Vanderbilt vs. Georgetown Forum

[SilverE2]

Terrible poast.

Vandy is a great school, go there unless GULG offers you enough cash to offset it.

Whatever. It's "post" by the way.

I'm not trying to talk smack about Vanderbilt. It's a very fine school. But having worked at a few top firms on the East and West Coast, I am pretty comfortable saying that we did not view Vanderbilt as being in the same class of school as Georgetown (my general view, and I am not a Gtown grad and do not have a Gtown connection, although I did practice for a few years in DC, is that some schools (like Georgetown) play higher than their US News rank, and some play lower (I could mention others, but maybe I'll stop offending people for no particular reason)). Gtown is seen as a national school, whereas Vandy is a regional school. Pure and simple. So if you want to practice in the South, then I think Vanderbilt is a great choice, but as I said, I think you may be surprised at the turns your life takes. I know plenty of folks who thought they'd end up in a certain geographic area, who did not end up doing so. Your life plan at 25 is much different than your life plan at 30/35/etc.

And of course, to restate the obvious, if you do really well at either school, it won't matter, as your options will be wide open. We're not talk about TTT schools here. Congratulations on your options.

I think your views of Vandy are outdated. We're no longer just a Southern powerhouse, but are creeping closer and closer to national status. Last year we placed almost 10% in Cali and placed virtually as many in the Northeast (33%) as we did in the Southeast (38%). Also, there is a TON of self-selection here in terms of people wanting to place in the South. A bunch of my class has no interest in working in NY or DC, which I'm sure has something to do with the placement numbers.

Unless someone is absolutely dead set on ending up in DC there's no way I would choose GULC at sticker over Vandy, especially considering how difficult it is to get a job in DC these days. Nashville can be dirt cheap if you want it to be, and though the cost of living + tuition estimate is someone around the 200k - 210k range, I could definitely see someone with no scholarship graduating with around 150k. Not to mention over 70% of the class has some sort of scholarship (Vandy loves giving money). I had an LSAT around the median and a GPA around the 25th percentile and I still got a sizeable amount of money.

Additionally, Vanderbilt has over the past few years consistently put up higher NLJ + A3 Clerkship numbers than GULC. Vandy's low NLJ numbers last year are a bit of an anomaly, probably due to Southern firms no-offering a ton of people, but having spoken to one of our deans, it seems that the school has bounced back big time. People are going to be impressed with the NLJ numbers we put up when the new charts come out early 2012.

[Grizz]

Additionally, Vanderbilt has over the past few years consistently put up higher NLJ + A3 Clerkship numbers than GULC. Vandy's low NLJ numbers last year are a bit of an anomaly, probably due to Southern firms no-offering a ton of people, but having spoken to one of our deans, it seems that the school has bounced back big time. People are going to be impressed with the NLJ numbers we put up when the new charts come out early 2012.

To clarify the bold, c/o 2010 did OCI in 2008 and received offers from Southern firms pre-crash, and bid relying on pre-crash information. Then, they got no-offered in droves. 42% offers in ATL, for example. Things are somewhat better now, and people can bid smarter, as more info about ITE comes out.

[YourCaptain]

Terrible poast.

Vandy is a great school, go there unless GULG offers you enough cash to offset it.

Whatever. It's "post" by the way.

toasting in a decent bread.

[chipchip]

Look, as someone who picked GULC over Vandy two years ago, I can tell you that there are pluses and minuses to both schools, and in the end, it's going to be about how you feel at each one and what your goals are. Given how this forum loves ripping on GULC simply because of class size and nothing else (certainly not experience at GULC, and indeed very few of us really post in this part of the site to counter the constant vitriol) you're not going to get any unbiased opinion on this question. (I really don't think you can glean much from "Vandy's great, go there if GULC doesn't give you enough." It's a personal choice.)

I picked GULC because of location and opportunities during the year. I have not had to take a full semester to do an externship in the federal government, which you would do at Vandy (they provide this option with full credit if I'm not mistaken, which is nice), and I've been able to work at 2 different government agencies among other things. DC is hard to beat in this arena; NYC is obviously a hotbed too but it depends on your interests of course. Sure, it's more expensive to live here than in Nashville, but that's just a living consideration that you'll have to make for yourself. In the end, I'm doing fine, and I have clerkships and a firm job lined up.

I can't tell you specifics about our placement in Texas. most people generally end up going to DC/NY/California markets. Plenty of Texas firms come here for interviews, though, so you won't be at a loss for options. Career Services would probably give you more specific information.

Ultimately, my impression is that GULC is definitely higher-regarded on the whole, but Vanderbilt is no slouch and they have an excellent group of people working for you there. You do well at either, you'll have many many options in Texas or wherever. So the choice ends up being a question of money, your own personal feelings about each school, and what you want to do. No one in this thread or elsewhere can give you an answer to that.