GW (full ride) vs. Mich (partial) Forum

[ksmith33]

I'm having such a hard time making a decision and any insight would be extremely appreciated! Deciding between a full scholarship at George Washington (would take out 15k in loans over the course of three years for living expenses) or a 20k/year scholarship to attend the University of Michigan (in-state resident and have worked before law school, so would have 70-80k in debt upon graduation). I want to work in Washington D.C., and am pretty set on public interest law (if I ever chose to work biglaw, I want it to be a choice, not out of necessity).

Michigan will not leverage more money, I am going to law school, and I am not retaking the LSAT (aka I am chosing one of these options). Work-life balance/family is important to me (I am a woman and want to have a family), and so is experiencing new things. BASICALLY, is Michigan's rank worth forgoing living in DC and any connections I might make there?

Additional info: I have ties to a T10 firm (currently employed there), and went to undergrad at UMich so have already experienced Ann Arbor (but also have parents/friends in the area).

Thank you!!!

[CanadianWolf]

Would help if you set out the total COA for each law school (rather than just the amount of expected loans).

[ksmith33]

GW: Wouldn't need to pay for housing, just for the "personal/books/supplies" listed on GW's site (listed at about ~5k/year, which is how I arrived at ~15k in total COA without debt repayment)

UM: ~35k/year in tuition, wouldn't need to pay for living, also ~5k/year for personal/book/supplies (according to UM website); I arrived at the figure originally posted by figuring in my current savings

Hope this helps!

[FrozenBananaStand]

I'd take GWU in a heartbeat if you are dead-set on DC public interest. Proximity to the jobs you want + a lack of debt makes this an easy choice.

[PrezRand]

It's not even debatable. GWU easily.

[Mack.Hambleton]

GW makes more sense

[Chrstgtr]

I think it is closer than others here do. Just because you only have to take out like 5K a year doesn't mean you aren't actually spending far more than just 5K a year to attend so the COA of both is actually significantly higher than what your loan totals equal and therefore make Michigan a more attractive choice (a 70K difference in COA is a lot larger of a difference if GW is 0K and Michigan is 70K than if GW is 70K and UM is 140K).

Even still GW is obviously the correct decision here without UM somehow offering more money.

[ksmith33]

Thank you guys so much!

[hartfordhockaloogies]

I'm having such a hard time making a decision and any insight would be extremely appreciated! Deciding between a full scholarship at George Washington (would take out 15k in loans over the course of three years for living expenses) or a 20k/year scholarship to attend the University of Michigan (in-state resident and have worked before law school, so would have 70-80k in debt upon graduation). I want to work in Washington D.C., and am pretty set on public interest law (if I ever chose to work biglaw, I want it to be a choice, not out of necessity).

Michigan will not leverage more money, I am going to law school, and I am not retaking the LSAT (aka I am chosing one of these options). Work-life balance/family is important to me (I am a woman and want to have a family), and so is experiencing new things. BASICALLY, is Michigan's rank worth forgoing living in DC and any connections I might make there?

Additional info: I have ties to a T10 firm (currently employed there), and went to undergrad at UMich so have already experienced Ann Arbor (but also have parents/friends in the area).

Thank you!!!

I'd attempt to negotiate w/ Michigan w/ the full-ride from GW. Even if that fails, I'd still attend Michigan... Just compare BL and Clerkship #'s + COA (COL is significant)

[ManoftheHour]

It's not even debatable. GWU easily.

[nordi]

I think it makes a big difference whether you want to do prestigious public interest work (e.g ACLU, NRDC, or DOJ) or direct services public interest work.

Michigan LRAP and summer funding should factor in. As should the far higher likelihood of prestigious employment. If you care about having big law as an option, GW is a mistake. If you care about working for highly prestigious public interest organizations, GW is a mistake.

[terrier27]

.

[HP5450]

one of these people who says "GW, no question" needs to provide an explanation of how the compared debt you're suggesting of $80k for a degree from Michigan is the wrong choice against $15k in debt for a GW degree. The job prospects don't compare.

http://www.lstscorereports.com/compare/michigan/gw/

Michigan gives you three times the odds for a federal clerkship (and Michigan students get better clerkships), at least a fifty percent higher probability of having the big law option (trust me, more than 28 percent of GW students would do big law if they could), and a decidedly lower likelihood of ending up unemployed.

You also get the retroactive pass option, which ends up being a really nice perk.

[ManoftheHour]

one of these people who says "GW, no question" needs to provide an explanation of how the compared debt you're suggesting of $80k for a degree from Michigan is the wrong choice against $15k in debt for a GW degree. The job prospects don't compare.

http://www.lstscorereports.com/compare/michigan/gw/

Michigan gives you three times the odds for a federal clerkship (and Michigan students get better clerkships), at least a fifty percent higher probability of having the big law option (trust me, more than 28 percent of GW students would do big law if they could), and a decidedly lower likelihood of ending up unemployed.

You also get the retroactive pass option, which ends up being a really nice perk.

I want to work in Washington D.C., and am pretty set on public interest law (if I ever chose to work biglaw, I want it to be a choice, not out of necessity).

If it weren't for that, I'd go Michigan.

[Big Dog]

It's not even debatable. GWU easily.

Disagree. It it were GULC, maybe, but DC is full of prestige hounds, and a T14 degree is worth the additional debt, IMO.

[Ohiobumpkin]

one of these people who says "GW, no question" needs to provide an explanation of how the compared debt you're suggesting of $80k for a degree from Michigan is the wrong choice against $15k in debt for a GW degree. The job prospects don't compare.

http://www.lstscorereports.com/compare/michigan/gw/

Michigan gives you three times the odds for a federal clerkship (and Michigan students get better clerkships), at least a fifty percent higher probability of having the big law option (trust me, more than 28 percent of GW students would do big law if they could), and a decidedly lower likelihood of ending up unemployed.

You also get the retroactive pass option, which ends up being a really nice perk.

I want to work in Washington D.C., and am pretty set on public interest law (if I ever chose to work biglaw, I want it to be a choice, not out of necessity).

If it weren't for that, I'd go Michigan.

+1

[ManoftheHour]

It's not even debatable. GWU easily.

Disagree. It it were GULC, maybe, but DC is full of prestige hounds, and a T14 degree is worth the additional debt, IMO.

65k + interest is not worth that prestige. Now if OP says he/she wants big law, then that's an entirely different story. Michigan wins in a landslide. If OP said he/she wanted BigFed or something, then it'd be up for debate. All OP has said is that he/she wants to work in D.C. and wants public interest.

[Hutz_and_Goodman]

I'd take GWU in a heartbeat if you are dead-set on DC public interest. Proximity to the jobs you want + a lack of debt makes this an easy choice.

[HP5450]

It's not even debatable. GWU easily.

Disagree. It it were GULC, maybe, but DC is full of prestige hounds, and a T14 degree is worth the additional debt, IMO.

65k + interest is not worth that prestige. Now if OP says he/she wants big law, then that's an entirely different story. Michigan wins in a landslide. If OP said he/she wanted BigFed or something, then it'd be up for debate. All OP has said is that he/she wants to work in D.C. and wants public interest.

And if by public interest, OP means direct service stuff, ok, go to GW. But like the above poster said, if public interest to OP means working for DOJ or something, then no.

It's not about the prestige. Call it $75k after 3 years--might be less cause it sounds like OP has some savings. Let's assume an interest rate of 6 percent to justify the difference--it's pre tax (the interest is) and will be forgiven (the balance will) if OP goes the non profit route, and Michigan has an LRAP program to ensure the balance does not grow on IBR. But even forgetting IBR, OP only needs to find an equivalent job with pay that's $4,500 higher per year, or get a job she/he prefers by that amount. I think odds are Michigan makes that happen.

[Big Dog]

65k + interest is not worth that prestige.

It would be for me, although others may/will disagree.

[ManoftheHour]

65k + interest is not worth that prestige.

It would be for me, although others may/will disagree.

It would for me too. If my goal were big law or prestigious gov jobs.

[Elston Gunn]

I think I'd probably take GW in this situation, but I think it's close. And I'd only do it if you're willing to hustle, hustle, hustle, hustle. GW is good here because it lets you be in the city you want to work in, and that has a huge percentage of the federal government jobs. It's true these places value prestige, but a lot of them value commitment even more. Do lots of internships, particularly doing repeat internships at the same place, etc. And remember to apply to Presidential Management Fellowships 3L if you don't find a job before that.