Washington & Lee, William and Mary: DC Forum

[john1990]

I have a 3.28/166, so GWU is a reach. However i would like to practice in DC. Do these schools place well in DC? Otherwise i would be looking at American or George Mason, which i hear are poor options.
I am also very concerned about summer work. Lexington and Williamsburg look like small towns, and they are 3 hours from DC. What do students from schools like these do for summer work?

I would actually enjoy studying in a rural area for 3 years, but i am concerned about DC placement and summer work!

[Rammstein]

George Mason has a good rep in DC. American... not as much.

I lived in DC for awhile and my father is a lawyer at a large firm in town. From my experience, W&L and W&M have great reps in town. I don't attend either so hopefully someone who does will chime in. Northern VA ain't a bad place to end up either, and W&L/W&M are top tier for placement in the region.

Good luck, and do apply to GW!

[mi-chan17]

I think going to W&L or W&M with the express goal of ending up in DC is risky. DC is one of the toughest markets to find jobs in, and it's because every top school sends folks there. So if you go to W&L/W&M you're competing against the entirety of the T-14 and GW, students from your own school, students from American/Howard/GMU/etc. (who may not be at schools ranked as highly, but have had three years to make connections you don't have)...

You can see the problem, I'm sure.

If you don't mind ending up in Virginia, W&L and W&M are excellent schools. If you'd like DC, but are fine with VA more generally, going there could be an okay investment (depending on scholarship availability and state residency). They do place some people in DC, but going there in order to end up in DC just seems like a mistake given the amount of competition.

If you have your heart set on DC, take an extra year and retake the LSAT. T-14 or GW (with money, please don't do this at sticker) would position you far better for DC than W&L/W&M or any of the other area schools (GMU/American/Catholic/etc.).

[mighttransfer]

WM and W&L are reaches for you as well. But to answer your question, those schools are not ideal for DC. But they do place very well in VA.