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I'm applying with a 168/3.4. I visited W&M's campus not long ago, and since then have been seriously considering to apply to their school via Early Decision. It comes with a full scholarship, so needless to say that's a really enticing offer. I've spoken to my family and GF about it, and am really just trying to decide now if I should go ahead and pull the trigger.

Reasons I'm leaning towards the ED option:

1. Between the full scholy and my savings, I'd be graduating with debt below 35k, while still keeping a lot of my savings intact.

2. I really like the school itself and the surrounding area. I know "fit" isn't supposed to be a big factor, but knowing myself, I'd like to self-select into an environment I enjoy for three years.

3. I have little desire for Big Law and almost no desire to be forced into it because of student debt. At this point in my life I'd really just like government work or some kind of local DA/PD gig depending on whichever side I gravitate towards during law school. One thing I like is that if I change my mind and do want to pursue Big Law, I'd have roughly a 20% chance of doing that, but in the event that I end up at median it won't be a disaster because debt will be so manageable. Really, my goals are just to make a comfortable middle class wage in an area without ridiculous CoL, with the possibility of a decent quality of life.

4. I've spent some time in Richmond and met some friends there I made through work. I like the area enough and they've said they'll introduce me to attorneys they work with/know if I end up deciding to attend a school in VA. Plus the BBQ there and stuff like Croaker's Spot are really good. Admittedly though I'm not really familiar with much of VA outside of Richmond at this point. Not sure how heavily that should influence my decision.

#3 is my chief concern though. Are my goals realistic? I've been looking through LST's W&M reports, but it's hard to discern what the "median student's outcome" would be.

Unrelated to my earlier reasons, I am a little concerned that their unemployment rose so much between the 2014 and 2015 classes. There was roughly a 10% drop off in government employment too, so I don't know if that's because of hiring freezes or people from the 2015 class just pursued different outcomes.

So all of that said, should I go with my gut and ED?

Gitaroo_Dude wrote:I visited W&M's campus not long ago, and since then have been seriously considering to apply to their school via Early Decision. It comes with a full scholarship, so needless to say that's a really enticing offer. I've spoken to my family and GF about it, and am really just trying to decide now if I should go ahead and pull the trigger.

Reasons I'm leaning towards the ED option:

1. Between the full scholy and my savings, I'd be graduating with debt below 35k, while still keeping a lot of my savings intact.

2. I really like the school itself and the surrounding area. I know "fit" isn't supposed to be a big factor, but knowing myself, I'd like to self-select into an environment I enjoy for three years.

3. I have little desire for Big Law and almost no desire to be forced into it because of student debt. At this point in my life I'd really just like government work or some kind of local DA/PD gig depending on whichever side I gravitate towards during law school. One thing I like is that if I change my mind and do want to pursue Big Law, I'd have roughly a 20% chance of doing that, but in the event that I end up at median it won't be a disaster because debt will be so manageable. Really, my goals are just to make a comfortable middle class wage in an area without ridiculous CoL, with the possibility of a decent quality of life.

4. I've spent some time in Richmond and met some friends there I made through work. I like the area enough and they've said they'll introduce me to attorneys they work with/know if I end up deciding to attend a school in VA. Plus the BBQ there and stuff like Croaker's Spot are really good. Admittedly though I'm not really familiar with much of VA outside of Richmond at this point. Not sure how heavily that should influence my decision.

#3 is my chief concern though. Are my goals realistic? I've been looking through LST's W&M reports, but it's hard to discern what the "median student's outcome" would be.

Unrelated to my earlier reasons, I am a little concerned that their unemployment rose so much between the 2014 and 2015 classes. There was roughly a 10% drop off in government employment too, so I don't know if that's because of hiring freezes or people from the 2015 class just pursued different outcomes.

So all of that said, should I go with my gut and ED?

Numbers? I'm in the same boat as you. I love the feel of W+M. For me at least, I don't have a great chance of getting in(3.51/156) and if I do get in I want to be able to attend(and RD I probably wouldn't be able to) so I did ED. W&M in my mind is a great deal if you're going for free, or even get significant money. At sticker, it's probably the wrong decision. So yeah, I'd encourage you to apply ED! What are your numbers and other options?

lol how are you gonna type all this and not give us the LSAT+GPA

Wooooooops, went ahead and added numbers to the OP.

Gitaroo_Dude wrote:Wooooooops, went ahead and added numbers to the OP.

According to those numbers, you should have no trouble whatsover getting in. Just make sure you're 100% certain you want to go.

Ferrisjso wrote:

Gitaroo_Dude wrote:Wooooooops, went ahead and added numbers to the OP.

According to those numbers, you should have no trouble whatsover getting in. Just make sure you're 100% certain you want to go.

Yeah, I'm not too worried about getting in via RD. I feel like my GPA (below their 25th) is gonna hamstring my chances at the ED. I'd still like to give it a shot though.

Bump. I'm feeling like 75% sure I'm gonna pull the ED trigger, but curious what TLS' thoughts are on this option.

If your goal going into law school is "idk but prob not biglaw" you'll be more than fine at W&M with a full ride.

I say go for it. It sounds like you've really thought it through and I would be shocked if median at the second best law school in the state can't get you a local PD/DA gig.

i second dietcoke - this sounds like a solid plan, and keeping debt low will give you more breathing room when it's time to look for a job.

Ferrisjso wrote:

Gitaroo_Dude wrote:I visited W&M's campus not long ago, and since then have been seriously considering to apply to their school via Early Decision. It comes with a full scholarship, so needless to say that's a really enticing offer. I've spoken to my family and GF about it, and am really just trying to decide now if I should go ahead and pull the trigger.

Reasons I'm leaning towards the ED option:

1. Between the full scholy and my savings, I'd be graduating with debt below 35k, while still keeping a lot of my savings intact.

2. I really like the school itself and the surrounding area. I know "fit" isn't supposed to be a big factor, but knowing myself, I'd like to self-select into an environment I enjoy for three years.

3. I have little desire for Big Law and almost no desire to be forced into it because of student debt. At this point in my life I'd really just like government work or some kind of local DA/PD gig depending on whichever side I gravitate towards during law school. One thing I like is that if I change my mind and do want to pursue Big Law, I'd have roughly a 20% chance of doing that, but in the event that I end up at median it won't be a disaster because debt will be so manageable. Really, my goals are just to make a comfortable middle class wage in an area without ridiculous CoL, with the possibility of a decent quality of life.

4. I've spent some time in Richmond and met some friends there I made through work. I like the area enough and they've said they'll introduce me to attorneys they work with/know if I end up deciding to attend a school in VA. Plus the BBQ there and stuff like Croaker's Spot are really good. Admittedly though I'm not really familiar with much of VA outside of Richmond at this point. Not sure how heavily that should influence my decision.

#3 is my chief concern though. Are my goals realistic? I've been looking through LST's W&M reports, but it's hard to discern what the "median student's outcome" would be.

Unrelated to my earlier reasons, I am a little concerned that their unemployment rose so much between the 2014 and 2015 classes. There was roughly a 10% drop off in government employment too, so I don't know if that's because of hiring freezes or people from the 2015 class just pursued different outcomes.

So all of that said, should I go with my gut and ED?

Numbers? I'm in the same boat as you. I love the feel of W+M. For me at least, I don't have a great chance of getting in(3.51/156) and if I do get in I want to be able to attend(and RD I probably wouldn't be able to) so I did ED. W&M in my mind is a great deal if you're going for free, or even get significant money. At sticker, it's probably the wrong decision. So yeah, I'd encourage you to apply ED! What are your numbers and other options?

Would be curious how you do with the ED...!

KPUSN07 wrote:

Ferrisjso wrote:

Gitaroo_Dude wrote:I visited W&M's campus not long ago, and since then have been seriously considering to apply to their school via Early Decision. It comes with a full scholarship, so needless to say that's a really enticing offer. I've spoken to my family and GF about it, and am really just trying to decide now if I should go ahead and pull the trigger.

Reasons I'm leaning towards the ED option:

1. Between the full scholy and my savings, I'd be graduating with debt below 35k, while still keeping a lot of my savings intact.

2. I really like the school itself and the surrounding area. I know "fit" isn't supposed to be a big factor, but knowing myself, I'd like to self-select into an environment I enjoy for three years.

3. I have little desire for Big Law and almost no desire to be forced into it because of student debt. At this point in my life I'd really just like government work or some kind of local DA/PD gig depending on whichever side I gravitate towards during law school. One thing I like is that if I change my mind and do want to pursue Big Law, I'd have roughly a 20% chance of doing that, but in the event that I end up at median it won't be a disaster because debt will be so manageable. Really, my goals are just to make a comfortable middle class wage in an area without ridiculous CoL, with the possibility of a decent quality of life.

4. I've spent some time in Richmond and met some friends there I made through work. I like the area enough and they've said they'll introduce me to attorneys they work with/know if I end up deciding to attend a school in VA. Plus the BBQ there and stuff like Croaker's Spot are really good. Admittedly though I'm not really familiar with much of VA outside of Richmond at this point. Not sure how heavily that should influence my decision.

#3 is my chief concern though. Are my goals realistic? I've been looking through LST's W&M reports, but it's hard to discern what the "median student's outcome" would be.

Unrelated to my earlier reasons, I am a little concerned that their unemployment rose so much between the 2014 and 2015 classes. There was roughly a 10% drop off in government employment too, so I don't know if that's because of hiring freezes or people from the 2015 class just pursued different outcomes.

So all of that said, should I go with my gut and ED?

Numbers? I'm in the same boat as you. I love the feel of W+M. For me at least, I don't have a great chance of getting in(3.51/156) and if I do get in I want to be able to attend(and RD I probably wouldn't be able to) so I did ED. W&M in my mind is a great deal if you're going for free, or even get significant money. At sticker, it's probably the wrong decision. So yeah, I'd encourage you to apply ED! What are your numbers and other options?

Would be curious how you do with the ED...!

Haven't heard back yet.