Top Law Schools

Vandy, Emory, George Washington, and Notre Dame

Most of my family live near the Atlanta area so I want to move there after graduation. I'm not someone who has to work in big law, but if the opportunity presents itself I wouldn't turn it down. If all 4 of these would roughly cost 40,000 for all 3 years combined which one would be best?

I was on R/Lawschooladmissions early and it seems that UGA would be a great option, but unfortunately they have not got back to me yet?

I'd plump for Vandy as the strongest overall option, but if you're dead-set on Atlanta and don't necessarily care about landing BigLaw or an A3 clerkship or the like, then Emory would also be a very strong option as it is actually in Atlanta so should help you networking-wise. I wouldn't recommend attending GWU or Notre Dame, neither of those two place particularly strongly in Atlanta.

Yeah, Vanderbilt or Emory (if you absolutely insist on going to school in Georgia). No reason you should be taking any school ranked lower than that if you're only taking out $40k in loans.

What do you want to do if you're not in biglaw? If those schools are that cheap, have you considered somewhere like Duke?

Wubbles wrote:What do you want to do if you're not in biglaw? If those schools are that cheap, have you considered somewhere like Duke?

I don't really know what I'm going to do. I have interest in healthcare law and a few others. As for Duke I didn't apply because I thought my chance of getting in were basically 0. I'm a pretty extreme splitter, because of that I thought the 4 school above were my reach schools (was absolutely shocked when I got in to them).

If you're not sure what you want to do then go to Vanderbilt. It would give you more options in my opinion.

macejames7 wrote:

Wubbles wrote:What do you want to do if you're not in biglaw? If those schools are that cheap, have you considered somewhere like Duke?

I don't really know what I'm going to do. I have interest in healthcare law and a few others. As for Duke I didn't apply because I thought my chance of getting in were basically 0. I'm a pretty extreme splitter, because of that I thought the 4 school above were my reach schools (was absolutely shocked when I got in to them).

Emory #1. UGA #2. Ga State #3. Surprising Mercer (Macon) places well in ATL. Outside of GA, bordering state grads in TN: FL do ok. Further out from GA, you’d have a good shot with Duke and UVA. Without a doubt, your GA family heritage is extremely beneficial.

Vandy definitely first, especially for biglaw. After that, if you're absolutely dead set on Georgia, and definitely will not be going outside the state, UGA and Emory are equal for Georgia outcomes.

Sprinkler wrote:Emory #1. UGA #2. Ga State #3. Surprising Mercer (Macon) places well in ATL. Outside of GA, bordering state grads in TN: FL do ok. Further out from GA, you’d have a good shot with Duke and UVA. Without a doubt, your GA family heritage is extremely beneficial.

Why did you ignore Vanderbilt in your list? Surely they have decent placement in Georgia, especially with family ties.

cavalier1138 wrote:

Sprinkler wrote:Emory #1. UGA #2. Ga State #3. Surprising Mercer (Macon) places well in ATL. Outside of GA, bordering state grads in TN: FL do ok. Further out from GA, you’d have a good shot with Duke and UVA. Without a doubt, your GA family heritage is extremely beneficial.

Why did you ignore Vanderbilt in your list? Surely they have decent placement in Georgia, especially with family ties.

That’s why I said, TN-FL grads do ok. Vandy, FSU and a few others are certainly in the mix.

If health law is your desired outcome, I vote Emory since they have a great health system you may be able to intern at while at school. Also they have a great MHA program.

Sprinkler wrote:

cavalier1138 wrote:

Sprinkler wrote:Emory #1. UGA #2. Ga State #3. Surprising Mercer (Macon) places well in ATL. Outside of GA, bordering state grads in TN: FL do ok. Further out from GA, you’d have a good shot with Duke and UVA. Without a doubt, your GA family heritage is extremely beneficial.

Why did you ignore Vanderbilt in your list? Surely they have decent placement in Georgia, especially with family ties.

That’s why I said, TN-FL grads do ok. Vandy, FSU and a few others are certainly in the mix.

But your original post suggests Vandy (which you don't even mention by name) is at most "ok"; hardly a riveting endorsement, especially when you highlight Emory as "#1", UGA as "#2", "Ga State #3", and even flog Macon as "plac[ing] well in ATL." Your post suggests that at best, Vandy is a distant fifth. If that is indeed your conclusion, I disagree strongly. OP has family ties to Georgia and Vandy is, overall, an extremely strong law school. OP should absolutely not attend Georgia State or Mercer over Vandy.

QContinuum wrote:

Sprinkler wrote:

cavalier1138 wrote:

Sprinkler wrote:Emory #1. UGA #2. Ga State #3. Surprising Mercer (Macon) places well in ATL. Outside of GA, bordering state grads in TN: FL do ok. Further out from GA, you’d have a good shot with Duke and UVA. Without a doubt, your GA family heritage is extremely beneficial.

Why did you ignore Vanderbilt in your list? Surely they have decent placement in Georgia, especially with family ties.

That’s why I said, TN-FL grads do ok. Vandy, FSU and a few others are certainly in the mix.

But your original post suggests Vandy (which you don't even mention by name) is at most "ok"; hardly a riveting endorsement, especially when you highlight Emory as "#1", UGA as "#2", "Ga State #3", and even flog Macon as "plac[ing] well in ATL." Your post suggests that at best, Vandy is a distant fifth. If that is indeed your conclusion, I disagree strongly. OP has family ties to Georgia and Vandy is, overall, an extremely strong law school. OP should absolutely not attend Georgia State or Mercer over Vandy.

I was also confused by the characterization of Vandy grads as "TN grads." It's kind of like referring to Duke grads as "NC grads" (though that would obviously be even less accurate).

I’m not sure there is a big difference between Emory and Vandy for Atlanta big law. I would probably go to whichever of the two is cheaper. But be aware that for top Atlanta firms you will probably need to be top 10% from either or have some other sterling credential.

notrub14 wrote:I’m not sure there is a big difference between Emory and Vandy for Atlanta big law. I would probably go to whichever of the two is cheaper. But be aware that for top Atlanta firms you will probably need to be top 10% from either or have some other sterling credential.

This isn't true at least for Vandy. Source: me, a current 3L at Vandy.

The_Lorax wrote:

notrub14 wrote:I’m not sure there is a big difference between Emory and Vandy for Atlanta big law. I would probably go to whichever of the two is cheaper. But be aware that for top Atlanta firms you will probably need to be top 10% from either or have some other sterling credential.

This isn't true at least for Vandy. Source: me, a current 3L at Vandy.

Thanks for chiming in. Further, Vandy gives its students much, much better options outside Atlanta/Georgia. I feel like from UGA or even Emory, it'd be challenging to land a good job outside Georgia.

The_Lorax wrote:

notrub14 wrote:I’m not sure there is a big difference between Emory and Vandy for Atlanta big law. I would probably go to whichever of the two is cheaper. But be aware that for top Atlanta firms you will probably need to be top 10% from either or have some other sterling credential.

This isn't true at least for Vandy. Source: me, a current 3L at Vandy.

If you know people that are going to K&S, A+B, or Bondurant who aren’t top 10% then I will stand corrected. I’m an associate at one of these firms and I don’t know anyone, except people who I know have other hooks.

notrub14 wrote:If you know people that are going to K&S, A+B, or Bondurant who aren’t top 10% then I will stand corrected. I’m an associate at one of these firms and I don’t know anyone, except people who I know have other hooks.

Honest question: Are those the only big firms in Atlanta, excluding satellite offices?

notrub14 wrote:

The_Lorax wrote:

notrub14 wrote:I’m not sure there is a big difference between Emory and Vandy for Atlanta big law. I would probably go to whichever of the two is cheaper. But be aware that for top Atlanta firms you will probably need to be top 10% from either or have some other sterling credential.

This isn't true at least for Vandy. Source: me, a current 3L at Vandy.

If you know people that are going to K&S, A+B, or Bondurant who aren’t top 10% then I will stand corrected. I’m an associate at one of these firms and I don’t know anyone, except people who I know have other hooks.

It may be surprising, but I'm pretty sure actually none of the kids my year who are going to those firms are top 10%.

cavalier1138 wrote:

notrub14 wrote:If you know people that are going to K&S, A+B, or Bondurant who aren’t top 10% then I will stand corrected. I’m an associate at one of these firms and I don’t know anyone, except people who I know have other hooks.

Honest question: Are those the only big firms in Atlanta, excluding satellite offices?

IMO, biglaw in Atlanta has K&S and Bondurant at the top (doing very different things), with A&B in third. The next tier are the large satellite offices of biglaw firms, such as Troutman, Kilpatrick, Jones Day, Dentons, and Eversheds. Then you have the smaller offices of large firms, like Paul Hastings and Bryan Cave, or the bigger regionals like Nelson Mullins, Morris Manning, and a host of other firms on the midlaw bubble.

Thanks for the information everyone, I am now deciding on only between Vandy and Emory. Quick update on my situation though, honestly I was leaning toward Vandy bc of the fact that their placement were quite a bit better than Emory's, but my parents are offering to pay for Emory (roughly $43,000 for all 3 years)/my living expense if I stay in Georgia. Combine that with the fact that Vandy still haven't given me a scholarship package yet leads me to believe I'm not going to be getting that much. So I am now leaning heavily Emory. Are Vandy's chance that much better that I should turn down my parents offer?

Ohiobumpkin wrote:If health law is your desired outcome, I vote Emory since they have a great health system you may be able to intern at while at school. Also they have a great MHA program.

Health law is currently what I am most interested in. Honestly I don't know much about networking in law school. If I go to Emory how would I take advantage of their health system (getting internships and such)?
thank you.

macejames7 wrote:

Ohiobumpkin wrote:If health law is your desired outcome, I vote Emory since they have a great health system you may be able to intern at while at school. Also they have a great MHA program.

Health law is currently what I am most interested in. Honestly I don't know much about networking in law school. If I go to Emory how would I take advantage of their health system (getting internships and such)?
thank you.

Yes, especially after 1L. Emory has a joint JD/MPH program already designed for students to do who are interested in health law. Neither has a health law journal. My thoughts are that if you are really interested in Atlanta as the area you want to live and work in, and you want to practice health law, Emory is a pretty good option. Vanderbilt is a close second, however, so you won't go wrong if you go that route either.

macejames7 wrote:Thanks for the information everyone, I am now deciding on only between Vandy and Emory. Quick update on my situation though, honestly I was leaning toward Vandy bc of the fact that their placement were quite a bit better than Emory's, but my parents are offering to pay for Emory (roughly $43,000 for all 3 years)/my living expense if I stay in Georgia. Combine that with the fact that Vandy still haven't given me a scholarship package yet leads me to believe I'm not going to be getting that much. So I am now leaning heavily Emory. Are Vandy's chance that much better that I should turn down my parents offer?

If you are really going to stay in Atlanta, then Emory for free is a much better option than Vandy for any money.

macejames7 wrote:Thanks for the information everyone, I am now deciding on only between Vandy and Emory. Quick update on my situation though, honestly I was leaning toward Vandy bc of the fact that their placement were quite a bit better than Emory's, but my parents are offering to pay for Emory (roughly $43,000 for all 3 years)/my living expense if I stay in Georgia. Combine that with the fact that Vandy still haven't given me a scholarship package yet leads me to believe I'm not going to be getting that much. So I am now leaning heavily Emory. Are Vandy's chance that much better that I should turn down my parents offer?

Why are your parents willing to pay for Emory but not Vandy? Just curious