William & Mary 2011 Forum

[AP-375]

Yeah that's kind of what I figured. One thing I noticed about W&M is that private practice numbers are very, very low for a school of its caliber (circa 52% I believe). I wonder why that is? Perhaps a lot of public interest kids go to W&M because it's also much cheaper than its peer schools... can't beat 49k per year compared to like 75k at Fordham or GW

Hey! I'm a 1L and I think a lot of the reason the private practice numbers are so low is that a lot of people that come here come because its so well regarded for public service. The "Citizen Lawyer" ideal is taken seriously here and a lot of people have no desire to go to a big firm or enter into private practice. Plus, if you want to go into public service, you can't really beat w&m's price! Hope this helps!

Do the students who want private jobs get them?

+1

At the risk of sounding like a gunner, does the increased interest in PI mean decreased competition for higher paying firm jobs, or is that just wishful thinking?

[BlueDiamond]

At the risk of sounding like a gunner, does the increased interest in PI mean decreased competition for higher paying firm jobs, or is that just wishful thinking?

I don't really see how it would matter.. the grades matter.. wanting PI work doesn't mean those people get lower grades.. It isnt like they dig into the bottom 75% of the class to fill spots if not enough people in the top 25% want them.. they go to another school

[Ticket2ride]

Hey everybody! In at W&M with $ 18k scholarship, so glad I took that LSAT again! Now I'm waivering bc I also got in at UVA but with no money and I'm scared of racking up debt, especially since I want to work as a prosecutor and won't be making the big bucks coming out of law school. Also in at UR and was invited to apply for the John Marshall Scholarship, I currently live around Richmond, so it would be easy to go to UR if they gave me $. So move to Williamsburg, swallow some big debt at UVA, or go to a lower ranked school for the sake of staying where I am? Any thoughts? I am leaning towards W&M but everybody keeps telling me to go to the best school I can get into.

[crysmissmichelle]

William and Mary is a great school, but so are the other two. With your goals in mind, it seems like WM with money is a REALLY great option.

[Kinderby]

I am leaning towards W&M but everybody keeps telling me to go to the best school I can get into.

I think it's more like the best school you can afford to go to. Of the three, W&M sounds the best.

[NCtoDC]

I am leaning towards W&M but everybody keeps telling me to go to the best school I can get into.

I think it's more like the best school you can afford to go to. Of the three, W&M sounds the best.

+1

If you have no dream of biglaw, W&M should provide you with the connections to gain a prosecutor position.

[TyrodTaylor]

i am moving to richmond this spring, and then most likely plan on starting at W&M in the fall. I am in at UR as well and am waiting to hear back on john marshall. UVA is awesome and i dont know if i could say I wouldve turned it down had I applied and gotten accepted. Your in state tuition plus 18k, plus you can commute from RIC if you want could save you tons and tons of money. If you are shooting for biglaw, UVA is the place to be, but if you want to keep your options open, financially, W&M would be a good choice.

[TyrodTaylor]

Biglaw is also still attainable from W&M ITE

[crysmissmichelle]

i am moving to richmond this spring, and then most likely plan on starting at W&M in the fall. I am in at UR as well and am waiting to hear back on john marshall. UVA is awesome and i dont know if i could say I wouldve turned it down had I applied and gotten accepted. Your in state tuition plus 18k, plus you can commute from RIC if you want could save you tons and tons of money. If you are shooting for biglaw, UVA is the place to be, but if you want to keep your options open, financially, W&M would be a good choice.

I do have to say that commuting from Richmond is not as easy as it sounds. That was part of my conversation with the dean. If you live on east end, it's still 45 minutes and if you live in the west end it's more than an hour.

On the up side, Richmond seems to be where most of the their placements are, so you'd be well positioned for that. . . .but the commuting (especially the evening part) will be nuts.

[krad]

I am leaning towards W&M but everybody keeps telling me to go to the best school I can get into.

I think it's more like the best school you can afford to go to. Of the three, W&M sounds the best.

+1 million

[TyrodTaylor]

i am moving to richmond this spring, and then most likely plan on starting at W&M in the fall. I am in at UR as well and am waiting to hear back on john marshall. UVA is awesome and i dont know if i could say I wouldve turned it down had I applied and gotten accepted. Your in state tuition plus 18k, plus you can commute from RIC if you want could save you tons and tons of money. If you are shooting for biglaw, UVA is the place to be, but if you want to keep your options open, financially, W&M would be a good choice.

I do have to say that commuting from Richmond is not as easy as it sounds. That was part of my conversation with the dean. If you live on east end, it's still 45 minutes and if you live in the west end it's more than an hour.

On the up side, Richmond seems to be where most of the their placements are, so you'd be well positioned for that. . . .but the commuting (especially the evening part) will be nuts.

Well, I was only presenting that as an option. I will be living with my family in W-Burg.

[crysmissmichelle]

lol, sorry, I've been really hoping for WM and thinking of that option a lot too. . . sooooooo just throwing in my two cents.

[mettasutta]

Biglaw is also still attainable from W&M ITE

What sort of class rank would one need for this?

[Perch]

for those that were able to negotiate money, did you receive a response after your initial email to whomever? or just get the increased offer/deny a few days later? I love WM if the offer was as competitive as some others.

many thanks, feel free to PM- I appreciate it.

[AP-375]

Biglaw is also still attainable from W&M ITE

What sort of class rank would one need for this?

Based on the Go-To-Law School list, I'm guessing top 15%?

http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNL ... OLS_REPORT

[Ticket2ride]

Thank you all for you input. I live in the west end of Richmond, so commuting is out and I will be moving to Williamsburg if I decide to go to W&M even though the area does not appeal to me to much. But the school is great and that's what counts. I guess you can live anywhere for three years. Any of you attening ASD?

[AP-375]

Biglaw is also still attainable from W&M ITE

It's nice to see W&M get some Big Law love in terms of cost-benefit here:
http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNL ... hbxlogin=1

[gatorlaw2011]

.

[dizzynoise]

Just to let everyone know...I emailed Dean Shealy on Monday and got a response today increasing my scholarship a couple of thousand dollars per year. Pretty exciting, and it was nice to hear back so quickly.

can you show us what your letter said? i'm trying to get more money from W&M and would like a outline for success. pm me if you dont feel comfortable posting it

[Mike088]

Can you also PM an outline/how you went about asking for more? I don't want to come off the wrong way when trying this with multiple schools =/

[RPK34]

Biglaw is also still attainable from W&M ITE

What sort of class rank would one need for this?

Based on the Go-To-Law School list, I'm guessing top 15%?

http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNL ... OLS_REPORT

Some kids self select out of biglaw for PI or whatever, some clerk, etc. Probably top 20% makes you competitive

[mettasutta]

Can you also PM an outline/how you went about asking for more? I don't want to come off the wrong way when trying this with multiple schools =/

I'm also interested in knowing how to go about doing this as well...

[BlueDiamond]

Can you also PM an outline/how you went about asking for more? I don't want to come off the wrong way when trying this with multiple schools =/

I'm also interested in knowing how to go about doing this as well...

I'm sorry but can all of you asking really not formulate a coherent, three line e-mail asking whether or not more money is available? It truly is not that hard. There are no magic words that get you $5,000 a year more as opposed to $3,000 a year more. Just send a respectful e-mail. They know what you want. They don't need flowery writing.

[rs2004]

Can you also PM an outline/how you went about asking for more? I don't want to come off the wrong way when trying this with multiple schools =/

i think this will help
http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 22&t=79373

it's not rude to negotiate, after all, it will ultimately be you footing the bill after law school. and schools get these emails, maybe not from too many people because they may be too timid to ask, so unless you come across as a pompous jackass (i.e. i'm so great, why aren't you giving me more money, etc), you won't be coming across the wrong way.

[TyrodTaylor]

is there a confirmation with the statement of intention?