Georgetown v. Northwestern Forum

[sweetclementine]

Hello all. First time poster, some time stalker.

I just got into Northwestern yesterday after being on Hold for about a century, and now I'm looking for some advice from the people who can give it best: complete strangers

I have already put down my first deposit at Georgetown, visited the campus, and enrolled in the housing lottery, but it seems that now I have something new to consider, and I would love to hear some honest opinions on which is the best pick: Georgetown or Northwestern.

Factors:
1. City - I've visited both, and I can confidently say that I liked D.C. better than Chicago, but I didn't dislike Chicago at all. Though as a Californian born and raised, the winter there might be a pretty intense change.
2. Class size - NW is much smaller, GULC is enormous. Does is matter? Will that really affect my job prospects if I graduate with the same relative ranking from one or the other?
3. Job Placement - I have been reading things about not-so-great job prospects after GULC. Is that simply a product of there being so many students, or is there something seriously wrong there. And secondly, I would much rather work on the East Coast than in the Midwest, but is one truly better at placing people there than the other?
4. Other - boyfriend will be in grad school at MIT in Boston. DC is closer. Just throwing that out there so as not to pretend that's not a factor

Any other insight people have on either school would be HUGELY appreciated, and I look forward to the kind and the snarky with equal anticipation haha.

[bdubs]

Did you get any money at GULC? If you have a desire to work in Chicago after graduation, which it sounds like you don't, Northwestern would be an obvious choice. Otherwise, I think that your other factors point toward GULC.

Job prospect differences are exaggerated on this board, but they are real. Most of it is due to the size of Georgetown's classes, but some is also attributable to its reputation/rank, younger student body (at least relative to NU), and location (difficult market to crack).

[sanetruth]

First, you should make a poll.

Second, the vast majority of people on here are going to say Northwestern, if we're assuming there is no $$ from either.

Third, I think the deciding factor is really whether you want a small class size or a large class size, because these two schools really are on the opposite side of the spectrum in this regard. I, personally, prefer smaller, but it's purely a matter of preference in learning style.

Another thing you might want to consider is that Northwestern has an older student body than any other T14, on average. This might not be a big deal to you, but I know I've heard some statistics about a large # of people being married. If you're young, this might be counter-productive to your social/personal goals. Also, the vast majority will have work experience, which, if you don't, could be a problem when competing for jobs out of there.

[Magnolia]

What are your career goals? Biglaw? PI/gov?

[bdubs]

Another thing you might want to consider is that Northwestern has an older student body than any other T14, on average. This might not be a big deal to you, but I know I've heard some statistics about a large # of people being married. If you're young, this might be counter-productive to your social/personal goals. Also, the vast majority will have work experience, which, if you don't, could be a problem when competing for jobs out of there.

Current NU students can chime in, but I didn't get the impression that the number of married/committed students at NU was much greater than at any other T14. I think that the primary thing that the older student body adds is a maturity and perspective.

I got the sense that NU students actually went out more because they weren't constantly stressing over less significant things.

[sweetclementine]

At this point the two paths that interest me are Government/International Law and Big Law (corporate). I realize they are fairly different, but in my mind they both have a certain importance and excitement about them, which is probably what attracts me. I am, however, not going into law school with my career plans set in stone, because I think part of being in law school should be discovering which area of the law becomes most appealing during that time. But, the two above are my best bet at this point!

[sweetclementine]

Oh, and no money anywhere. Yay debt!!!!

[bdubs]

Did you get to visit the actual NU and GULC campuses? Do you like the area of DC that GULC is in relative to the area of Chicago that NU is in?

Your career goals are nebulous enough that it sounds like either school can get you there. Northwestern will give you better corporate law prospects and GULC better government prospects, but neither shuts you out of one or the other.

[sweetclementine]

I did. In terms of campus/neighborhood beauty, I think Northwestern sitting right there on Lake Michigan probably wins. Georgetown is right by the Capitol building, though, which is kind of poetic in its own right. And thank you bdubs... I think and hope you're right that there is no seriously disastrous choice here!

[bdubs]

I live in DC currently and will be at NU in the fall. I find that area of DC to be really boring, but that is just me.

When you've been here more than a few months you will forget that the capitol building looks cool to people who don't live here.

[sweetclementine]

Can I ask what made NU your top choice?

[Magnolia]

Well, GULC will give you more opportunities for government work during and after school. However, NU has better biglaw placement. That could be self-selection to some extent, since lots of GULC kids want PI/gov, but I do think class size hurts them a bit at OCI.

GULC will give you more clinics and classes to explore interests, but there will also be more competition. When I visited I was told that about 80-100 students from each class will apply for clinics both 2L and 3L and never get one. At NU I was told that most students who want to do clinics end up doing multiple clinics.

Neither one is going to shut you out of career options. I would go with your gut/personal preference based on your visits.

[sanetruth]

I live in DC currently and will be at NU in the fall. I find that area of DC to be really boring, but that is just me.

+1. I visited GULC and was SERIOUSLY turned off by the area. I tried to get some input about it in the GULC questions thread but people kind of ignored me. One person answered and they were pretty much like 'it is what it is'. So I feel like GULC students agree that that area is terrible, but just try and block it out.

[bdubs]

I am doing the JD/MBA program, so the big draw was the strength of both schools and the structure of the program. That's not really relevant to your situation though.

Here are the things I like better about NU than GULC (I got into both, and actually really like living in DC and want to come back):

Smaller class size - You learn the same things in your 1L year at every school, at NU you get to do it in a smaller section and get to know your professors better. I liked that atmosphere. GULC has some advantages in years 2 and 3 for more course offerings, but honestly I have heard that no one cares about that stuff anyway because you have already interviewed by that point.

Older student body - GULC has lots of fresh out of undergrad kids and I probably would have been at the older end of the age range

Chicago - I really like Chicago. The city is friendly, livable, and you get much more for your money

Job prospects - Since I like Chicago, I liked the idea of having an additional job market accessible to me aside from NYC and the market I have ties to. Also, you are more likely to get a law job in general if you are an average student at NU.

[CanadianWolf]

Northwestern.

In my opinion, more is needed to justify turning down NU for Georgetown. Even if Georgetown offered a partial scholarship, Northwestern would remain the better choice due to more employment & clinical opportunities along with a more varied & mature student body.

[sweetclementine]

But would it truly be better for getting a job in NYC or DC? Or are the employment prospects better BECAUSE of the fact that it has the Chicago market and there are plenty of corporate firms there? Also, I think the schools are probably somewhat self-selecting, and more people at NU want corporate, which is why more get those jobs. It seems likely that many younger GULC students might have the opportunity for BigLaw but forgo those for opportunities in PI or Government work. Just a thought...

But I do agree completely about class sizes...the idea of competing with so many other students does sound kind of crazy/potentially awful hahaha.

[hipstermafia]

I'm going to have to go with Georgetown here.

I think at least some of the employment differences between NU and gulc stem from the previous work experience of the class at NU. The money is the same. You prefer DC to Chicago and east coast to midwest. and you can take the bolt bus to Boston for $1...

FWIW, I was deciding between the two and i chose georgetown (even with a small scholarship at NU) so perhaps I am a bit biased. Feel free to PM me if you want to talk about why i did what i did and what not.

[09042014]

One is a school of law; one is a law center. There is no choice.

[hipstermafia]

When I visited I was told that about 80-100 students from each class will apply for clinics both 2L and 3L and never get one.

I was told that almost every student who wanted to do a clinic got into a clinic, it may not have been their top choice or as a 2L but they eventually did. Someone has been lying to us

[Magnolia]

When I visited I was told that about 80-100 students from each class will apply for clinics both 2L and 3L and never get one.

I was told that almost every student who wanted to do a clinic got into a clinic, it may not have been their top choice or as a 2L but they eventually did. Someone has been lying to us

LOL. I hope you're the one with the accurate figure then.

[Bumi]

Another thing you might want to consider is that Northwestern has an older awesomer student body than any other T14, on average.

Fixed.

Seriously though, both are good choices. Good luck!

[bdubs]

But would it truly be better for getting a job in NYC or DC? Or are the employment prospects better BECAUSE of the fact that it has the Chicago market and there are plenty of corporate firms there? Also, I think the schools are probably somewhat self-selecting, and more people at NU want corporate, which is why more get those jobs. It seems likely that many younger GULC students might have the opportunity for BigLaw but forgo those for opportunities in PI or Government work. Just a thought...

This is a bit speculative, but I think smaller schools at the lower end of the T14 have an advantage. Firms like to see some diversity of hires and they also like hiring people that do well. If the 300 students at GULC who are at/above median are out competing for jobs with the same NLJ 250 firms that the 170 or so NU students who are at/above median then it will naturally be a little harder to stand out as a GULC student. This is why Cornell and Duke consistently outplace GULC as well.

Also, almost all of the GULC students are going to be targeting NYC and DC. NU will have a lot of people targeting NYC and Chicago, with a few with good grades targeting DC. Spreading out the at/above median students across more markets helps reduce saturation and competition between students on the market.

[hipstermafia]

It seems likely that many younger GULC students might have the opportunity for BigLaw but forgo those for opportunities in PI or Government work. Just a thought....

a lot of georgetown students aim for PI or government, i think more so than other lower t14s.

[sweetclementine]

Call me an optimist, but this thread is actually making me excited about both schools! Hipster Mafia, it's good to hear that clinic opportunities aren't quite so bleak.

I'm also surprised at how many people here seem super into Chicago. I always hear about it as a super all-american-meat-and-potatoes-type of city. Maybe I am not giving it enough of a chance... but DC seems SO much more cosmopolitan and international and interesting to me...

I've never lived anywhere but California (with a brief stint in Madrid), so figuring out the east is quite a challenge!

[bdubs]

Call me an optimist, but this thread is actually making me excited about both schools! Hipster Mafia, it's good to hear that clinic opportunities aren't quite so bleak.

I'm also surprised at how many people here seem super into Chicago. I always hear about it as a super all-american-meat-and-potatoes-type of city. Maybe I am not giving it enough of a chance... but DC seems SO much more cosmopolitan and international and interesting to me...

I've never lived anywhere but California (with a brief stint in Madrid), so figuring out the east is quite a challenge!

If you mean cosmopolitan in the glamorous/big city way, then i think DC falls short there. Chicago is much more of a real city, DC is kind of a commuter town with a few urban pockets.

DC is WAY more international than Chicago though. If you meant to use cosmopolitan and international as synonyms then you are correct.

Will you have time to take advantage of either of these as a law student? Not sure.

PS - Are you from NoCal or SoCal?