Emory vs. UGA?? Forum

[peh229]

I am interested in big law and am happy to stay in Atlanta. I would have about $40,000 more in debt if I attended Emory. Neither school has excellent big law numbers, but Emory does edge out UGA. My concern is, do graduates from UGA come out with such little debt that they just decide to not go into big law? I'm spinning here and could use some guidance...

[nixy]

My concern is, do graduates from UGA come out with such little debt that they just decide to not go into big law?

I don't think there's any reasonable basis to assume this, no. There are lots of other reasons than having debt to go into biglaw, and while self-selection is a thing, and impossible to measure accurately, there's no reason to believe UGA's student body is somehow less interested in biglaw than any other law school student body.

When you say you'd have $40k more debt if you went to Emory - what levels of debt are you talking about? 0 at UGA and $40k at Emory is a different situation from $160k at UGA and $200k at Emory.

[peh229]

I would have about $30,000 in tuition and fees at UGA and about $70,000 at Emory. Like I said before, I would like to go into big law in the Atlanta area. One other concern I had about the big law numbers are that about 10% of Emory’s graduating class goes to NY, but I do not know how many of those people go into big law. It’s safe to assume most, if not all of UGA’s grads who enter big law practice in Atlanta. Which school do we think would give me the best chance of a big law career in Atlanta?

On another note, what are everyone’s thoughts on USNWR rankings? Do we think Emory will bounce back in the next few years or keep falling, and do you think UGA will eventually surpass Emory in the rankings or is that unlikely to happen?

[howell]

Not sure if this matters, but cost of living will be different between the two. Lstreports has the difference at nearly $6k per year, which seems reasonable. That gap can be widened or narrowed depending on what you're willing to deal with. But $6k per year will add close to $20k by the end of law school to the difference.

The difference in costs of living speaks to advantages for Atlanta, even beyond just living in a bigger city. UGA students can correct me if I'm wrong, but living in Atlanta will make it a lot easier to intern at federal or state agencies or clerk at law firms during the year. You'd likely need to move to Atlanta during the summers for SA positions if you go to UGA, so that might change the costs some and/or be a hassle you don't want to deal with.

[trebekismyhero]

If you want to be in Atlanta, I don't think that Emory is worth $40k more than UGA. But with that said, if you really want big law, you should retake the LSAT to get into Duke

[decimalsanddollars]

If you want to be in Atlanta, I don't think that Emory is worth $40k more than UGA. But with that said, if you really want big law, you should retake the LSAT to get into Duke

Came here to say this. Neither school is a silver bullet for biglaw, even in Atlanta, but Emory's placement in Atlanta biglaw is not so head-and-shoulders above UGA's that it would be worth that price increase. If you were looking for biglaw regardless of location, I'd say to retake and try for t13 or maybe Vanderbilt. That said, wanting to be in Georgia and cheap fare at UGA are a good combo.

[QContinuum]

If you were looking for biglaw regardless of location, I'd say to retake and try for t13 or maybe Vanderbilt. That said, wanting to be in Georgia and cheap fare at UGA are a good combo.

Even for Atlanta BigLaw, I'd take a T13/Vandy over UGA/Emory any day of the week. (This assumes some preexisting ties to ATL, but 1) if zero preexisting ties to ATL, attending UGA/Emory alone is unlikely to be viewed as a tie, and 2) if zero preexisting ties to ATL, why narrowly focus on ATL anyway?)