Top Law Schools

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GW is insanely expensive. Do not go there at sticker. Heck considering they cost around $75k/year, GW would need to at least match the 100k from WUSTL, if not surpass it, to even be worth considering.

Don't even consider GW at sticker. WUSTL throws money around because it's an unattractive midwest option and they know it. I wouldn't go to WUSTL even on that much scholly if my goal was to practice on the east coast.

Other options? If not, I vote retake and reapply.

Nelson wrote:Don't even consider GW at sticker. WUSTL throws money around because it's an unattractive midwest option and they know it. I wouldn't go to WUSTL even on that much scholly if my goal was to practice on the east coast.

Other options? If not, I vote retake and reapply.

Another option would be Maryland at probably close to a full-ride. The one thing holding me back from WashU is the possibility of being stuck in the midwest.

Notre Dame?

Nelson wrote:Don't even consider GW at sticker. WUSTL throws money around because it's an unattractive midwest option and they know it. I wouldn't go to WUSTL even on that much scholly if my goal was to practice on the east coast.

Other options? If not, I vote retake and reapply.

I actually like the plains, but I dunno how far it'll carry you to somewhere like Chicago, much less the coast. WUSTL is a great school with a ton of money-had I remained a premed I probably would have given my left nut to go to WUSTL med. Alas, that is not the case. My decision was very similar to yours last year-except I got a good amount of money at GW and none at WUSTL (waitlist admission). Which worked for me.

But yeah, if you don't want to be stuck in the midwest, that will be a risk you take going there. There are plenty of great places to live that aren't coastal cities, of course, and if you were location-agnostic I'd say go. Moral of the story is: there are very few "destination" law schools. Unless you're at a really baller top school, don't go somewhere thousands of miles from where you want to work. Just common sense.

I wouldn't hold my breath on GW $. They traditionally have not negotiated.

A visit to WashU might change your mind if you haven't been there...

checkster wrote:A visit to WashU might change your mind if you haven't been there...

True that. The campus is absolutely beautiful. I think they just renovated and/or built entire new buildings. Can't imagine what their landscaping budget must be. Atmosphere is important--a spare, urban campus can kill your vibe, like it does mine.

Seriously? The facilities don't matter, come on. If you are looking at two schools with relatively similar employment outcomes, then sure, take the intangibles into account like the "vibe."

However, if you want to work in a certain area, if one school gives you a better chance while another does not, the appearance of the school does not matter in the least.

Faced almost the exact same situation last cycle...tried to get cash from GW to match awesome WUSTL scholarship. (No dice) Wash U has been great so far(I am student there now in the interest of full disclosure) and as for worries about getting back to the east coast- this is my opinion:

Statistics will say that Wash U grads stay in the midwest and that is true- there is a lot of inertia for it. OCI has St. Louis firms, local gvt stuff, etc. But the stats also reflect a lot of self-selection. A lot of people who go to Wash U want to stay in the midwest. This is where they are from. But that doesn't mean you can't go back to the East Coast (what I am trying to do) go West Coast, or wherever else. It just requires you to be more proactive. I had no trouble getting 1L summer work on the East Coast, for example. Obviously, 1L summer work is different than permanent employment, but I thought it was worth mentioning anyways.

Don't go to gw at sticker. That would be a terrible decision. Just take that one off your list and consider your remaining options. If you have to - retake and reapply.

ebw1080 wrote:Faced almost the exact same situation last cycle...tried to get cash from GW to match awesome WUSTL scholarship. (No dice) Wash U has been great so far(I am student there now in the interest of full disclosure) and as for worries about getting back to the east coast- this is my opinion:

Statistics will say that Wash U grads stay in the midwest and that is true- there is a lot of inertia for it. OCI has St. Louis firms, local gvt stuff, etc. But the stats also reflect a lot of self-selection. A lot of people who go to Wash U want to stay in the midwest. This is where they are from. But that doesn't mean you can't go back to the East Coast (what I am trying to do) go West Coast, or wherever else. It just requires you to be more proactive. I had no trouble getting 1L summer work on the East Coast, for example. Obviously, 1L summer work is different than permanent employment, but I thought it was worth mentioning anyways.

Thanks, I find this encouraging (except the no cash from GW part).

I still think you're nuts to go to WUSTL for the east coast. You are giving yourself a totally unnecessary handicap when it comes time to find a job. OCI will be useless for you and networking is tough when you're a thousand miles from your desired practice location.

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alern52 wrote:After lurking and relying on TLS for much of the law school process, it's finally time to decide on a school. Since my first choice, Georgetown, didn't work out, it's pretty much down to WashU or GW.

Wash U offered over $100k, and I'm familiar with the St. Louis area and the campus. GW has thus far offered nothing, but I'm hopeful they'll respond with something to a negotiation email.

While I'd like to stay on the east coast, I'm also pretty debt-averse, so WashU seems like the clear choice right now. I'm not thrilled about WashU, but it seems crazy to turn down all that money for a marginally better chance of a job in D.C. If GW offers some money, would it make sense to go there?

I appreciate any help here.

Edit: Should also mention I'm expecting money from Maryland. The goal is working in D.C., NYC, or Chicago, but I'm not sure if Maryland would be better than either WashU or GW for that.

Chicago: WUSTL has eleven associates combined at Kirkland and Sidley, the two most powerful Chicago firms that make up a very significant amount of the Chicago-legal-market hiring. To compare that to some elite schools that send a fair portion of their class to the city of Chicago: UChicago has 83 associates (despite a smaller class than WUSTL) and Northwestern has 87.

NYC is even bleaker: Eleven total associates among the entire Vault 10, combined. Some of those firms have summer-associate classes over one hundred.

DC is probably not even worth doing research on. It seems like a WUSTL student would have a snowball's chance in hell of scoring a decent job in DC.

Maybe you don't want biglaw, and that's fine. But this should give you some general insight into how WUSTL places into the biggest markets. I think you would be putting yourself in a bad situation if you went to WUSTL, and wanted to go to NYC, Chicago, or DC afterward.

GW for full price is also an awful idea. It has the advantage of being in a bigger market, unlike WUSTL, but that market is the most difficult-to-break-into legal market in the U.S. It might be your best option if you get a large amount of scholarship money from them, but just be aware of the difficulties of the DC market, even for a school that is located there.