Top Law Schools

I need some advice. I am 22 and will be starting Law School right out of college. I am having trouble deciding between GULC and VULS (with $60,000). I went to school in the South, with about 6000 students, was close with my professors and took an active role in the school and local community. I really enjoyed the collegial, laid back atmosphere and the academic experience of learning from top professors in small classes. I attended the March Admitted Students Weekend at GULC and it did not live up to my expectations. I felt very young as many of the people I met were married or engaged and had been working for a few years. The classrooms appeared to be out-dated, there did-not seem to be a lot of restaurants/bars and such right around the campus, the school is not in Georgetown proper, and I heard about the large classes, the difficulty in being selected for Moot Court, getting on a journal, clinic of choice etc. I know that on the plus side, GULC has a great national reputation, that DC is a great place to study law, and that the benefit of going to a big law school are the wide variety of classes. I went to visit Vanderbilt and got the opposite impression. The campus was beautiful, the classes small, the opportunity to become involved was great, the facilities were fantastic, and they boast a very high student satisfaction and classroom experience. However, I am concerned that going to a school ranked 17 and not being in the Top 14 will hurt my job prospects and have been repeatedly been told that Vanderbilt's alumni base is no where near as strong or as large as GULC and it will be more difficult to come back to Chicago. I would appreciate any advice as I am wrestling with the thought of giving up the "collegial" atmosphere and younger student body with smaller classes, for GULC which has a stronger reputation and would probably give me a better chance of coming back to the Midwest. I do not want to sacrifice career prospects and networking capabilities so I can have a more enjoyable classroom experience. Ideally, I would like to get onto a journal and possibly Moot Court. I am also interested in clinic. I am concerned that GULC is too big, compromising the academic experience and making it more difficult to get onto a journal. But, I am also worried that GULC is universally better known and more prestigious, which means I may sacrifice career options in choosing Vanderbilt. The scholarship at Vanderbilt is a nice plus, but I am not letting that influence my. Any thoughts are welcome...

vanderbilt

Vanderbilt is not far from GULC at all in terms of ranking. And, you really don't seem to like GULC... To pay sticker for someplace that you don't feel connected to when you have a perfectly good option for 60k seems like an easy choice. Vanderbilt is well known and I really don't think the difference in job prospects will be all that significant. Hence, my answer is Vandy...

From your descriptions, Vandy sounds like the place for you. The career opportunities are good from Vandy; I wouldn't worry too much about that.

according to some TLS members vanderbilt has been outperforming georgetown in placing their students while in this economy. and vanderbilt has decent placement into the midwest. i'd say save yourself 60k and go with vandy. also it seems like you like it better anyway.

I would look into how each of them fares in Chicago if that is specifically what you want. I have a feeling that they are relatively equal but I do not know the stats.

Unless Georgetown is drastically favored over Vanderbilt in Chicago (which I do not know for a fact whether it is or it isn't, but I doubt it is), I think Vandy is the choice here.

You like it better, it costs less, and it places similarly. Go to Vanderbilt.

GULC. since I'm on the Vandy WL

Vanderbilt is the obvious answer here. The two are essentially peer schools, so you should go with the one that seems like a better personal fit.

Vandy FO SHO. Plus not as many annoying tourists and a better country music scene!

Enjoy Vanderbilt.


Tennessee girls. /Thread.

and a better country music scene!

Could be a negative for some.


I think the non-trad thing was a fluke. There are plenty of younger students. Perhaps the part time program is more non-trad centric.

That said, with 60k on the table, just go to vandy unless you are very east-coast centric.

9/10 advising against t14. So very un-tls.

Near wrote:9/10 advising against t14. So very un-tls.

TLS hates on Gtown like we're paid for it. However, the one thing that motivates TLSers more than rank? Debt. Take the money kid.

Big Law Opportunities: +1 to Vandy
Clerkships Placement: +1 to Vandy
Scholarship Money: +1 to Vandy
Tuition: About a wash
Prestige: About a wash.

Vandy seems like the winner.

romothesavior wrote:You like it better, it costs less, and it places similarly. Go to Vanderbilt.

I second Romo. This is really a no-brainer.

I LOVE vandy as much as the next guy, would have chosen it over GULC, etc. etc. but GULC has more prestige -- both lay and legal. SORRY VULS PEEPS

miamiman wrote:I LOVE vandy as much as the next guy, would have chosen it over GULC, etc. etc. but GULC has more prestige -- both lay and legal. SORRY VULS PEEPS

Certainly depends on what region of the country one's in.

edit: It's probably time for me to stop being the Vandy police.

miamiman wrote:I LOVE vandy as much as the next guy, would have chosen it over GULC, etc. etc. but GULC has more prestige -- both lay and legal. SORRY VULS PEEPS

Lay doesn't mean jack.

Is the extra prestige worth $60,000? I don't think so.

edited / never mind

rad law wrote:

miamiman wrote:I LOVE vandy as much as the next guy, would have chosen it over GULC, etc. etc. but GULC has more prestige -- both lay and legal. SORRY VULS PEEPS

Lay doesn't mean jack.

Is the extra prestige worth $60,000? I don't think so.

Lay and legal.

I do think most people in the legal community, even those whose opinion matters, give an edge -- however slight -- to GULC. The relevant difference is that VULS has 190 kids to place; GULC has slightly more than that.

miamiman wrote:

rad law wrote:

miamiman wrote:I LOVE vandy as much as the next guy, would have chosen it over GULC, etc. etc. but GULC has more prestige -- both lay and legal. SORRY VULS PEEPS

Lay doesn't mean jack.

Is the extra prestige worth $60,000? I don't think so.

Lay and legal.

I do think most people in the legal community, even those whose opinion matters, give an edge -- however slight -- to GULC. The relevant difference is that VULS has 190 kids to place; GULC has slightly more than that.

What I meant was lay prestige doesn't mean jack, and I don't think the extra legal prestige is worth $60k. What I said above was ambiguous.

Agreed. In a normal economy though, GULC may be the credited choice.

I love posts like this, where someone just needs that little extra push to go to a school that they love, so...

GO TO VANDY!

The $60,000 scholarship is great, you'll love it there, Nashville is an amazing city (I'm from there so I know it really well), and I think you'll be much, much happier there. Any difference in ranking is largely negated by your scholarship and love for the school.

(Also, I have visited GULC and LOVED it, so this isn't a biased Vandy post either.)

Without a doubt, vanderbilt