Choosing between UVA and Georgetown for Public Interest Forum

[OliveBC]

wow so glad I posted in this thread. thanks swamp/twenty!

[twenty]

Both UVA and GULC offer summer funding. GULC has some weird 1L "fundraising requirement," but I'm sure it's not too much of an issue. UVA offers slightly more money.

The reason I wouldn't recommend GULC for K-JDs interested in public interest is because Washington is a very tough environment for entry level lawyers. The DA's office is a AUSAs (susceptible to the federal budget), the PDs are federal, the federal offices are largely on a hiring freeze, and there's tens of thousands of veterans coming back from two decade-long wars that are competing for the same jobs you want. You really do have to have something else to bring to the table than "I'm interested in immigration policy."

[Borscht is Best]

What kind of PI are we talking about?

I would 100% choose UVA and not look back.

I'm aiming for international law (don't shoot me yet) with a focus on US-China relations, and hoping to land in either an international-environmental NGO or the State department. I've got 2 years in China under my belt, should be almost fluent before I leave, and will probably be interning at an embassy.

I'm just worried that UVA may not be as helpful with getting the job that I want.



Thanks for all the replies everyone!

[jbagelboy]

What kind of PI are we talking about?

I would 100% choose UVA and not look back.

I'm aiming for international law (don't shoot me yet) with a focus on US-China relations, and hoping to land in either an international-environmental NGO or the State department. I've got 2 years in China under my belt, should be almost fluent before I leave, and will probably be interning at an embassy.

I'm just worried that UVA may not be as helpful with getting the job that I want.



Thanks for all the replies everyone!

Any chance you will land NYU or Berkeley? They would beat out both these options for your purposes. Otherwise, I would still go with UVA, if only because of the better backup options if these somewhat elusive goals don't quite go your way. Also, if you are concerned about international name branding, anyone who would care anyway will know UVA is a great school.

[Nelson]

I'm aiming for international law (don't shoot me yet) with a focus on US-China relations, and hoping to land in either an international-environmental NGO or the State department.

Why are you going to law school for this?

[worldtraveler]

What kind of PI are we talking about?

I would 100% choose UVA and not look back.

I'm aiming for international law (don't shoot me yet) with a focus on US-China relations, and hoping to land in either an international-environmental NGO or the State department. I've got 2 years in China under my belt, should be almost fluent before I leave, and will probably be interning at an embassy.

I'm just worried that UVA may not be as helpful with getting the job that I want.



Thanks for all the replies everyone!

Oh dear. I don't think either of those schools would get you to where you want to be, unless you're extremely lucky.

I think you should defer or wait a year, retake the LSAT and try and get into HYS or at a minimum NYU or Berkeley (both have great China law programs and Berkeley is really by far the best for environmental law connections) and try and be fluent in Mandarin before you go. Almost fluent doesn't get you all that far.

[swampman]

There are probably 0-5 entry-level legal positions any given year that match what you're looking for, and plenty of HYS students with relevant experience who want them. I would say UVA and Georgetown would give you a roughly even (and not especially good) shot at those jobs. At Georgetown you could do a lot more networking during the year, which probably gives Georgetown the advantage. UVA has a year-long international human rights clinic, and then you could do a full semester externship in DC, so you could get some solid experience there too, with better backup options.

But since your chances of landing one of those jobs is not great from either school, UVA will offer better fall-backs. Still, the best decision would be retaking and going to a better school for your purposes, or skip law school altogether.

ETA: basically, +1 to what worldtraveler said.

[Borscht is Best]

My numbers are 3.58/170, so Berkeley is a bit out of reach with my GPA.

Studying for the LSAT again is a possibility, but I really felt like 170 was my limit. I'm hoping that my somewhat decent softs can help propel me into NYU range.

And yeah I've gotta reach fluency, you're right.

[worldtraveler]

My numbers are 3.58/170, so Berkeley is a bit out of reach with my GPA.

Studying for the LSAT again is a possibility, but I really felt like 170 was my limit. I'm hoping that my somewhat decent softs can help propel me into NYU range.

And yeah I've gotta reach fluency, you're right.

I got into Berkeley with a lower gpa. You can do it if you have the softs.

And for what you want to do you will need spectacular softs anyway.