Michigan ($) v Georgetown ($) for the LRAP-bound Forum

[thatmanheisapoet]

I can't decide. Both will essentially leave me with the same amount of debt, though Michigan will end up being about $10K cheaper after scholarships. Michigan has the superior LRAP and is the superior school. Yet GULC just feels right for me. I have a lot of work experience in government, have been told GULC matches my profile to a tee, and just see myself settling down in DC.

-I think I'll definitely want to end up in the public sector
-I don't want to sit out another year
-I'm kind of a reverse-splitter
-Ties do not play a factor at either place
-I will finance my education with only loans (and Christmas/birthday money of course)

My hunch is you guys will say Michigan. But what if Georgetown ups its offer. How much more is Michigan worth than Georgetown?

Thanks a lot, guys. First post here but browsing the LSAT section really helped me get my score up last year

[stuckinthemiddle]

Chances at government are probably equivalent (maybe an edge to GULC). If they're the same price, go to whichever one you like more (aka GULC).

If you wanted biglaw, it would be a different story.

[sinfiery]

Chances at government are probably equivalent (maybe an edge to GULC). If they're the same price, go to whichever one you like more (aka GULC).

If you wanted biglaw, it would be a different story.

[hephaestus]

How much does it each cost exactly?

[WhatOurBodiesAreFor]

How much does it each cost exactly?

According to his/her poll, looks like 180K and 190K.

I say Michigan, OP. But I'm a 0L and more pro-Michigan than most people on TLS.

[Doorkeeper]

Michigan over Georgetown at equal cost.

[hephaestus]

How much does it each cost exactly?

According to his/her poll, looks like 180K and 190K.

I say Michigan, OP. But I'm a 0L and more pro-Michigan than most people on TLS.

Yeah I would go with Michigan as well.

[PRgradBYU]

Michigan over Georgetown at equal cost.

[gnuwheels]

Georgetown. and i'm at Michigan.

[thatmanheisapoet]

Thanks for the help, all.

Georgetown still feels right, but I do feel a little uncomfortable passing up a cheaper Michigan. Ugh. This is tough. Hopefully Georgetown will up its offer and make the right answer a little more apparent.

Also, I confirm that, per GULC's calculator, Michigan costs ~$180K and GULC ~$190K. This is full price of attendance minus scholarships.

[dixiecupdrinking]

Even if Georgetown matches up well with your interests, I wouldn't want to be competing with probably 300 of my classmates for the few government jobs out there.

Also, you need to understand just how few government jobs there are right now. It's competitive as all hell. These days, many/most people with fed government aspirations will go to biglaw for a few years to get some experience and then try to lateral, because entry level federal opportunities are about as hard to come by as federal clerkships. Maybe harder.

Either way, I think Michigan is the smart play. Better biglaw chances, not a diploma mill, at least equal odds of government work. Georgetown may be in DC and have lots of government connections but that doesn't do you any good when they're interviewing hundreds of people for every job opening.

[20141023]

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[thatmanheisapoet]

Thanks for chiming in, Regulus. Good point

But what you said at least doesn't apply to well to Michigan. All you need to do to qualify for their LRAP is make under $85K. To qualify for GULC's you need to actually do a bit of 'qualifying' along the lines of what you said. I'm not in a position to make any claims in regards to how hard it is to qualify but what you said seems fair.

So, all you people who said Georgetown, is Michigan now firmly my best option?

[dixiecupdrinking]

Thanks for chiming in, Regulus. Good point

But what you said at least doesn't apply to well to Michigan. All you need to do to qualify for their LRAP is make under $85K. To qualify for GULC's you need to actually do a bit of 'qualifying' along the lines of what you said. I'm not in a position to make any claims in regards to how hard it is to qualify but what you said seems fair.

So, all you people who said Georgetown, is Michigan now firmly my best option?

This is a really great perk of the Michigan LRAP, but don't overestimate it. It seems that you only get LRAP benefits for ten years. That's dandy if you're in public interest employment, and thus the federal PSLF program; after ten years your loans are forgiven by the government. If you're in the private sector, however, you still have an additional ten years before you get forgiveness, during which period Michigan won't be helping with your monthly payments. Also, tax bomb. So it's more generous than many programs, for sure, but still not something I would like to rely on if you're going into the private sector.

Honestly though, it's not very helpful to look at the public interest job percentages as having any bearing on placement ability in those jobs. TLS tends to look at biglaw + A3 clerkships as "desirable outcome" placement power. I have my issues with this, but you really can't have it both ways, treating public interest jobs as the "overflow" when looking at whether a school places its graduates well, and then turn around and say that a low number of people going into public interest indicates that the school doesn't place well into public interest. The fact is that neither percentage is that great an indicator of your personal odds of getting either kind of job from any school; you can't just wave your hands and say "putting aside self-selection," when self-selection is the primary determinant of what job someone will take.

[curious66]

Thanks for chiming in, Regulus. Good point

But what you said at least doesn't apply to well to Michigan. All you need to do to qualify for their LRAP is make under $85K. To qualify for GULC's you need to actually do a bit of 'qualifying' along the lines of what you said. I'm not in a position to make any claims in regards to how hard it is to qualify but what you said seems fair.

So, all you people who said Georgetown, is Michigan now firmly my best option?

Being it is almost a wash cost wise, you need to think about the class size here.. there are 600 people at GULC entering + about 80-100 transfers each year. Do you like being in that kind of learning environment? If so, then go for GULC. Anything is possible, but I would advise you look at your own "fit" and make the decision. Both are good schools and DC is a happening place, however, schools in higher ranked than GULC place relatively well in DC (i.e. Michigan and Duke and several others) and people rave about Michigan LRAP program.

[Hrun]

I know Georgetown is attractive because of its PI/Gov't placement versus other T14s, but think carefully about those numbers. From what I've heard, several of their students who end up in PI/Gov't already worked in PI/Gov't in DC, so they already had a foot in the door. Some never really left their job and completed their JD through Georgetown's part-time program. So going to Georgetown doesn't mean you get PI/Gov't work, which you need to qualify for their LRAP program. I'm not saying you can't get these types of jobs from GULC, but proceed with caution.