ED WUSTL or Top 14?

Princess

I am just wondering what you guys are thinking about when choosing law schools to apply to. I feel that I wanted to go to Top 14, but when I look at the possibly ED full ride at WUSTL, it does seem very compelling. Why would you apply to Top 14 or WUSTL ED? Why wouldn't you? I noticed that WUSTL did have about 76 students who went to firms with 500+ people. Would that be big law? Would you likely have the same chance at big law from WUSTL and Top 14? It appears that Top 14 means better chances at Big Law and 160-180k salaries, but is that still possibly from WUSTL? I may be wrong though, so thank you for any clarifications!

MissChanandler

I think it depends on your GPA and LSAT. With high numbers, they give very generous scholarships without ED.

Leah M B

Well, it would depend on more specifics with your goals and what your numbers are. If you are a shoe-in for a T14 (170+ LSAT, 3.8+ GPA), I'd likely not ED WUSTL. Yes, you can get biglaw from WUSTL and it is a very big school. However, if you definitely want biglaw, a much higher percentage of graduates are able to attain that from a T14. So, the odds are more in your favor there. For some people, finances are not as much of a concern (savings/spouse/parents to help pay, GI bill, etc). In that case, T14 would almost certainly be a better option.

If money is more of a concern to you (financing entirely with loans), then that should affect your choices. Northwestern is one of the most generous T14s for scholarships. If you have awesome numbers, you may be able to get a big scholarship to NU or Cornell, and that would put you in a way better position to get biglaw than WUSTL.

You should also keep location in mind though. If you're from the (non-Chicago) midwest and really want to stay there, WUSTL would be equal or maybe even better than a T14. They're going to love a local that went to a great school in the area. You will need to be one of the better students there though, which is always a bit of a gamble. However, if you have awesome numbers, you're also likely to get not just full tuition but also a stipend from WUSTL. So, EDing there would maybe not be as good of a choice as just a regular application.

I think ED to WUSTL is a great option for someone who's numbers are probably going to be a bit shy of getting in to a T14, or is sure that they would want to attend there and wouldn't get a better scholarship from a T14. WUSTL is also very generous with scholarships, so if you want to keep your options open and have a 168+ with a 3.8+, applying regular decision would be likely to get you a full scholarship anyway, so the ED isn't necessary.

Hope that helps some!

10000019

Another thing to consider is that not all big firms are the same.