W&M vs Emory?

[marlinspike]

Thoughts on William and Mary vs Emory?
In addition to seeking general thoughts, I wonder if anybody knows how they compare in the Charlotte, Richmond, and DC markets.

[ElectricalStorm]

NALP - Firms interviewing on campus:

Richmond - 10 (W&M), 2 (Emory)
DC - 43 (W&M), 27 (Emory)
Charlotte - 6 (W&M), 9 (Emory)

If you are looking to stick in the Virginia/DC area, I would say W&M is the place to go between the two. The name is well respected in the area, and your proximity shows some dedication to staying in the region. That being said, I would think about the kind of location where you want to study. Williamsburg and Atlanta are very different places, though I will say that Williamsburg is a nice place to spend three yars.

[marlinspike]

NALP - Firms interviewing on campus:

Richmond - 10 (W&M), 2 (Emory)
DC - 43 (W&M), 27 (Emory)
Charlotte - 6 (W&M), 9 (Emory)

If you are looking to stick in the Virginia/DC area, I would say W&M is the place to go between the two. The name is well respected in the area, and your proximity shows some dedication to staying in the region. That being said, I would think about the kind of location where you want to study. Williamsburg and Atlanta are very different places, though I will say that Williamsburg is a nice place to spend three yars.

Thanks, that helps a lot. As far as location to live in I can say I definitley prefer Williamsburg, I was just thinking that Emory might have better job opportunities overall, but I guess even if they do it's not enough to matter in the places where I want to work (I don't really mind that more from Charlotte recruit at Emory since I know the ones in Charlotte that recruit at W&M and those are basically the ones that matter to me).

I guess as much as I like to think I'm better being a slave to US News, I was put off a little by W&M's slipping and Emory's moving up. Still, I'd really like to get into Duke (or my waitlists, but if I got into Duke outright I would not bother with the waitlists), but I think otherwise I'm going to W&M.

[chris23]

What about the rankings difference now that Emory moved up and W&M moved down so much?  I was pretty much all set now on W&M although I would have preferred to stay in the DC area.  I'm originally from Atlanta though and there are some pluses about returning.  Cost wise Emory will be about $5k more a year for me.  What do you guys think?  If I want to end up in DC when law school is all said and done where should I go? 

[Refused Party Program]

First let me say, that I'm going to Emory. That being said, I think you might need to dig deeper into the rankings.

I know a lot of people like to talk about one school moving up or down, however, I think it is more important to look at long term historicals if you are going to look solely at US News rankings. There was a spreadsheet someone cooked up with this information. For Emory and W&M, not counting the 2008 rankings:

School       avg for last 12yrs    avg for last 6 yrs    avg for last 3 yrs

Emory                25.9                  26.2                  27
W&M                  30.16                 29.5                  27.7

Within "clusters" schools tend to move around. I think Emory and W&M are a little closer in reputation than you might think. Considering W&M is giving you $ and Emory is not, I think that should weigh into your decision. I don't think oppotunity (salary) is going to be much different coming out of either school. I've heard Emory is better for national rep, but, that is just on these boards, so I dont really have anything backing that up.

However, if you are interested in DC and Richmond, I would think you best bet is GW if you are paying full price. It has a good rep in it's area, and some national rep as well. I'm not sure why you aren't considering it here, based on your parameters.

[marlinspike]

However, if you are interested in DC and Richmond, I would think you best bet is GW if you are paying full price. It has a good rep in it's area, and some national rep as well. I'm not sure why you aren't considering it here, based on your parameters.

I don't want to live at home, and if I go to GW that's what I'll have to do (parents have been mid-divorce since this past summer, home is not exactly the best study environment). With the fellowship I have, W&M is going to cost me about $12k/year. Granted my dad is paying, but we aren't exactly made of money, my lack of financial aid is complicated. I do know GW has a better national rep than W&M, though I get the feeling that in Charlotte their rep isn't that much better. Another thing is that my current undergrad (a fairly similar school to W&M - small town, liberal arts - I realize W&M isn't considered liberal arts, but it seems like that type of place - south of the Mason Dixon) has taught me the value of quality of life, and from what I hear GW is much more in the style of typical DC (people see each other as competition, that sort of thing).

Furthermore, I want to apply to move into a JD/MBA joint degree, and GW's business school kinda stinks (plus, honestly GW has a recently good med school and a good law school, and that's about it - talk to people of our parents generation and they'll tell you that GW was basically pretty bad and GMU and AU were basically community colleges).

Part of the rankings jump I think was all the 20's ties. I don't yet have the 2008 magazine in hand, but if you look at the 2007 rankings, W&M moving down one slot and Emory moving up one slot would make a rankings change of -5 and +4 respectively.

[marlinspike]

NALP - Firms interviewing on campus:

Richmond - 10 (W&M), 2 (Emory)
DC - 43 (W&M), 27 (Emory)
Charlotte - 6 (W&M), 9 (Emory)

If you are looking to stick in the Virginia/DC area, I would say W&M is the place to go between the two. The name is well respected in the area, and your proximity shows some dedication to staying in the region. That being said, I would think about the kind of location where you want to study. Williamsburg and Atlanta are very different places, though I will say that Williamsburg is a nice place to spend three yars.

Where on the NALP website do you find those numbers about recruiting on campus?

[General2010]

I know you crossed Wake from your list, but if you really wanted to practice in Charlotte (which it seems like you do from your posts), wouldn't Wake give you the best options in terms of recruiting out of the schools you're considering?

[marlinspike]

Thanks for the replies guys. I definitley don't want to work in ATL. I like Charlotte, but from what I know (admittedly purely anecdotally), the Charlotte firms that I care about do recruit from W&M. On top of that, I may want to work in DC...and Richmond has always looked like a nice city to me also. Since I'm not totally decided on where I want to work, but I know it's somewhere in that region, I'm thinking W&M is the best for me. I've sent in my intent form, and unless I get some waitlist magic it looks like that's where I'll be going.

[aerynn]

I think all the ties that were broken contributed to W&M's rankings fall this year.  Emory has also been artificially deflated a little the past two years, because two years ago their dean forgot to submit the post-grad employment info, so US News used a 0% for that figure, plunging them in the rankings for a season.  This affected their applicant pool and now they are returning to where they were before the plunge.  I don't think either school has significantly improved or gotten worse in the past 3 years.

W&M is about to have the library double in size, which should help next rankings round, but Emory has a great library already.  In fact, when I visited, about the only think I really liked was the library.

Emory's absolutely best market is Atlanta.  If you don't want to work there, then Emory might not be worth it.  Law is all about the networking, much more than even who participates in OCI.  Richmond is great for W&M.  Wake is probably your best bet for NC.  GW is best for DC.  I would think that all of these choices will do well in VA and NC, so go with your gut . . . . where do you want to be for the next 3 years and how close to that place do you want to land after graduation? 

Good luck with your choice!  I think for you it should be all about what seems like a good fit, because ranking and location-wise, your choices are close enough to each other that it isn't that decisive.