Top Law Schools

So i've narrowed my choices down to William & Mary and Ohio State. I got into higher ranked/more prestigious schools but with not enough money. Can't retake again so help me out choosing between these two.

Debt at both schools is going to be 61,500. The interest will be payed off as it accumulates so it will be that number when I graduate.

I'm from Ohio and would not mind working in Columbus/Cincy however, I would prefer to work in D.C. I want to end up in government or a medium/large sized firm.

Pros for OSU: ties to area, feel like I can compete for the top spots here (I know thats what everyone says), good placement in Columbus and Ohio, top law school in Ohio, etc., good externships and clinics for ranking
Cons: No mobility outside of OH, KY, etc, still haven't seen employment numbers for 2015, most likely am ending up in a firm under 101

Pros for WM: Close to D.C and other major metro areas, 25% got biglaw or clerkship in 2015, love the location, perhaps a bit more prestigious
Cons for WM: 22 of 178 in 2015 were unemployed, and 8 funded by the school ( seems like alot), no real ties to VA except some relatives, not being in a major city seems like a disadvantage in the job search

The choice seems pretty obvious to me given where I'm from but I would appreciate any advice, or additional things that I'm not thinking about. Thank you!

PSPSPSPS wrote:So i've narrowed my choices down to William & Mary and Ohio State. I got into higher ranked/more prestigious schools but with not enough money. Can't retake again so help me out choosing between these two.

Debt at both schools is going to be 61,500. The interest will be payed off as it accumulates so it will be that number when I graduate.

I'm from Ohio and would not mind working in Columbus/Cincy however, I would prefer to work in D.C. I want to end up in government or a medium/large sized firm.

Pros for OSU: ties to area, feel like I can compete for the top spots here (I know thats what everyone says), good placement in Columbus and Ohio, top law school in Ohio, etc., good externships and clinics for ranking
Cons: No mobility outside of OH, KY, etc, still haven't seen employment numbers for 2015, most likely am ending up in a firm under 101

Pros for WM: Close to D.C and other major metro areas, 25% got biglaw or clerkship in 2015, love the location, perhaps a bit more prestigious
Cons for WM: 22 of 178 in 2015 were unemployed, and 8 funded by the school ( seems like alot), no real ties to VA except some relatives, not being in a major city seems like a disadvantage in the job search

The choice seems pretty obvious to me given where I'm from but I would appreciate any advice, or additional things that I'm not thinking about. Thank you!

These are not very compatible. Why can't you retake again?

existentialcrisis wrote:

PSPSPSPS wrote:So i've narrowed my choices down to William & Mary and Ohio State. I got into higher ranked/more prestigious schools but with not enough money. Can't retake again so help me out choosing between these two.

Debt at both schools is going to be 61,500. The interest will be payed off as it accumulates so it will be that number when I graduate.

I'm from Ohio and would not mind working in Columbus/Cincy however, I would prefer to work in D.C. I want to end up in government or a medium/large sized firm.

Pros for OSU: ties to area, feel like I can compete for the top spots here (I know thats what everyone says), good placement in Columbus and Ohio, top law school in Ohio, etc., good externships and clinics for ranking
Cons: No mobility outside of OH, KY, etc, still haven't seen employment numbers for 2015, most likely am ending up in a firm under 101

Pros for WM: Close to D.C and other major metro areas, 25% got biglaw or clerkship in 2015, love the location, perhaps a bit more prestigious
Cons for WM: 22 of 178 in 2015 were unemployed, and 8 funded by the school ( seems like alot), no real ties to VA except some relatives, not being in a major city seems like a disadvantage in the job search

The choice seems pretty obvious to me given where I'm from but I would appreciate any advice, or additional things that I'm not thinking about. Thank you!

These are not very compatible. Why can't you retake again?

Like I said, my expenses are only going to be COL. I don't want to take on more debt than that. My score on retake was high enough but I didn't get enough $ from top schools to want to attend. I'm just comparing these 2 for the purposes of this post

Neither are prestigious. If you want to end up in a large firm then you need to aim higher, focus on the T14.

W&M doesn't make sense based on ties/goals. OSU would be fine with modest career goals (small firm, local government, things like that) but that doesn't seem to be the case here.