Top Law Schools

Hi,

I've read a lot of posts and even a few similar to my situation, but I want to get your thoughts.

I've been admitted to the following schools:

U Michigan ($15K/year)
Georgetown (on scholarship waitlist)
Washington University ($33K/year)
USC ($25K/year)

I'm on hold at Columbia and I haven't yet heard back from Northwestern or the U of Washington.

I'm from the northwest and would like to eventually practice in Seattle. I have work experience and connections in the area. I love Washington DC and, though I haven't lived there, I know a lot of people there. I have a good amount of experience in politics and value the ability I would have to maintain and grow my relationships if I went to Georgetown.

I'm not sure what type of law I want to go into, but I'm leaning toward BigLaw or prosecution.

Right now I am pretty split between Michigan and Georgetown. I visited Georgetown on my own, but I can't go to any ASDs anywhere (unfortunately). I have a feeling I'd like the law school experience at Michigan more, but that maybe Georgetown, for me, make more sense because of its location. I mean, look at who they get to come speak!

What do people think? If I forgot an important information, please ask and I'll answer. Also, I know this may all change if I get into Columbia or Northwestern.

Thanks!

Seeing as you have no scholly (so far) at GULC, I would definitely put Michigan ahead-- and you have the added benefit of some money from Michigan...so I think this is the obvious choice...

cannotdecide83 wrote:Hi,

I've read a lot of posts and even a few similar to my situation, but I want to get your thoughts.

I've been admitted to the following schools:

U Michigan ($15K/year)
Georgetown (on scholarship waitlist)
Washington University ($33K/year)
USC ($25K/year)

I'm on hold at Columbia and I haven't yet heard back from Northwestern or the U of Washington.

I'm from the northwest and would like to eventually practice in Seattle. I have work experience and connections in the area. I love Washington DC and, though I haven't lived there, I know a lot of people there. I have a good amount of experience in politics and value the ability I would have to maintain and grow my relationships if I went to Georgetown.

Do you know people in D.C. that will help get you a Seattle job? Or do you just have friends there that will make law school more fun? Keep in mind, your peers at your law school are going to be your strongest connections when you get out into the real world and advance in your career. Having non-law school friends somewhere is great, but when you're studying hard and doing things within the law school community, that becomes somewhat less important. Also, if you go to law school expecting to develop connections but end up just hanging out with your other friends, you might be wasting an opportunity or two. Just food for thought.

cannotdecide83 wrote: I'm not sure what type of law I want to go into, but I'm leaning toward BigLaw or prosecution.

For biglaw in Seattle? Obviously I'm biased, but I would take Michigan with money every single day of the week, unless you had some reason to despise Ann Arbor. If you are interested in PI work like the DA's, you'd have a good argument for staying at UW if they gave you significant money to make attendance cheaper. Of course, Michigan has a pretty decent LRAP (I have no idea how UW's is or if they have one, so I'm not one to comment here) that might make pubic interest work easier to pursue, financially.

cannotdecide83 wrote: Right now I am pretty split between Michigan and Georgetown. I visited Georgetown on my own, but I can't go to any ASDs anywhere (unfortunately). I have a feeling I'd like the law school experience at Michigan more, but that maybe Georgetown, for me, make more sense because of its location. I mean, look at who they get to come speak!

This right here makes me think you're just fucking with us. You're going to need to elaborate on these D.C. connections you have, because I'm thoroughly confused. And when it comes to the legal world, having big name politicians who live in D.C. come speak at the school means nothing compared to the faculty that you are actually working with and learning from. Like I said, I am thoroughly confused so help me out here.

cannotdecide83 wrote:Also, I know this may all change if I get into Columbia or Northwestern.

Columbia I can understand, but Michigan should be more than sufficient to get you a solid biglaw or criminal prosecution job in Seattle. Columbia has a little better LRAP, so that might be a worthwhile investment, but I would still take Michigan with $45,000 over Columbia at sticker for your career aspirations. Others may disagree, and I don't think there's a particularly correct answer for this question.

Northwestern, unless it is for personal preference reasons, won't give you any particular advantage over Michigan for Seattle. Northwestern will do just fine, but if you're faced with NU (sticker) vs. Michigan ($45,000), I would again take Michigan.



Disclaimer: I know I recommended Michigan to death in this answer and I know I'm a Michigan student, but I don't think there is too much of a question here. Part of me wonders if OP has some deep love for Georgetown that he isn't telling us about.

Found this in the "Northwest" thread. It seems like Michigan is TCR response. I would also choose Michigan over Northwestern for the Northwest.
http://www.city-data.com/forum/seattle- ... t-2-a.html

UW graduate wrote:How do I break this to you? You are unlikely to find a job here. In fact, I'll say you will not find a job here absent family connections. I graduated from the UW with Honors last year and have been unable to find an entry level job. I now have to pick my family up and leave the state so that I can practice law.

Two of my closest friends in law school were among the top five students in our class and they both had to move to California to find work. Another close friend of mine was in the top third of our class and holds a PhD in Biochemistry. She's working for Jones Day down in San Francisco but did not get a single offer here. Imagine that, hired as an associate at Jones Day but no one in Seattle would touch her.

There are about 190 new associate positions in the Seattle firms each year and with the UW and SU graduating close to 600 combined and all of the Yale, Harvard, Stanford, Penn, and Michigan grads that want to move here, very few people out of the UW find jobs in Seattle (and we are supposedly a top tier school - yah, top tiered and top grades didn't do a damn thing for me - do I sound bitter? I am!)

You will have to do what many of my classmates did, which is accept your first job is going to be in another market, get the experience and then try to come (back) here as a lateral. I know it's harsh, but everyone kept telling me I was going to have to relocate. I didn't want to do it because my husband has a job that he loves and we own a home, but the market is such that if I ever want to practice, I've gotta get the heck out of here.

Because I have just gone through the entire job searching process, please feel free to DM me for more information.

Thank you to everyone you voted/replied. To answer the above poster, yes, I do have a love for Georgetown. When I applied it was my #1 choice because of its location. Then I got into Michigan and started reading about the school and the environment there ... and now I'm split. My friends in DC are people who could help me get jobs. They are people I met through work over the years and are now in senior positions in a number of different areas. Does that help answer your question?

cannotdecide83 wrote:Thank you to everyone you voted/replied. To answer the above poster, yes, I do have a love for Georgetown. When I applied it was my #1 choice because of its location. Then I got into Michigan and started reading about the school and the environment there ... and now I'm split. My friends in DC are people who could help me get jobs. They are people I met through work over the years and are now in senior positions in a number of different areas. Does that help answer your question?

It does, and that makes more sense now. The only thing I would suggest is that you make certain they have close friends at partner level at Seattle biglaw firms that you want to work at. Otherwise, the connections that people talk about on here are, in my opinion, rather overrated. Maybe not for a 1L job, but when it comes to going through OCI it's going to be largely about your grades and your interview. That's not to say that having connections won't sometimes help, but they do not help near as much at OCI as people seem to think when evaluating schools. The only examples I can think of where this might help is if your dad's best friend is a partner at the firm, for example. Apart from close situations like this, I think pretty much everyone on these boards can say they know somebody and have some kind of connections somewhere, but that won't really help in the long run.

As I said earlier, if you have a strong love for Georgetown that makes the extra price worthwhile, then head to D.C. But if you are comparing career prospects from an objective standpoint (hoping for Biglaw or criminal prosecution in Seattle), Michigan will be significantly stronger.

Best of luck in your decision, I know it's a tough spot to be!

cannotdecide83 wrote:Thank you to everyone you voted/replied. To answer the above poster, yes, I do have a love for Georgetown. When I applied it was my #1 choice because of its location. Then I got into Michigan and started reading about the school and the environment there ... and now I'm split. My friends in DC are people who could help me get jobs. They are people I met through work over the years and are now in senior positions in a number of different areas. Does that help answer your question?

Is there a reason why your friends in DC wouldn't help you if you didn't go to school in DC?