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Currently T4 (top 5%) in Texas and weighing my options for transferring to DC. I am concerned about the debt I will have transferring to DC, but I have a sick family member I would like to be close to. Not basing the decision of the family member, but on my competitiveness getting a job in Texas, assuming I get into GW (lets not debate my chances) would the debt be worth it- even if I have want to make my way back to Texas?

Would the debt be worth it? I'm not sure how any of us could answer this for you. It all depends on how much of a price you would put on being close to your sick family member. I highly doubt any DC-area school has any real presence in TX, but if you are from there and have connections, I'd imagine you have a shot to get back.

Let me rephrase, I dont mean would the debt be worth the sick family member. What I meant to say, is going to a T1 law school in DC worth the debt if I want to go back to Texas. I am concerned with being at a t4 school and having the stigma of that, versus trying to find a job in texas and not graduating from a Texas law school.

longhornmarine wrote:Let me rephrase, I dont mean would the debt be worth the sick family member. What I meant to say, is going to a T1 law school in DC worth the debt if I want to go back to Texas. I am concerned with being at a t4 school and having the stigma of that, versus trying to find a job in texas and not graduating from a Texas law school.

I don't know much about GW, but I highly doubt it will help you get back to Texas. If you take the sick family member out of the equation and look at this from the perspective of job prospects in Texas, transferring to UT would make a lot of sense. You'll probably have a shot there as well because of regional preferences. With the family member in the equation, it's a tougher call. Basically the question is how badly do you want to be with this sick family member versus how much weight you put on working somewhere decent in Texas (because I don't think transferring to GW is going to help you with finding a decent legal job in Texas – take a look at their OCI information, if you can, and see how many firms from Texas are coming to GW’s OCI; I’d be surprised if there are many).

This shows up on the OCI page.

Texas Interview Program

The Texas Interview Program, which takes place in Dallas, is co-sponsored by GW Law, Emory University Law School, and Georgetown University Law Center.

For information regarding the Texas Interview Program, contact Ruby Sheikh at 202.662.9612.

longhornmarine wrote:This shows up on the OCI page.

Texas Interview Program

The Texas Interview Program, which takes place in Dallas, is co-sponsored by GW Law, Emory University Law School, and Georgetown University Law Center.

For information regarding the Texas Interview Program, contact Ruby Sheikh at 202.662.9612.

Interesting. This is definetely not OCI (being that it's in Dallas), but it's certainly unique. If I were you, I'd contact that person and get more details about exactly what the Texas Interview program is, what law firms typically recruit there, how many interviews GW students typically get, what percentage of the class at GW goes to Texas (alumni base is important in terms of getting a job, especially when the job is in a market that the school is not located in), etc., etc.

Overall, I still think transferring to UT makes a lot more sense if you want to be in Texas and are not factoring in being with that sick family member (as your OP suggests), but if you are factoring in being with that sick family member, then try to figure out what type of placement GW has in Texas.