W&M vs. BU vs. Vandy vs. WashU Forum

[clradagst]

W&M would cost me $16,000 a year, WashU and Vandy each $30,000. BU would be sticker (so far). I'd like to work somewhere on the east coast and I'm relatively debt-averse. Obviously Vandy the top school here, but I'm unsure if I'd enjoy Nashville. I'm also not totally sure that Vandy would give me a much bigger east coast boost over W&M or BU.

[Xiaolong]

W&M would cost me $16,000 a year, WashU and Vandy each $30,000. BU would be sticker (so far). I'd like to work somewhere on the east coast and I'm relatively debt-averse. Obviously Vandy the top school here, but I'm unsure if I'd enjoy Nashville. I'm also not totally sure that Vandy would give me a much bigger east coast boost over W&M or BU.

I think W&M is the weakest of the four with regards to biglaw as most statistics indicate. Essentially you are taking a bet. If you are confident you can make top 15%-20% at W&M, that will land you a job on the EC and youll be happy you went at a bargain price. If you are less confident, you'll choose BU or Vandy which will give you a better shot at a job on the EC. I know Vandy has better NLJ 250 placement, but those jobs are not all on the EC and BU co-dominates one market there, i.e. Boston.

WashU is somewhere in between - stronger than W&M but not as strong as Vandy or BU. Also WashU dosesn't have a sizeable homemarket.

[soullesswonder]

Vandy, hands down. If you have connections back east, you should be okay. Higher ranked school + evidence of placement resilience ITE (see NLJ250) thread + lower COA = WIN