Notre Dame or William and Mary Forum

[ArmyOfficer]

Will be attending through the Army Funded Legal Education Program so cost or job placement is not an issue. Simply want to go to the best school. Which one do you think is best?

[005618502]

They are really the same. Notre Dame will be way more fun, go there

[mrtoren]

As a proud Irishman, I must vote Notre Dame.

[ganggreen]

They are really the same. Notre Dame will be way more fun, go there

Sure, if your definition of "fun" is being stuck in South Bend, Indiana for 3 years.

[mattviphky]

They are really the same. Notre Dame will be way more fun, go there

Sure, if your definition of "fun" is being stuck in South Bend, Indiana for 3 years.

as opposed to Williamsburg? ND all the way. Plus, if you're worried about a metro for social escape, Chi-town is like 80 minutes away. yeah, i called it Chi-town

[mattviphky]

They are really the same. Notre Dame will be way more fun, go there

Sure, if your definition of "fun" is being stuck in South Bend, Indiana for 3 years.

as opposed to Williamsburg? ND all the way. Plus, if you're worried about a metro for social escape, Chi-town is like 80 minutes away. yeah, i called it Chi-town

[mattviphky]

They are really the same. Notre Dame will be way more fun, go there

Sure, if your definition of "fun" is being stuck in South Bend, Indiana for 3 years.

as opposed to Williamsburg? ND all the way. Plus, if you're worried about a metro for social escape, Chi-town is like 80 minutes away. yeah, i called it Chi-town

[btw384]

They are really the same. Notre Dame will be way more fun, go there

Sure, if your definition of "fun" is being stuck in South Bend, Indiana for 3 years.

as opposed to Williamsburg? ND all the way. Plus, if you're worried about a metro for social escape, Chi-town is like 80 minutes away. yeah, i called it Chi-town

+3

[wired]

2L at W&M. There's a good number of FLEP students at William & Mary. In my class there are (I believe) five and there are similar numbers in the 3L and 1L class. One of our professors is a former big-wig in JAG and helped write (literally) the rules of evidence for military justice; he puts a lot of work into making military students feel at home. We are also right next door to Ft. Eustis, so a lot of the FLEP students end up in Williamsburg for the summer and commuting the 15 minutes to Eustis for their summer work. (That could be a pro or a con for you.)

On Notre Dame v. W&M, I think it's a bit of a wash. Notre Dame has a bigger reach for employment because of stronger national network, but I don't know that those matter for you because of guaranteed job. W&M's law review is a little more highly regarded than Notre Dame's, but again, it's probably so marginal that it won't matter.

My personal recommendation is that you make the decision based on other factors because it will be hard to distinguish between them in terms of academic reputation. Both are solid schools that lack the prestige of the traditional powerhouses. If you're interested, PM me and I'll see if I can convince one of the FLEPs from my class to talk to you about his or her experience here. Maybe a Notre Dame student can make a similar offer.

EDIT: And to actually answer your question, I think that if I had to choose which has a better academic reputation, I'd go with William & Mary as a result of East Coast bias. (East Coast Bias. It's everywhere you want to be.)