My question for you all is this: what exactly does one do with both a JD AND MBA degree? I mean, I know how powerful having both degrees would be in terms of one’s intellectual development, but from what I gather it seems like the career path would be no different from someone with just a JD or just an MBA. I mean does someone who gets a great Private Equity, Venture Capital, Hedge Fund, IB, or Consulting job out of the JD/MBA program later go on to practice law? I’m just confused as to where the career “sweet spot” lies in terms of utilizing both degrees.

Sorry for the long email, but this is something that I’ve been wanting to ask for a very long time. I have a feeling that because I’m not certain of this answer, it would be hard for me to even apply to a JD/MBA program since I’m sure that the “Why the JD/MBA program at our school?” question would be one of the biggest determining factors for admissions. Any thoughts/comments/advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. — JB

While at the school, we had a “program coordinator” (can’t remember Dean Wilson’s official title) who provided us with guidance as we went through the program. As 1L’s at the law school, we were integrated into the law school and our experience did not differ one bit from the other 1L’s. At the end of the second semester and before the beginning of the summer term, we had a six week vacation which most of my classmates used to do a short internship and in some cases that internship extended through the summer term. This was in addition to the normal 2L (or 2J as we refer to it) summer internship. This was made possible because we had quite a few night classes offered. For more on this, take a look at one classmate’s perspective here http://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/admissions/studentlife/studentperspectives.htm

During our second year at Kellogg we were equally immersed into the Kellogg culture. As JDMBA’s we had the option to take up to 20 classes at Kellogg which is only 4 less than what regular MBa at Kellogg can take in their two years. We were able to do this because we could also take Kellogg classes during our third year in the program. During our third year, most of us took classes at both the law school and business school.

In regard to employment opportunities, the employers seem to really love us. Most like the fact that they had less time to wait to get us full-time. My classmates and I received some of the best opportunities available to law students and business students. I have one classmate working for a major, major private equity fund, another classmate working for a well established hedge fund, others working for top investment banks, consulting firms and law firms. There is even one doing a federal appellate clerkship.

I will end by saying that in my opinion my fellow JDMBA classmates were as qualified as any of the regular JD and MBA students.

I think the program runs the risk of making itself too structured and not allowing enough flexibility for students to really experience what each school has to offer. I agree with the earlier commenter that the program might be right for some. However, I fear that it may lessen the value of both degrees.

Unlike the earlier commenter, I felt that my classmates in the joint program we more qualified that the typical law school student and right on par with the students at the business school. I also felt that the services provided by the administration were excellent. I do note that, unlike the earlier commenter, I received only once acceptance letter (letting me know that I was admitted to the joint program).

I found significant disadvantages with NW’s program: The curriculum did not seem well integrated–for instance I got my b-school acceptance about a week before my law school acceptance and no one would answer questions in the interim about whether I had gotten in to the JD/MBA program or not. Navigating financial aid between the two was a nightmare–complete runaround. Career services questions were handled the same way. My potential classmates came across as immature when compared with other b-school students, who are generally a bit older than law school students. Tuition was charged at the higher rate of the two schools, the law school rate.

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But the biggest drawback was the lack of time to explore–to participate in clubs, find myself, choose whether I wanted to do law or business. As there was only one summer available to do an internship, if you wanted to do law at all, you had to work at a law firm then…no if’s, an’s or but’s about it. The choice was made the minute you sent in your deposit. Missing out on amazing networking opportunities did not seem prudent from a career standpoint–I felt like if I went, my entire three years would be spent in a panic in the library.

NW’s JD/MBA was not a true program that straddled law and business–it was a 2 1/2 year JD combined with NW’s accelerated 1 year MBA. No thanks. Having done an MBA, there’s enough challenging coursework in the first year alone–combining a 2-year program into one year would be too much.

It might be the right program for some, but I did my homework and it was not the right program for me. Most telling was that none of the students I contacted once I was admitted even cared to discuss their experience. That said volumes.