Crazy to Choose G'town over NYU?

[Hope4Law]

So of the schools that I've heard back from (alot still left out there), the two I am considering right now are NYU and G'Town. I obviously know about the rankings, etc. But, having grown up in Northern Virginia, I am very familiar with DC, the G'town campus, and have alot of family and friends in the area. So my question is, would I be nuts to turn down NYU to go to Georgetown (assuming they are the same price). Is the earning potential and possibility of big-law really so different between the schools? Anyone in a similar predicament? Would love to hear any opinions about this sort of thing.

[SavoyTruffleShuffle]

If you want to work in DC, I don't see why Georgetown would be a bad choice... but maybe some other folks know something I don't

[Olto]

They're both great schools. I would analyze the schools on the following dimensions:
- Quality of faculty. What are they publishing? What are they doing outside of teaching? Both schools' webpages should have information about that.
- Quality of student body. What'd they do before law school? What are they doing after?
- Student life. For me, this is of supreme importance. Where do students feel comfortable? Is it competitive? Are they friendly? Visiting will show you a LOT about this.
- Intangibles. IE: You love DC. Maybe you'll love NYC?

Anyway, there is a lot of talk on this board and top-law-schools.com about both schools. Here's where my biased analysis comes in. As an NYU student (class of '11), I can tell you that the quality of faculty here is amazing - as a 1L, I've already been taught torts by Epstein, Civ Pro by Hershkoff, and about to be taught Crim Law by Schulhofer - all three of those professors co-wrote the textbooks on the subjects. The student life is astounding. It's not competitive at all, and I've found students that I can relate to on many levels - whether it's going to see concerts or just playing some Xbox. It just felt right when I visited, and maybe one of the schools will feel right to you when you visit. Good luck and congrats on your acceptances.

[nealric]

I hate to admit it, but NYU is probably the better choice for most people. Placement really is significantly better.

Frankly, NYU would probably give you better job prospects in DC

- Quality of faculty. What are they publishing? What are they doing outside of teaching? Both schools' webpages should have information about that.
- Quality of student body. What'd they do before law school? What are they doing after?
- Student life. For me, this is of supreme importance. Where do students feel comfortable? Is it competitive? Are they friendly? Visiting will show you a LOT about this.
- Intangibles. IE: You love DC. Maybe you'll love NYC?

1. Irrelevant unless you have a very specific niche practice you are set at. Any top school will have top scholars.
2. Again, irrelevant. The student body at a top school will always be of high quality.
3. Important, but is mostly a personal choice. Friendliness will be impossible to evaluate on a quick visit. I would look more at the general environment (do you like the city, etc.)
4. Can be important, but don't lose sight of the fact that a lifetime of employment easily trumps 3 years of school.

[AmyWaxFanClubPresident]

Assuming there isn't a substantial difference in price, you would be crazy not to go to NYU.  NYU places much better in Biglaw, clerkships, top PI, and top gov't jobs, even in DC.  Even if you perceive a difference in student life, this is a professional school, you should be worried about placement.  If we were debating between say Penn and Mich, then I'd say use some other factors as tiebreaks.

[Olto]

I hate to admit it, but NYU is probably the better choice for most people. Placement really is significantly better.

Frankly, NYU would probably give you better job prospects in DC

- Quality of faculty. What are they publishing? What are they doing outside of teaching? Both schools' webpages should have information about that.
- Quality of student body. What'd they do before law school? What are they doing after?
- Student life. For me, this is of supreme importance. Where do students feel comfortable? Is it competitive? Are they friendly? Visiting will show you a LOT about this.
- Intangibles. IE: You love DC. Maybe you'll love NYC?

1. Irrelevant unless you have a very specific niche practice you are set at. Any top school will have top scholars.
2. Again, irrelevant. The student body at a top school will always be of high quality.
3. Important, but is mostly a personal choice. Friendliness will be impossible to evaluate on a quick visit. I would look more at the general environment (do you like the city, etc.)
4. Can be important, but don't lose sight of the fact that a lifetime of employment easily trumps 3 years of school.

1. Completely not true at all. Yes, of course a top school will have "top scholars" - the question is how many top scholars? Who are the top scholars? What are they doing outside of their scholarly work?
2. Also not irrelevant by any measure. There are always going to be moments where you look around and say "how did this student get here?" Yes, even at NYU. A school like Northwestern is going to have more mature students with a different outlook than a school that has 50% of its students coming straight from undergrad. A school like Virginia might have more southerners with a different outlook than a school like Michigan with midwesterners. Or you can look at Yale, where huge numbers go to clerkships. Student make-up is a huge factor. If anything, this should weigh in your favor, with your 550 student class... I'm sure it's pretty diverse.



"I would consider career prospects for median students coming out of both schools to be more important than any of the dimensions you listed."

I didn't list that because that is what the OP asked. I was giving additional factors to consider because I don't know what sites to link to for up-to-date career placement. I know there is http://lawfirmaddict2007.blogspot.com/ but I don't know how reliable that is (tons of missing data) and it also doesn't have much for DC. http://lawfirmaddict.blogspot.com/ is more informative but it is also two years old.



"Also, Hershkoff is a poor man's Arthur Miller.  JSIA."
Hershkoff is f-ing awesome. I love her. And what the heck is JSIA?

[Olto]

I would consider this, but I think it's fair to assume at GULC you'll finish ahead of where you'll finish in NYU. Is this assumption naive? 

So the median placement consideration should be limited a little bit.

Never should assume you'll finish better at some schools than at others, regardless of the rank. Especially when considering that everyone is on the same page during that important first semester.

[nealric]

1. Completely not true at all. Yes, of course a top school will have "top scholars" - the question is how many top scholars? Who are the top scholars? What are they doing outside of their scholarly work?
2. Also not irrelevant by any measure. There are always going to be moments where you look around and say "how did this student get here?" Yes, even at NYU. A school like Northwestern is going to have more mature students with a different outlook than a school that has 50% of its students coming straight from undergrad. A school like Virginia might have more southerners with a different outlook than a school like Michigan with midwesterners. Or you can look at Yale, where huge numbers go to clerkships. Student make-up is a huge factor. If anything, this should weigh in your favor, with your 550 student class... I'm sure it's pretty diverse.

1. Again, unless you have some niche practice area where you need to become familiar with certain scholars, this is not relevant. Any highly ranked school will have plenty of top scholars to satisfy the average law student.

2. All the top law schools have a pretty diverse blend of people. But you won't get to meet your prospective classmates before you go in so any such choice is going to be based on stereotypes and generalizations. I suppose if it is of supreme importance to you to have more non-trads, that might be a factor in choosing NU. However, that should be consideration #88 out of 100. So many other factors are more important.

I would consider this, but I think it's fair to assume at GULC you'll finish ahead of where you'll finish in NYU. Is this assumption naive?
 

Yes, I think it is. Keep in mind that the LSAT/GPAs are not much different between the schools. I think the student bodies will be equally talented at writing law school exams.

[NYC3L]

Just go where you think you'll be happiest. Both schools are great and will set you up well for government if you want it. Firms might be a bit pickier at GULC, but that's not my area of expertise.

[Katfid54]

Not crazy.

<---Picking UT over Harvard.