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[tealeaves12]

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[navykev]

I say wait around to see what GULC offers - by then LST will have updated GWs and GULCs 2014 employment numbers and you can do a side by side comparison. Those offers aren't going anywhere - don't think you need to rush this decision.

Oh and if you are talking about class size when you refer to size - In 2013 GULC graduated 645 and GW graduated 603 not a huge difference in class size.

[landshoes]

Aren't GW and Georgetown about the same size?

[middlebear]

^Ditto.

I'd also add that with your numbers, you might have a decent shot at some of the lower T-14.

Re prestige/rep, Georgetown, I would think, definitely has more lay prestige. I've only heard bad things about GW, but then again I roomed with a GW grad student, so that might be some of her opinions coming through.

AU is called "the factory of sadness" for a reason.

ETA: just looked your profile and list of schools--saw you applied to some of the other T-14.

[mi-chan17]

In order to receive the best feedback in this forum, please provide as much of the following information in your original post as possible:

-The schools you are considering
-The total Cost of Attendance (COA) of each. COA = cost of tuition + fees + books + cost of living (COL) + accumulated interest - scholarships. Here is a helpful calculator.
-How you will be financing your COA, i.e. loans, family, or savings
-Where you are from and where you want to work, and other places where you have significant ties (if any)
-Your general career goals
-Your LSAT/GPA numbers
-How many times you have taken the LSAT

Background info about me:
Practice Interest: International Law / Human Rights Law / CIvil Rights Law .
. . . .
Is GW one of the schools that you have to be in the top 5% for in order to be noticed? Is GULC a school that carries enough T-14 prestige that it doesn't necessarily matter where you rank?

I've also applied to AU WCL for a joint JD/MA in International Affairs as a transfer student (LLM gives advanced standing). I am well aware of AU's ranking. Is there any circumstance where attending AU WCL in this way would be a wise decision, in your opinions?

Thanks in advance for your speculations and opinions.

So, a few things: 1) coming out of any of these schools getting the jobs most people think of when they say they want to do international/human rights/civil rights law will be difficult or even borderline impossible (AU). So if that's your only goal, paying any money to go to any of these places is iffy. GT would probably give you a better shot at it, but not one worth writing home about. That's the land of upper-T14s.

2) GW is just as large as GT, so if too many students is a concern, GW won't really ameliorate that.

3) You don't need to rank in the top 5% to be successful coming out of GW, but to have any margin of comfort you do need to be top 15% or so, and even then it's possible to strike-out if something goes wrong. GT gives you a little more leeway, but it still matters where you rank. Bottom of the class at GT doesn't have good prospects.

4) Attending AU is only an okay decision when it's completely (and I'm including COL in that) free, and even then I wouldn't call it "wise."


Figuring out the best choice here is going to require some more info, for me: what jobs do you want when you come out of law school, and how much scholarship money is GW offering you (since if it's less than six-figures, it's probably not a great call).

[rondemarino]

The only circumstance under which I'd attend AU is if they fully compensated you for the opportunity cost of attending AU. Basically, full tuition and a $70k salary.

[MagicMike80]

Anecdotally, if you're interested in biglaw, you definitely don't need top 5% grades to get it from georgetown. As for your human rights unicorn job, consider that going into any law school with a dream job is setting yourself up for 3 years of depression/anxiety/disillusionment. My friend at GULC who wanted to change the world are very sad people. The others are getting market at decent firms (outside v20).

[Rigo]

Don't go to American under any circumstance.

[BigZuck]

If you want a cool job where you get to do a lot of traveling, then go get that job. I don't see how law school is going to get you any closer to that, seems to me like it will just be a 3 year detour.

[haus]

Don't go to American under any circumstance.

But, with the new campus opening up next year, and almost all of the 2L who can spell torts transfering to other schools in the area, American students will have more elbow room than any other DC law students...

[tealeaves12]

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[tealeaves12]

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[tealeaves12]

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[tealeaves12]

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[BigZuck]

If you want a cool job where you get to do a lot of traveling, then go get that job. I don't see how law school is going to get you any closer to that, seems to me like it will just be a 3 year detour.

not about travel, it's about adaptability. i want a degree that is strong even if i move to a new city.

Someone will correct me if I'm wrong but im not sure that's how legal jobs really work

Sure, some people do move (even to different states) but it's not a particularly mobile profession. You're not going to spend just a few years in one place, move to another, and then rinse and repeat. Also, the opportunities to live abroad are usually few and far between.

Maybe I misunderstood what you meant by mobility though.

Anyway, if you want a degree with a lot of prestige around the country, just go to Harvard.

[tealeaves12]

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