GW vs. University of San Diego Forum

[jarofsoup]

See, I don't necessarily think that rankings and employment prospects are mutually exclusive. That said, GW, in part due to its location and patent network, will likely afford you substantially more opportunities than SD. Certainly, if you have a connection that will guarantee you employment whether you go to SD or GW, choose SD if that floats your boat. OTOH, assuming that's not the case, it behooves you to consider what kinds of opportunities you're going to face when you finish 1L. Hopefully, you won't have done poorly. But if you do, you're going to have a significantly more difficult time attaining gainful employment from SD than GW. Moreover, as I intimated earlier, if you're a decent interviewer, being near-median at GW with great IP experience really isn't as scary as being similarly situated but without that experience. I strongly doubt the same could be said for SD, but as I have no personal experience, I digress.

I also mentioned before the sheer number of employers at GWs OCI that, on the symplicity listing, seek ONLY applicants with patent/hard science/etc. backgrounds. That cuts the pool to, and this is a guess so don't quote me, probably like 35% of the students in each class (e.g. your competitive cohort). Thus, when you boil it down, you should really get a good number of screening interviews. Then, it's on you, and your personality, to get you to the callback round, offer, etc.

Good luck with your decision, but don't let anyone else make it for you. Do your own research, call both schools, ask questions about OCI, etc. Presumably, you're an adult, so do your diligence and make an informed decision.

edit: I'm actually not sure to whom this is directed, but it addresses situations similar to that which the OP faces. Now back to bar study...

...being outside the top 10% at USD for OCI is a death sentence.... a lot of firms will not even look at you because of the name of the university on your resume

[Big Shrimpin]

See, I don't necessarily think that rankings and employment prospects are mutually exclusive. That said, GW, in part due to its location and patent network, will likely afford you substantially more opportunities than SD. Certainly, if you have a connection that will guarantee you employment whether you go to SD or GW, choose SD if that floats your boat. OTOH, assuming that's not the case, it behooves you to consider what kinds of opportunities you're going to face when you finish 1L. Hopefully, you won't have done poorly. But if you do, you're going to have a significantly more difficult time attaining gainful employment from SD than GW. Moreover, as I intimated earlier, if you're a decent interviewer, being near-median at GW with great IP experience really isn't as scary as being similarly situated but without that experience. I strongly doubt the same could be said for SD, but as I have no personal experience, I digress.

I also mentioned before the sheer number of employers at GWs OCI that, on the symplicity listing, seek ONLY applicants with patent/hard science/etc. backgrounds. That cuts the pool to, and this is a guess so don't quote me, probably like 35% of the students in each class (e.g. your competitive cohort). Thus, when you boil it down, you should really get a good number of screening interviews. Then, it's on you, and your personality, to get you to the callback round, offer, etc.

Good luck with your decision, but don't let anyone else make it for you. Do your own research, call both schools, ask questions about OCI, etc. Presumably, you're an adult, so do your diligence and make an informed decision.

edit: I'm actually not sure to whom this is directed, but it addresses situations similar to that which the OP faces. Now back to bar study...

...being outside the top 10% at USD for OCI is a death sentence.... a lot of firms will not even look at you because of the name of the university on your resume

Thanks for the input. I transferred to GW from a middling TT, and probably would've only gotten looks because I had good grades (e.g. somewhere in top 10-15%). IIRC, from discussions I've had with people at that TT, anywhere outside the top 25%, regardless of your background, is also a death sentence. In these preselect OCI situations, employers literally look at your listed GPA to determine whether you're going to get an interview. The recruiters rifle though THOUSANDS of resumes each year, so this often becomes the best sorting proxy. To be sure, if you had some absurd credential, you might get a second look, but who's willing to bet on second looks?

[DC_Patent_Law]

See, I don't necessarily think that rankings and employment prospects are mutually exclusive. That said, GW, in part due to its location and patent network, will likely afford you substantially more opportunities than SD. Certainly, if you have a connection that will guarantee you employment whether you go to SD or GW, choose SD if that floats your boat. OTOH, assuming that's not the case, it behooves you to consider what kinds of opportunities you're going to face when you finish 1L. Hopefully, you won't have done poorly. But if you do, you're going to have a significantly more difficult time attaining gainful employment from SD than GW. Moreover, as I intimated earlier, if you're a decent interviewer, being near-median at GW with great IP experience really isn't as scary as being similarly situated but without that experience. I strongly doubt the same could be said for SD, but as I have no personal experience, I digress.

I also mentioned before the sheer number of employers at GWs OCI that, on the symplicity listing, seek ONLY applicants with patent/hard science/etc. backgrounds. That cuts the pool to, and this is a guess so don't quote me, probably like 35% of the students in each class (e.g. your competitive cohort). Thus, when you boil it down, you should really get a good number of screening interviews. Then, it's on you, and your personality, to get you to the callback round, offer, etc.

Good luck with your decision, but don't let anyone else make it for you. Do your own research, call both schools, ask questions about OCI, etc. Presumably, you're an adult, so do your diligence and make an informed decision.

edit: I'm actually not sure to whom this is directed, but it addresses situations similar to that which the OP faces. Now back to bar study...

...being outside the top 10% at USD for OCI is a death sentence.... a lot of firms will not even look at you because of the name of the university on your resume

Thanks for the input. I transferred to GW from a middling TT, and probably would've only gotten looks because I had good grades (e.g. somewhere in top 10-15%). IIRC, from discussions I've had with people at that TT, anywhere outside the top 25%, regardless of your background, is also a death sentence. In these preselect OCI situations, employers literally look at your listed GPA to determine whether you're going to get an interview. The recruiters rifle though THOUSANDS of resumes each year, so this often becomes the best sorting proxy. To be sure, if you had some absurd credential, you might get a second look, but who's willing to bet on second looks?

That is a good point for those who don't have a job. At this stage I receive calls from recuiters so I won't be attending OCI. Besides, Ill have a job so it won't make sense for me to do OCI, unless I want to quit and go to Cali after I graduate.

[DC_Patent_Law]

In your experience with OCI, do GW grads get placed in SoCal or are they limited to the east coast?

See, I don't necessarily think that rankings and employment prospects are mutually exclusive. That said, GW, in part due to its location and patent network, will likely afford you substantially more opportunities than SD. Certainly, if you have a connection that will guarantee you employment whether you go to SD or GW, choose SD if that floats your boat. OTOH, assuming that's not the case, it behooves you to consider what kinds of opportunities you're going to face when you finish 1L. Hopefully, you won't have done poorly. But if you do, you're going to have a significantly more difficult time attaining gainful employment from SD than GW. Moreover, as I intimated earlier, if you're a decent interviewer, being near-median at GW with great IP experience really isn't as scary as being similarly situated but without that experience. I strongly doubt the same could be said for SD, but as I have no personal experience, I digress.

I also mentioned before the sheer number of employers at GWs OCI that, on the symplicity listing, seek ONLY applicants with patent/hard science/etc. backgrounds. That cuts the pool to, and this is a guess so don't quote me, probably like 35% of the students in each class (e.g. your competitive cohort). Thus, when you boil it down, you should really get a good number of screening interviews. Then, it's on you, and your personality, to get you to the callback round, offer, etc.

Good luck with your decision, but don't let anyone else make it for you. Do your own research, call both schools, ask questions about OCI, etc. Presumably, you're an adult, so do your diligence and make an informed decision.

edit: I'm actually not sure to whom this is directed, but it addresses situations similar to that which the OP faces. Now back to bar study...

[jarofsoup]

In your experience with OCI, do GW grads get placed in SoCal or are they limited to the east coast?

See, I don't necessarily think that rankings and employment prospects are mutually exclusive. That said, GW, in part due to its location and patent network, will likely afford you substantially more opportunities than SD. Certainly, if you have a connection that will guarantee you employment whether you go to SD or GW, choose SD if that floats your boat. OTOH, assuming that's not the case, it behooves you to consider what kinds of opportunities you're going to face when you finish 1L. Hopefully, you won't have done poorly. But if you do, you're going to have a significantly more difficult time attaining gainful employment from SD than GW. Moreover, as I intimated earlier, if you're a decent interviewer, being near-median at GW with great IP experience really isn't as scary as being similarly situated but without that experience. I strongly doubt the same could be said for SD, but as I have no personal experience, I digress.

I also mentioned before the sheer number of employers at GWs OCI that, on the symplicity listing, seek ONLY applicants with patent/hard science/etc. backgrounds. That cuts the pool to, and this is a guess so don't quote me, probably like 35% of the students in each class (e.g. your competitive cohort). Thus, when you boil it down, you should really get a good number of screening interviews. Then, it's on you, and your personality, to get you to the callback round, offer, etc.

Good luck with your decision, but don't let anyone else make it for you. Do your own research, call both schools, ask questions about OCI, etc. Presumably, you're an adult, so do your diligence and make an informed decision.

edit: I'm actually not sure to whom this is directed, but it addresses situations similar to that which the OP faces. Now back to bar study...

OCI there just opened there are a lot of IP only offices that are on the west coast. It seems to be more SV than SoCal. But there are a lot of IP only

[TTTehehe]

Go GW. Employer pays 40% and you cover rest with a PAYCHECK. You also get 2 more years of WE. Not sure if you can swing a visiting student app for a semester in a SoCal law school (maybe residency requirements will make it harder - especially since you transferred), but even without the visiting student networking opp, I still think you have a good chance at grabbing a SoCal job coming out of GW.

[DC_Patent_Law]

I'll be doing part-time and will have to be in DC for 5 years to get reimbursed for the most part. I hope I can swing SoCal after that. I'll have 13 years of experience in prosecution at that time. Feel like I'll be ready to retire by then.

Go GW. Employer pays 40% and you cover rest with a PAYCHECK. You also get 2 more years of WE. Not sure if you can swing a visiting student app for a semester in a SoCal law school (maybe residency requirements will make it harder - especially since you transferred), but even without the visiting student networking opp, I still think you have a good chance at grabbing a SoCal job coming out of GW.