GW ($$) vs. Fordham ($$) vs. BU ($$) vs. BC ($$) Forum

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Which should I attend?

GW
27
41%
BU
16
24%
BC
13
20%
Fordham
10
15%
 
Total votes: 66

Melo723

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GW ($$) vs. Fordham ($$) vs. BU ($$) vs. BC ($$)

Post by Melo723 » Tue Apr 30, 2013 6:52 pm

Trying to make a last-minute decision. These are my options with COA at each:

GW- $80,520
Fordham- $106,500 (may be end up being considerably less if I live at home)
BC- $71,160
BU- Essentially the same as BC

I'm interested in entering Big Law. My preference is to work in NY but I love DC and I think I'd be ok with Boston (I've never actually been there though). I definitely plan on entering law school next Fall and won't wait for personal reasons. I may retake in June though in hopes of getting off a few waitlists (4 top-10s).

I'd appreciate any advice!

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Re: GW ($$) vs. Fordham ($$) vs. BU ($$) vs. BC ($$)

Post by Jaqen » Tue Apr 30, 2013 7:10 pm

GW

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Re: GW ($$) vs. Fordham ($$) vs. BU ($$) vs. BC ($$)

Post by sflyr2016 » Tue Apr 30, 2013 7:17 pm

Fordham and GW are notorious trap schools. BC is an underrated law school for biglaw placement that does very well in it's market and the northeast in general. At that price, I do not see how you will go wrong with BC/BU unless of course you hate being in Boston.

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Re: GW ($$) vs. Fordham ($$) vs. BU ($$) vs. BC ($$)

Post by empyreanrrv » Tue Apr 30, 2013 7:28 pm

These schools are all the same. Retake for better options or go to the region you like the most with the understanding that biglaw is not likely out of any of these.

Melo723

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Re: GW ($$) vs. Fordham ($$) vs. BU ($$) vs. BC ($$)

Post by Melo723 » Tue Apr 30, 2013 8:05 pm

Thanks guys! I'm a little confused about BC being underrated. I keep hearing this but according to law school transparency it had the worst big law placement out of all of these options. I was actually leaning towards GW b/c I'm getting the most money from there (and I love DC) and although I prefer NY, Fordham seems a bit expensive..would GW be a mistake though?

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Re: GW ($$) vs. Fordham ($$) vs. BU ($$) vs. BC ($$)

Post by empyreanrrv » Tue Apr 30, 2013 8:12 pm

Only if you are biglaw or bust. I've read that GW's biglaw placement is bolstered by all of the IP kids, so you really need to be top 25% or so to have a chance. If you are fine working a 40-50k job or having no/school-funded job when graduating, then 80k isn't awful but is still more expensive than I would feel comfortable with. Why are you forced to enter school next fall and what are your numbers?

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Re: GW ($$) vs. Fordham ($$) vs. BU ($$) vs. BC ($$)

Post by Doorkeeper » Tue Apr 30, 2013 8:14 pm

None of these options are good for biglaw. You basically need to be in the top 1/3 to have a good shot at biglaw from any of these schools. The best option here is for you to retake the LSAT and reapply next year with a better LSAT score so you can get to a T14 school that gives you a much better chance at biglaw.

This being said, GWU for $80k total isn't bad for the price if you can accept you're probably not getting biglaw.

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Re: GW ($$) vs. Fordham ($$) vs. BU ($$) vs. BC ($$)

Post by guano » Tue Apr 30, 2013 8:19 pm

joeant wrote:Fordham and GW are notorious trap schools. BC is an underrated law school for biglaw placement that does very well in it's market and the northeast in general.
What the ever loving fuck are you on about?
Those three are peer schools with similar biglaw placement (hint: not good, but not bad).
Ignoring personal preference, one should pick whichever is cheaper. Unless you're hung up about one city or another, none is worth $10k more than another (total COA)

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Re: GW ($$) vs. Fordham ($$) vs. BU ($$) vs. BC ($$)

Post by sflyr2016 » Tue Apr 30, 2013 8:34 pm

Melo723 wrote:Thanks guys! I'm a little confused about BC being underrated. I keep hearing this but according to law school transparency it had the worst big law placement out of all of these options. I was actually leaning towards GW b/c I'm getting the most money from there (and I love DC) and although I prefer NY, Fordham seems a bit expensive..would GW be a mistake though?
Go look at there NLJ placement over the last 10 years. I don't have them in front of me (on my phone). I believe BC is more consistently among top 15-20 schools for placement until the economy took a dump. Just off of recent history and your big law goals I would say BC may be the way to go. If you said IP I would say GW no brainer, and keep in mind that good portion of their placement goes into IP so it inflates it's biglaw placement. Fordham is wayy to expensive and limits you to NYC whereas GW/BU/BC can all get you to NY along with Boston/DC.

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Re: GW ($$) vs. Fordham ($$) vs. BU ($$) vs. BC ($$)

Post by guano » Tue Apr 30, 2013 8:44 pm

joeant wrote:
Melo723 wrote:Thanks guys! I'm a little confused about BC being underrated. I keep hearing this but according to law school transparency it had the worst big law placement out of all of these options. I was actually leaning towards GW b/c I'm getting the most money from there (and I love DC) and although I prefer NY, Fordham seems a bit expensive..would GW be a mistake though?
Go look at there NLJ placement over the last 10 years. I don't have them in front of me (on my phone). I believe BC is more consistently among top 15-20 schools for placement until the economy took a dump. Just off of recent history and your big law goals I would say BC may be the way to go. If you said IP I would say GW no brainer. But a good portion of their placement goes into IP so it inflates it's placement. Fordham is wayy to expensive and limits you to NYC whereas GW/BU/BC can all get you to NY along with Boston/DC.
From an employment perspective, going back as far as 2004 (oldest year I looked at), there are clear bands. There's the T14 (with divisions I won't go into), then UT/UCLA/USC/Vandy, and then GW/BU/BC/Fordham, then another band of schools including Emory, WUSTL and MN, but I don't recall the other schools, followed by everyone else.

While there is some variation in each band year to year, and some tend to do better within their bands than others, the difference is minimal. Currently, for the GW/BU/BC/Fordham band, that means 18%-24% biglaw placement (based on last 4 years)

Note that placement statistics for those 4 schools remain similar if you include AIII clerkships, and again if you add in midlaw, and again when adding corp/gov.

From an employment placement perspective, the schools are practically tied

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Re: GW ($$) vs. Fordham ($$) vs. BU ($$) vs. BC ($$)

Post by Melo723 » Tue Apr 30, 2013 9:13 pm

I don't have a science background so I doubt IP is an option for me. Again, I really like GW and DC but I hope not going with BC/BU (my cheapest options) would be a mistake. I have friends from college in DC and my gf is there as well. Ultimately, I'm hoping to get in off one of those top-10 waitlists. I really appreciate all the advice so far.

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Re: GW ($$) vs. Fordham ($$) vs. BU ($$) vs. BC ($$)

Post by sflyr2016 » Wed May 01, 2013 2:01 am

guano wrote:
joeant wrote:
Melo723 wrote:Thanks guys! I'm a little confused about BC being underrated. I keep hearing this but according to law school transparency it had the worst big law placement out of all of these options. I was actually leaning towards GW b/c I'm getting the most money from there (and I love DC) and although I prefer NY, Fordham seems a bit expensive..would GW be a mistake though?
Go look at there NLJ placement over the last 10 years. I don't have them in front of me (on my phone). I believe BC is more consistently among top 15-20 schools for placement until the economy took a dump. Just off of recent history and your big law goals I would say BC may be the way to go. If you said IP I would say GW no brainer. But a good portion of their placement goes into IP so it inflates it's placement. Fordham is wayy to expensive and limits you to NYC whereas GW/BU/BC can all get you to NY along with Boston/DC.
From an employment perspective, going back as far as 2004 (oldest year I looked at), there are clear bands. There's the T14 (with divisions I won't go into), then UT/UCLA/USC/Vandy, and then GW/BU/BC/Fordham, then another band of schools including Emory, WUSTL and MN, but I don't recall the other schools, followed by everyone else.

While there is some variation in each band year to year, and some tend to do better within their bands than others, the difference is minimal. Currently, for the GW/BU/BC/Fordham band, that means 18%-24% biglaw placement (based on last 4 years)

Note that placement statistics for those 4 schools remain similar if you include AIII clerkships, and again if you add in midlaw, and again when adding corp/gov.

From an employment placement perspective, the schools are practically tied
You might be retarded, sir..

2012: BC 21.09%
2011: BC 21.75%
2010: BC 33.58%
2009: BC 34.6%
2008: BC 45.8%

rad lulz

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Re: GW ($$) vs. Fordham ($$) vs. BU ($$) vs. BC ($$)

Post by rad lulz » Wed May 01, 2013 2:09 am

Doorkeeper wrote:None of these options are good for biglaw. You basically need to be in the top 1/3 to have a good shot at biglaw from any of these schools. The best option here is for you to retake the LSAT and reapply next year with a better LSAT score so you can get to a T14 school that gives you a much better chance at biglaw.

This being said, GWU for $80k total isn't bad for the price if you can accept you're probably not getting biglaw.

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Re: GW ($$) vs. Fordham ($$) vs. BU ($$) vs. BC ($$)

Post by Informative » Wed May 01, 2013 2:12 pm

I agree with others that BC probably gives you the best bet at biglaw among these schools. You should visit the schools though and see at which school you can see yourself doing the best.

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Re: GW ($$) vs. Fordham ($$) vs. BU ($$) vs. BC ($$)

Post by Melo723 » Thu May 02, 2013 2:54 am

Thanks everyone! I was only going off of last years big law/federal clerkship numbers..I guess that's too small a sample to go off of..I also have a full-ride at Cardozo but I'm no longer considering it since I want big law..is that stupid?

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Re: GW ($$) vs. Fordham ($$) vs. BU ($$) vs. BC ($$)

Post by TheNextAmendment » Thu May 02, 2013 9:03 am

Melo723 wrote:Thanks everyone! I was only going off of last years big law/federal clerkship numbers..I guess that's too small a sample to go off of..I also have a full-ride at Cardozo but I'm no longer considering it since I want big law..is that stupid?
Assuming your COA numbers are correct, you also have a full ride at GW. Therefore there's nothing to consider unless your family's contribution brought down the COA and at Cardozo they would pay for COL instead.

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Re: GW ($$) vs. Fordham ($$) vs. BU ($$) vs. BC ($$)

Post by CourCour » Thu May 02, 2013 9:51 am

I vote BC but if your gut is to go to DC, go to DC. I'm guessing your from NY so the long New England winters won't be totally foreign to you.

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Melo723

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Re: GW ($$) vs. Fordham ($$) vs. BU ($$) vs. BC ($$)

Post by Melo723 » Thu May 02, 2013 12:17 pm

TheNextAmendment wrote:
Melo723 wrote:Thanks everyone! I was only going off of last years big law/federal clerkship numbers..I guess that's too small a sample to go off of..I also have a full-ride at Cardozo but I'm no longer considering it since I want big law..is that stupid?
Assuming your COA numbers are correct, you also have a full ride at GW. Therefore there's nothing to consider unless your family's contribution brought down the COA and at Cardozo they would pay for COL instead.
I don't have a full-ride at GW, although I did receive a ton of money. What brings the COA down is my potential living situation with my gf which is very cheap for DC.

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Re: GW ($$) vs. Fordham ($$) vs. BU ($$) vs. BC ($$)

Post by Melo723 » Thu May 02, 2013 12:19 pm

CourCour wrote:I vote BC but if your gut is to go to DC, go to DC. I'm guessing your from NY so the long New England winters won't be totally foreign to you.
I've noticed that the majority of posters who actually chose one of these schools chose BC but the poll has about half of the voters choosing GW. I'd appreciate it if someone who voted for GW told me their reasons why. Thanks!

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Re: GW ($$) vs. Fordham ($$) vs. BU ($$) vs. BC ($$)

Post by PRgradBYU » Thu May 02, 2013 12:22 pm

rad lulz wrote:
Doorkeeper wrote:None of these options are good for biglaw. You basically need to be in the top 1/3 to have a good shot at biglaw from any of these schools. The best option here is for you to retake the LSAT and reapply next year with a better LSAT score so you can get to a T14 school that gives you a much better chance at biglaw.

This being said, GWU for $80k total isn't bad for the price if you can accept you're probably not getting biglaw.

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Re: GW ($$) vs. Fordham ($$) vs. BU ($$) vs. BC ($$)

Post by TheNextAmendment » Thu May 02, 2013 2:10 pm

Melo723 wrote:
CourCour wrote:I vote BC but if your gut is to go to DC, go to DC. I'm guessing your from NY so the long New England winters won't be totally foreign to you.
I've noticed that the majority of posters who actually chose one of these schools chose BC but the poll has about half of the voters choosing GW. I'd appreciate it if someone who voted for GW told me their reasons why. Thanks!
Slightly better biglaw placement, much better PI placement, greater national reach IMO. From my understanding BC is much more regional. However, understand that GWs main market is real competitive. They're definitely peers, but GW IMO still places better.

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Re: GW ($$) vs. Fordham ($$) vs. BU ($$) vs. BC ($$)

Post by BigZuck » Thu May 02, 2013 2:16 pm

Melo723 wrote:
TheNextAmendment wrote:
Melo723 wrote:Thanks everyone! I was only going off of last years big law/federal clerkship numbers..I guess that's too small a sample to go off of..I also have a full-ride at Cardozo but I'm no longer considering it since I want big law..is that stupid?
Assuming your COA numbers are correct, you also have a full ride at GW. Therefore there's nothing to consider unless your family's contribution brought down the COA and at Cardozo they would pay for COL instead.
I don't have a full-ride at GW, although I did receive a ton of money. What brings the COA down is my potential living situation with my gf which is very cheap for DC.
GFs have this nasty habit of becoming not GFs, I would not bank on this. By all means go for it, but don't count on it if you catch my drift.

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Re: GW ($$) vs. Fordham ($$) vs. BU ($$) vs. BC ($$)

Post by sflyr2016 » Thu May 02, 2013 2:22 pm

TheNextAmendment wrote:
Melo723 wrote:
CourCour wrote:I vote BC but if your gut is to go to DC, go to DC. I'm guessing your from NY so the long New England winters won't be totally foreign to you.
I've noticed that the majority of posters who actually chose one of these schools chose BC but the poll has about half of the voters choosing GW. I'd appreciate it if someone who voted for GW told me their reasons why. Thanks!
Slightly better biglaw placement, much better PI placement, greater national reach IMO. From my understanding BC is much more regional. However, understand that GWs main market is real competitive. They're definitely peers, but GW IMO still places better.
The biglaw stats for GW are inflated because much of it is for IP and if you are not looking to go that rout then you should realize that the placement stats go down pretty significantly.

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Re: GW ($$) vs. Fordham ($$) vs. BU ($$) vs. BC ($$)

Post by TheNextAmendment » Thu May 02, 2013 2:28 pm

joeant wrote:
TheNextAmendment wrote:
Melo723 wrote:
CourCour wrote:I vote BC but if your gut is to go to DC, go to DC. I'm guessing your from NY so the long New England winters won't be totally foreign to you.
I've noticed that the majority of posters who actually chose one of these schools chose BC but the poll has about half of the voters choosing GW. I'd appreciate it if someone who voted for GW told me their reasons why. Thanks!
Slightly better biglaw placement, much better PI placement, greater national reach IMO. From my understanding BC is much more regional. However, understand that GWs main market is real competitive. They're definitely peers, but GW IMO still places better.
The biglaw stats for GW are inflated because much of it is for IP and if you are not looking to go that rout then you should realize that the placement stats go down pretty significantly.
I knew somebody was going to bring this up.
1. Yeah IP does account for some big law placement, but definitely not most.
2. Self-selection plays a big role.
3. You have no idea what you're talking about and just spitting out what others have said here because you feel bad about trying to justify BC at sticker last month.

All in all I still believe GW>Fordham>BU>BC.

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Re: GW ($$) vs. Fordham ($$) vs. BU ($$) vs. BC ($$)

Post by sflyr2016 » Thu May 02, 2013 4:39 pm

No. Not quite. And I never justified it at sticker. Go look at the nlj 250 placement for each school over a five to ten year span; BC is objectively better. The deficit left once IP is removed is not self-selection --it's what's left over. You sir, are retarded, or lazy, and should look up the relevant data and analyze it before going off on a rant.
Last edited by sflyr2016 on Thu May 02, 2013 5:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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