Emory Class of 2017 (2013-2014 Cycle) Forum

[Saddle Up]

In with 111K. 170/3.9

That is so very cool!! We have identical GPAs. I was PTing 168-170 and I thought the test was relatively easy. I’m anxiously awaiting my results. If it works out as I hope, my parents will be very happy!

[Winston1984]

Why does Emory give such odd scholarship amounts?

[TheSpanishMain]

In with 84k, plus a nice handwritten note from the Dean about how much he likes my avatar.

[musharraf]

In with 84k, plus a nice handwritten note from the Dean about how much he likes my avatar.

Dildo avatar references make the best softs.

Excuse me while I get my head out of the gutter...

[forty-two]

Emory law 2013 grad here. This might not be the thread for it, but I'm home from work today because of the snow and would be happy to answer any questions anyone might have about the school or city.

[Kanye West]

Emory law 2013 grad here. This might not be the thread for it, but I'm home from work today because of the snow and would be happy to answer any questions anyone might have about the school or city.

Best and worst aspect of the law school. Your candor is appreciated.

[pauly_biegler]

Emory law 2013 grad here. This might not be the thread for it, but I'm home from work today because of the snow and would be happy to answer any questions anyone might have about the school or city.

Could you speak at all to what rent/COL is like in the area around Emory? Is ATL a city where you need a car? Probably most importantly, how were the job prospects coming out!?

[cactusflower]

.

[forty-two]

Emory law 2013 grad here. This might not be the thread for it, but I'm home from work today because of the snow and would be happy to answer any questions anyone might have about the school or city.

Best and worst aspect of the law school. Your candor is appreciated.

I'd say the best part was the students. I really enjoyed my time at Emory. It's not competitive at all, and it's just a good overall atmosphere full of nice and fun people. I also liked a lot of the professors. They were overall pretty accessible, and some of them were very helpful with career advice and job search strategies. A bunch of them even came to cheer us on and give us pep talks during the bar exam, which was much appreciated.

My least favorite part was the lack of support the students who wanted to go into public interest got from the administration. It has gotten a lot better over the past few years (and some people have been great and I'm very thankful for the work that they do), but I always got the impression that the Dean doesn't understand why someone who can get a job in the private sector or who has good grades would choose to do public interest work. I realize that most people on TLS want firm jobs, so this doesn't really apply to them. But it's something that was disappointing to me and my PI minded friends.

[KatyMarie]

Emory law 2013 grad here. This might not be the thread for it, but I'm home from work today because of the snow and would be happy to answer any questions anyone might have about the school or city.

Could you speak at all to what rent/COL is like in the area around Emory? Is ATL a city where you need a car? Probably most importantly, how were the job prospects coming out!?

I'm not forty-two and can't speak to job prospects but I do live in the Emory area.

Rent for a nice one bedroom goes from 800-1100 depending on what you want. I currently pay 900 a month for a 800 sq. ft. loft in one of the nicer apartment complexes. If you want a nice apartment without too many undergrads I would suggest Gables Rock Springs or Gables Emory Point. (Emory Point gets pricy though)

I don't have much to compare it to COL wise, but it is significantly cheaper then say DC, NYC, LA, but definitely more expensive than a college town.

In my opinion you ABSOLUTELY NEED A CAR or at least a roommate with a car. MARTA, Atlanta's public transport is unreliable and relatively dangerous, and Buckhead, Midtown, downtown, etc. are much too far to walk.

That said, I believe Atlanta is one of THE GREATEST cities on earth and I have loved my five years here. It sounds cliche, but Atlanta truly is a vibrant, fun place to live. There are numerous cools sections of the cities, Virginia Highlands, Little 5 Points, etc. that all have their own distinct culture and there are festivals and fun events year-round. And minus the past month, the weather is glorious.

Feel free to pm me; I LOVE talking about ATL

Just going to second that you absolutely have to have a car in the city. I've lived downtown with and without a car. It's practically impossible to get done what you need to get done without either a car, or a lot of help from someone with a car.

MARTA rails go basically nowhere, and the buses are extremely unreliable.

[forty-two]

Emory law 2013 grad here. This might not be the thread for it, but I'm home from work today because of the snow and would be happy to answer any questions anyone might have about the school or city.

Could you speak at all to what rent/COL is like in the area around Emory? Is ATL a city where you need a car? Probably most importantly, how were the job prospects coming out!?

I second a lot of what cactusflower said about the city. I love Atlanta. It's such a great place to live. And he's right about the cost of one bedrooms. I'd add that Post Briarcliff is also a great place to live. They didn't allow undergrads when I lived there, so it was full of law and med students. For people who'd want a roommate, a two bedroom goes for around 1200-1500 in the nicer complexes near campus. If you'd like to live a little farther away from campus, there are some awesome neighborhoods to look into. I especially love Decatur, Virginia Highlands, and Inman Park.

The COL that the school estimates is high, definitely higher than you need. Atlanta is a pretty cheap place to live. You absolutely need a car though. Atlanta is very much a driving city, and I would have been miserable without one.

In my opinion, the job situation is relatively good. The number of people who have a job lined up at graduation is not particularly high. However, most government, public interest, and small firm jobs tend not to hire people until they've passed the bar. I absolutely love my job, and I got it just about a week after bar results came out. And most of my friends have found jobs that they are happy with by now too. Career services was actually pretty great post graduation. They kept in good contact with me about my job search and passed on a number of job openings they thought I might be interested in. However, there are still some people in my class who are unemployed, and there are also some people who have jobs that aren't exactly ideal (like small firm jobs for low pay/no benefits).

Do you have any more specific questions about job prospects? I could probably be more helpful if I knew what you wanted to do, like big firm, government, PI...

[xmking07]

First off, thanks for doing this.

Secondly, what were the OCIs like? For those of us who are aiming for big firms, how helpful do you this career services is?

[forty-two]

First off, thanks for doing this.

Secondly, what were the OCIs like? For those of us who are aiming for big firms, how helpful do you this career services is?

Emory OCI is different than most because it's decentralized. The main OCI is on campus, but they also have interviews in different places like NY, DC, LA, and New England. I think there might be one more, but I can't remember. The on campus and NY OCI are the two biggest ones.

Also, Emory OCI is entirely preselect. This means that the firms choose who they want to interview, so the people with the best grades get most of the interviews. My year, it seemed like people in the top quarter (maybe top 30%) and up got most of the interviews. There were definitely people with grades lower than that who still got interviews, just not as many.

I overall had a good experience with career services. My advisers were good about answering my questions, but I needed to do my homework and know what questions to ask. For example, if you ask for advice about mass mailing, you'll get good information about when and how to do it. However, your adviser isn't going to proactively tell you to mass mail in addition to OCI. If you ask if they know someone who might be good for an informational interview for a particular firm or field, they'll give you that information. But you'll only get it if you ask for it. There were complaints about this because some people believed that the purpose of career services is to get us jobs. But they aren't going to do that. Instead, they help students with their job search by providing support and resources and answering questions about what they should be doing and when.

[ze2151]

Hello all. Another ELS alum, here in Atlanta. AMA.

I'll lead off with this. I do NOT own a car and did not have one throughout my time at Emory. I survived, but it took a little creativity.

[Kanye West]

To the alum, I've heard great things from friends who went, but with only one misgiving. They told me if you plan on attending Emory and going out of Atlanta/Georgia, it can be worth it. However, if staying in-state (especially Atlanta), going to UGA would be cheaper and equally as likely to get a job. Any truth in this?

[ze2151]

To the alum, I've heard great things from friends who went, but with only one misgiving. They told me if you plan on attending Emory and going out of Atlanta/Georgia, it can be worth it. However, if staying in-state (especially Atlanta), going to UGA would be cheaper and equally as likely to get a job. Any truth in this?

I hate making blanket statements about what job this out that school can get you... but Emory and uga are both very good schools for Atlanta. I will tell you that when it comes to recent grads/new hires I have seen more Emory people than uga people at large firms. That doesnt mean that is the case though. I can only speak from what I've seen.

Uga and Emory both offer advantages to students outside of Atlanta. Emory can get you out of Georgia a bit more easily, I surmise, and uga gives you an in across the state, outside Atlanta. That shouldn't be discounted. If you want to work in Macon, uga may be a better option, but take it all into consideration. Emory is pretty generous with its tuition breaks and it might be just as feasible to come to ELS. And if you want to meet an Emory alum in Macon, they exist. Look them up.

Again, these kinds of generalities are tricky. In the end, you are the biggest variable. Emory puts you in a position to be successful as well as or better than any school in the state. What you do will dictate the rest.

[KatyMarie]

To the alum, I've heard great things from friends who went, but with only one misgiving. They told me if you plan on attending Emory and going out of Atlanta/Georgia, it can be worth it. However, if staying in-state (especially Atlanta), going to UGA would be cheaper and equally as likely to get a job. Any truth in this?

+1 Very curious about this.

[ze2151]

To the alum, I've heard great things from friends who went, but with only one misgiving. They told me if you plan on attending Emory and going out of Atlanta/Georgia, it can be worth it. However, if staying in-state (especially Atlanta), going to UGA would be cheaper and equally as likely to get a job. Any truth in this?

+1 Very curious about this.

I guess one thing I'll add is that, from what I've seen, nobody gets a job just from the name on the degree. Things may have been different in the past and maybe my experience isn't representative, but your school has to be good enough, and then you have to be good enough. I wouldn't disparage uga, its a great school. I've seen a lot of Emory students finding success in Atlanta, in Georgia, and beyond if my friends' LinkedIn profiles are any indication. I am actually very pleasantly surprised at how few people I know who are struggling to find jobs.

Also the idea that uga is always cheaper doesn't always hold. Often Emory can come in very close to uga's number. If Emory costs more, that should absolutely factor into your decision. In my case, I wanted to be in Atlanta and leverage my proximity to people who I wanted to be like and work for. Paid off, 100%. So an Emory premium would have been worth it for me.

[forty-two]

To the alum, I've heard great things from friends who went, but with only one misgiving. They told me if you plan on attending Emory and going out of Atlanta/Georgia, it can be worth it. However, if staying in-state (especially Atlanta), going to UGA would be cheaper and equally as likely to get a job. Any truth in this?

I agree with everything ze said. I have heard people say this before, but I've honestly never really agreed with it. I agree with ze that UGA is a great school. However, if you want to work in Atlanta, especially if you want to do something outside of biglaw, it makes sense to go to law school in Atlanta. In my opinion, proximity to internships and law clerk positions at places you want to work at post grad is very important. At least that was my experience.

[Kanye West]

I didn't mean to disparage UGA; I'm admitted and considering it. I was curious because I've never been to Atlanta, and hear it's amazing. FWIW, they're 2011 grads.

[Saddle Up]

My brother is third year associate from UGA and he went directly into Atlanta BL. My sister is an Emory 3L and is preparing for the bar to start at one of Atlanta’s top firms. Point being, with good grades (ala LR), the chances of BL seem pretty favorable at either school.

For more than six years I have been acquainted with their legal friends and from everything I can see, both schools are pretty much on par in producing the desired results. I admit that the job hunt seemed to present a few anxious moments during their second year. The only disappointment I recall is that neither received a first year paying summer position.

[forty-two]

I didn't mean to disparage UGA; I'm admitted and considering it. I was curious because I've never been to Atlanta, and hear it's amazing. FWIW, they're 2011 grads.

From what I remember, 2011 wasn't a great year for Emory. I was just a 1L then, but I remember the legal market being really bad then, and the former dean and career services didn't respond very well to it. They have since changed things up and it seems like things are a lot better now. So I would expect your friends to have a different perspective than ze and I do.

I think which school is better depends on the individual and their circumstances. Emory was definitely the right choice for me, but that doesn't mean it's right for everyone.

[AT9]

In today! $57K scholly, non-URM, 163/3.8x. Letter was dated the 13th, so we should see some more today I assume.

[Kanye West]

Thanks for the solid answers; I'm looking forward to ASW in April.

[LyricsToLitigation]

In today! $57K scholly, non-URM, 163/3.8x. Letter was dated the 13th, so we should see some more today I assume.

What state were they sending their packet to for you?