Top Law Schools

Michigan or GW? No scholarship money at either. Would be an obvious choice except I want to practice in DC after law school. Does GW's location/region make up for Michigan's T14 status or not?

Any comments would also be appreciated.

Frasier27 wrote:Michigan or GW?

Michigan.

Frasier27 wrote:Does GW's location/region make up for Michigan's T14 status . . . ?

No.

No GULC?

AboveTheLawSchool wrote:No GULC?

Nope...WL

Any money anywhere else?

Surprised no $105K from GW. Numbers?

ndirish2010 wrote:Surprised no $105K from GW. Numbers?

169/3.55

I was kind of expecting something from GW, but really I was more surprised to get into Michigan

Frasier27 wrote:

ndirish2010 wrote:Surprised no $105K from GW. Numbers?

169/3.55

I was kind of expecting something from GW, but really I was more surprised to get into Michigan

Haha yeah congrats, I would go to Michigan. I had pretty similar numbers (in profile), though your 1 LSAT point on me got you to Michigan's median. I didn't get anything from GW either.

I'd say you're pretty lucky to get into Mich, go there. It'll place at least as well as GW in DC, maybe better, and it'll definitely place better everywhere else (should your goals and desires happen to change).

If you had significant $$$ at GW, that would tip the scales significantly.

You are not lucky to get into Michigan. You did a good job with your application, and they actually care about that. That said, congrats and go there, barring significant $ somewhere else.

i would send georgetown a letter of continued interest

I think Michigan is the winner. Come to prospective student weekend in Ann Arbor, and I suspect it'll be a no-brainer.

Michigan by a mile.

Michigan and it's not even close.

Encyclopedia Brown wrote:Michigan and it's not even close your future self will thank you a million times.

AboveTheLawSchool wrote:i would send georgetown a letter of continued interest

What is the point of this? Michigan is still better than GULC.

Not for DC?

I think it depends how bad you want to be in DC after graduation. If you absolutly MUST work in DC without regard to firm prestige or pay or type of work then GW might be better but if you could conceivably take a better job in NYC or Chicago (or want a better chance of not being crushed by debt) then it is definitely Michigan. I'm from the DC area and would most like to practice there but better overall prospects made me prefer Michigan. If you have kids in DC or something it could tip the scales but it would have to be something major like that to make GW better at sticker.

Sorry, I was talking about GULC not GW.

If you had a significant internship in Wash. D.C., then GWU might make sense if you want to work in D.C. after graduation. Have you asked GWU for money in light of your Michigan acceptance ?

ndirish2010 wrote:Sorry, I was talking about GULC not GW.

Do you think GULC places better than Michigan in DC?

I think AreJay's post still applies here. Because GULC is in the city, GULC grads may have better networking opportunities and connections through their professors and what not. In addition, GULC has an awesome clinical program, so its grads can intern and extern for non-profit organizations and local agencies early on. For big law though, locating in the city doesn't matter since firms still recruit top students from top schools. So, will the top 10% at GULC beat top 30% at Michigan? Sure. But it goes the other way when you compare top 30% at GULC and top 30% at Michigan.

CanadianWolf wrote:If you had a significant internship in Wash. D.C., then GWU might make sense if you want to work in D.C. after graduation. Have you asked GWU for money in light of your Michigan acceptance ?

This is a right approach.

tea_drinker wrote:

ndirish2010 wrote:Sorry, I was talking about GULC not GW.

Do you think GULC places better than Michigan in DC?

I think AreJay's post still applies here. Because GULC is in the city, GULC grads may have better networking opportunities and connections through their professors and what not. In addition, GULC has an awesome clinical program, so its grads can intern and extern for non-profit organizations and local agencies early on. For big law though, locating in the city doesn't matter since firms still recruit top students from top schools. So, will the top 10% at GULC beat top 30% at Michigan? Sure. But not top 30% at GULC.

I think that it is going to be easier for a GULC grad to get a firm job in DC. But, it is going to be easier to get a firm job out of michigan. I also want to be in DC, but that isn't a trade off i'd be willing to make.

Patriot1208 wrote:

tea_drinker wrote:

ndirish2010 wrote:Sorry, I was talking about GULC not GW.

Do you think GULC places better than Michigan in DC?

I think AreJay's post still applies here. Because GULC is in the city, GULC grads may have better networking opportunities and connections through their professors and what not. In addition, GULC has an awesome clinical program, so its grads can intern and extern for non-profit organizations and local agencies early on. For big law though, locating in the city doesn't matter since firms still recruit top students from top schools. So, will the top 10% at GULC beat top 30% at Michigan? Sure. But not top 30% at GULC.

I think that it is going to be easier for a GULC grad to get a firm job in DC. But, it is going to be easier to get a firm job out of michigan. I also want to be in DC, but that isn't a trade off i'd be willing to make.

Can you quantify this? I suppose since a majority of GULC grads look for firm job in DC, while Michigan grads scatter out to different markets, the number of GULC grads get firm job in DC may be higher than the number of Michigan grads. But I doubt that the successful rate is the same though. I would love to see some new data since all I found is at least a year old, and may not reflect the current state of economy.

tea_drinker wrote:

Patriot1208 wrote:

tea_drinker wrote:

ndirish2010 wrote:Sorry, I was talking about GULC not GW.

Do you think GULC places better than Michigan in DC?

I think AreJay's post still applies here. Because GULC is in the city, GULC grads may have better networking opportunities and connections through their professors and what not. In addition, GULC has an awesome clinical program, so its grads can intern and extern for non-profit organizations and local agencies early on. For big law though, locating in the city doesn't matter since firms still recruit top students from top schools. So, will the top 10% at GULC beat top 30% at Michigan? Sure. But not top 30% at GULC.

I think that it is going to be easier for a GULC grad to get a firm job in DC. But, it is going to be easier to get a firm job out of michigan. I also want to be in DC, but that isn't a trade off i'd be willing to make.

Can you quantify this? I suppose since a majority of GULC grads look for firm job in DC, while Michigan grads scatter out to different markets, the number of GULC grads get firm job in DC may be higher than the number of Michigan grads. But I doubt that the successful rate is the same though. I would love to see some new data since all I found is at least a year old, and may not reflect the current state of economy.

I can quantify that Michigan places better, if that's what you mean. And, I can quantify that a higher percentage of GULC grads end up in DC than Michigan grads. But, I can't quantify GPA cutoffs for firms in DC for each school because that data isn't available to anyone. It's simply a logical jump I took from my understanding of the markets and some anecdotal evidence. From what I understand, you aren't getting DC unless you are top of your class anyways. So, the extra percentage of Mich grads that get biglaw aren't going to be competitive in DC anyways.

You should go to Michigan, spend your summers in DC and do an externship there during a semester to build contacts.