Emory $$ vs GW $$ vs Fordham $ Forum

[mindy2019]

First time posting on this forum.

I'm a second applicant for law schools in the States. International student, applied with 167 last year but wanted to boost my score. Unfortunately with work distracting my energies I scored even lower (162) and lost my morale. Won't take the LSAT again if you may ask.

Applied this year and got almost identical offers as last year:
Minnesota full scholarship - COA 22555/yr
Emory 114k scholarship - COA 42000/yr
GW 105k scholarship - COA 55755/yr
Fordham 75k - COA 66386/yr

I emailed Fordham to raise my scholarship but was refused unfortunately. From employment prospect it seems the chance to get a big law job out of Fordham is higher. But the price of Fordham and NYC is daunting (I will probably apply for the grad housing at Fordham, $9,000 per semester). According to the forum GW placements are largely constitutes of IP kids which I am not. I applied to UMN in case my parents wouldn't support me to study abroad. I would love to live in Atlanta and look for a job there, but it seems Emory's OCI firms don't take a lot of Emory students.

It is an important decision to make and I have been talking with both Emory and Fordham grads, both of them land big law jobs but they admit it's very hard and I have to be the 10%. Do you think going to Fordham worth the price of spending 66386/yr? Or is it viable to go to Emory and land a big law job in Atlanta? Since I'm an international student I couldn't take the federal loan and I have to borrow money from my parents who are reluctant to pay for a large price for their middle age daughter (25 years old) pursing an unnecessary law degree.

Would like to hear from you guys! Thanks in advance.

[cavalier1138]

You don't need to be in the top 10% at Fordham or Emory to get biglaw, but it's definitely not a foregone conclusion. But a few red flags:

1. Fordham and Emory are too expensive.

2. You aren't "middle-aged" by any stretch of the imagination.

3. It's not clear why you want to be a lawyer, but if biglaw is your only goal, I wouldn't go to any of these schools at these prices. If you're comfortable living in Minnesota and not doing biglaw, Minnesota is the only acceptable choice.

[gregfootball2001]

First time posting on this forum.

I'm a second applicant for law schools in the States. International student, applied with 167 last year but wanted to boost my score. Unfortunately with work distracting my energies I scored even lower (162) and lost my morale. Won't take the LSAT again if you may ask.

Applied this year and got almost identical offers as last year:
Minnesota full scholarship - COA 22555/yr
Emory 114k scholarship - COA 42000/yr
GW 105k scholarship - COA 55755/yr
Fordham 75k - COA 66386/yr

I emailed Fordham to raise my scholarship but was refused unfortunately. From employment prospect it seems the chance to get a big law job out of Fordham is higher. But the price of Fordham and NYC is daunting (I will probably apply for the grad housing at Fordham, $9,000 per semester). According to the forum GW placements are largely constitutes of IP kids which I am not. I applied to UMN in case my parents wouldn't support me to study abroad. I would love to live in Atlanta and look for a job there, but it seems Emory's OCI firms don't take a lot of Emory students.

It is an important decision to make and I have been talking with both Emory and Fordham grads, both of them land big law jobs but they admit it's very hard and I have to be the 10%. Do you think going to Fordham worth the price of spending 66386/yr? Or is it viable to go to Emory and land a big law job in Atlanta? Since I'm an international student I couldn't take the federal loan and I have to borrow money from my parents who are reluctant to pay for a large price for their middle age daughter (25 years old) pursing an unnecessary law degree.

Would like to hear from you guys! Thanks in advance.

If you want to live in Atlanta, have you applied to UGA? It's not good for employment outside Georgia, but it's great for Atlanta. And it's much cheaper.

[Wubbles]

You don't need to be in the top 10% at Fordham or Emory to get biglaw, but it's definitely not a foregone conclusion. But a few red flags:

1. Fordham and Emory are too expensive.

2. You aren't "middle-aged" by any stretch of the imagination.

3. It's not clear why you want to be a lawyer, but if biglaw is your only goal, I wouldn't go to any of these schools at these prices. If you're comfortable living in Minnesota and not doing biglaw, Minnesota is the only acceptable choice.

I'd also add that she probably HAS to get biglaw as an international student for visa purposes, right? If that is indeed the case, she needs to retake and go to a t13

[jsnow212]

You don't need to be in the top 10% at Fordham or Emory to get biglaw, but it's definitely not a foregone conclusion. But a few red flags:

1. Fordham and Emory are too expensive.

2. You aren't "middle-aged" by any stretch of the imagination.

3. It's not clear why you want to be a lawyer, but if biglaw is your only goal, I wouldn't go to any of these schools at these prices. If you're comfortable living in Minnesota and not doing biglaw, Minnesota is the only acceptable choice.

I'd also add that she probably HAS to get biglaw as an international student for visa purposes, right? If that is indeed the case, she needs to retake and go to a t13

Agreed. In a recession, which is bound to happen in the next couple years, the BL placement rate for these schools (especially Fordham) goes into the gutter.

OP, your options aren't strong given your situation and what needs to happen for you to extract any value from your JD(a BL job).

[The Lsat Airbender]

Agreed. In a recession, which is bound to happen in the next couple years, the BL placement rate for these schools (especially Fordham) goes into the gutter.

I agree that people should recession-proof their careers when possible, and Fordham's job placement is a bit of a paper tiger for that reason, but this is just over-the-top pessimism, lol