The Decision: In Search Of An Upturned Collar
If you love UVA Law "culture," and you get into UVA Law, do you really have a choice?
Elie here. Let me just preempt all of the “Should I still go to #ASSLaw?” questions. The answer is no, you should not go to #ASSLaw fka George Mason Law if the name change actually bothers you. Savvy? If you actually care that the school is named after Justice Antonin Scalia, then you are not going to enjoy going to school with a bunch of faculty who agree with him. There are tons of left-of-center law schools, filled to the gills with liberal faculty, Bernie Sanders supporters, and on-campus abortion clinics. Leave the three or four law schools on the other side as a “safe space” for people who think the Bible is a good statutory template, or whatever. Potential ASSoL students should be pumped about the name change. People who hate it are free to matriculate somewhere else.
With that out of the way, let’s turn our attention to a more interesting battleground in the law school culture wars: Virginia’s flagship institution, UVA Law School. Today, we’ve got a guy who wants to know if he should pay more to pop his collar:
I’ve been working in litigation consulting in Washington, DC for the past four years and I’m finally ready to get a J.D. Experiential learning is important to me, and I want to do a clerkship or judicial internship before moving to Biglaw litigation after graduation, ideally in DC. Here are the options I’m considering:
1. UVA with no money. I’m really drawn to the UVA culture, and it’s statistically the best of the bunch with Biglaw and clerkship placement. I think it would be useful to spend some time away from DC for perspective, and Charlottesville is appealing.
2. Georgetown with $15k per year. Georgetown has great clinical programs and does well with placement in DC, but not as well as UVA, and is generally less prestigious. Financially it may come out as a wash compared to UVA based on the higher cost of living, but it would be easy to stay in my current living situation.
3. Michigan with $25k per year. It’s very close to family and (relatively) cheap! But here’s the problem: I hate the University of Michigan! I hate Ann Arbor! Every interaction with an admissions representative or a faculty member or a student has been painful! The thought of spending three years here terrifies me!
4. GW part-time program with $20k per year. I could keep working and graduate mostly debt-free. But in doing so I would forego any clinical programs or summer internship opportunities.
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I’ve got to admit, a shiver went up my spine when I read, “I’m really drawn to the UVA culture.” Who says that? “I’m trying to decide if I should go on vacation to Ireland or Australia. Australia is a little more expensive, but I’m really drawn to a kangaroo’s asshole, so…”
Let’s start by eliminating schools. You are not going to GW because you said “clerkship” and “Biglaw,” not “hustle” and “luck.” There aren’t many schools that can offer significantly better changes at Biglaw to justify a higher cost, but UVA, GULC, and Michigan can.
Except you aren’t going to Michigan either because you hate it. And that makes sense because a UVA Law soul trapped in a Michigan Law student’s body could be a torture dreamed up by Dante.
That leaves you with GULC Plus-$15K vs. UVA. Under normal circumstances, GULC is clearly the right answer. You work in D.C. already, so you can keep your professional contacts. Georgetown does in fact have great clinical programs. And it’s offering you $15,000 to take a minor prestige hit.
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But there is nothing quite like UVA Law. And if you like that sort of thing, well, I don’t know man, you gotta follow your heart. You can’t choose what you love, and if you love… softball, you kind of have to do you.
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I’m getting a feeling of déjà vu. As was the case in our last Decision post, I actually don’t think Elie is off his rocker. What is wrong with me?
I agree with him on why you shouldn’t do GW or Michigan (plus, Michigan is cold). And I agree that UVA versus Georgetown is a reasonably close call. You mentioned an interest in clerking; if that interest is very strong, then UVA might be your best bet. It’s a top school for aspiring clerks, and outside the top six schools, it’s the place to go if you harbor Supreme Ambitions.
But let’s say clerking is a secondary interest, and you’re really more focused on Biglaw and on having an overall satisfying legal career. In that case, there’s much to be said for Georgetown Law with a $45,000 scholarship over UVA Law with no money.
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As Elie noted, the prestige difference here is minor. In the latest U.S. News rankings, UVA is #8 and Georgetown is #14. That’s not a huge gap — and if you feel bad about it, take the $45K and buy yourself a Lexus.
In the 2015 ATL rankings, which are based almost entirely on employment outcomes, there’s a somewhat bigger gap — UVA is #6 and Georgetown is #20. I attribute that mainly to GULC’s large size, which results in the very bottom of the class having a tough time in the job market. But if do decently at Georgetown, as I’m sure you will, it’s highly unlikely that you’ll end up on welfare.
If you weigh the small prestige gap against (1) the extra $45,000, (2) the ability to stay in your place in D.C. (disclosure: I despise moving more than anything), and (3) the general superiority of D.C. as a place to live over Charlottesville (C-ville is beautiful but sleepy, and has a much smaller dating pool if you’re single), then I say go with Georgetown.
(But I say that with ambivalence. This is a close call, and if you’re dead-set on clerking, then do UVA.)
You’ve heard from us. Readers, time for you to vote.
Where should this aspiring law student enroll?
Loading ...Earlier: George Mason Law Changing Name To Antonin Scalia School Of Law
The Decision: Plunging Back In
