Top Law Schools

I know that they are pretty much equal, but what the hack, I want some inputs from brilliant minds in TLS.


I have to say 5000/yr for me is not significant enough to give WUSTL clear advantage.

I do not have any strong regional preference, but I want East coast law firm if I can get in.

In terms of job prospective, overall experience, reputation, which one is better?

frenchradar wrote:I want East coast law firm if I can get in.

FWIW ND probably has better lay prestige on the east coast...maybe. Have you visited both schools?

Are you from the east coast? If not, you may not make it back there. Assuming that statement is true, would you rather study in a college town or a large metropolitan area?

When dealing with peer schools at same price with one being in a large city and one not, I would almost always recommend the school in the large city - there are just tons of opportunities during the academic year that you miss out on by going to school in a small town (semester jobs, networking opportunities, etc.).

Therefore, I would recommend WashU.

I saw that ND hiked their tuition by like 15% for next year and if that trend continues the difference is going to get larger. Something to consider.

Visit the campuses. Talk to people there, and then make a decision. The two are close enough in ranking/cost that you should really get enough information to make the decision yourself. Don't spend 150k without at least taking a few days to make the best decision possible.

Notre Dame probably better for East Coast placement, but you should have better East Coast placement options if targeting NYC, Boston & Philadelphia since you were able to get scholarship offers from both ND & WashUStL.

Did you apply to Cornell, BC, BU and/or Fordham, for example ?

P.S. Based on your scholarship offers, your stats are probably at least a 167/168 LSAT & 3.65/3.68 GPA.

I agree with the poster who advised visiting both campuses and speaking with students, faculty, staff, etc. I have to say this, having visited both: you have a tough decision. They're both great schools with beautiful campuses and good people all around. You really can't go wrong either way.

The two schools are peers, and the cost difference isn't huge. In a coin flip like this one, I'm obviously biased towards WUSTL. I love it here and would be happy to answer any school-specific questions you have. I also think you should take a look at our D.C./NYC clinics if you're interested in the east cost. Have you visited the schools? Do you have a preference for one school/location over the other?

Also, what about BU/BC/GW/Fordham? Why aren't these options?

CanadianWolf wrote: Did you apply to Cornell, BC, BU and/or Fordham, for example ?

romothesavior wrote: Also, what about BU/BC/GW/Fordham? Why aren't these options?

I have not heard from Cornell/BC/BU yet, and didn’t apply GW, Fordham since I did not get any fee waiver. (I know it's dumb...)
I also have not heard from several other schools around T14 area. Perhaps because I applied late (or I am just obvious ding...)
I should not expect any more admissions at this point right?

How late did you apply?

You are a strong candidate for admission to BC & BU with some scholarship money if your numbers are in line with my estimate.

2014 wrote:I saw that ND hiked their tuition by like 15% for next year and if that trend continues the difference is going to get larger. Something to consider.

Ouch.... THat hurts.. 15%???? But it is still slightly cheaper than WUSTL, (1000) and living expense is again little cheaper, so I think it is pretty much similar..

frenchradar wrote:I know that they are pretty much equal, but what the hack, I want some inputs from brilliant minds in TLS.


I have to say 5000/yr for me is not significant enough to give WUSTL clear advantage.

I do not have any strong regional preference, but I want East coast law firm if I can get in.

In terms of job prospective, overall experience, reputation, which one is better?

http://notredame.lawschoolnumbers.com/

http://washu.lawschoolnumbers.com/

Look at these Law School Numbers...may help.

Like Romo said, these are peer schools. But, I agree that ND has a farther reach East. In your situation, I'd go ND.

romothesavior wrote:How late did you apply?

I applied at feb..
should I call them or email them if i have not heard from some schools yet?

It's true that NDLS bumped tuition a good deal for 2012-2013, and it's part of a 3-year plan, so it will be bumped by roughly the same amount for 2013-2014 (it began with school year 2011-2012).

It's going to be just south of 46k for tuition and fees next year (it was just north of 43k this year), so with the 3-year plan increase, honestly you are probably looking at something around 48-50k for 2013-14. Idk what WUSTL's tuition looks like.

I think the most important consideration here is whether OP is interested in working in the Midwest. If you want to work back East, neither of these schools are wonderful choices. The fact that WUSTL has a home market is a huge advantage, IMO. So if you are okay with working in St Louis, go to WUSTL. Going to NDLS requires more footwork because there is no home market so in some ways it can be more difficult, although its trying to connect itself more to Chicago, but that market is so saturated any success there is entirely speculative. Like I said, if you want to go back east, there's probably better options.

Also, you have more money at WUSTL, but I'm suspecting COL is higher - what are the requirements to keep your scholarships?

Also consider what these schools are doing in the future to improve - what areas are they expanding in? Where are they putting the money they receive from tuition? Do those expenditures line up with your interests? Do those expenditures make you more prepared/attractive to employers?

Since the money is probably going to be relatively even (correct me if I am wrong) these are important considerations.

I'm not entirely sure that the cost of living would be higher at WUSTL. I don't know what it is in south bend, but St Louis is dirt cheap. Most people I talked to there are paying less than 500$ a month for rent, and that is with pretty decent places. I saw ~1300+ square feet two bedrooms within 5 blocks of campus for 900.

3yr plan??? so ND tuition will go up substantially for next couple years?

I guess general consensus is job prospective wise ND is slightly better or same, and other things WUSTL>ND (again slightly)?

I do not have regional preference, but I prefer biglaw if I can make it.
If I prefer east+biglaw, what do you think? Usual Retake and ED VA? lol

I was just speculating on St Louis COL - but those numbers you provided sound pretty similar to South Bend.

Yes, ND in the middle of a three year period where tuition is going up more than the usual yearly rate. Most of that money is supposed to go to scholarships/fellowships with the rest going to bolstering programs and hiring professors.

I don't know the numbers on tuition at WUSTL, but it sounds like you should do some math and determine where you want to work. If you want to work in STL or somewhere else WUSTL places, go for it. If working in a different market where WUSTL doesn't have the placement numbers, but maybe ND does, then you have to decide whether that's worth the extra debt (ND's tuition and fees for 2012-2013 appears to be a bit lower than WUSTL according to websites, but WUSTL's higher scholarship offer makes it less overall - correct me if I'm wrong). Frankly, the money is pretty even, so this is more of a feel thing, and a where do you want to work thing.