AU Washington College of Law v. U of Minnesota Law School Forum

[kl2858a]

Just got off the waitlist at U of MN. AU gave me a good scholarship - no word on scholarships from U of MN as I just found out today. I want to focus on some sort of international law, most likely international corporate/business law but not certain. Anyone have suggestions on which to choose?

[rad lulz]

.

[californiauser]

I want to focus on some sort of international law, most likely international corporate/business law but not certain.

flame

[kl2858a]

AU Washington College of Law
Yearly Tuition: $40,584 - Other expenses: Roughly $14,000
Financing: $20,000 in scholarships, rest from family loans.
From MN. Already lived in London so not worried about moving.
You ask for general career goals - I say international corporate law so lay off me fuckers.
LSAT 164 GPA 3.6
Took the LSAT twice

U of MN
Yearly Tuition: $36,820 - Other expenses: $8-10,000
Financing: Waiting to hear on scholarship, family loans
From MN
Career goals - give it a rest

[Nova]

AU gives you a 1/3 chance of practicing law. Attending AU is pretty much NEVER a good idea.

UMN gives you a 2/3 chance of practicing law. Whether its worth it depends on how much debt youll go into.

[Nova]

You ask for general career goals - I say international corporate law so lay off me fuckers.

2/3 of AU grads cant even land full time long term jobs as lawyers.

You should be 100% at peace with working in small law if you attend UMN.

[sublime]

..

[Nova]

AU gives you a 1/3 chance of practicing law. Attending AU is pretty much NEVER a good idea.

UMN gives you a 2/3 chance of practicing law. Whether its worth it depends on how much debt youll go into.

And ok with living in Minnesota for awhile.


Retake is your best option though. I think even Nova would agree that UMN at sticker/with very little aid is a terrible situation to be in - and even that may be better than AU.

Any amount of debt that couldnt be comfortably taken care of on a small law starting salary would keep me up at night.

I feel the same way across the board about schools where at least two thirds of the time big law salary isnt going to happen.

[ronanOgara]

I've gotta ask, when you say you are okay with moving because you've lived in London, are we talking about studying abroad in London or are we talking about actually living and working in London.

I'm not trying to sound snooty here, I'm just merely interested in what "I've lived in London" means.

[WanderingPondering]

Are you URM?

I'd be willing to bet that Minnesota's median are about to drop from 167 to 165. Yikes.

[sublime]

..

[Nova]

Im guessing the medians will be 166/3.7

165 is very possible though.

The class size is supposedly going up. And with apps going down...

[WanderingPondering]

Im guessing the medians will be 166/3.7

The class size is supposedly going to increase from 205 to ~240-250

I'd be impressed if they held onto a 166, but good for them they do. Meanwhile increasing class size is pretty dubious.

That bad? I mean, I guess it wouldn't surprise me, since WashU just spent a TON of money to presumably keep the 166,

Washu will keep their median, but realistically they only "stole" a handful of Minnesota's students with their full ride offers. Applications are just down down down and it's simply impossible to keep standards while RAISING the number of students. Wustl is lowering their class size to around 180-185 from 200, and presumably keeping their 166.

[rad lulz]

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[lawschoolwoohoo]

UMN is pricy but isn't an objectively bad school. Go for UMN. Plus despite the AU scholarship, living in DC is incredibly pricy (I lived there for a while). With COA, your scholly at AU probably will pay itself back in terms of MN cost of living v. DC cost of living.

[PRgradBYU]

This is so obviously a flame. In the rare event that it's not, the answer is NEITHER -- RETAKE.

[romothesavior]

I would never go to American

Minn is too expensive

So I guess I would go to neither

Also reevalute your career goals

This. Don't go to American, don't go to UMN for that price tag, and don't go to law school planning to work in "international law" unless you are a foreign student, or have extensive language skills and experience overseas.

[nebula666]

I wouldn't go to law school at all until you seriously think about your career goals. You aren't getting anything near whatever you think "international corporate law" is. If you want to make 50-60k working in Minnesota, go there. If you want to make 50-60k working in Arizona, go there. If you want any other outcome, retake for T14 or face the reality of what career options you will have out of these schools.

[BigZuck]

I wouldn't go to law school at all until you seriously think about your career goals. You aren't getting anything near whatever you think "international corporate law" is. If you want to make 50-60k working in Minnesota, go there. If you want to make 50-60k working in Arizona, go there. If you want any other outcome, retake for T14 or face the reality of what career options you will have out of these schools.

*American*

OP, neither. Retake

[bjsesq]

You ask for general career goals - I say international corporate law so lay off me fuckers.

You might as well say you want to practice personal injury amongst animals on the serengetti law. It would be shitty of us to not tell you that this is a pipe dream. Neither of these are fantastic schools. Figure out which state you would prefer to live in after graduation, factor in expense differences, and roll with that.

[timbs4339]

Nobody is going to "lay off you" because international corporate law is not going to happen. Do you know how many law students have lived in other countries? Nobody at A+O or Freshfields or White and Case is going to be impressed because you did six months study abroad in "the city."

[hephaestus]

*American*

OP, neither. Retake

This. Retake or don't go.

[nebula666]

I wouldn't go to law school at all until you seriously think about your career goals. You aren't getting anything near whatever you think "international corporate law" is. If you want to make 50-60k working in Minnesota, go there. If you want to make 50-60k working in Arizona, go there. If you want any other outcome, retake for T14 or face the reality of what career options you will have out of these schools.

*American*

OP, neither. Retake

Oh my bad. That is actually much worse than Arizona. Don't do it, OP!

[dr123]

WTF does International Corporate even mean?

[timbs4339]

WTF does International Corporate even mean?

0830: Wake up in stately 16th Century hotel in Zurich. Kiss beautiful Russian model you met last night goodbye.

0930: Breakfast at cafe overlooking the clear waters of Lake Zurich. Read the Financial Times and chuckle about their shoddy reporting on a deal you headlined last week.

1000: Take high-speed train to Paris, fielding conference calls from several CEOs and bankers.

1100: Negotiate $13 billion merger between US company and European conglomerate. Everyone speaks English with a broken accent, of course, so you can understand all the documents and the negotiations.

1230: Lunch with other International Corporate Lawyers at International Corporate Lawyer Club, everyone, of course, speaking English with a broken accent.

1400: Fly to the Hague for some pro-bono work. By 1500, you've convicted a genocidal African dictator of every war crime imaginable. He curses you in broken English. A hundred survivors from the village he attacked gift your their ceremonial hunting horn. The chief's beautiful, Oxford educated daughter, who you've been working closely with, flashes you a flirtatious smile.

1730: Return to London office of International Corporate Law Firm. Exchange witty banter with secretary. Get dressed down by your curmudgeonly boss.

1900: High-stakes Baccarat game at Monte Carlo with head of European finance ministry. After beating him, he agrees to relax certain disclosure requirements for IPOs. Also he pays for champagne (in broken English) and you party with Russian model and African chief's daughter.

2300: Returning to hotel, concierge informs you of a call. Picking up, you hear "Mr. Corporate Lawyer, this is our fifth call. You've missed the last three payments on your student loans. If you'd like to discuss repayment options, you can contact me at 1-800-FANTASY."

You wake up in a cold sweat, and realize you have less than 20 minutes to get dressed, shower, and get to your document review job in a warehouse in New Jersey. Think about going back to law school for the "International Law LLM."