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Figured I'd make one of these, assuming I don't get off any waitlist/all pending apps. are waitlists.

I'd like to end up in DC/NY, but would have no complaints ending up in Chicago. Pretty mobile/flexible, etc. I'll be retaking in June to try and bump from high 160's to 171+ range, sit out a year and re-apply, but will be putting a deposit down beforehand in case the retake doesn't go too hot. BigLaw would be sweet, but pretty much just looking for a job and small debt would be pretty awesome too. Looking for insight from anyone who was in a similar situation, why you chose what you did, or anyone with any knowledge etc. Thanks in advance.

ETA: Money amounts are total scholarships over the 3 years.

Because of cost of living, the difference between GWU and WUSTL will actually be more. If you really don't care about location/big-law, and you just want little debt, then wustl will be the way to go. If you're okay with St. Louis/Kansas City, you'll have options if you can convince employers you want to stay. And you'll have very minimal debt.

I just want a clarification. When you're interviewing for a firm job in Missouri and you're at WUSTL law, employers will be suspicious of you if you're not from or have no ties to the region prior to WUSTL?

bender18 wrote:I just want a clarification. When you're interviewing for a firm job in Missouri and you're at WUSTL law, employers will be suspicious of you if you're not from or have no ties to the region prior to WUSTL?

Just like any other area, you need to be able to show that you're going to stay once you're hired. Firms would prefer to invest in somebody who is going to be there long term. Ties help. Being married helps. Working in your preferred market during the summers also helps.

bender18 wrote:I just want a clarification. When you're interviewing for a firm job in Missouri and you're at WUSTL law, employers will be suspicious of you if you're not from or have no ties to the region prior to WUSTL?

Ask romothesaviour

rad law wrote:

bender18 wrote:I just want a clarification. When you're interviewing for a firm job in Missouri and you're at WUSTL law, employers will be suspicious of you if you're not from or have no ties to the region prior to WUSTL?

Ask romothesaviour

lol@apparently romo being British now

And yeah, he's definitely an expert on the topic.

Are you getting in-state tuition at Texas? I went to Illinois for my undergrad and to address your concerns regarding debt, you can live very cheaply in Champaign-Urbana, especially if you are willing to live off campus. I'm in a similar situation, I'm trying to decide between T-14 at sticker, 15-20 with enough scholly money to cover a year, or full tuition scholarships at the 21-25 range. Being from Illinois I'm leaning towards UIUC, however Texas is tempting and I'm still waiting to hear from a few schools. I know that UIUC feeds into Chicago, but Indianapolis is actually close to campus (~2 hour drive) and St. Louis is not too far (3-3:30 drive), however I don't really know how well Illinois places in those markets.

I think you're getting in-state on top of the $21K, so it's more like $66K.

f0bolous wrote:I think you're getting in-state on top of the $21K, so it's more like $66K.

Negative, just 21k, no mention of in-state I believe.

If you want DC/NY, then definitely Texas or GWU--and probably GWU with the scholarship.

i would take GWU with those numbers, but if you are getting in-state tuition at texas i would probably take UT

Shameless bump as I come closer to making a decision... also if anyone has knowledge on it- which option is best if I were to ultimately decide to return to Florida/Southeast instead of shooting for NY/DC?

Southeast = GWU, but why in God's name would you return to Florida?

PS T14 bro

Hannibal wrote:Southeast = GWU, but why in God's name would you return to Florida?

PS T14 bro

Pretty much definitely will not be, but you never know, yaknow? Definitely sticking with NYC/DC shooting though...

GWU cause you say you'd primarily like to work in DC/NYC.

chicubs88 wrote:Are you getting in-state tuition at Texas? I went to Illinois for my undergrad and to address your concerns regarding debt, you can live very cheaply in Champaign-Urbana, especially if you are willing to live off campus. I'm in a similar situation, I'm trying to decide between T-14 at sticker, 15-20 with enough scholly money to cover a year, or full tuition scholarships at the 21-25 range. Being from Illinois I'm leaning towards UIUC, however Texas is tempting and I'm still waiting to hear from a few schools. I know that UIUC feeds into Chicago, but Indianapolis is actually close to campus (~2 hour drive) and St. Louis is not too far (3-3:30 drive), however I don't really know how well Illinois places in those markets.

Indianapolis and St. Louis are both pretty insular markets that look for strong ties. Indianapolis in particular is inundated with IU Indy grads, but I have a friend there who is having difficulty finding jobs because she is from Atlanta originally and they prefer to hire people that can demonstrate a significant history with the area.

OP, if you want DC/NYC I would say GWU is the best option here. Illinois will likely limit you to Chicago, which is a tough market at present. WUSTL just isn't portable enough and you're most likely going to be fighting over the same Illinois/St Louis jobs as Illinois grads. UT will limit you to Texas if you don't do well enough (which is hard to predict going in). Unless of course, you are IP oriented, which does change things.