W&L or Temple Forum

[wesangler]

Got accepted to W&L off the wait-list with very little money to show for it. Was committed to Temple (but have not signed an apartment lease yet or anything like that, save the seat deposits). Dad surprised me today and said he would cover the difference in cost, making money essentially a non issue now. To what extent will Washington and Lee position me better after graduation than Temple, should I move to Lexington basically just to say I went to a "top 30"? I love Philly, but also love the idea of potentially landing an interesting job in D.C. post-grad. Anyone have any insight? I have Philly connections, but W&L seems like a considerably better school overall. Thoughts?

[justhockey31]

From what I understand W&L may be the better school but it will most likely get you a job south of DC. W&L grads do not fair terribly well in DC. If you really like Philly and could see yourself working there then I would say stay.

[Cosmo Kramer]

Don't know anything about W&L but I'm a Temple rising 2L here who turned down similar schools. If you have any questions feel free to PM me.

[lalala21]

When do you have to decide by?

I agree with justhockey. In some of these GW v whatever threads people say that even GW grads are having a hard time getting cool stuff in DC. it also seems life in Philly would be pretty different than life in lexington... so something else to think about.

Also, do not move to lexington just you can say you went to a top 30. It is always bad to let the rankings effect your decision that much... sure they are important, but other factors are just as important. (i.e., where you want to practice, what kind of lifestyle you want to have in law school, ext).

[ttf1867]

To say W&L doesn't do well in DC isn't fair. They sent 20% of their graduates there last year (this is a real stat that I can look up if you really want to know). DC is tough outside of the T14 no matter what, so that's not a fair argument to make. That being said, by a lot of objective measures, W&L is the better school. Just depends on a combination of how much prestige really matters/where you want to practice/how much you want to spend. If you want to be in Philly, Temple is probably better. If you want a degree that is more marketable on a national level, W&L is your school.

[dissonance1848]

Forget about portability. If you want Philly, go to Temple. If you don't mind Virginia, go to W&L

[clwilson6]

I'm a current rising 2L at W&L so I guess my opinion is a little biased but if placement is your concern, W&L is more known nationally. The school also has an amazing alumni network that works really hard to make sure you find a job somewhere you want to be doing what you like. I don't go to Temple so I can't really give you an idea from that school's perspective. However, I did work in Philly this summer doing an internship and attended a lot of alumni events in the Philadelphia, Camden area.

[johnnyutah]

Temple owns Philly. If you like the idea of living and working in the Delaware Valley area, go to Temple.

[justhockey31]

The prevailing opinion on TLS is that DC is a very competitive market with the T14, GW, W&M, GMU, WCL, and W&L all going for it so I wouldn't recommend W&L with the plan of going to DC because it is going to be very tough.

As for Temple, I agree with johnnyutah that Temple is great for the Philly market, plus when you add your ties there you will become a very marketable candidate for a job.

Side note...when I spoke with W&L's director of admissions during my visit this summer about their placement in DC he certainly did not say anything to make me feel confident about that. So take that for what its worth (probably not much lol)

[johnnyutah]

The prevailing opinion on TLS is that DC is a very competitive market with the T14, GW, W&M, GMU, WCL, and W&L all going for it so I wouldn't recommend W&L with the plan of going to DC because it is going to be very tough.

As for Temple, I agree with johnnyutah that Temple is great for the Philly market, plus when you add your ties there you will become a very marketable candidate for a job.

Side note...when I spoke with W&L's director of admissions during my visit this summer about their placement in DC he certainly did not say anything to make me feel confident about that. So take that for what its worth (probably not much lol)

To be fair, the Philly area is extremely competitive as well. Temple, Villanova, Drexel, Widener, Rutgers-Camden, Penn State and now even Penn to a degree all have large numbers of grads competing for spots. I just think Temple gives you way better chances in Philly than you'd have in DC.

[justhockey31]

I would imagine it would be better to be near the top of the totem pole in Philly (Temple + ties) than middle of the road for DC