George Mason Law School Admissions Interview 

Were you admitted?

why? they don't have great employment numbers and the median salary of a graduate is five figures

@@darbymckilkannoncaid3279 Hey Andrew, I thought about doing ED too at GMU initially. I'd advise against ED unless you are really trying to go to that specific school and are willing to lose some ground in potential scholarship negotiation. I ended up using my ED at George Washington since it's a higher caliber school. I then rescinded my own ED status in my GW application as I was very hesitant to commit anywhere that wasn't T16. I ended up getting into George Mason: Scalia with about a 63% scholarship. - Darby is right to some degree that you should consider median income numbers when looking at schools, but it's important to look at medians between public and private sectors. While the median salary overall may be 5 figures, George Mason's median private starting salary seems like it's anywhere from 140k - 150k according to Law School Transparency and USNews, respectively. These numbers can be misleading in and of themselves however, because they are self-reported and only 29.2% reported their salaries at GMU, making it less reliable to some extent. I recommend using the Law School Transparency website and comparing schools by salary and by placement in national firms if you are interested in 6 figure starting salaries.

@@efficiencybill2843 honestly, the only reason to go hard for GMU is if you want to get involved in the conservative political machine. The school is great if you're on that side of the aisle, a number of respected conservative professors graduated from the school. But there are too many better ranked schools in the DC/VA region for me to otherwise endorse the plan. But everything E.B. is saying about negotiating scholarships is also very important. Applying to peer schools by region and rank will help you get the most bang for your buck. I talked a T14 school into offering me a scholarship because a regional school that was much lower ranked offered me a sizable scholarship.

@@darbymckilkannoncaid3279 I wish I were lucky enough to get into a T14! I'm crossing my fingers on UNC (#24), but as of now, GMU is my best ranked acceptance and best scholarship offer. I do know that the professors are mostly right-leaning, but there is a large left-leaning student body to balance it out. As long as I objectively learn the mechanisms of law, I think I can remain neutral to the political sway. :) I'm not looking to go into politics. I'd ideally love to join a national or well-paying regional firm, but I know T14 is crucial for that national firm placement life. I'll try my best and see if I can't eventually transfer into a better school or stay at the top 5-10% of the class! That being said, definitely reconsider applying ED anywhere, @Andrew! Having options is amazing! P.S. @Darby, what was your process of negotiation? Did you contact your respective school's scholarship department? Did you have a game plan? Were you only able to negotiate because you had the scholarship offer elsewhere? (Lots of questions lol)

@@efficiencybill2843 Yes, I emailed only after I got the scholarship offer. The t14 had expressed a willingness to match, but I do know some schools have a no negotiation policy. I knew that I was going to go to the t14 school no matter what, there was about a 20 rank gap between the schools, so I didn't contact the regional school. I emailed the dean of admissions at t14 and expressed my enthusiasm for the school, but I was mindful of the debt, and noted I'd been offered a sizable scholarship (in the email I provided the exact figure). I asked if the school would be willing to match. The school came in with a lower offer, but still a decent reduction on tuition, and I accepted. I hope you hear good news from UNC! Just remember the dynamic completely changes with schools once they offer admission, now they're fighting for you. You do have some leverage. You can find a good sample letter if you search scholarship negotiations on r/lawschooladmissions. Best of luck!