UT vs. GW

[ladylaw]

Hi All. I'm trying to decide between GW and UT and am leaning towards GW for personal reasons. I know why UT is better:
1. Ranking: #15 vs. #20
2. Location and Weather
3. Cost
But would I be crazy going to GW to be near my family, finally settle down after moving around every couple of years since college, and maybe even look for a mate?

I'm thinking I'd probably rank in the middle of the class and I know that UT gets jobs for the top ten percent but that everyone else has to fend for themselves. I'm thinkin' that I'd rather already live in GW and start networking there and that I'll be able to get a good job that way. Any thoughts?

[ladylaw]

Thanks Anastasia. I just wrote down the numbers and realized that GW would cost me around 150K in debt and UT only 65K. That has me swinging in the other direction now...I feel like a frickin' pendulum these days--swinging back and forth, back and forth. The money is hard to argue with though.

[dave303]

I would say to go to UT unless you absolutely want to be in the DC area. UT is a better school and is going to cost you less, you'll likely get a similar if not better job going there. Not that theres anything wrong with GW for the washington area, its just that you could probably spend the 100,000 dollars somewhere else.

[mreleph]

Heh, I'm making the same decision UT vs GW (vs stay at my job) The finances are ever more agonizing when attending lawschool means giving up 3 years of salary....

For me, though, UT is more expensive, since GWU gave me some $ and I'm not a TX resident.

Why is UT so cheap for you? Are you a resident?

I think the weather is a big part of lifestyle happiness, not to be ignored.
The city life is important too; do you like Austin?
If you want to work in DC, GW is much better for placement.

UT is ranked higher, but I've never understood *why*. The numbers I've seen comparing the schools are comparable. GWU has been improving its class strength in recent years, so I think its current reputation is lower than its rep will be by graduation.

What do you want to *do* after law school? Where do you want to do it? Do like living in a big Metro area or a small city in the middle of Texas? Where do you think you'll meet your mate?

If you are already set on making a career as a lawayer of the highly paid variety, then $90K at the head is nothing. Nothing. Don't forget summer employment during law school, when calculating costs.

P.S. Don't choose Catholic over GWU. The scholarship there doesn't come close to the opportunity cost.

Good luck....

mreleph on LSN

[jeffgdula]

I would say to go to UT unless you absolutely want to be in the DC area. UT is a better school and is going to cost you less, you'll likely get a similar if not better job going there. Not that theres anything wrong with GW for the washington area, its just that you could probably spend the 100,000 dollars somewhere else.

Rankins do not matter!  cost maybe, but rankings dont and they will change over time anyways.  Go where you want to practice.  Texas is way more egional.  Go there if you want to live in texas.  If not, you would be better off at the other.  You will be able to pay off your debt to either if you do well, so dont worry about that too much.  There is no debate here.  If you dont wNt to practice in Texas I wouldnt reccomend it is highly as GW.

[burghblast]

Texas is way more egional.  Go there if you want to live in texas.  If not, you would be better off at the other.  You will be able to pay off your debt to either if you do well, so dont worry about that too much.  There is no debate here.  If you dont wNt to practice in Texas I wouldnt reccomend it is highly as GW.

I don't think Texas is very "regional".  All of the nationality studies posted on LSD in the past few weeks have it consistently ranked alongside Northwestern and several other T14 schools. 

[burghblast]

I know that UT gets jobs for the top ten percent but that everyone else has to fend for themselves.

Care to elaborate on this one?  Does UT have some program that guarantees automatic job placement for the top 10% of their class?  And how bad is "fending for yourself" even if you finish in the middle of your class?  UT is one of the top schools in the country.  Don't ALL of their grads get jobs?

[RobinHood]

Regarding regionality--I think this argument is fairly semantical. Both schools are regionally limiting and regionally expanding--depending on the region. GW doesn't do well in Texas whereas Texas doesn't excel as GW does in the Northeast. In effect, there's as much regional bias at both schools---we're just talking about diff. regions. For example, a partner at bracewell Patterson in Houston does not interview at GW but does interview a great deal at Vandy and SMU--Vandy is probably not strictly better or worse, really, than GW--but it is Southern! If you want to be in DC/Philly/New York/Boston, GW is actually probably a bit better than Texas. If you want to be in the South, Texas is probably quite a bit better. Now that I've written this, watch someone start quoting stats that expose me as a charlatan...

[Javert]

But would I be crazy going to GW to be near my family, finally settle down after moving around every couple of years since college, and maybe even look for a mate?

I don't understand that last one. Why is GW a better place to look for a mate than UT? Men (or women) are pretty much everywhere!

Anyway, I really think the money alone makes UT a stronger option, and there's no way Texas is more regional than GWU.

[docventure]

Gosh, that's such a stereotypical view of Texas. Austin is actually a pretty liberal/hip place.