Top Law Schools

Emory, besides being ranked higher, is offering a great deal, I know. $24,000/yr renewable, no strings attached.

However...I am from the DC area, 99% sure I want to return to DC and am not sure I want to be as far away as Atlanta. I visited Emory and definitely liked it, but I wasn't excited per se. Also, up until recently I swore up and down that I actually did not want to go to law school so close to home as GW, but now I guess I'm getting cold feet....

Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

I'd probably take any peer schools with money over gw sticker unless you adore DC. It's just tough to justify when they are give SO MUCH MONEY to kids who (according to index) are projected to do better than you in the class. Plus the large gtown class plus the uva grads plus the DC COL.

terpette wrote:Emory, besides being ranked higher, is offering a great deal, I know. $24,000/yr renewable, no strings attached.

However...I am from the DC area, 99% sure I want to return to DC and am not sure I want to be as far away as Atlanta. I visited Emory and definitely liked it, but I wasn't excited per se. Also, up until recently I swore up and down that I actually did not want to go to law school so close to home as GW, but now I guess I'm getting cold feet....

Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

I voted GW for the bolded reason

Thomas Jefferson wrote:

terpette wrote:Emory, besides being ranked higher, is offering a great deal, I know. $24,000/yr renewable, no strings attached.

However...I am from the DC area, 99% sure I want to return to DC and am not sure I want to be as far away as Atlanta. I visited Emory and definitely liked it, but I wasn't excited per se. Also, up until recently I swore up and down that I actually did not want to go to law school so close to home as GW, but now I guess I'm getting cold feet....

Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

I voted GW for the bolded reason

+1 exactly. Outside of the t-10 region trumps rankings/money. Yes top 10.

Emory with significantly less debt should give you more options when you're done with school. Cost of living in DC is a lot higher than ATL, you're looking at close to $200K in debt to go to GW and probably half that for Emory. Personally, I think that its crazy to take on that much debt when you have a cheaper, better alternative. I don't see why you wouldn't be able to work in DC after law school with an Emory degree if that's what you want to do and you focus on getting internships there, etc. But if you are sure that you will only be happy if you are going to school in DC, then I think you gotta go with GW (although try to use your Emory scholarship to negotiate with GW if you can). Think about it really hard and make sure that is your absolute top priority, though.

DC and NYC are such big markets that they don't really take regional ties into account as much. Going to GW or American won't count as much as you think. People come from all over the country for these markets.

I voted for taking the money and rank.

quadsixm wrote:DC and NYC are such big markets that they don't really take regional ties into account as much. Going to GW or American won't count as much as you think. People come from all over the country for these markets.

I voted for taking the money and rank.

does your vote change a bit given the new rankings putting GW back at #20? I visited today and really really liked it. Can't believe the campus feeling it had even though it was in the middle of a city. also- the law building is incredibly modern

shameless bumping - but now that I've paid seat deposits at both of these schools, I wanted to see what everyone else thought.

I want to come back to DC after law school, and GW had a little bit of a better feel for me. I by no means disliked Emory, but I'm not 100% sure I could see myself there for 3+ years. But the money offer is definitely tempting!

I'd say take the money at Emory. After COL, you're probably looking at around $100k less debt. They're going to give you similar job prospects (though in different markets), and if you work for it at either, you can move where you want to afterwards.

GW is a great school. And if you absolutely cannot see yourself in ATL for the next three years and would very strongly prefer to stay in DC, then take GW. Its not a bad decision. But that is a huge difference in cost that you should strongly consider before committing to that much debt. Hopefully the legal industry rebounds a bit and finding a job in 2013 won't be terribly difficult - but in the event that its still hard to do, $100k less debt will give you a lot more options when you're done.

Disclosure: I'm taking money at Emory over several other options that I may have taken otherwise if money wasn't an issue. But I'm pretty happy with that decision.

Thomas Jefferson wrote:

terpette wrote:Emory, besides being ranked higher, is offering a great deal, I know. $24,000/yr renewable, no strings attached.

However...I am from the DC area, 99% sure I want to return to DC and am not sure I want to be as far away as Atlanta. I visited Emory and definitely liked it, but I wasn't excited per se. Also, up until recently I swore up and down that I actually did not want to go to law school so close to home as GW, but now I guess I'm getting cold feet....

Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

I voted GW for the bolded reason

I get that both are regional schools, but to advise someone to take on 72K in additional debt to live a pipe dream is a bit ludicrous. yes, GW will place better in DC, but having the smaller debt load at Emory most likely offsets that and gives you more options in the end. placing higher in your class at Emory could also take you to DC.

f0bolous wrote:I get that both are regional schools, but to advise someone to take on 72K in additional debt to live a pipe dream is a bit ludicrous.

+1,000,000

Don't be insane; don't make a financial decision you'll regret for the rest of your life. Take the money, be thankful you got scholly money at a great school, and go to Emory.

/cycle
/thread

terpette wrote:shameless bumping - but now that I've paid seat deposits at both of these schools, I wanted to see what everyone else thought.

I want to come back to DC after law school, and GW had a little bit of a better feel for me. I by no means disliked Emory, but I'm not 100% sure I could see myself there for 3+ years. But the money offer is definitely tempting!

It sounds like you really want to go to GW and didn't have the best experience at Emory. I personally had a great time at the ASD and can definitely see myself in Atlanta for at least three years, but if it just didn't click for you I have a hard time recommending it. That being said, you'll probably have about twice as much debt coming from GW. Good luck with your decision! I think they're both great choices and that you really just have to decide what's more important to you.

Emory places quite well into DC. Save $100,000 and go to Emory. If you're still not sure, plug $100,000 (Emory) and $200,000 (GW) into a loan repayment calculator.

f0bolous wrote:

Thomas Jefferson wrote:

terpette wrote:Emory, besides being ranked higher, is offering a great deal, I know. $24,000/yr renewable, no strings attached.

However...I am from the DC area, 99% sure I want to return to DC and am not sure I want to be as far away as Atlanta. I visited Emory and definitely liked it, but I wasn't excited per se. Also, up until recently I swore up and down that I actually did not want to go to law school so close to home as GW, but now I guess I'm getting cold feet....

Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

I voted GW for the bolded reason

I get that both are regional schools, but to advise someone to take on 72K in additional debt to live a pipe dream is a bit ludicrous. yes, GW will place better in DC, but having the smaller debt load at Emory most likely offsets that and gives you more options in the end. placing higher in your class at Emory could also take you to DC.

Wanting to live/work in DC is a pipe dream? OP pretty much definitely wants to work in DC and does NOT want to work in Atlanta. OP will have much better options in DC from GW than from Emory. Less debt is meaningless if you can't get a job where you're living.

Thomas Jefferson wrote:

f0bolous wrote:

Thomas Jefferson wrote:

terpette wrote:Emory, besides being ranked higher, is offering a great deal, I know. $24,000/yr renewable, no strings attached.

However...I am from the DC area, 99% sure I want to return to DC and am not sure I want to be as far away as Atlanta. I visited Emory and definitely liked it, but I wasn't excited per se. Also, up until recently I swore up and down that I actually did not want to go to law school so close to home as GW, but now I guess I'm getting cold feet....

Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

I voted GW for the bolded reason

I get that both are regional schools, but to advise someone to take on 72K in additional debt to live a pipe dream is a bit ludicrous. yes, GW will place better in DC, but having the smaller debt load at Emory most likely offsets that and gives you more options in the end. placing higher in your class at Emory could also take you to DC.

Wanting to live/work in DC is a pipe dream? OP pretty much definitely wants to work in DC and does NOT want to work in Atlanta. OP will have much better options in DC from GW than from Emory. Less debt is meaningless if you can't get a job where you're living.

if by DC government work or biglaw, then yes, it's a pipedream. you'd need excellent grades from either place for those gigs, but if OP just wants to be in DC and will settle for anything there, then yes, GW would be better, even with the increased debt.

f0bolous wrote:if by DC government work or biglaw, then yes, it's a pipedream. you'd need excellent grades from either place for those gigs, but if OP just wants to be in DC and will settle for anything there, then yes, GW would be better, even with the increased debt.

OK well not once was biglaw or the feds mentioned. The only preference given was location. It's pretty irresponsible to call other peoples' advice "ludicrous" when you're offering a straw man argument.

Thomas Jefferson wrote:

f0bolous wrote:if by DC government work or biglaw, then yes, it's a pipedream. you'd need excellent grades from either place for those gigs, but if OP just wants to be in DC and will settle for anything there, then yes, GW would be better, even with the increased debt.

OK well not once was biglaw or the feds mentioned. The only preference given was location. It's pretty irresponsible to call other peoples' advice "ludicrous" when you're offering a straw man argument.

i apologize. it was an oversight on my part, but I have a feeling that even though OP didn't specifically mention it, he/she probably did mean DC biglaw/government work.

I typically don't advise people to take scholarships at schools they don't want over full tuition at schools they want. But in this case, I think the scholarship is the wise choice.

The pro-GW-even-with-massive-debt crowd in this thread keeps harping on the OP wanting to be in DC, so thus he has to choose GW. This might have been correct if OP weren't from DC, but he is. Since he's a native, he doesn't need to go to school there, he already has his connection to the area.

And like someone else said, DC attracts students from everywhere so being from a local school doesn't matter, GW is still less desired than the Ivy's etc. who come to DC. Add to that, going to Emory gives the OP access to the Atlanta legal market, which could be helpful in case his grades are weak. If you have weak grades at GW, and you're from DC, you have one market, and you can't get a job there.

If the costs were the same, I'd say go where you want. With a $72k scholarship, take the money and run.