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GW early decision is obviously an enticing prospect, what with it being free and all. But assuming that I would get it, should I try for that as opposed to just applying normally and also applying to Georgetown (where I would rather go, if possible)? I will be applying to other schools--Cornell, NYU, Fordham--regardless, but I am wondering whether it is worth it to go to a T14 and pay money or better to go to GW for free (this is all assuming I actually get it, of course, but if I don't get it, the point is moot anyway).

depends on numbers and what you want to do. GW full ride for public interest/service > GW full ride for biglaw v. t14

Depends on the school. If you are talking Cornell or Georgetown at full price or with little scholarship vs. GW of free, I'd say you would be crazy to pass up the free ride. But doesn't GW only give full rides to ED students?

With a 4.0 GPA & a 169 LSAT it is likely that you will receive a full tuition scholarship from George Washington University as well as an offer of admission to Georgetown & Cornell.
Visit lawschoolnumbers.com to see what type of scholarship money might be offered to you from Cornell, Georgetown & Fordham. Then try to contact current students at GWU law for their input regarding law student satisfaction there.

It depends on what you want out of your career. If you are public interest bound, GW is the obvious choice. If your passion is M&A, GW might be a bigger risk than you are willing to take.

Id say to avoid ED if you have very competitive numbers and use them more for a reach. By reach I mean your dream school.

I toured GWU this last summer and the Foggy Bottom campus is awesome, but I never made it to Georgetown.

I would say T14 if you want to break out of the region is something to consider.

nealric wrote:If your passion is M&A

Really? This happens? Among 0Ls? A "passion" for M&A? Or do you just mean passion for $160K/year to start?

Yeah for what its worth, I forgot to mention 4.0 and 169 (though that 169 was a terribly poor performance and I took the test again last week and am thinking I did better, definitely).

I mean, basically, both my parents went to G'Town for undergrad, my dad went there for med school, I couldn't afford to go undergrad but would have loved to... it is a bit of my dream school, even though it isn't top 5 or anything. At the same time, free tuition at GW is free tuition. So this is quite the decision...

TheTallOne0602 wrote:Yeah for what its worth, I forgot to mention 4.0 and 169 (though that 169 was a terribly poor performance and I took the test again last week and am thinking I did better, definitely).

I mean, basically, both my parents went to G'Town for undergrad, my dad went there for med school, I couldn't afford to go undergrad but would have loved to... it is a bit of my dream school, even though it isn't top 5 or anything. At the same time, free tuition at GW is free tuition. So this is quite the decision...

You have a shot at the T6 if you score at least a 170 and likely decent money from the lower T14. I don't think GW ED is it worth it at this point but others may disagree.

If you have a 4.0, raise it up to a 172~173.

4.0, 172 is decent shot for HYS, and 4.0, 173+ is like 75% chance at HYS

Really? This happens? Among 0Ls? A "passion" for M&A? Or do you just mean passion for $160K/year to start?

There are people who are really interested in it. Maybe the OP was a banker before LS- who knows?

Lol@ even thinking about paying sticker at Georgetown or Cornell

i don't know why people always suggest taking the fullride for PI. PI jobs you can get right out of school 1) no longer exist 2) are at least as prestige sensitive as biglaw. also, if you get a PI job, between IBR and LRAP you don't need to worry much about tuition repayment. utter silliness.

bk187 wrote:

TheTallOne0602 wrote:Yeah for what its worth, I forgot to mention 4.0 and 169 (though that 169 was a terribly poor performance and I took the test again last week and am thinking I did better, definitely).

I mean, basically, both my parents went to G'Town for undergrad, my dad went there for med school, I couldn't afford to go undergrad but would have loved to... it is a bit of my dream school, even though it isn't top 5 or anything. At the same time, free tuition at GW is free tuition. So this is quite the decision...

You have a shot at the T6 if you score at least a 170 and likely decent money from the lower T14. I don't think GW ED is it worth it at this point but others may disagree.

OP said in another thread D.C. is "the dream city"...hard to argue with a full ride to a T20 school in your dream city.

If you have a 4.0/169 and think you may have gone up even a point then you need to stow the ED form and walk away. You'll get into a lot of very good schools even if your score doesn't go up and GW will still be there with your numbers. Just wait, I would be surprised if you don't end up somewhere better than GW and pay less than sticker.

Lol@ even thinking about paying sticker at Georgetown or Cornell

Worked well enough for me.

i don't know why people always suggest taking the fullride for PI. PI jobs you can get right out of school 1) no longer exist 2) are at least as prestige sensitive as biglaw. also, if you get a PI job, between IBR and LRAP you don't need to worry much about tuition repayment. utter silliness.

I think there is real value to not having a 10% haircut off an already low salary for 10 years. And not all PI is prestige obsessed.

nealric wrote:

Really? This happens? Among 0Ls? A "passion" for M&A? Or do you just mean passion for $160K/year to start?

There are people who are really interested in it. Maybe the OP was a banker before LS- who knows?

Maybe you and I have different definitions of the word "passion."