UGA (sticker) vs Emory ($$$) -- Need help deciding ASAP Forum

[criticialmass]

Hey everyone,

I'm stuck with a bit of a dilemma here. I am looking to go to law school in Georgia, and am planning to stay in the region to practice most likely, although having a portable degree would be nice to keep options open. I like both Atlanta and Athens, so location is not a big concern for me, and neither is cost of living. With the option of either 20k per year at Emory or sticker price at UGA (making it roughly 25k/yr for Emory and 15k/yr for UGA), is it worth the extra money to go to Emory? Although I do not want an extended career in BigLaw, I would like the opportunity to work in it, and don't know what to do. I have visited both law schools and liked them both very much, so I am having a hell of a time deciding. This is a very time sensitive decision, so any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!


Edit: I neglected to mention before that I am planning on doing the joint JD/MBA program, and the quality of the MBA program at the respective law schools is important to me as well. In 2011's USNWR for MBA programs, Emory's business school is ranked 23rd and UGA's 57th. Just wanted to mention this in case it affects anyone's suggestions. Thanks again for all the help.

[waitingisfun]

An extra 30k is a lot to me for a school that doesn't place better in Georgia. In terms of flexibility UGA will give you options throughout the South-East region. If you wanted to end up in North Carolina or something like that it would be possible. However, it is true that Emory will give you a higher chance to leave the South-East region since it places relatively well in New York. Honestly though, if you do well at UGA you will probably land a job at a large law firm in Atlanta which down the road could offer promotions to work in other offices across the country.

If you are happy living in the South-East region than go to UGA for 30k less. If you want to get out and go to New York than go to Emory. But honestly if you are trying to go to New York a school like Fordham (similar in selectivity) would probably be better.

[scammedhard]

UGA all the way. It's cheaper and Emory is on the ropes. No one yet knows what will be the effect of the very negative news articles about Emory.

[Rooney]

OP, it's definitely a tough call. In GA, it seems like Emory is the better choice for practicing out of state. UGA is pretty much viewed as the holy grail for in state practice. I've been working at a firm in Savannah, GA for 2 1/2 years and have only met one Emory grad. Seems like 40% went to UGA; 40% Mercer; and the remaining 20% consist of Ga State, other southeastern schools and Emory.

IMO, the differences between the two don't merit the extra $ for Emory. Doing well at UGA will get you biglaw opportunities in Atlanta and make you a great asset in any other GA city. (If you haven't already, look at the employment stats from each school.) At the end of the day, you have two great options, so don't be unduly stressed (Don't know how much stock you put in USNWR rankings, but UGA is ranked 35; Emory 30)

[AtticusPinch]

Wow. Never thought I'd see the day where Emory was offering someone a scholly and UGA wasn't.

[Omerta]

UGA all the way. It's cheaper and Emory is on the ropes. No one yet knows what will be the effect of the very negative news articles about Emory.

Hey "scammedhard" this is quite possibly the worst reason to not attend Emory because it's not a real reason. Not everyone spends all day frantically refreshing abovethelaw. Comments like this just flabbergast me.


OP: It's your call. I had a similar decision (UF at in-state sticker v. Emory with slightly more money) and I chose Emory.
UGA
Pros: cheaper, essentially identical placement in-state, excellent network, you wouldn't constantly face questions about whether you planned to go North.
Cons: Athens isn't really a city conducive to getting things done, you also don't have the externship/networking opportunities you have in Atlanta, Emory has better out-of-state placement despite what the bizarre trolls on this board suggest.

Bad news: median at either place is a bad place to be. In my opinion, it depends on what your career goals are. If you're pretty sure you want to stay in state, then I would probably pick UGA. Please feel free to PM me if you have questions; I'll try to answer any remaining questions you may have.

Wow. Never thought I'd see the day where Emory was offering someone a scholly and UGA wasn't.

Emory gives out tons of money, especially with in-state kids.

Hey "scammedhard" this is quite possibly the worst reason to not attend Emory because it's not a real reason. Not everyone spends all day frantically refreshing abovethelaw. Comments like this just flabbergast me.

Well, I respectfully disagree. I do believe that negative press articles have consequences, and, therefore, I believe that they are a "real" reason.

That's a very civil reply, sorry but I was worried you were just trolling by your username. We'll see in a few days, our OCI list is released in 5 days.

[scammedhard]

Hey "scammedhard" this is quite possibly the worst reason to not attend Emory because it's not a real reason. Not everyone spends all day frantically refreshing abovethelaw. Comments like this just flabbergast me.

Well, I respectfully disagree. I do believe that negative press articles have consequences, and, therefore, I believe that they are a "real" reason.

[criticialmass]

Thank you guys for all of the feedback. This is still a very tough decision, but the consensus seems to be that unless I have plans of traveling out of the southeast, Emory just isn't worth it. I'm going to sleep on it tonight, and anyone else with an opinion I would love to hear it.

[mrwarre85]

UGA's 75th LSAT is Emorys 25th. Emory is a name brand that has been around for a long time, no recent internet gossip is going to affect it. Emory has a judges lawyers score that is significantly higher than UGA's. Emory is located in the city where the UGA grads want to work. To a layman, Emory is a very respectable professional school, UGA is know as the "dawgs" and will illicit conversations about a football team. UGA has a fine law school but it is not a peer law school to Emory.

Totally Emory.

[nmcdgt]

I've seen a lot of threads on this topic. Georgia seems to place just as well in the southeast as Emory -- with less cost -- while Emory seems to place better outside the region and in BigLaw specifically. I think both are great schools, and assuming the debt or cost of living won't be an overwhelming problem, you can't go wrong with either. You just have to visit both and figure out which is the best fit for you. You can't underestimate how important feeling comfortable at a school is.

[criticialmass]

I slept on it and it's not getting any easier. The cheaper tuition definitely is attractive but so is the degree portability. Then again, I would prefer living in Atlanta area over athens, but at the same time, I would like to do a joint m.b.a. and that isn't financially feasible at emory, unfortunately (42k vs 10k tuition for 1 year of MBA at emory and uga respectively). ughhhh

[BruceWayne]

....

[CanadianWolf]

University of Georgia School of Law is the better choice, in my opinion.

[Bill Cosby]

UGA would be the obvious choice if Emory was at sticker, but with that much scholarship, I think it really comes down to where you want to be for the next three years.

Also, unless I misunderstood, you're estimating 5k a year for COL. That seems really unrealistic.

[bk1]

UGA's 75th LSAT is Emorys 25th. Emory is a name brand that has been around for a long time, no recent internet gossip is going to affect it. Emory has a judges lawyers score that is significantly higher than UGA's. Emory is located in the city where the UGA grads want to work. To a layman, Emory is a very respectable professional school, UGA is know as the "dawgs" and will illicit conversations about a football team. UGA has a fine law school but it is not a peer law school to Emory.

Totally Emory.

Emory's scores are likely better because it is more well known out of state than UGA. As others have said, I'm not convinced the difference in GA is anything other than marginal.

[splittinghairs]

UGA's 75th LSAT is Emorys 25th. Emory is a name brand that has been around for a long time, no recent internet gossip is going to affect it. Emory has a judges lawyers score that is significantly higher than UGA's. Emory is located in the city where the UGA grads want to work. To a layman, Emory is a very respectable professional school, UGA is know as the "dawgs" and will illicit conversations about a football team. UGA has a fine law school but it is not a peer law school to Emory.

Totally Emory.

Emory's median LSAT is 166. UGA's median GPA (3.7) is higher than Emory's 75th (3.69). But seriously, employers dont care what your UG GPA or LSAT was, so these shouldnt even be a consideration.

To me its a matter of the OP asking the question of whether or not he/she wants to pay 30k for the option of working in the Northeast.
How sure are you about working in GA?
If you do want to work in GA, then 30k extra is simply not worth it for Emory.

[CanadianWolf]

I believe that Univ. of Georgia has done well with clerkships--especially SCOTUS in the past few years.

[sch0123]

OP, I think you need to really consider the campus you'd rather be on for the next three years, since Athens and north Atlanta are so very different. It sounds like you'd be perfectly happy working in GA or the surrounding area initially, so I'd think that would give UGA a heads up since it's cheaper. After you land a first job degree portability won't be as much of a factor. Especially if you definitely want that dual degree.

[nickwar]

1

[Bill Cosby]

UGA without second guessing (it was my choice). Why would you ever shell out $200+k for Emory, especially when Emory has been falling in rank each year and is only 5 spots ahead of UGA? It makes no sense.

In-state tuition @ UGA is something like $14,000 now. COL is also quite cheap in Athens. Compare to $40k(?) at Emory + a significantly-higher COL in Atlanta.

UGA places comparably with Emory in the Atlanta area. If you want to work in Atlanta there is absolutely no reason to consider Emory @ literally 3x+ the cost of UGA. And don't make the mistake of thinking a degree from Emory is significantly "portable" any more.

I'm also surprised UGA didn't offer you scholarship $$$. Maybe you could ask?

COL won't be significantly higher at Emory, though the OP's COL estimates are too low in general.

[mrwarre85]

UGA without second guessing (it was my choice). Why would you ever shell out $200+k for Emory, especially when Emory has been falling in rank each year and is only 5 spots ahead of UGA? It makes no sense.

In-state tuition @ UGA is something like $14,000 now. COL is also quite cheap in Athens. Compare to $40k(?) at Emory + a significantly-higher COL in Atlanta.

UGA places comparably with Emory in the Atlanta area. If you want to work in Atlanta there is absolutely no reason to consider Emory @ literally 3x+ the cost of UGA. And don't make the mistake of thinking a degree from Emory is significantly "portable" any more.

I'm also surprised UGA didn't offer you scholarship $$$. Maybe you could ask?

CoA for the two schools is within 30k. It so weird reading "take UGA without second guessing." No way anyone says that two years ago, and that is why I think this whole thread is ridiculous.

Emory is going to be fine, everyone.

EDIT: Two years ago they were a top 20 school! They will be back there as soon as they shake up their admissions office.

[Rooney]

COL won't be significantly higher at Emory, though the OP's COL estimates are too low in general.

Hell yes it will. Things in Atlanta cost significantly more than in Athens. In my experience....beer.

[nmcdgt]

Lot of feedback on this one. UGA vs Emory seems to have been a hotly debated issue for a long time now, very interesting to read the responses.

[Aberzombie1892]

If I read that the COA was within $30K for both of them, Emory definitely.

[de5igual]

Despite all this negative press, Emory is still the better school. It's just that it's not worth $$$ more than UGA, but since cost is relatively close at this point, Emory's the better choice.