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April 10, 2004

That Decision...

Falconred has made a decision about where he's going to law school this fall. Almost exactly one year ago I was making the same decision, thinking about the Legal Activism class at GW and whining about trying to get more financial aid. I made a choice based on rankings, and I've since learned that I might have been wiser to base the choice on other criteria, but there you are.

Someday I'll post something about the things I wish I'd done between the time I chose a school and the day school actually started, but that's going to have to wait a bit. As the ai coundown (right) indicates, finals are just a bit more than two weeks away and ConLaw beckons...

The bad part about being finished with the auction: I now have no excuse for not doing my reading or going to class or polishing outlines or taking practice exams. In other words, I have be a law student again now for at least three more weeks. Ick.

Posted April 10, 2004 09:18 AM | law school


I've enjoyed reading your archives and learning more about what it was like when you started law school. I'm about to sign on the dotted line and enroll in GW for next year. Care to expand on why you wish you'd gone elsewhere? Any common myths about GW that you'd like to dispel?

Posted by: Jay at April 10, 2004 08:35 PM

Hmm... Common myths? I'm not sure of any, but I'll give it some thought. My first reaction is: Go to GW if you want to work at a medium to large firm on the East Coast or if you want to work for a government agency or maybe the DOJ. Don't go to GW if you want to do anything else. I know that covers a wide range, but it doesn't cover me (non-firm, probably non-gov't). Also, to like GW you must like an urban campus (obviously) and very cramped hallways, and you must not care about the quality of the library at the school you attend. You'd best not use a Mac if you attend GW, because if you do you'll be persona non grata when it comes to everything computer-related. If you've heard myths that GW does not listen to students and exhibits a general disdain for them as anything other than tuition-payers, that myth is largely true, in my experience. If you've heard that the administration at GW cares a great deal about the school's U.S. News Rank, that also seems true -- see recent renovations to the student lounge, for example, which were clearly driven by aesthetic and not functional concerns. Let's see... Maybe I'll post something about this.

You should also ask Sam over at Veritable Cornucopia, and Scott over at Life, Law, Libido (both are in the ai blogroll). They're the only other GW bloggers I'm aware of and both have been here longer than I have and will likely have a different perspective.

Bottom line: GW is a fine school, and your experience will be what you make it. There are good and obvious reasons it's never ranked as well as Georgetown, while the reasons it ranks so far above American are much less clear. What were your other choices?

Posted by: ambimb at April 12, 2004 01:35 PM

My other choices that I've turned down were AU, GMU, Tulane, Catholic, U of Richmond. I'm still considering W&M. I'm waitlisted at GULC (pt) and W&L.

I think I'm going to go to GW, I'm just hesitent primarily because of the cost. Thanks so much for answering my questions!

Posted by: Jay at April 16, 2004 04:58 PM

Tulane what! I decided not to go there either, but still. Aw. Tulane. OK, I'm done.

Posted by: Mary at April 17, 2004 04:21 PM

Mary,

What's the problem with Tulane? Or do you like it? I don't get how it fell 11 in the rankings this year.

Posted by: Jay at April 19, 2004 11:20 AM

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