Top Law Schools

Hey,

I figured I would give back to the TLS community. Feel free to ask any questions you may have. I am a current 1L at GW, got two grades back so far (Contracts and Civ Pro) and received an "A" in both.

I am very happy with GW and DC in general.

Where exactly in the city is GW? Is it a nice area? Safe? Also, is there a lot of interaction with GULC students by GW students?

GW is in Foggy Bottom, southwest in the city. Very nice, safe area. There is not much interaction between GW and Gtown students. Everyone I know just hangs out with fellow GW law students.

Are you from DC metro area originally or no?

No, moved to the area in August.

Jl435 wrote:GW is in Foggy Bottom, southwest in the city. Very nice, safe area. There is not much interaction between GW and Gtown students. Everyone I know just hangs out with fellow GW law students.

GW's actually in NW.

What were your other options, and do you think you made the right choice? Do you know anybody/yourself that are on the ~106k scholly, and are they happy in choosing GW as well? Thanks.

Lawquacious wrote:Where exactly in the city is GW? Is it a nice area? Safe? Also, is there a lot of interaction with GULC students by GW students?

I heard if you go to GW you will have to live next door to this guy named Barry who is fucking obsessive about his lawn and smells like cigarettes all the time. just sayin.

ODBCP wrote:

Lawquacious wrote:Where exactly in the city is GW? Is it a nice area? Safe? Also, is there a lot of interaction with GULC students by GW students?

I heard if you go to GW you will have to live next door to this guy named Barry who is fucking obsessive about his lawn and smells like cigarettes all the time. just sayin.

Barry will be gone soon enough

Jl435 wrote:Hey,

I figured I would give back to the TLS community. Feel free to ask any questions you may have. I am a current 1L at GW, got two grades back so far (Contracts and Civ Pro) and received an "A" in both.

I am very happy with GW and DC in general.

If you're still around, how would you say the summer job opportunities are for 1L's with grades as high as yours?

Deuce wrote:What were your other options, and do you think you made the right choice? Do you know anybody/yourself that are on the ~106k scholly, and are they happy in choosing GW as well? Thanks.

I came to GW on the $105k scholarship deal. I chose to come here over Cornell, WUSTL, ND, and USC (and other schools as well, but those four were the others I was mostly seriously considering). I think I made the right choice for me; however, this has a lot to do with the fact that I am hoping for work in the federal government. If I'd been hoping for Biglaw, I might've have made a different choice.

On the whole, I'm really happy with my decision and with where I am. My friends who have similar deals, and who came here for similar reasons, also seem to be quite content with their choice. I know I'm not the OP, but if you have any more specific questions, I'm happy to answer them here or via PM.

tag

Was it the scholarship that made the difference for you? What are other students planning to do post-graduation who have considerably smaller awards?

Do you know what GW's GPA curve is?

Also I'm sure this has been discussed elsewhere, but is the legal writing course at GW graded?

First off, my apologies to Jl435; I feel like I'm kind of taking over his/her thread. For the record, I have the sneaking suspicion that Jl435 has a better GPA and ranking for the fall semester than I do (though I feel I did moderately well, I do not have two straight-up A's), so if you have questions on how to rock it like s/he did they should probably be directed to the OP.

bender18 wrote:Do you know what GW's GPA curve is?

Also I'm sure this has been discussed elsewhere, but is the legal writing course at GW graded?

GW's curve for 1L sections is 3.2, so it's hovering between a B and B+. Every class (except LRW) is curved to the 3.2, and so median for the class is also 3.2. LRW is graded (for good or evil) and is curved slightly higher (around a 3.25/3.3).

aspire2more wrote:Was it the scholarship that made the difference for you? What are other students planning to do post-graduation who have considerably smaller awards?

I'm not sure if this was directed to me or the OP. In my case the scholarship alone was not what did it (I had similar/better offers from peer schools), but scholarship combined with location. Like I said earlier, I am working towards employment in the federal government so location in DC (and therefore access to fall/spring semester externships) was important to me.

I'm a 1L, so I can't really comment on how folks are doing post-graduation. I'll leave that for a 2 or 3L to try and tackle.

So GW lets you extern for a semester at a firm/govt/etc. for credit?

androstan wrote:So GW lets you extern for a semester at a firm/govt/etc. for credit?

GW does what it calls "outside placement". We can extern part-time during the school year (as 2L/3L/4LEs) in addition to taking classes; the school allows us to receive up to 4 credits in a semester for doing unpaid government or public interest internships though outside placement. Many federal government agencies/departments and public interest groups have internships in DC during the school year, and they're much less competitive because the other T20 schools (excepting GTown) have much less access.

mi-chan17 wrote:

androstan wrote:So GW lets you extern for a semester at a firm/govt/etc. for credit?

GW does what it calls "outside placement". We can extern part-time during the school year (as 2L/3L/4LEs) in addition to taking classes; the school allows us to receive up to 4 credits in a semester for doing unpaid government or public interest internships though outside placement. Many federal government agencies/departments and public interest groups have internships in DC during the school year, and they're much less competitive because the other T20 schools (excepting GTown) have much less access.

You specifically didn't mention law firms, there are no law firm externships?

I don't think I can get IP/patent experience in PI, but hopefully the USPTO would have an extern program?

androstan wrote:

mi-chan17 wrote:

androstan wrote:So GW lets you extern for a semester at a firm/govt/etc. for credit?

GW does what it calls "outside placement". We can extern part-time during the school year (as 2L/3L/4LEs) in addition to taking classes; the school allows us to receive up to 4 credits in a semester for doing unpaid government or public interest internships though outside placement. Many federal government agencies/departments and public interest groups have internships in DC during the school year, and they're much less competitive because the other T20 schools (excepting GTown) have much less access.

You specifically didn't mention law firms, there are no law firm externships?

I don't think I can get IP/patent experience in PI, but hopefully the USPTO would have an extern program?

u can work for money or for credit, not both. as far as PTO, yes there are both summer interns there and examiners who go to gw full-time.

mi-chan17 wrote: I'm not sure if this was directed to me or the OP. In my case the scholarship alone was not what did it (I had similar/better offers from peer schools), but scholarship combined with location. Like I said earlier, I am working towards employment in the federal government so location in DC (and therefore access to fall/spring semester externships) was important to me.

I'm a 1L, so I can't really comment on how folks are doing post-graduation. I'll leave that for a 2 or 3L to try and tackle.

Thanks! I thought you might have heard some things from 3L students about jobs, so sorry if the question was odd. The information about your choice was helpful!