Top Law Schools

I just was accepted into the MPA program at Maxwell (Syracuse). Currently a 1L at Syracuse and ranked top 29%. Also applied to GW EA and W&M. Considering W&L and GMU. ASSUMING, I am accepted into GW, W&M, etc., should I stay or should I go to a higher ranked school?

I want to work in DC in either consulting/public policy or big law.

TNFSkier16 wrote:I just was accepted into the MPA program at Maxwell (Syracuse). Currently a 1L at Syracuse and ranked top 29% top 1/3 or top 30%. Also applied to GW EA and W&M. Considering W&L and GMU. ASSUMING, I am accepted into GW, W&M, etc., should I stay or should I go to a higher ranked school?

I want to work in DC in either consulting/public policy or big law.

IMHO, wait to see where you are accepted...too many hypos.

Also, top 29% sounds like you are trying too hard. Employers expect % increments of 5 or 10.

good luck

Thx for the advice. Will update when I know more.

I voted for the JD/MPA program at Syracuse because it is the only option to which you have been accepted.

alright I'll come back with affirmative data.

Top 30% at Syracuse is probably a massive stretch to getting into GW EA. I think you would have to be top 10-15% from Syracuse to even have a chance, TBH.

Top 1/3 from syracuse prob woudln't cut it at GW. You need top 15-20% to have a chance. You really need to bust your ass this semester. Push yourself as hard as you can this semester and then see what happens. It can be done! I went from barely top 25% first to top 10% after 1L year after rocking 2nd semester.

The other problem is that even if you get into GW ish schools, OCi at those schools arent particularly friendly to transfers who are non IP students.

Since you want to work in Washington DC in consulting or policy, and not necessarily in a law firm, then Syracuse's JD/MPA seems to be the best choice. (My understanding is that Syracuse's MPA is considered the best in the nation.)

Yeah that's why I came to Syracuse (other than not getting in anywhere else). I came from consulting and was told by recruiters from Deloitte and maxwell alumns that with my work exp and a jd/mpa I could start somewhere around 100-105k. So if I never transfer and have the potential to make big law I have this to go off of.

TNFSkier16 wrote:Yeah that's why I came to Syracuse (other than not getting in anywhere else). I came from consulting and was told by recruiters from Deloitte and maxwell alumns that with my work exp and a jd/mpa I could start somewhere around 100-105k. So if I never transfer and have the potential to make big law I have this to go off of.

It sounds like you're one of the few people who is in a good position to get a well-paying job out of Syracuse, so I don't see any reason for you to leave. You're not going to have a better chance at BigLaw from the schools you listed so you might as well do the MPA where you're at.