Emory 2010 Forum

[MPMP]

I had 3 Emory students, a 1L and two 3Ls, tell me unequivocally to go to Vanderbilt.

Damn. What reasons did they give?

Better degree mobility (important ITE), better job prospects (47% vs 24% placed in NLJ250 firms), and more prestige.

Also, if you're looking to practice in ATL, one 3L had an interesting insight. Many ATL employers like to hire UGA grads (and I would guess Vandy, Duke, and UVA, too). It's sort of a good 'ol boy network. Emory is seen as a good school, but one with a bunch of Yankees and people who aren't from the GA and the South and don't like it here (much like UG), and that they are going to Emory to try to go back up North somewhere. Whether this is true or not, perhaps the perception is out there.

Interesting. If I were in your shoes I would go Vandy and not look back ... it's a nice decision to have to make though.

About the good ol' boy network ... do you think going to a traditional southern UG (SEC) would help? I don't have any ties to Atlanta, but I don't have ties to any strong markets and I want to stay in the South.

[rando]

75k at Emory today. Leaning towards Vandy at 72k, however.

I had 3 Emory students, a 1L and two 3Ls, tell me unequivocally to go to Vanderbilt. That doesn't speak very well of the school. But I'll wait until ASD to make my final decision.

I disagree that it doesn't speak very well of the school. It is just reality. Vanderbilt is a great school and so is Emory. But Vanderbilt's job prospects are better ITE. If you got no $ from Vanderbilt I sincerely doubt any of those Emory students would tell you to go to Vanderbilt.

[Grizz]

About the good ol' boy network ... do you think going to a traditional southern UG (SEC) would help? I don't have any ties to Atlanta, but I don't have ties to any strong markets and I want to stay in the South.

I'm just some random 0L on the internet, but I would say someone who went to, say, Auburn for UG would be viewed more favorably than someone from NY, all other things being equal. However, I don't think me or anyone else can really answer this question, and all other things are seldom equal.

[rando]

Also, if you're looking to practice in ATL, one 3L had an interesting insight. Many ATL employers like to hire UGA grads (and I would guess Vandy, Duke, and UVA, too). It's sort of a good 'ol boy network. Emory is seen as a good school, but one with a bunch of Yankees and people who aren't from the GA and the South and don't like it here (much like UG), and that they are going to Emory to try to go back up North somewhere. Whether this is true or not, perhaps the perception is out there.

You are talking to a rationalizing 3L. Emory's job prospects are at least as good as the schools ranked similarly. If you follow the NLJ 250 listings UGA is ranked far below Emory and no employer I have seen takes more UGA grads than emory. In fact, most summer classes at large Atlanta firms are predominantly Emory, followed by a smattering of UVA, Duke, UNC, Vandy, UGA, and usually a GA. ST. or Mercer student.
You have to remember that Emory students who are paying sticker and have no job prospects because they are in the bottom 75% are going to tell you that the grass is greener. But UGA is worse off than Emory right now in terms of job prospects in ATL, hands down.

[rando]

About the good ol' boy network ... do you think going to a traditional southern UG (SEC) would help? I don't have any ties to Atlanta, but I don't have ties to any strong markets and I want to stay in the South.

I'm just some random 0L on the internet, but I would say someone who went to, say, Auburn for UG would be viewed more favorably than someone from NY, all other things being equal. However, I don't think me or anyone else can really answer this question, and all other things are seldom equal.

Your undergrad doesn't matter AT ALL. While your ties to the area matter for employment, you have to explain to employers your choices regardless of the school you go to. If you are a yankee at UGA or a yankee at Emory you need to tell them why you'll be in Atlanta for 5+ yrs in the future.
There are people from NY, CA, MN etc. that all got ATL firm jobs. The good ol' boy network is not a myth but it is prevalent in small networks, not the big firms, which are full of transplants anyway.

[rando]

The TLS consensus seems to be that grades are a crap shoot.

I don't know what the TLS consensus is but grades are only a crapshoot to people that are not satisfied with them.

[Grizz]

I disagree that it doesn't speak very well of the school. It is just reality. Vanderbilt is a great school and so is Emory. But Vanderbilt's job prospects are better ITE. If you got no $ from Vanderbilt I sincerely doubt any of those Emory students would tell you to go to Vanderbilt.

You are talking to a rationalizing 3L. Emory's job prospects are at least as good as the schools ranked similarly. If you follow the NLJ 250 listings UGA is ranked far below Emory and no employer I have seen takes more UGA grads than emory. In fact, most summer classes at large Atlanta firms are predominantly Emory, followed by a smattering of UVA, Duke, UNC, Vandy, UGA, and usually a GA. ST. or Mercer student.
You have to remember that Emory students who are paying sticker and have no job prospects because they are in the bottom 75% are going to tell you that the grass is greener. But UGA is worse off than Emory right now in terms of job prospects in ATL, hands down.

FWIW, the 3Ls I talked to (the ones who told me to go to Vandy) had jobs lined up in Chicago and NY, so that definitely speaks to Emory's mobility.

I'm definitely not advocating taking these guys' word as law. One can't place too much stock in that one 3Ls opinion, or just three students overall, but it is significant for me that instead of defending their school, they all told me to go elsewhere. Not even a "you've got a tough decision ahead of you in which you have to carefully weigh the options" speech. Even at the UGA reception, all of the UGA people gave strong reasons for considering UGA over Vandy, whereas these Emory people (maybe not representative of the whole school), told me to bolt. And it's not just that they told me to bolt, it's that they seemed to genuinely not like Emory that much. Literally as soon as the name Vanderbilt left my lips, two of told me right there to go. I would love to speak to some more students (I'll see some of yall at ASD, I hope), but I don't think it speaks well for the school at all.

[Grizz]

While your ties to the area matter for employment, you have to explain to employers your choices regardless of the school you go to. If you are a yankee at UGA or a yankee at Emory you need to tell them why you'll be in Atlanta for 5+ yrs in the future.

+1. I gave my answer based on my impression over 4 year from the regular people I meet around here, which are probably not the type of people who will be giving you your first job.

[jrod]

Anyone still waiting to hear back from November?

(Besides me.)

[hhg]

75k at Emory today. Leaning towards Vandy at 72k, however.

I had 3 Emory students, a 1L and two 3Ls, tell me unequivocally to go to Vanderbilt. That doesn't speak very well of the school. But I'll wait until ASD to make my final decision.

I disagree that it doesn't speak very well of the school. It is just reality. Vanderbilt is a great school and so is Emory. But Vanderbilt's job prospects are better ITE. If you got no $ from Vanderbilt I sincerely doubt any of those Emory students would tell you to go to Vanderbilt.

+1

[eldizknee]

.

[rando]

I disagree that it doesn't speak very well of the school. It is just reality. Vanderbilt is a great school and so is Emory. But Vanderbilt's job prospects are better ITE. If you got no $ from Vanderbilt I sincerely doubt any of those Emory students would tell you to go to Vanderbilt.

You are talking to a rationalizing 3L. Emory's job prospects are at least as good as the schools ranked similarly. If you follow the NLJ 250 listings UGA is ranked far below Emory and no employer I have seen takes more UGA grads than emory. In fact, most summer classes at large Atlanta firms are predominantly Emory, followed by a smattering of UVA, Duke, UNC, Vandy, UGA, and usually a GA. ST. or Mercer student.
You have to remember that Emory students who are paying sticker and have no job prospects because they are in the bottom 75% are going to tell you that the grass is greener. But UGA is worse off than Emory right now in terms of job prospects in ATL, hands down.

FWIW, the 3Ls I talked to (the ones who told me to go to Vandy) had jobs lined up in Chicago and NY, so that definitely speaks to Emory's mobility.

I'm definitely not advocating taking these guys' word as law. One can't place too much stock in that one 3Ls opinion, or just three students overall, but it is significant for me that instead of defending their school, they all told me to go elsewhere. Not even a "you've got a tough decision ahead of you in which you have to carefully weigh the options" speech. Even at the UGA reception, all of the UGA people gave strong reasons for considering UGA over Vandy, whereas these Emory people (maybe not representative of the whole school), told me to bolt. And it's not just that they told me to bolt, it's that they seemed to genuinely not like Emory that much. Literally as soon as the name Vanderbilt left my lips, two of told me right there to go. I would love to speak to some more students (I'll see some of yall at ASD, I hope), but I don't think it speaks well for the school at all.

I stand corrected on the 3L rationalization.
Though I think I know exactly who you are talking to that is going to Chicago. If you'd like to talk when you get here, PM me and I'll sit down with you. I love Emory. I am one lucky SOB, coming out of LS with 0 debt and a damn good job lined up. I specifically chose Emory b/c I got no money from the T14's I got into. IMO the decision turns 95% on a balance between $$ and Job prospects.

BTW, I heard UGA touts their SCOTUS clerkships as a reason to attend. That poor logical connection in itself is enough to question their reasoning behind choosing UGA over Vandy.

[maximus34998]

If you got no $ from Vanderbilt I sincerely doubt any of those Emory students would tell you to go to Vanderbilt.

I think this is very true, and it's the decision I'm making. If Vandy had thrown ANY money my way, I'd be going there. But 66k from Emory compared to nothing from Vandy is an easy decision for me. I'm hoping that the fact that I am from Atlanta and attended UG in the area proves to the Atlanta firms that I'm no carpetbagger and gets me into a great Atlanta firm. But for you,

75k at Emory today. Leaning towards Vandy at 72k, however.

I had 3 Emory students, a 1L and two 3Ls, tell me unequivocally to go to Vanderbilt. That doesn't speak very well of the school. But I'll wait until ASD to make my final decision.

it seems like Vanderbilt is definitely the better choice.

[Grizz]

I had a Tulane student tell me essentially the same thing. He said if better placing schools gave me good money to go to those schools, if not then take the money at Tulane. It's all about maximizing job opportunities while minimizing debt. Vandy over Emory if they cost the same is a no-brainer. Doen't mean Emory's a TTT, just means Vandy is a really good school with better job opportunites.

I guess I thought they might give me more positive reasons for attending Emory, unless there are no positive reasons, which I doubt. At least one told me to go even before they heard about the money. It wasn't that they were giving me dispassionate career/$ advice, they also seemed to have some beef with Emory.

[Grizz]

I stand corrected on the 3L rationalization.
Though I think I know exactly who you are talking to that is going to Chicago. If you'd like to talk when you get here, PM me and I'll sit down with you. I love Emory. I am one lucky SOB, coming out of LS with 0 debt and a damn good job lined up. I specifically chose Emory b/c I got no money from the T14's I got into. IMO the decision turns 95% on a balance between $$ and Job prospects.

I'm an Emory UG with time to kill. Sent you the pm.

BTW, I heard UGA touts their SCOTUS clerkships as a reason to attend. That poor logical connection in itself is enough to question their reasoning behind choosing UGA over Vandy.

+1 on the UGA SCOTUS comment. When I went to their Alston & Bird reception, they were all over that. I said this in another thread too, but 4 clerks out of the last 5 years still isn't very good odds. Also keep in mind that the clerks were 1999, 2005, 2006, and 2008 grads, so it's really more like 4 clerks over 10 classes of student. At 240 a class, that's like 4/2400, or .17% of grads obtaining Supreme Court clerkships. Even at first in the class, these are not odds to go about making decisions by.

[thickfreakness]

I stand corrected on the 3L rationalization.
Though I think I know exactly who you are talking to that is going to Chicago. If you'd like to talk when you get here, PM me and I'll sit down with you. I love Emory. I am one lucky SOB, coming out of LS with 0 debt and a damn good job lined up. I specifically chose Emory b/c I got no money from the T14's I got into. IMO the decision turns 95% on a balance between $$ and Job prospects.

I'm an Emory UG with time to kill. Sent you the pm.

BTW, I heard UGA touts their SCOTUS clerkships as a reason to attend. That poor logical connection in itself is enough to question their reasoning behind choosing UGA over Vandy.

+1 on the UGA SCOTUS comment. When I went to their Alston & Bird reception, they were all over that. I said this in another thread too, but 4 clerks out of the last 5 years still isn't very good odds. Also keep in mind that the clerks were 1999, 2005, 2006, and 2008 grads, so it's really more like 4 clerks over 10 classes of student. At 240 a class, that's like 4/2400, or .17% of grads obtaining Supreme Court clerkships. Even at first in the class, these are not odds to go about making decisions by.

Come to Vandy with me, don't go double-Emory.

[lawduder]

Come to Vandy with me, don't go double-Emory.

I probably wouldn't do "double-Emory" either. It's nice to have two institutions on your resume.

[Matteliszt]

t's all about maximizing job opportunities while minimizing debt. Vandy over Emory if they cost the same is a no-brainer. Doen't mean Emory's a TTT, just means Vandy is a really good school with better job opportunites.

This is serious +1. Maximizing job opportunities while minimizing debt IMO is the way to go through this entire process. Going to a T20/T30 isn't going to impact your job chances very much if you do well.

[Grizz]

Come to Vandy with me, don't go double-Emory.

I probably wouldn't do "double-Emory" either. It's nice to have two institutions on your resume.

Honestly, it might be nice just for a change of scenery.

[de5igual]

Come to Vandy with me, don't go double-Emory.

I probably wouldn't do "double-Emory" either. It's nice to have two institutions on your resume.

Honestly, it might be nice just for a change of scenery.

+1, that's how I feel, but replace Vandy with UT. Even if I wanted to come back to Atlanta (major if), I don't think being at UT would be worse than being at Emory/UGA, especially since I have strong ties to the area.

[hhg]

I had a Tulane student tell me essentially the same thing. He said if better placing schools gave me good money to go to those schools, if not then take the money at Tulane. It's all about maximizing job opportunities while minimizing debt. Vandy over Emory if they cost the same is a no-brainer. Doen't mean Emory's a TTT, just means Vandy is a really good school with better job opportunites.

I guess I thought they might give me more positive reasons for attending Emory, unless there are no positive reasons, which I doubt. At least one told me to go even before they heard about the money. It wasn't that they were giving me dispassionate career/$ advice, they also seemed to have some beef with Emory.

it's easy to say "oh this place is terrible, you should go to --- instead" when you haven't experienced ---. it's a rough market, and people probably feel like it's easier or better elsewhere. vandy is better in many ways, it has greater prestige, ... all of those things, but i really think that the two schools are close enough in all of those factors that money should dictate a lot of the decision, especially ite, with vandy getting a little extra weight (maybe a 25k advantage).

[fs_tills]

Well, looks like the LSN graph got its first Emory rejection last night. That means I better check my mailbox for mine.

Anyone know how transferring for 2L goes at Emory? I imagine it's tough.

[Matteliszt]

Has anyone who applied early January heard anything?

[eldizknee]

.

[lawduder]

Has anyone who applied early January heard anything?

applied 1/4