Georgetown Class of 2015 Forum

[Witt]

I was admitted in late December after applying only about 3 weeks prior. I've been considering GULC more and more, largely because of their LRAP and public interest opportunities. Hope everyone's cycles are going well!

[TLSModBot]

ED as well. Has anyone thought about where they are going to live. DC natives...any advice? I'm married so won't be living on campus.

What's your price point?

Even though I'll regret it later, I want to live comfortably. I'm thinking $2K. Prefer 1 bed + den. Thanks for the help.

Living a little ways away from GULC is definitely not the end of the world - I live all the way in Shady Grove and my fiance (who works at GULC), has a little over an hour commute total. For 2K you can get a 2 bedroom apartment or a small townhouse near the metro (I have a 2Bedroom Townhouse w/ garage right by the metro for a shy over 2K). If you're looking for more affordable options that are closer to the campus, though, Takoma Park and Silver Spring are about a 20 minute commute by metro. Takoma Park is a nice suburban community with a bit of family friendly culture (weekly farmer's market, locally owned small businesses, occasional small fairs and parades) but not much nightlife. Silver Spring is a bit more metropolitan but has some nice nightlife options - including fun restaurants, bars, and some good shopping options.

In general I'd recommend not living in Virginia if you want an easy commute, or DC if you want affordable space, but there are definitely exceptions to both. In my experience living all around DC, Maryland on either side of the Red Line have been my favorite options.

[AS33]

ED as well. Has anyone thought about where they are going to live. DC natives...any advice? I'm married so won't be living on campus.

What's your price point?

Even though I'll regret it later, I want to live comfortably. I'm thinking $2K. Prefer 1 bed + den. Thanks for the help.

Living a little ways away from GULC is definitely not the end of the world - I live all the way in Shady Grove and my fiance (who works at GULC), has a little over an hour commute total. For 2K you can get a 2 bedroom apartment or a small townhouse near the metro (I have a 2Bedroom Townhouse w/ garage right by the metro for a shy over 2K). If you're looking for more affordable options that are closer to the campus, though, Takoma Park and Silver Spring are about a 20 minute commute by metro. Takoma Park is a nice suburban community with a bit of family friendly culture (weekly farmer's market, locally owned small businesses, occasional small fairs and parades) but not much nightlife. Silver Spring is a bit more metropolitan but has some nice nightlife options - including fun restaurants, bars, and some good shopping options.

In general I'd recommend not living in Virginia if you want an easy commute, or DC if you want affordable space, but there are definitely exceptions to both. In my experience living all around DC, Maryland on either side of the Red Line have been my favorite options.

With a budget of around $2,000, I would also check out Columbia heights and anything around the Cleveland Park metro; though you would probably have to sacrifice having a den. I just love the area. My boyfriend and I reaallllly lucked out, and found a nice one bedroom for $1200 near Columbia heights.

[goblue99]

received my letter today and could not be happier!

[benito]

I hope this thread gets a little more lively soon like the 2013 one......i think they had 2014 beaten by about 100 pages

[Zephyd]

howdy folks. i'm slightly late to post here - applied on October 3rd and got my ED acceptance letter about 3 weeks later. looking forward to meeting some of you in dc in march, especially if there are any other poker players/debaters in the class

- Will

[NavyLaw]

checking in...anyone else doing PT, if so will you be working full time?

[Rule_of_Law]

I'll be seeing you all this fall. I have a couple questions for those who have already gotten their bearings:

1. What are the dates for the admitted students events?
2. Is there a Facebook group set up yet?

I haven't been able to log into the ASW yet, so, if this info is in huge letters on the welcome page, consider this my disclaimer.

[luxxe]

I'll be seeing you all this fall. I have a couple questions for those who have already gotten their bearings:

1. What are the dates for the admitted students events?
2. Is there a Facebook group set up yet?

I haven't been able to log into the ASW yet, so, if this info is in huge letters on the welcome page, consider this my disclaimer.

January 26-27 & March 29-30

http://www.facebook.com/groups/GtownLawAdmitted/

[volsi]

I hope this thread gets a little more lively soon like the 2013 one......i think they had 2014 beaten by about 100 pages

The class of 2013 is a fantastic group of people. I'm actually still friends with a lot of people from that thread.

Anyway, I am a 2L who found the GULC TLS thread to be really helpful. Be happy to answer any questions you guys have.

[t14fanboy]

I hope this thread gets a little more lively soon like the 2013 one......i think they had 2014 beaten by about 100 pages

The class of 2013 is a fantastic group of people. I'm actually still friends with a lot of people from that thread.

Anyway, I am a 2L who found the GULC TLS thread to be really helpful. Be happy to answer any questions you guys have.

So you've gone through OCI? How was it? How many interviews did you end up with? Can you shed any light on how GULC fared placing people in firms or other stats from the career office that they may not post on the web or give to incoming 1Ls?

Sorry about the barrage of questions, but the TLS bashing of GULC has me slightly worried whether it would be prudent for me to go there (I would be paying sticker). Thanks.

[volsi]

I hope this thread gets a little more lively soon like the 2013 one......i think they had 2014 beaten by about 100 pages

The class of 2013 is a fantastic group of people. I'm actually still friends with a lot of people from that thread.

Anyway, I am a 2L who found the GULC TLS thread to be really helpful. Be happy to answer any questions you guys have.

So you've gone through OCI? How was it? How many interviews did you end up with? Can you shed any light on how GULC fared placing people in firms or other stats from the career office that they may not post on the web or give to incoming 1Ls?

Sorry about the barrage of questions, but the TLS bashing of GULC has me slightly worried whether it would be prudent for me to go there (I would be paying sticker). Thanks.

I went through OCI and had great success. I figure it's now far enough out from OCI time that I can speak about it publicly, fairly generally. If you want hardcore specifics, PM me.
First off, there are a lot of people at GULC not interested in firm jobs, but who want to do public interest. There are also people not interested in NJL 250 jobs, which is what the placement percentages track. OCI was definitely better this year than last year.
I got 11 interviews off the lottery and 2 more off the last minute sign-up (don't worry about this at all yet) for a total of 13. I only bid NY and no other cities. I know people with well over 20 interviews because they bid Texas and Ohio and CT and DE, things like that. I'm from NY, I wanted to go home, so I didn't even bid DC or Boston. Ties matter tho. All the TX people I know who applied have good SA offers in Dallas and Houston.

I have fine but not spectacular grades (around top 1/3). I ended up with 6 callbacks and 4 offers. I'm really happy with the firm I ended up with.
Not everyone with my stats did as well. Factors I had: i'm "diverse" (but not URM), I had a judicial internship 1L summer, 4 years work experience (not law related), very good interviewer. So take my experience for what it's worth.

I know people in the top 10% who had 10 callbacks and 10 offers, 13 callbacks and 9 offers, stuff like that. People in the top 1/3 seemed mostly able to get jobs if they wanted them and weren't looking at a tiny market like Miami, Portland, stuff like that. I also know people around median who were able to get good jobs - but they had stellar work experience and amazing interview skills. Below median is sticky but not impossible.
FWIW, I am paying sticker too. There are firms that come to our OCI that don't go to schools outside the t14. I turned down a full ride from several schools to come pay sticker here and I'm happy I did it.

The TLS bashing of GULC is ironic, because it's a genuinely wonderful place. Very few assholes, very few gunners (at least in my year and section). People are happy to help each other out, classes are friendly, profs are great. Sure, there are people who aren't great, but that's true at any school. This year some of the 1Ls made a very famous prof a t-shirt that said "Hoboken School of Law" (he's socratic and tells students that they are at GULC and not Hoboken) and he actually wore it on two separate occasions to class.

[t14fanboy]

^

Thanks for taking the time to reply. Lots of good info. I personally really like Georgetown but people keep telling me to go to one of the other schools I got into PURELY because they place better into biglaw. I would be lying if I said I didn't want biglaw (fully realize that these preferences may change), but if the placement differences are minor I would love to go to GULC simply because DC beats out ann arbor, ithaca, or charlottesville in my mind.

Thanks for giving me some food for thought.

[volsi]

^

Thanks for taking the time to reply. Lots of good info. I personally really like Georgetown but people keep telling me to go to one of the other schools I got into PURELY because they place better into biglaw. I would be lying if I said I didn't want biglaw (fully realize that these preferences may change), but if the placement differences are minor I would love to go to GULC simply because DC beats out ann arbor, ithaca, or charlottesville in my mind.

Thanks for giving me some food for thought.

Also realize we put something like 300 students a year in biglaw, which is a lower percentage of our enrollment, but is a huge number. Looking at my firm's booklet of last year's SAs (and excluding GULC), I see Penn, NYU, Columbia, Harvard being the most represented. A few Michigan and Boalt, decent amount of NW and UVA. 1 Cornell as far as I can tell.

Here's the thing. Top 1/3 grades at any of the Top 14 will get you a big law job if you have decent social skills. Being bottom of the class at any of the Top 14 will screw you. The differences are pretty minute.

Some other things to think about:
Law schools, like firms, are all about fit. I'm a city person; I didn't even apply to Cornell or UVA because I knew I'd go out of my mind in Ithaca or Charlottesville. The happier you are, the more likely it is that you'll do well and be able to get that job you want. Go with your gut.

Geography is hugely important. We place mostly into DC and NY. Boston is decent, as well as Texas, LA and SF. U of C and NW rule Chicago, of course, but we place there too. If you want to work in NY, GULC will serve you really well. If you want to work in Detroit, go to U of M. If you want Atlanta, go to Duke, I only know 3 or 4 people going to Atlanta this summer.

If you want to be in a really competitive environment, wear a suit to class, or stuff like that, GULC is probably not where you want to be.

[Sandrew]

1L here. Just wanted to say welcome to anyone coming to ASW tomorrow and to offer to answer a few questions.

[IamIn]

Just got back from the Open House Reception. Loved it!

[thelawschoolproject]

Just got back from the Open House Reception. Loved it!

Yes! It was great. The people here are so nice.

[HotSauce]

Got my acceptance Friday. I've been browsing the forums for a while but the glee of this news motivated me to make an account and say hello!

[Witt]

Anyone leaning one way or another on choosing between curriculum A or B? I'm leaning toward B right now because of its public-interest slant.

[thelawschoolproject]

Anyone leaning one way or another on choosing between curriculum A or B? I'm leaning toward B right now because of its public-interest slant.

I wasn't aware that Curriculum B had a public-interest slant? I'm more partial to it, though, for its emphasis on theory and philosophy.

[Witt]

Anyone leaning one way or another on choosing between curriculum A or B? I'm leaning toward B right now because of its public-interest slant.

I wasn't aware that Curriculum B had a public-interest slant? I'm more partial to it, though, for its emphasis on theory and philosophy.

I've heard the students tend to be more public-interest oriented, which may have some connection with its emphasis.

[TLSModBot]

Howdy all! I just got my letter in the mail and am super excited to be joining the class of 2015 in the Fall!

Question for other/previous Early Decision folks: my letter said that 'both deposits are waived', are these the 400 and 800 dollar deposits they require in the Spring/Summer?

[benito]

Howdy all! I just got my letter in the mail and am super excited to be joining the class of 2015 in the Fall!

Question for other/previous Early Decision folks: my letter said that 'both deposits are waived', are these the 400 and 800 dollar deposits they require in the Spring/Summer?

Yup but since you've committed to them with the ED app, the deposits aren't necessary.

[sdenton]

Anyone leaning one way or another on choosing between curriculum A or B? I'm leaning toward B right now because of its public-interest slant.

I wasn't aware that Curriculum B had a public-interest slant? I'm more partial to it, though, for its emphasis on theory and philosophy.

I've heard the students tend to be more public-interest oriented, which may have some connection with its emphasis.

This.

I'm pretty set on public interest law. If I go to Georgetown, I'll definitely be shooting for Curriculum B. From what I understand, the historical and theoretical approach to law would be perfectly suited for the type of advocacy work associated with PI. That's what I read into it at least.

[benito]

just came sooo close to beating Syracuse, games are so much more fun to watch now:)