There have been a number of these threads for WUSTL over the last few years, but they have usually fizzled out and left a lot of people's questions unanswered. I don't plan on leaving TLS anytime soon since I'm on here religiously, so hopefully this thread will be able to answer anyone's questions regarding WUSTL and remain a valuable resource of student opinions for applicants throughout the cycle.

Feel free to ask me anything about the admissions process, the school atmosphere, the curriculum, the campus, St. Louis, etc. I will be happy to answer any of these questions, but I have to throw out the caveat that I cannot be much help with respect to jobs because I am only a rising 2L and I don't have much exposure to what is going on with OCI. However, there may be some 2Ls and 3Ls lurking who can assist you with those questions and concerns. My goal now is simply to assist those who are putting together their applications and thinking about where they want to end up. I encourage other WUSTL students to chime in with their thoughts as well.

So fire away!

edit: 3L now, whaddup

Why'd you pick washington? What other schools were you considering?

Besides Wash U, I got into Cornell, Illinois, Vanderbilt, and BU. I also applied to Duke (rejection), GULC (priority waitlist), and Michigan (ED application, then WL, then rejection).

I had what most people (including most TLSers) would consider to be objectively better offers on the table with great scholarships to Vanderbilt and Illinois, but in the end, I chose Washington University because 1) I want to be in St. Louis when I graduate, 2) I lived in central Illinois for 22 years and was tired of the cornfields, and 3) I loved Wash U and got a really great vibe from the school when I visited.

Have you picked up on any vibes from 2Ls, 3Ls in terms of employment prospects? Do you get the sense that WUSTL is doing about as well as other T20s in terms of placing people?

Like I said, I don't know a ton of 2Ls and 3Ls. My next door neighbor is a 2L though and he said that he thinks things are about the same as last year. Keep in mind that WUSTL has never really been a biglaw power. Another 3L I spoke to said that while people may not be getting their top choice job, most people are at least getting something decent that is legal related. Will there be some people SOL at graduation? Probably. But overall, I don't see the doom and gloom sentiment at WUSTL that I hear on TLS.

One good thing about WUSTL re: jobs is that our CSO works very, very hard for us. The TLS maxim "Don't rely on the CSO to get you a job" is true, but I do think our CSO is one of the best in the country in terms of work ethic and putting our students out there. I really like him a lot and he was very helpful during my application process.

Again though, I am just a 1L and I can only offer little tidbits like this. Anything more than what I've just said would be speculation, but perhaps some 2Ls and 3Ls will chime in with their thoughts.

Do your students enjoy DLA Piper?

St. Louis resident here. First, thanks for doing this. Second, WUSTL and Vandy are both very high on my list- can you talk more about why you chose WUSTL over Vandy? Was it just because of your preference to work in St. Louis? And would you make the same decision again?

What's your favorite thing about WUSTL? Least favorite?

holy fuck.... no offense man i would give up my left leg to be at cornell or vandy. Im at washu and oci isnt going that smooth......... I dont think im alone either......

I think cornell is a huge difference between washu. Bigger firms go to cornell as compared to washu. also your margin of error is a lot higher at cornell than washu. Prob 2x higher. I think washu is like 20% ITE. Cornell is prob 40%. Ive heard ghost stories of people at cornell/gulc below median getting biglaw. Ive heard of no such thing at wustl. The career center told me if you are below top 1/3 you are in some trouble.

There was no way I was spending 200k+ to go to a law school that primarly places into a city that I have zero interest in (NYC). Turning down Cornell was much, much easier than turning down Vanderbilt and UIUC.

Do I sometimes questions myself about turning down a full ride to UIUC and a good scholly to Vandy? Sure I do. But 1) I would NOT be happy living in central Illinois right now, in fact I'd probably be downright miserable and 2) Vandy would have been more expensive and it would have been more difficult to land back in the Midwest. It was a tough choice (the hardest decision I ever made), but I am happy with where I am right now.

And yes, OCI is rough. But it is rough at all of WUSTL's peer schools as well. Also, you're a transfer, which probably makes things even tougher. Hard to just implant yourself from a lower-ranked school into a totally new geographic region and expect things to go smoothly at OCI. I am basically banking on NOT getting a job through OCI and I have already been working hard at networking and feeling out the market. Every 2L and 3L I have talked to has told me that all is not lost if you don't get biglaw, and it really is not for everyone.

My favorite things are: 1) St. Louis, 2) the awesome campus, and 3) the atmosphere (my classmates are very nice, very fun, and very laid back). I also think the profs here are helpful and open to students. I also really love the CSO here and I think he is a tremendous advocate for our students. I have had great interaction with him to this point and many of the 2Ls and 3Ls give him high marks as well.

I don't really know what my least favorite thing is to this point. I would say I definitely wish that WUSTL had stronger job prospects. It is well-regarded in STL and for you, having ties to STL would help tremendously. But St. Louis is only so big and only has so many jobs. Chicago is typically WUSTL's biggest market, and Chicago is very competitive and has been hit hard by the recession. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried about the job market, but I'm also not in killself mode either.

To be honest, I think for the majority of people Vandy is the better option. It simply offers more opportunities for biglaw and the name recognition is stronger. If you are deadset on staying in St. Louis or the Midwest in general, then I would take what is likely to be a better scholly offer at WUSTL. But if you aren't as set on a geographic region and you are really set on biglaw, then Vandy may be the way to go. I really loved Vanderbilt when I visited and I think it is a fantastic school in a very vibrant city. One of my good TLS buds is a Vandy 1L and he loves it. I'm sure I would have enjoyed my time there and I imagine it would have been a good fit for me, but WUSTL was cheaper and it was in the city I want to practice in. That made it really tough to turn down.

I'm sure I can come up with the answer to this by scouring the website, but does WUSTL have any clinic/program/internship that focuses on the federal government or on regulatory law.

http://law.wustl.edu/clinicaled/index.aspx

Here is the clinics website, which contains a list of the clinics at WUSTL. One of our clinics is in Washington D.C., so that may be of interest to you.

Thanks very much.

Since WUSTL is a total whore for LSATS, that makes you a whore-by-proxy.

How do you feel about being a whore?

good one

What make u select WUSTL over Barry and Nova?

The lounge is this way.

Seriously guys, as much fun as TLS is, at its root it is a helpful place for law school students and applicants. I got a lot of help from TLS during my cycle, so I'm trying to pay it forward. Let's try to keep this thread on track. I'll see you in Norb.

Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions! Your insights have been very helpful. Some things I have been wondering...

How helpful is WUSTL's legal research class?
Do professors ever come to the friday afternoon beer party?
What is it about WUSTL's career services office that has you so impressed, aside from its large budget?
Are there any good bars or restaurants that are in close proximity to the law school?
How did you decide that you wanted to live and practice law in St. Louis? Why is St. Louis' legal market so appealing to you that you would commit yourself to staying there 3 years in advance?
Are your classmates friendly and inclusive, or is there more of a clique-ish atmosphere?
Do you feel like the law school is an integrated part of the whole university?
How percentage of students there seem interested in living/working in St. Louis?
Is it possible to have a social life there without a car?

I haven't noticed too much clique formation, at least not in my section. I think its more split along the lines of the Bar Reviewers vs. The "Serious Kids" vs. The Married/Not interested in "Lawl Skool" kids.

Appreciate the shout out.

Wow, rapid fire! Let me try to briefly answer each of your questions...

-I personally don't find legal research to be that helpful (so many time-consuming, stupid little exercises), but I find legal practice to be pretty helpful so far.
-They don't come regularly, but I have seen them there. One afternoon for Happy Hour there was an award giving out, so profs were there.
-I haven't had a ton of exposure to the CSO being a 1L, but their large budget, large staff, and Dean Spivey are all pluses.
-Good bars/restaurants near WUSTL: Pi Pizza on Delmar is outstanding. Cicero's is great bar food/pizza and they have over 200 beers. If you're willing to drive a few minutes off of campus, The Hill neighborhood has outstanding Italian food.
-I have always liked St. Louis because it has a lot to offer, but it isn't a big bustling metropolis like Chicago. I was raised in a smaller city (130,000) and I like being in a city with a smaller-town atmosphere. I also really like the midwest and St. Louis is a great midwestern city.
-There are some cliques, and in a lot of ways law school reminds me of high school more than it does college, but overall I find that most people are really nice.
-If I were to make a totally unscientific guess, I'd say maybe 20% are interested in staying here after graduation.
-Yes, you can absolutely make it without a car. We get free passes to the Metro which make getting around very easy. I brought my car here, but I've only filled up once since I've been here. I usually take the bus or walk to just about every place I go. Having a car is nice, but I wouldn't say it is required (at least so far). Public transportation is a lot bigger hassle than a city like Chicago, but it is manageable.

What was your numbers that go you in?

168/3.7

How do WUSTL's job prospects within St Louis compare with the lesser-known St Louis University? I ask this because my friend goes to SLU, and he says that WUSTL has better placement in Chicago but SLU has much better placement in St Louis.

And besides placement, how do you feel the students, profs and opportunities compare at the two schools?

this is only what ive heard... I guess you can have Romo confirm on it.

STL actually has a pretty small legal market compared to Cleveland or Pittsburgh. My definition of biglaw is top 100 firms. STL only has 1 biglaw shop ie bryan cave. In contrast Pittsburgh has
Kirkpatrick & Lockhart , reed smith, Buchanan and K+L Gates. Cleveland has jones day, squire sanders, baker hosteler and Thompson Hine.

Like most midWASTERN cities they love protecting their own turf and have an inferiority complex.. IE they want people who are from the area because they think (and rightfully so) that you will leave at the first chance... The thing about WUSTL is that most kids are not from the STL area. Most of the kids from SLU are from the area. So naturally the STL firms are drawn to SLU.
You will also find that a lot of STL law firms have partners who went to SLU.. so naturally they want to hire their own.. they dont want their own diploma to go down in value...

The transfer students I talked to who transfered from SLU to WUSTL all said that the SLU interviewers that interview them were a little offended that they transfered away to WUSTL. With that being said.. I know a couple people who actually ended up getting offers from STL firms.

Even though WUSTL is 19.. it is no better or worse than other schools in its range.. ie emory,bc,bu,fordham,ND.