WUSTL v. Emory Forum

[schwar46]

I've posted this already in the transfer section... but looking for some added input.

[3ThrowAway99]

More info.. prefer to end up in mid-west or in south?? Where at now? On scholly?

Oh.. and, are you accepted at both, or just wondering in case you get in?

[schwar46]

In at both. Currently TTT New England. Sticker at both. Would prefer employment in the South, but wouldn't mind Midwest (Louisville, Chicago, er maybe St. Louis). It is my understanding that Emory is perhaps the safer choice for my geographical preference, but it seems that school has been having some serious problems administratively.

[3ThrowAway99]

In at both. Currently TTT New England. Sticker at both. Would prefer employment in the South, but wouldn't mind Midwest (Louisville, Chicago, er maybe St. Louis). It is my understanding that Emory is perhaps the safer choice for my geographical preference, but it seems that school has been having some serious problems administratively.

First of all, congrats on your acceptances! Those are both great schools.

I prob would go with WUSTL, but my primary reasoning is simply rankings. Since you have preference for work in South though I think it is really a coin toss. Both of these schools are essentially regional in terms of placement, but they are great regional schools that I think have more reach than many other regional schools.

I have read criticisms of Emory recently in terms of how they have responded to poor employment placement statistics, but I wasn't aware of any serious administrative problems beyond that (to the extent that any comments do represent a serious problem). But I'm sure that the administrative environment of some schools is better than others, and at the very least Emory has gotten some pretty bad press recently.

Have you checked out the campuses? With a close call like this I actually think a visit can be important, even though I know it may be an inconvenience.

[schwar46]

In at both. Currently TTT New England. Sticker at both. Would prefer employment in the South, but wouldn't mind Midwest (Louisville, Chicago, er maybe St. Louis). It is my understanding that Emory is perhaps the safer choice for my geographical preference, but it seems that school has been having some serious problems administratively.

First of all, congrats on your acceptances! Those are both great schools.

I prob would go with WUSTL, but my primary reasoning is simply rankings. Since you have preference for work in South though I think it is really a coin toss. Both of these schools are essentially regional in terms of placement, but they are great regional schools that I think have more reach than many other regional schools.

I have read criticisms of Emory recently in terms of how they have responded to poor employment placement statistics, but I wasn't aware of any serious administrative problems beyond that (to the extent that any comments do represent a serious problem). But I'm sure that the administrative environment of some schools is better than others, and at the very least Emory has gotten some pretty bad press recently.


Have you checked out the campuses? With a close call like this I actually think a visit can be important, even though I know it may be an inconvenience.

Thanks a lot. I also got into Tulane, but I think these schools likely trump Tulane when it comes to employment prospects (fishing for agreement).

I think the campuses are really important, and I have seen Wash U's campus (I used to play DIII football against them). I was impressed. I have not seen Emory's campus, but I figure suburban ATL can't be all that bad. Have you seen Emory?

[3ThrowAway99]

Have you seen Emory?

...

[ndirish2010]

I think WUSTL is the better choice...it's not very far ahead of Emory, but it is still ahead.

[deadpanic]

neither at sticker.

With that being said, if i had to choose without debt in mind, i'd say WUSTL is the better choice for employment prospects.

[CanadianWolf]

This is a tie that depends upon where you prefer to live & work. Do your choices still include SMU, LSU & George Mason in addition to Emory, Tulane & WashUStL ?

[kapital98]

Why are you transferring? You could get a full ride at your current school and not give up the perks of being top of the class (I'm assuming your in the top 5%.)

Are there any scholarship offers from the transfer schools?

[CanadianWolf]

Not sure why OP is transferring, but the environment at some low ranked law schools is bad due to poor facilities & lack of an intellectually stimulating atmosphere in addition to substandard job prospects.

[ndirish2010]

neither at sticker.

With that being said, if i had to choose without debt in mind, i'd say WUSTL is the better choice for employment prospects.

Two years at sticker is way different than three.

[schwar46]

This is a tie that depends upon where you prefer to live & work. Do your choices still include SMU, LSU & George Mason in addition to Emory, Tulane & WashUStL ?

Yes.

[Mickey Quicknumbers]

Do you want to work in the southeast? --> Emory
Do you want to work in the midwest? --> WUSTL
are you paying sticker for both? --> neither

It boils down to that pretty simply. Anyone suggesting that recent criticisms of the administration actually make WUSTL a better school if you're looking in the south are absurd.

[3ThrowAway99]

Do you want to work in the southeast? --> Emory
Do you want to work in the midwest? --> WUSTL
are you paying sticker for both? --> neither

It boils down to that pretty simply. Anyone suggesting that recent criticisms of the administration actually make WUSTL a better school if you're looking in the south are absurd.

Are you paying sticker--or even around 1/2-- at your current TTT OP? If so then I think sticker at a T20 sounds like a great deal.

Even if that is not the case (i.e. you are on full scholly at TTT), I don't agree that paying sticker at a T20 school is categorically not worth it, even if it is WUSTL (and not a higher ranked T20). But in that case I think it would likely be much more of a reasonable debate whether the transfer is worth it.

[Aberzombie1892]

OP is a transfer student. He will be paying sticker at all of the choices.

OP: I don't know where you have ties to, but excluding ties:

1. If you want the Atlanta metro with some opportunities in FL, Al, and NY - Emory.
2. If you want the St. Louis metro with some opportunities if IL and NY - WashU.
3. If you want the New Orleans metro with some opportunities in TX, AL, and NY - Tulane
4. If you want the Dallas metro with some opportunities in Houston - SMU

I wouldn't attend in of the above schools unless you are okay with the possibly of staying in their metros. While no law school literally leaves you "stuck" anywhere, prestige/perception of prestige of these schools is strongest in their metros, and each of the above schools generally have a decent amount of out of state employers at OCI (except for SMU).

I wouldn't consider George Mason or LSU in light of your other options.

[schwar46]

OP is a transfer student. He will be paying sticker at all of the choices.

OP: I don't know where you have ties to, but excluding ties:

1. If you want the Atlanta metro with some opportunities in FL, Al, and NY - Emory.
2. If you want the St. Louis metro with some opportunities if IL and NY - WashU.
3. If you want the New Orleans metro with some opportunities in TX, AL, and NY - Tulane
4. If you want the Dallas metro with some opportunities in Houston - SMU

I wouldn't attend in of the above schools unless you are okay with the possibly of staying in their metros. While no law school literally leaves you "stuck" anywhere, prestige/perception of prestige of these schools is strongest in their metros, and each of the above schools generally have a decent amount of out of state employers at OCI (except for SMU).

I wouldn't consider George Mason or LSU in light of your other options.

Sorry for my delayed response, and thanks to all of you for weighing in. I think the above post sums this up pretty well. Yes, I am paying sticker at a (private) TTT right now, so transferring to a better school and getting stuck with the bill makes sense to me. You guys are making this decision way to difficult on me, as you all bring up good points. I'm in London right now, about to enjoy an awful meal, and will continue to think on this during my 3 hour bus ride to Cambridge. If you ever come here, do not eat the black pudding. That is all.

[Peg]

Neither WashU or Emory are great at sticker, but WashU has one advantage: nobody from its peer schools wants to come to St Louis.

On the other hand, Emory will compete with other, higher-ranked southern schools such as UT Austin, Duke and Vanderbilt. Atlanta is more or less the capital of the South and it makes sense that other Southern law graduates will want to move there for work.

WashU, on the other hand, only really competes with SLU for the STL legal market. Going deep into debt is more worth it at WashU. You will be more likely to graduate with a job offer that will put you in a position to pay back all that debt.

[WSJ_Law]

I think TCR is to find out your geographic preference. If you don't have one, start developing one. Great schools but both with big price tags. WUSTL is probably (only slightly) more prestigious. Emory has great clinical offerings though. Both are phenomenal choices; OP will be hard-pressed to make a truly "wrong" decision either. Good luck!

[law4vus]

Have you seen Emory?

I'm currently deposited at Emory while riding out some waitlists.

The campus is quite nice in a pretty good area of Atlanta. Very suburb-ish and there aren't really that many busy streets in the immediate area of the school. The campus itself is decent, with a nice modern library that's pretty big. There seems to be a good amount of places to relax around the law school to study and eat and it's close to the medical and business schools as well as the undergrad campus. Parking seems like it might be a bitch but like I said, it's a pretty open area and isn't a grid like downtown would be. I got a pretty good feeling about the campus and the school, but the recent bad press does concern me. I won't be in much debt though, so it put me at more ease than others might be.

As for WUSTL vs. Emory, it really depends. Emory will prob be better for the South and WUSTL for the midwest, and the area around Emory is definitely safer than around WUSTL. WUSTL does have the employment stats in its favor, but who knows how true they are for either school. I think cost of attendance is relatively similar (44K for Emory vs. 41K for WUSTL) and housing is relatively cheap in Atlanta. You can get a one bedroom for just under 1000 per month and a two bedroom for about 15-1700. You can't really go wrong with either school from an academic standpoint, but both schools are risky given the amount of debt you may incur by going there coupled with the employment prospects. Think long and hard about where you want to be and the health of each market in the type of law you want to practice.

One thing I think you do have in your favor is that you already know how to do well in law school. It doesn't matter so much that you went to a T3 since you're entering as a 2L and you have had success at your original school. Stats show that transfer students tend to do quite well at their new schools, regardless of how far up they move in the rankings. Keep that in mind and don't be intimidated just because the students are thought to be "better" at the new school you choose.

Best of luck to you!

[nmcdgt]

If you prefer to work in the South, Emory is probably the better choice, although you can't go wrong at WUSTL either. I think in either case though, to choose a law school based just on one-year rankings is kind of short-sighted and ridiculous. Emory still has a very strong reputation in the South as long as you can keep your grades up. Also, I can speak to Emory's campus, and it is very very nice. The surrounding area is also very nice, but you are still only 10 minutes from downtown Atlanta for the nightlife and other events. I am quite fond of Emory's campus and location.

[schwar46]

Still haven't made my decision yet, but I wanted to extend my thanks to all of you for commenting. It's a tough decision but I'm confident either school will be a good choice so long as I cut the mustard.