Emory vs. Fordham

[flcath]

I don't agree with this. I mean, it's irrelevant to this thread b/c obviously Fordham > Emory for NYC, but I personally would rather have an Emory degree than a Fordham degree looking for work in a neutral market like Chicago or northern California.

You'd also be an idiot to go to Emory over, oh, I don't know, Illinois if you want to go to Chicago or one of the Cali schools for Cali.

Yeah well no shit.

What I'm talking about is only really relevant for those who don't know where they want to go / need to change their mind during LS (due to an engagement, etc.).

So, what did you not agree with? Because you didn't quote anything. You just made up your own hypothetical without telling anybody where it was coming from, so I was assuming it had some kind of connection to the topic at hand. Which, apparently, it doesn't. I guess I should have noticed you saying it's irrelevant to this thread. Apologies for trying to read relevance into your off-topic musings.

The off-topic discussion is far more debatable than OP's question.

[Blindmelon]

Emory is better than Fordham, but Fordham is better for working in NYC, by a large margin, just think about it, it's in NYC and there are a lot of Fordham grads at NYC firms. An Emory degree will travel better than say a University of Georgia degree, but its best potential is in its hometown market (true of almost any non T14/T10 school).

Sorry, but this isn't remotely true. I would take Fordham over Emory any day of the week based on pure placement, and in the abstract they are no doubt peer schools.

[flexityflex86]

When I was in this situation until my choice school took me, I was going to take Emory, because I felt it would open up Florida, and more cities I would enjoy living in.

Also, the COL in Atlanta is under 50% of Manhattan, which puts less pressure on you. However, everyone I know from Atlanta wants to move to NYC, but the grass is norm always greener.

[MrAnon]

I think if you attended graduation at either school and spoke to pretty much any student receiving a degree you'd realize both schools are bad choices when the other option is not attending law school at all. You might want to consider that route.

[flcath]

I think if you attended graduation at either school and spoke to pretty much any student receiving a degree you'd realize both schools are bad choices when the other option is not attending law school at all. You might want to consider that route.

Eh, depends on what his background is.

I'd rather be in law school than getting yelled at by the manager at Chili's, which is the type of work poli sci shitheads get.

[crit_racer]

I think if you attended graduation at either school and spoke to pretty much any student receiving a degree you'd realize both schools are bad choices when the other option is not attending law school at all. You might want to consider that route.

That's a pretty ridiculous statement.

[MrAnon]

Ridiculous why?

[Robespierre]

I think if you attended graduation at either school and spoke to pretty much any student receiving a degree you'd realize both schools are bad choices when the other option is not attending law school at all. You might want to consider that route.

Wut? No law degree at all is better than a law degree from the #22 school in the country? What's your reasoning please?

[crit_racer]

I think if you attended graduation at either school and spoke to pretty much any student receiving a degree you'd realize both schools are bad choices when the other option is not attending law school at all. You might want to consider that route.

That's a pretty ridiculous statement.

There is no way you could possibly know this. "Pretty much any student" implies that not just a majority, but a vast majority of graduating students regret their choice. Have you surveyed the students at these schools and found that the vast majority regret their decision to attend?

Even if the vast majority of students at both schools did regret their decision, which I would be willing to bet isn't the case, that is irrelevant to how OP would feel about his/her decision to attend. I could talk to 10 people who have tattoos, and even if 9/10 regretted their decision to get one, it doesn't mean I would regret mine.

Also, I happen to know that "pretty much any student" graduating from Fordham does not regret their decision to go. I have 3 friends who came out of Fordham in 2010. 2 were above median (1 in top quarter) and got biglaw jobs. 1 was below median and took a few months to find something, but eventually she landed a job with a small litigation firm making 60k. All 3 are happy with their decision to attend, as I'm sure are many others.


Everyone should have a realistic expectation of what they are going to get out of law school, but I think your statement was overly pessimistic.

[aaaaaah]

I think your statement was overly pessimistic.

As are the vast majority of MrAnon's posts.

[flcath]

I think your statement was overly pessimistic.

As are the vast majority of MrAnon's posts.

Seconded.

I dunno if its trolling or what, but the legal market is (actually) really bad, even w/o lying about it. All this "omg, you'd have to be top <4% at Emory to land Biglaw" nonsense is just going to make ppl doubt everything this board says.

I mean, guys, there are real statistics out there, and many ppl that read TLS are too smart to buy into the "well, the response rate was only 60%, and we can safely assume that the 40% who didn't respond are all giving handjobs on the street for crack" argument.

You gotta keep it realistic or it comes off as comical, like JDU.

[dpk711]

I think if you attended graduation at either school and spoke to pretty much any student receiving a degree you'd realize both schools are bad choices when the other option is not attending law school at all. You might want to consider that route.

Wut? No law degree at all is better than a law degree from the #22 school in the country? What's your reasoning please?

Ummm... First, both these school are ranked #30. Second, and more importantly, I would rather have a mediocre job without a law degree than do a shitlaw job with a law degree and be $200K+ in debt.

[johnnyutah]

I think if you attended graduation at either school and spoke to pretty much any student receiving a degree you'd realize both schools are bad choices when the other option is not attending law school at all. You might want to consider that route.

Funny. I go to a t-14 and have several classmates who, given their debt load and job prospects, wish they had never gone to law school at all. Just what, exactly, do you think having a J.D. will do for you?

[MrAnon]

Living on 60K/year in NYC is like living on 30K in the midwest, but with six figure debt! Enjoy that sweet life! Unless you have an elaborate cheating system set up to ensure finishing at top of the class then schools at this level do not make economic sense to attend.

[MrAnon]

I think if you attended graduation at either school and spoke to pretty much any student receiving a degree you'd realize both schools are bad choices when the other option is not attending law school at all. You might want to consider that route.

Funny. I go to a t-14 and have several classmates who, given their debt load and job prospects, wish they had never gone to law school at all. Just what, exactly, do you think having a J.D. will do for you?

Bragging rights on TLS.

[Robespierre]

I think if you attended graduation at either school and spoke to pretty much any student receiving a degree you'd realize both schools are bad choices when the other option is not attending law school at all. You might want to consider that route.

Wut? No law degree at all is better than a law degree from the #22 school in the country? What's your reasoning please?

Ummm... First, both these school are ranked #30. Second, and more importantly, I would rather have a mediocre job without a law degree than do a shitlaw job with a law degree and be $200K+ in debt.

"Pretty much any" Fordham or Emory grad goes into a shitlaw job and 200K in debt? Link, please.

[bk1]

emory is a national school. it has alumni in most states. emory ,what national reputation? is an ignorant rhetorical question by a typical self righteous/ jaded TLS user.

Just because certain regional schools are known outside of their region and have placed a small portion of their graduates outside that region does not make them national. They are still regional schools placing the vast majority of their graduates into their respective regions.

Anybody going to a regional school with the intention of using some ill perceived national prestige to help them get a job elsewhere is an idiot.

This statement isn't categorically true. Of course you'd be better off going to Emory vs. (say) U. Maryland for the NYC market. The first school is better, and employers know that.

The statement applies perfectly for the OP though, who is considering choosing a school in a remote location over a similarly regarded school in the market he's targeting. Even among the T13s, I think you'd be foolish to bet that way.

Well it isn't categorically true, it is pretty close to it. While obviously it's better to go to Emory over UMD for NYC, it is still pretty foolish to go to Emory at all when the goal is NYC.

[bk1]

"Pretty much any" Fordham or Emory grad goes into a shitlaw job and 200K in debt? Link, please.

The average debtload is irrelevant to the person making the decision. All that matters is their debtload. It's pretty hard to dispute that the majority of Fordham/Emory grads end up in jobs that make paying back 200k a tad difficult.

[Robespierre]

"Pretty much any" Fordham or Emory grad goes into a shitlaw job and 200K in debt? Link, please.

The average debtload is irrelevant to the person making the decision. All that matters is their debtload. It's pretty hard to dispute that the majority of Fordham/Emory grads end up in jobs that make paying back 200k a tad difficult.

OK, I've got your position. The "majority of" (not "pretty much any") Fordham and Emory grads take on 200K in debt (not true) and find it "a tad difficult" to pay them back (hardly sounds like a nightmare).

[bk1]

OK, I've got your position. The "majority of" (not "pretty much any") Fordham and Emory grads take on 200K in debt (not true) and find it "a tad difficult" to pay them back (hardly sounds like a nightmare).

I never said that the majority of them take on 200k. I said that whatever amount of them do take on that kind of debt is irrelevant to an individual's decision.

Try paying back 200k debt plus interest on a 30-60k/year salary and get back to me on whether that is a nightmare or not.

[flexityflex86]

OK, I've got your position. The "majority of" (not "pretty much any") Fordham and Emory grads take on 200K in debt (not true) and find it "a tad difficult" to pay them back (hardly sounds like a nightmare).

I never said that the majority of them take on 200k. I said that whatever amount of them do take on that kind of debt is irrelevant to an individual's decision.

Try paying back 200k debt plus interest on a 30-60k/year salary and get back to me on whether that is a nightmare or not.

If you're making 30-60k in Manhattan then you are struggling with or without the 200k unless you're living a college lifestyle. What %age of grads are making 30-60?

[FGCUguy123]

I think if you attended graduation at either school and spoke to pretty much any student receiving a degree you'd realize both schools are bad choices when the other option is not attending law school at all. You might want to consider that route.

Lol. You know what, Anon...I used to think you were an A-hole. Now you just make me laugh. You just might be THE MOST pessimistic person I've ever met, yet you give the "more you know"
side of the story.

Thanks for keeping us all in check.
TLS salutes you

[bk1]

If you're making 30-60k in Manhattan then you are struggling with or without the 200k unless you're living a college lifestyle. What %age of grads are making 30-60?

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=150681

In 2009 probably around 60% of Emory's class. For Fordham it's difficult to say but it looks like around 50%. Things are worse now.

[dpk711]

Robespierre is obviously a Fordham/Emory law student trying to defend his 200K investment.

[FGCUguy123]

Robespierre is obviously a Fordham/Emory law student trying to defend his 200K investment.

can you blame him/her? law school is something you work so hard for. sometimes it hurts to hear bad things about a school you really want to go to, regardless of how true it is.

People love to rationalize. Look, I am going to Emory, however, a large portion of my decision comes from how little debt I will have coming out of there. OP, you really need to take this factor into consideration. The legal market is a horrible place right now. It is conceivable (if not likely), that you will get stuck with a job coming out of both Emory and Fordham making 30-60k. That is why I think Anon is right, in some aspects. You need to figure if that's something you want on your chest. Otherwise, it's not worth the risk...