestern does) by virtue of it being a smaller class (and a particularly targetted program as well). Thoughts? What would you do and why?

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LLB2JD

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Re: Georgetown vs. Northwestern AJD

Post by LLB2JD » Sat Feb 05, 2011 8:36 pm

If you're open to living in Dallas/Houston, then I'll take Texas in your case. Of course it is safer to go to Northwestern because the degree has more National portability, but the $$ at Texas is significant enough. Maybe you should wait and see what sort of aid NW throws at you, and then decide.

You shouldn't even be considering Georgetown any longer at this point.

SirWilliam1022

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Re: Georgetown vs. Northwestern AJD

Post by SirWilliam1022 » Sat Feb 05, 2011 8:42 pm

That was my feeling based on employment information from the colleges, clerkship opportunities, faculty quality (and connections), etc. That said, people seem very adament on suggesting Georgetown anyways. Is that just because of lay prestige? Should lay prestige even be considered given the fact that employers are in the field (hence are aware of what is real and what is lay prestige)?

SirWilliam1022

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Re: Georgetown vs. Northwestern AJD

Post by SirWilliam1022 » Sat Feb 05, 2011 8:45 pm

Or does it have to do with specialty rankings, the idea that D.C. is close to everything (even though many of these markets are already shut out and recruit from all over, not just D.C.), and the rest. How much should rankings even be a guide? Based off student quality Georgetown would obviously be lower than Northwestern because of the part-time program. However, if you focus only on the full-time program numbers then Georgetown reads as having a stronger pool of applicants. This then is countered by the fact that the AJDs have more years of work experience and slightly higher LSAT scores (slightly lower GPA). So... when comparing, what does everybody look for in making an honest determination besides the obvious of location and specialty.

bdubs

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Re: Georgetown vs. Northwestern AJD

Post by bdubs » Sun Feb 06, 2011 11:52 am

The AJD means you will be out on the market faster, but not necessarily with better placement results. The accelerated program means that it is hard to find an SA because you lack grades. What are you trying to do out of school?

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EarlCat

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Re: Georgetown vs. Northwestern AJD

Post by EarlCat » Sun Feb 06, 2011 12:06 pm

bdubs wrote:The accelerated program means that it is hard to find an SA because you lack grades. What are you trying to do out of school?
They have grades just not as many (I think they will have had 6 classes, as opposed to the JDs' 10.)

In '09 (which was the first year AJD's did OCI), the biglaw SA placement rates of JDs and AJDs was very similar. I haven't seen the numbers for 2010.

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