Top Law Schools

Hi all,

I'm deciding between Emory (28k/yr) and GW (20k/yr). Parents are covering the COA tab. I'll have some debt, but probably not as much as most in my situation. I currently live in nyc and would like to return after graduation, but Biglaw is not necessarily my goal. Any input or advice would be much appreciated!

I would not go to Emory with the intention of returning to NYC. Seems like a decent price for GW given your parents cover COL. Er, their covering COA.


Enjoy GW



BUT before, lsat/GPA?

Sorry, I meant COL! Folks are taking care of housing, food, etc.. I will have some small loans for tuition but this is a lesser concern than the relative job prospects, quality of life, and geographical consequences of each school.

166/3.72

Sadly, re-taking is basically out of the question as I've already taken the LSAT three times and do not plan on waiting for the two-year limit to expire.

I'd pick depending on if you prefer DC or Georgia to live in. Both can get you to NYC but both have most of their grads getting jobs in DC or GA.


Job prospects are similar. Emory is cheaper. It really comes down to where you would rather live tho

sinfiery wrote:I'd pick depending on if you prefer DC or Georgia to live in. Both can get you to NYC but both have most of their grads getting jobs in DC or GA.


Job prospects are similar. Emory is cheaper. It really comes down to where you would rather live tho

I basically agree, but GW will give you a better shot at NYC biglaw than emory. It's more expensive CoL, but if your parents are covering it and you aren't too concerned about their finances, then no matter. You mentioned you don't need biglaw; GW also does better w/ federal gov stuff, except for clerkships.

The schools are also quite different. Do you really have no preference? have you visited? Emory is around half the size of GW, if that matters to you.

jbagelboy wrote:

sinfiery wrote:I'd pick depending on if you prefer DC or Georgia to live in. Both can get you to NYC but both have most of their grads getting jobs in DC or GA.


Job prospects are similar. Emory is cheaper. It really comes down to where you would rather live tho

I basically agree, but GW will give you a better shot at NYC biglaw than emory. It's more expensive CoL, but if your parents are covering it and you aren't too concerned about their finances, then no matter. You mentioned you don't need biglaw; GW also does better w/ federal gov stuff, except for clerkships.

The schools are also quite different. Do you really have no preference? have you visited? Emory is around half the size of GW, if that matters to you.

I was serious about these two schools awhile ago and I echo the sentiment that they are VERY different schools/environments, so definitely take that into consideration. And the LST stats for GWU/Emory in favor of GWU (although their school funded rate is damn high):

GWU - Fed (3. + BigLaw (27.3) + Public Interest (32.5) = 63.6%
Emory - Fed (6.4) + BigLaw (22.6) + Public Interest (13.9) = 42.9%

Although their reputation for IP could explain the higher biglaw #. anecdotally, a friend from high school got a job at O'melveny in NYC from GWU, K-JD, and was top 30% (he said you pretty much had to be top 25-33% to get a biglaw job unless you were IP).

Honestly this is tough but if your goal is NYC GWU is probably the better choice, and definitely consider the big difference in the attitudes/environments of the school. Emory can get you there but you're gonna have to hustle, I spoke with a 2L who said she was ~top 1/4 and got a biglaw SA in NYC but she is from New York and said she had to fly out for her interviews/job fairs (she also mentioned that emory is involved in some multi-school new york job fair including northwestern and a few other schools and that's how she found the job). Emory can get you there but your chances aren't that great.

GL

radar714 wrote:

jbagelboy wrote:

sinfiery wrote:I'd pick depending on if you prefer DC or Georgia to live in. Both can get you to NYC but both have most of their grads getting jobs in DC or GA.


Job prospects are similar. Emory is cheaper. It really comes down to where you would rather live tho

I basically agree, but GW will give you a better shot at NYC biglaw than emory. It's more expensive CoL, but if your parents are covering it and you aren't too concerned about their finances, then no matter. You mentioned you don't need biglaw; GW also does better w/ federal gov stuff, except for clerkships.

The schools are also quite different. Do you really have no preference? have you visited? Emory is around half the size of GW, if that matters to you.

I was serious about these two schools awhile ago and I echo the sentiment that they are VERY different schools/environments, so definitely take that into consideration. And the LST stats for GWU/Emory in favor of GWU (although their school funded rate is damn high):

GWU - Fed (3. + BigLaw (27.3) + Public Interest (32.5) = 63.6%
Emory - Fed (6.4) + BigLaw (22.6) + Public Interest (13.9) = 42.9%

Although their reputation for IP could explain the higher biglaw #. anecdotally, a friend from high school got a job at O'melveny in NYC from GWU, K-JD, and was top 30% (he said you pretty much had to be top 25-33% to get a biglaw job unless you were IP).

Honestly this is tough but if your goal is NYC GWU is probably the better choice, and definitely consider the big difference in the attitudes/environments of the school. Emory can get you there but you're gonna have to hustle, I spoke with a 2L who said she was ~top 1/4 and got a biglaw SA in NYC but she is from New York and said she had to fly out for her interviews/job fairs (she also mentioned that emory is involved in some multi-school new york job fair including northwestern and a few other schools and that's how she found the job). Emory can get you there but your chances aren't that great.

GL

This is good info but counting GWU's school funded gov positions (their inflated PI figure) in your % is very misleading. The opportunity gap b/t the two schools is way slimmer than the 20% shown there. Its prolly more like 5% at most

Edit: still GWU is better for your NYC goals as radar and I said but just thought id point that out