So I have been extended an offer by all three Law Schools. Emory with Scholarship, Vanderbilt and American University WCL. I have a keen interest in International Law so Washington College of Law will come across as a great option but I was offered a Merit Scholarship by Emory which has a great program and is much higher than WCL in the Law School rankings. What about Vanderbilt? Any sort of input from people that have been in a similar situation will be appreciated.

in your shoes, I'd go to Emory. Vanderbilt is a great school, perhaps slightly better than Emory (according to rankings at least), but the scholarship changes everything

in your shoes, I'd go to Emory. Vanderbilt is a great school, perhaps slightly better than Emory (according to rankings at least), but the scholarship changes everything

a scholarship is also something you want to boast on your resume. Unless Vanderbilt is your dream school, I'd definitively go to Emory. Besides, the market for legal professions should offer more opportunities in Atlanta than in Nashville

That is a tough decision. If American gave you a scholarship, I would easily recommend it over Emory and Vanderbilt for the following reasons.

Over the years, American has consistently been ranked one of the best programs in international law. At the moment they are ranked #5, one spot below Columbia, and above schools like Berkeley, Yale, Michigan, and Duke. American has a great reputation in international law both among scholars and practitioners, in particular, in public international law (it is one of the best in human rights), and has some top notch faculty. American is also located in Washington DC, the home of the World Bank, IMF, countless NGOs, etc., to which you would have access for possible internships. The con for American is the price tag. As with most DC schools, it is not cheap.

As for the other two schools, both have very good JD programs. You should understand that the law school rankings which you refer to are exclusively for the US JD program only (they really do not have much to do with the LL.M. program). That being said, both Emory and Vanderbilt are great universities, in general. They have excellent programs across the board, not just great law schools. As far as international law though, I am not sure. If I had to pick between those two, I would pick Emory, simply because they are giving you a scholarship to cover the tuition, but the other thing to keep in mind is the location. Neither Atlanta nor Nashville are particularly great places places for internships/jobs. Washington, DC, NYC, Chicago are where you want to be.

a scholarship is also something you want to boast on your resume. Unless Vanderbilt is your dream school, I'd definitively go to Emory. Besides, the market for legal professions should offer more opportunities in Atlanta than in Nashville

a scholarship is also something you want to boast on your resume. Unless Vanderbilt is your dream school, I'd definitively go to Emory. Besides, the market for legal professions should offer more opportunities in Atlanta than in Nashville

Scholarship on a resume does not do much. As for job markets, neither Atlanta nor Nashville are particularly good, and especially if you are interested in international work.


Post Script - Emory Law does have an international humanitarian law clinic as well as a good selection of courses in international human rights and humanitarian law. So if public international law is what you are interested in, and taking your scholarship into account, Emory would seem like the better choice between Emory and Vanderbilt (I still think American would be the best because of the international law curriculum it offers and the location but the price tag is a tad too high). I still think Atlanta is a dump with not a whole lot of internship opportunities, if any, in international work (you want to be in DC or NYC for those) but Emory is a good choice, as a school.

UCLA is a fantastic university with an equally fantastic law school, not to mention that the law school has a very strong reputation when it comes to international law. They really are one of the best law schools when it comes to international law, international human rights. They have some outstanding faculty members.

To be honest, I am not sure about LA's international law market. I live in Los Angeles and I know that it is a more entertainment law and business law driven legal job market. Some of the larger firms in the area do have international law practice groups but Los Angeles is not DC or NYC. That being said, I believe that UCLA does have an international externship program, albeit a lot of the placements seem to be with organizations in Washington, DC (i.e. Agency for International Development). I would check with them about externship placement.

Personally, I think Los Angeles, in general, is significantly nicer than Atlanta. You have an ocean to the west, mountains to the east. If you enjoy the outdoors, it is a great place. The city has a lot to offer in terms of cultural happenings; there are lots of museums and other cultural institutions. Los Angeles is a very multicultural city with an international vibe (you can find virtually any cuisine in Los Angeles, from Nigerian, Thai, Guatemalan, to Swiss, Polish, etc.). As far as UCLA goes, it is not only an elite university, it has a beautiful campus, in a very nice area of Los Angeles. The only negative about LA is that public transportation is not the best. You can get around on buses, but it can take quite some time.

That being said, Emory does have a very good reputation overall, and it does enjoy a strong reputation in international law. Neither Atlanta nor Los Angeles have particularly strong legal markets when it comes to international law matters. If Emory, in fact, is giving you a complete scholarship, maybe it would be worth going to Emory. I am not sure if LA's nice weather is worth the $30,000-$40,000 that you would have to pay at UCLA. If you could go to Emory for, essentially, free perhaps it is worth it. I would check with Emory about whether they offer any externships/internships with an international law flavor.

Thanks. By the way, It's a partial scholarship.