- PowerScore Staff
- Posts: 8916
- Joined: Feb 02, 2011
- Fri Jun 30, 2017 5:01 pm
#36596
What follows is the transcript of a conversation between a student, Tiffany, and one of our Admissions gurus, Dave, regarding Tiffany's law school choice between two schools.
Tiffany: "Hi Dave! I'm currently trying to decide between UT Austin and Georgetown. I would only be paying about 50% tuition at UT Austin and basically sticker at Georgetown. I'm not entirely sure which legal field I'd like to study/work in, so my main concern is that I wouldn't have as many opportunities to explore internships/jobs at UT as I would at Georgetown. I am quite interested in human rights, but I expect to work at a big law firm for a few years after graduating. I'm from California but wouldn't be opposed to working in NYC for a while; I'm not in a rush to return to LA/SF. As much as I love Austin (and am attracted to the low cost of living), I don't know how long I would like to live and work there for. If I go to Georgetown, I'd likely try to find a job in NYC after graduating, but I'm worried the competition will be stiff because the market is so saturated by Top 10 schools in the region. I'm still waitlisted at NYU, Columbia, & UPenn, but if I commit to Georgetown this week, I'd have to withdraw those applications. Any advice would be much appreciated!"
Dave Killoran: "Hi Tiffany, I'll be honest, this isn't a tough choice if it was me. I'd take the 50% off and go to Texas. It's a great school, and this year finally edged ahead of Gtown in the rankings.
Jobs-wise, your lack of certainty about your future further strengthens my idea that Texas is a solid choice since Tex grads place pretty much everywhere, and Texas even outperforms Gtown on Clerkships. It's also notable that the 1L class at Texas is much smaller than Georgetown, which is huge (576 1Ls at GULC in 2016 vs 295 at Texas).
I certainly understand the appeal of Gtown--I was born in the area and later went to high school there. DC is the center of our political world and anyone with a legal interest has to be enticed by being just around the from the SCOTUS.
I suppose the bottom line in my opinion is that Texas and Georgetown are seen as very similar schools, but in this case you get Texas for half the cost. I'd personally take the money but you need to do what feels best for you. I'd love to hear what you decide. Thanks!"
Tiffany: "Hey Dave, I ended up e-mailing Gtown and received 1/3 off tuition! Do you think UT's current ranking is really that significant when Gtown's has historically been higher? I feel like those rankings are always changing, so I can't tell how reliable they are each year. Just hoping Gtown's doesn't continue in the wrong direction, while UT's continues to go up!"
Dave Killoran: "Hi Tiffany, Great job! I don't think the rankings much matter here as both schools have generally be stable for a while. No one can predict the future of course, and Gtown does have a massive 1L class but I don't see them dropping out of the Top 20.
I didn't base my recommendation on ranking, though. I based it on cost, so even though you received 1/3 off (and it's really telling to me that a simple email resulted in that decrease), UT is still cheaper and so if it was me I'd still take UT. But this is your decision, not mine, and you have to do what you think is best
"
Tiffany: "Hi Dave! I'm currently trying to decide between UT Austin and Georgetown. I would only be paying about 50% tuition at UT Austin and basically sticker at Georgetown. I'm not entirely sure which legal field I'd like to study/work in, so my main concern is that I wouldn't have as many opportunities to explore internships/jobs at UT as I would at Georgetown. I am quite interested in human rights, but I expect to work at a big law firm for a few years after graduating. I'm from California but wouldn't be opposed to working in NYC for a while; I'm not in a rush to return to LA/SF. As much as I love Austin (and am attracted to the low cost of living), I don't know how long I would like to live and work there for. If I go to Georgetown, I'd likely try to find a job in NYC after graduating, but I'm worried the competition will be stiff because the market is so saturated by Top 10 schools in the region. I'm still waitlisted at NYU, Columbia, & UPenn, but if I commit to Georgetown this week, I'd have to withdraw those applications. Any advice would be much appreciated!"
Dave Killoran: "Hi Tiffany, I'll be honest, this isn't a tough choice if it was me. I'd take the 50% off and go to Texas. It's a great school, and this year finally edged ahead of Gtown in the rankings.
Jobs-wise, your lack of certainty about your future further strengthens my idea that Texas is a solid choice since Tex grads place pretty much everywhere, and Texas even outperforms Gtown on Clerkships. It's also notable that the 1L class at Texas is much smaller than Georgetown, which is huge (576 1Ls at GULC in 2016 vs 295 at Texas).
I certainly understand the appeal of Gtown--I was born in the area and later went to high school there. DC is the center of our political world and anyone with a legal interest has to be enticed by being just around the from the SCOTUS.
I suppose the bottom line in my opinion is that Texas and Georgetown are seen as very similar schools, but in this case you get Texas for half the cost. I'd personally take the money but you need to do what feels best for you. I'd love to hear what you decide. Thanks!"
Tiffany: "Hey Dave, I ended up e-mailing Gtown and received 1/3 off tuition! Do you think UT's current ranking is really that significant when Gtown's has historically been higher? I feel like those rankings are always changing, so I can't tell how reliable they are each year. Just hoping Gtown's doesn't continue in the wrong direction, while UT's continues to go up!"
Dave Killoran: "Hi Tiffany, Great job! I don't think the rankings much matter here as both schools have generally be stable for a while. No one can predict the future of course, and Gtown does have a massive 1L class but I don't see them dropping out of the Top 20.
I didn't base my recommendation on ranking, though. I based it on cost, so even though you received 1/3 off (and it's really telling to me that a simple email resulted in that decrease), UT is still cheaper and so if it was me I'd still take UT. But this is your decision, not mine, and you have to do what you think is best
"