UVA, Duke, Vandy, Emory, UGA Forum

[rapstar]

I want to do "biglaw" in Atlanta. Which school should I choose and why? (My parents are going to pay for COL, and I will take out loans for the difference between tuition and scholarship.)

[JordynAsh]

I want to do "biglaw" in Atlanta. Which school should I choose and why? (My parents are going to pay for COL, and I will take out loans for the difference between tuition and scholarship. Emory is estimated because I haven't recieved their offer yet*)

Whoops. Didn't read past "biglaw". I'd still say UVA unless Emory throws some major cash your way and you're absolutely certain you want to practice in Atlanta/GA indefinitely.

[showNprove]

.

[MorningHood]

full ride looks really tempting, doesn't it?

[rapstar]

Thanks for the input so far.

To clarify, these were my scholarship offers:

UVA 60k
Duke 60k
Vandy 72k
Emory 75k
UGA Full tuition

[Doritos]

How does UGA have the most votes? If you want BIGLAW then Duke and UVa are where its at. I say UVa has a slight edge but UGA can't possibly be the credited response if you want biglaw.

[Bronte]

How does UGA have the most votes? If you want BIGLAW then Duke and UVa are where its at. I say UVa has a slight edge but UGA can't possibly be the credited response if you want biglaw.

Well, UGA's probably drawing the most votes because its a full ride to a strong regional school. However, although I admittedly know little specifically about the region, I would vote for Virginia. Regardless, OP is essentially looking at the best five options for his goals with great offers from all of them. Congrats.

[keg411]

Either Duke or UVA for BigLaw. I personally like Duke's smaller class sizes, but I don't think you could go wrong with either. Vandy and Emory are definitely out (scholarships aren't big enough and if you're going to take on debt you are better with Duke/UVA). The freebie to UGA is tempting, but I'd only go to UGA in your situation if you don't care about BigLaw.

[rapstar]

Thanks for the comments. Does anyone else have any advice on which school would be the best pick? Also, do you think that any of the schools may up the offer to stand out a little more as it draws closer to April?

[MartianManhunter]

If you're 100% absolutely sure on Atlanta then go either Duke or UGA. Don't listen to the people who aren't familiar with the Atlanta market. UGA here is huge. Duke is king.

I'm sure that UVA will also place well but I think their grads tend to self-select out because they don't seem to be as well represented.

[Grizz]

Vandy and Emory do well, but Duke and UVA are worth the marginal excess debt. I say go with your favorite of those two. UGA places a lot of people in Atlanta, but I don't think going to either of those will disadvantage you. Duke and UVA grads may self-select away to bigger/more lucrative markets.

[Cavalier]

Eliminate Vandy right away, and probably Emory since it's not worth leaving the top ten for $30k. Obviously I'm biased and think UVA is better than Duke, but the only way for you to know for sure which school is better is to visit both of them. I doubt that one school is inferior to the other for Atlanta placement, so your choice should be based on which you think would provide a better experience.

I think a compelling argument could be made for UGA if you had to pay the full cost of UVA/Duke, but since your goal is big law, $80k of debt is worth it, considering that median grades at UVA/Duke will make it far more likely to get big law than median grades at UGA will, I am guessing. I personally wouldn't turn down a large scholarship at a top ten school for a full ride anywhere outside the top fourteen.

[Grizz]

I think a compelling argument could be made for UGA if you had to pay the full cost of UVA/Duke, but since your goal is big law, $80k of debt is worth it, considering that median grades at UVA/Duke will make it far more likely to get big law than median grades at UGA will, I am guessing.

UGA sends 15% to NLJ250, so you guessed right.

[pinkzeppelin]

I see it as between UVA and UGA.

I chose the firms from http://www.ilrg.com/nlj250 using top 5 largest firms based in atlanta.

All of the firms I am looking at have OCIs at both schools.

A few good resources:

King and Spalding:

http://www.kslaw.com/portal/server.pt?s ... ageID=-222

Alston and Bird:

--LinkRemoved--

Troutman Sanders:

http://www.troutmansanders.com/attorneys/

Kilpatrick Stockton:

--LinkRemoved--

Sutherland:

http://www.sutherland.com/lawyers/


It appears that UVA usually places a bit better in terms of number of students at a particular firm, but when it comes to number of students in the Atlanta offices, UGA has way more (this likely has more to do with geographic selection than anything else). I would argue that when it comes to the atlanta market, these schools place equally well. If you are certain you want atlanta, I would stick with UGA.

[im_blue]

Eliminate Vandy right away, and probably Emory since it's not worth leaving the top ten for $30k. Obviously I'm biased and think UVA is better than Duke, but the only way for you to know for sure which school is better is to visit both of them. I doubt that one school is inferior to the other for Atlanta placement, so your choice should be based on which you think would provide a better experience.

I think a compelling argument could be made for UGA if you had to pay the full cost of UVA/Duke, but since your goal is big law, $80k of debt is worth it, considering that median grades at UVA/Duke will make it far more likely to get big law than median grades at UGA will, I am guessing. I personally wouldn't turn down a large scholarship at a top ten school for a full ride anywhere outside the top fourteen.

+1. The choice should come down to UVA/Duke or UGA with money, but for biglaw the choice should be UVA/Duke with $80k debt.

[flyingpanda]

Thanks for the comments. Does anyone else have any advice on which school would be the best pick? Also, do you think that any of the schools may up the offer to stand out a little more as it draws closer to April?

I vote UVa or Duke and in terms of which one, pick whichever you like best. They're close enough that personal preferences (location, environment, student body) should be the deciding factors.

[rapstar]

i think emory is out for me. they offered 75k and vandy offered 72k. COL is probably similar between atl and nashville and vandy is a better school. i was hoping for 90k at emory... oh well