Georgia Law Schools Forum

[BigZuck]

At least for a week I am not technically committed to E. I have to admit I am tempted by Penn and Columbia (they have serious creds, as in write your own ticket). I will have to sort this out in the next few days. It is perplexing.

Solid anti-Duke trolling, will read again

I'm reading to lock this one up, anyone else?

[Saddle Up]

No one here said anything negative about Duke, if anything just the opposite. My feeling is that Emory and Duke are both solid. My selection of E over D is partly because of the great deal E is offering, and the COL aspect.

I checked a number of Atlanta BL firms, both E and D are well represented. Close enough for me to call it a tie. My guess is that between these two, in the end it would come down to LS grades anyway.

As far as Penn and Columbia, that’s a whole different deal. Still thinking.

BTW: Surprised that no one here said, hey E kicked ass in that rating mag… especially since my sis thought it was extremely cool.

[transferror]

BTW: Surprised that no one here said, hey E kicked ass in that rating mag… especially since my sis thought it was extremely cool.

Rankings don't change employment prospects. It's great they moved up, but it should have no weight in your decision.

[BigZuck]

No one here said anything negative about Duke, if anything just the opposite. My feeling is that Emory and Duke are both solid. My selection of E over D is partly because of the great deal E is offering, and the COL aspect.

I checked a number of Atlanta BL firms, both E and D are well represented. Close enough for me to call it a tie. My guess is that between these two, in the end it would come down to LS grades anyway.

As far as Penn and Columbia, that’s a whole different deal. Still thinking.

BTW: Surprised that no one here said, hey E kicked ass in that rating mag… especially since my sis thought it was extremely cool.

Emory is nowhere near Duke when it comes to job placement. Please stop trolling this website.

[Ohiobumpkin]

I'm confused why you came back to this thread Saddle Up. It seems you have made up your mind, so what is the purpose of coming back to a thread full of people who disagree with you to varying degrees. I personally think your decision to go to a Georgia law school seems sane enough, but you're making people upset by equating outcomes out of Emory with Duke. At the same time, I think some posters here don't recognize that many people prefer going to a law school in their home state, even if that means passing up going to a solid t-14.

Also, as others have said, the USNWR rankings (let alone one year's rankings) mean nothing for employment. USNWR is used best to get a sense for the admissions standards (GPA, LSAT).

I think if you can get Emory or UG to give you $$$, and you have your family paying off the rest of your COA, go for it. It sounds like you have the family support, GA connections/roots, and the academic ability to do well both at law school and maybe as an attorney in Georgia. Good luck!

[ggocat]

I am not at all 100% sold on Law School.

A number of friends and family are constantly in my face about going to law school

My most difficult decision was saying yes to law school since I am an outdoorsy person who loves horses and equestrian and not someone that relishes either being confined to indoors or savors confrontation. Not exactly the perfect blueprint for joining the law profession.

I could not agree more about the commitment and anguish associated with law school.

At this point I am at a crossroads to do something after UG. The legal profession may have negatives but I do not know of many opportunities where a grad can join the workplace earning a good paycheck on day one (using my brother and sister as examples… plus a number of their friends).

One upside of being an attorney, lawyers (or else their firms) seem to somehow constantly score great seats to a lot of different events.

Attorneys seem to enjoy life outside of the daily routine.

I believe if I can make it through the LSAT phase without substance abuse, anxiety disorders or depression the rest of the journey will be cake.

I know you won't listen to this, but please reconsider going to law school and becoming a lawyer. Take some time to do what you enjoy. Your LSAT is good for years, so you can always reapply at a later date. Don't let your family push you into something you don't want to do.

[gregfootball2001]

I checked a number of Atlanta BL firms, both E and D are well represented. Close enough for me to call it a tie.

Damn, see? We've been doing it wrong all along! We should have been seeing who these firms hired twenty years ago! Of course, only a small percentage of Duke grads even try to work in Atlanta (somewhere under 12% (http://www.lstscorereports.com/?school= ... class=2011)), while nearly half of Emory's grads stay in Georgia. But who cares about that! Look at the firm websites! Both schools are really well represented by really old partners who got a job in an entirely different economy!

[Saddle Up]

I'm confused why you came back to this thread Saddle Up. It seems you have made up your mind, so what is the purpose of coming back to a thread full of people who disagree with you to varying degrees. I personally think your decision to go to a Georgia law school seems sane enough, but you're making people upset by equating outcomes out of Emory with Duke. At the same time, I think some posters here don't recognize that many people prefer going to a law school in their home state, even if that means passing up going to a solid t-14.

Also, as others have said, the USNWR rankings (let alone one year's rankings) mean nothing for employment. USNWR is used best to get a sense for the admissions standards (GPA, LSAT).

I think if you can get Emory or UG to give you $$$, and you have your family paying off the rest of your COA, go for it. It sounds like you have the family support, GA connections/roots, and the academic ability to do well both at law school and maybe as an attorney in Georgia. Good luck!

Glad to read your insightful reply (even though your avatar freaks me out).

Given the subject of this thread I thought it was pretty clear that I was asking for opinions regarding GA law schools. I was not expecting all the “go somewhere else” advice since everyone I know is delighted (as in gainfully employed) with their GA LS outcomes. True, I was on the fence about being a lawyer (I probably shouldn’t have mentioned it).

I came back a month later mainly because I thought Emory’s big jump in the rankings would be well received. Instead all I heard was that the rankings are trivial. Exactly the opposite of the response from the people I know from Emory (and UGA too). Basically, a big disconnect.

As far as the Penn/Columbia decision, whatever I choose will be questionable. There’s no doubt that their stats/reputation are incredible. On the other side I am an outdoorsy person, not a great fit for either NYC or Philly and not to belabor the point, COA/COL cannot be disregarded.

If push comes to shove I suppose I could drive over a few blocks and see if Chrisley really does know best (j/k…kinda).

[TheSpanishMain]

Personally, I think you should first figure out if you actually want to be a lawyer. You seem really ambivalent about it, and it looks like you're just sort of being pressured into it. 3 years and thousands of dollars is a lot to put on the line for something you're not sure you want to do in the first place.

[gregfootball2001]

I came back a month later mainly because I thought Emory’s big jump in the rankings would be well received. Instead all I heard was that the rankings are trivial. Exactly the opposite of the response from the people I know from Emory (and UGA too). Basically, a big disconnect.

I go to Georgia. Rankings are trivial. Please see above posts for advice.

Does that help?

[Saddle Up]

Not that this is an unexpected shocker but yesterday I committed to Emory. I feel great about it. I get to stay at home and ride my horses whenever I want. If my grades are good enough I should be able to follow in my brother and sister’s BL footsteps.

I gave Penn and Columbia great consideration. Both very impressive Ivy schools.

That’s that. Thanks for the input.