Top Law Schools

Edited as of 5/1/12:

George Washington offering $25,000 COA: $135,000.
Cardozo is offering me $42,000. COA: $80,000.

I'm not really gunning for biglaw or a clerkship, but I don't want to do doc review either. I'm fine working in either DC or NY after law school.

I'm not very interested in going to W&M, so I'm basically considering Cardozo v GW right now.

[Stats: 2.7/168. Will retake in June, no need to tell me ]

Where do you want to work? What kind of work do you want? All relevant questions that would better inform any input.

stillwater wrote:Where do you want to work? What kind of work do you want? All relevant questions that would better inform any input.

I'd love to work in either NY or DC after law school. As for what kind of work, if I can get biglaw or a district court clerkship, that'd be great, but I understand that the prospects for these exit options are not very high. Right now I work as a paralegal in an plaintiff's side employment/discrimination law firm, and that does seem like a type of law I'd like to practice, but to be honest I don't have a huge preference yet.

Bump because I just got into George Washington off the WL! Can't believe I'm getting into these schools now. I was waitlisted at 11 schools and only accepted to 3 (St. John, Hofstra, Cardozo). I guess it's because how much of a splitter my stats are. Any thoughts on GW (assume it's sticker) v Cardozo at $30,000?

Bump again now that Prof. Campos is around

If I retake in June and score higher, is there a chance of getting more money from a school that I've already deposited to? I really would love to go to GW but I'm not sure it's a prudent bet given no money. I'm rather torn right now. Still, given that two weeks ago I was looking at Hofstra v St. John's, I think Cardozo v GW is a much better decision now.

MAN you're saying that if i'd just broken 160 I could have gotten waitlisted instead of rejected form GW? (I got a 158, 3.34)
Congrats! I have no insights on the $ situation as I'll be paying sticker for Dozo. If you choose Dozo though, seeya soon

Bump, any opinions on GW at sticker v Cardozo with $30k?

Wily wrote:Bump, any opinions on GW at sticker v Cardozo with $30k?

GW at sticker isn't worth it bruh

tfleming09 wrote:

Wily wrote:Bump, any opinions on GW at sticker v Cardozo with $30k?

GW at sticker isn't worth it bruh

Isn't GW a peer with Fordham and BU/BC in many respects? I've heard some recommendations for going to BC or Fordham at near sticker.

I'm just so excited to have gotten into somewhere top ranked with my terrible GPA that I feel bad turning it down

Wily wrote:
Isn't GW a peer with Fordham and BU/BC in many respects? I've heard some recommendations for going to BC or Fordham at near sticker.

I'm just so excited to have gotten into somewhere top ranked with my terrible GPA that I feel bad turning it down

For what it's worth, I wouldn't pay sticker at BC/BU or Fordham either. 150-200K for a 1/3rd shot at paying it back in a timely fashion. Big gamble.

Agree w TL. I wouldn't pay 120k to go BLS either. Or that amount to go to W&M. Retake.

Try to get more out of Cardozo. They've been tossing out full rides like they're candy this week. For the most part, they seem to be going to people with LSATs above their median (which you have) without much regard for GPA.

I withdrew with an offer of 30k/year, they (very) quickly responded with an offer of full tuition.

I wouldn't pay that much for W&M or sticker for GW and $120k seems high for Cardozo.

Do not go to GW at sticker.

Cardozo with a full tuition scholarship would be a better option.

The fact that a couple of weeks ago you were looking at St. John's and Hofstra and now suddenly GW is admitting you should tell you that you're dealing with a buyer's market (you're the buyer btw).

I think people such as yourself who currently have real jobs in the legal system but are not lawyers need to be especially careful. Once you have a law degree it's going to be very difficult to work as a paralegal again.

After I retake in June, is there a chance that my admitted schools will give me more money if I score substantially higher, or will it be too late then because it'll be July?

Also, what's my plan if I score 168-174? 175+?

Like I've said before, I have an expired 176 so I do think it's not impossible for me to score really high. But with my dismal 2.7 GPA, I'm not getting into any T14 unless I score 175+. If I just improve by a few points, though, should I still sit out another year for hopes of getting into WUSTL with $ or something like that? I feel like the standard retake/reapply doesn't totally apply to me because of my uGPA. What does the TLS hivemind think?

I think retake is the credited response but I voted for Cardozo - picking between those 3 schools makes me think you should pick the one with the lowest COA.

Bump with update: GW is now offering me $25,000 in merit scholarships, and Cardozo now offering me $42,000 in merit/fin aid. I withdrew from W&M. I just visited Cardozo and really liked it, but I'm leaning toward GW now...

Wily wrote:Bump with update: GW is now offering me $25,000 in merit scholarships, and Cardozo now offering me $42,000. I just visited Cardozo and really liked it, but I'm leaning toward GW now...

Any stips on the GW scholarship?

keladry wrote:

Wily wrote:Bump with update: GW is now offering me $25,000 in merit scholarships, and Cardozo now offering me $42,000. I just visited Cardozo and really liked it, but I'm leaning toward GW now...

Any stips on the GW scholarship?

No GPA stip.

$25K total or $25K per year?

Paul Campos wrote:$25K total or $25K per year?

$25,000 per year, with no stipulations.

That makes it a pretty close call. Both are a pretty big gamble at those respective COAs. It's notable that GW went from offering you nothing to offering you $75K at the end of the cycle.

Paul Campos wrote:That makes it a pretty close call. Both are a pretty big gamble at those respective COAs. It's notable that GW went from offering you nothing to offering you $75K at the end of the cycle.

Well, technically they hadn't told me about my scholarship (I was only accepted last Thursday), so I just assumed they would give me nothing because I was coming off the waitlist. But yes, I am pleasantly surprised by this sizable scholarship at the very end of my cycle, when just 2 weeks ago my only choices were Touro, Hofstra, and St. John's. Maybe that's just the nature of admissions for a statistical splitter like me.

You're right that my decision a close call. I feel like Cardozo is less of a gamble if I rule out biglaw, because it's virtually "free" except for living expenses for three years, which between my savings and my parents I can just about cover. Also, they were very open at the admitted students event today in saying that only the top 20% get considered for interviews by big firms in their OCI, which I found to be a refreshing bit of honesty. But if I do want Biglaw, I suppose GW is my better choice, even if the numbers say that only about 30% made it into large firms in 2010.

I know this is considered a verboten question, but I have to ask: would it be slightly easier to transfer to a T14 from GW than from Cardozo, assuming I do well my first year? I would think that Georgetown might not mind skimming a student off the top of GW's class, and I would love to transfer into Gtown if I could.

Wily wrote:would it be slightly easier to transfer to a T14 from GW than from Cardozo, assuming I do well my first year? I would think that Georgetown might not mind skimming a student off the top of GW's class, and I would love to transfer into Gtown if I could.

GW > GULC

It happens. But it's an odd decision. If you transfer from GW, I would aim for much higher than the bottom of the T14, and in the same city. You wouldn't be gaining much. Transfer-quality stats mean that you have a pretty secure shot at BigLaw from GW anyways (I do not have a transfer-level GPA and still got my first choice SA). I would counsel against leaving GW and the scholarship, simply to move across town.

But this is all meaningless until you finish 1L. So, go to school first and see how things pan out before you think about transferring.

Paul Campos wrote:That makes it a pretty close call. Both are a pretty big gamble at those respective COAs. It's notable that GW went from offering you nothing to offering you $75K at the end of the cycle.

No shit.

I'd rather roll the dice on GW than 'Bozo

tfleming09 wrote:

Paul Campos wrote:That makes it a pretty close call. Both are a pretty big gamble at those respective COAs. It's notable that GW went from offering you nothing to offering you $75K at the end of the cycle.

No shit.

I'd rather roll the dice on GW than 'Bozo

So assuming COL is the same at both schools, it's costing me $51k more to 'roll the dice' at GW than at Cardozo. Worth it for ~30% v ~15% chance of Biglaw?