The decision is in!

Last Wednesday we drove up to Carlisle, PA to check out Penn State Law School campus there. Since Penn State offered Chris a verrrry nice scholarship, we felt that we had to show some respect!

We were quite surprised by Carlisle, a very pretty town--a college town--but with a small town feel. Our tour guide was a 3L (third year law student) and more than happy to answer Chris's questions. After our visit to the newly renovated law building, we joked that we shouldn't have made the visit because it made our decision so much more difficult than it already was! The town and the school were idyllic, really. The elementary schools there are some of the best in PA, which we have to take into consideration because Liz would be starting school when Chris would be finishing his last year (scary, I know).

But then the next morning we hopped on the Metro to say hello to George Washington Law School in the heart of DC. A very big difference from the feel of PSU, but a great feel and atmosphere all the same.

The GW law building is actually made up of a couple of buildings that connect to each other, and it's situated next to a beautiful open quad which reminded us of our dear BYU. Our tour guide here was also a 3L and is in the part-time program--that's the program Chris has been accepted to. They had a good conversation about all the law stuff while Lizzie and I chased pigeons, robins, and squirrels in the quad :)

Chris met his financial aid officer, who has a daughter just a month older than Liz. SO naturally we talked about children for awhile as she worked with Chris on our financial information. We also met with the Associate Dean of Admissions who declared Liz to be her new favorite kid! When she learned we both received our undergraduate degrees from BYU, she couldn't stop praising BYU and its students who attend GW Law. "All BYU students who come here do well. We love having BYU students come to GW!" she exclaimed.

After our time in the law building, we walked over to the Student Center and checked out the bookstore (again, we were reminded of BYU). We got some hot dogs from a street vendor for lunch and headed back up to Germantown via the Metro.

BOTH of our visits to PSU and to GWU were awesome. BOTH have good qualities, good law programs, good professors, the works. BOTH are great, but alas, Chris cannot attend both.

Germantown, MD will remain our home for another four years... which means The George Washington Law School will have Chris as one of forty students in its part-time law program :) ****unless UPenn or UVa takes us off their wait list---then we have another to decision to make, but that's another post for another time if the situation arises****

Although visiting PSU was a great experience for us, George Washington makes much more sense for Chris. Ranked #20 in the nation, GW is one of the few if not the ONLY law school to have a government contracts law specialty, which goes quite well with what Chris currently does as a financial analyst for Lockheed Martin. Speaking of LM, Chris will still have a JOB; in this economy, we're thankful for that because it means we'll have an income, insurance, etc. Chris can take the Metro straight down to school and back again, which affords him study time during the ride. GW's moot courts have SUPREME COURT JUSTICES as their judges--awesome! GW' excellent curriculum is diverse--Chris is already looking into a Sports Law class :). Because GW is well respected, we aren't necessarily tied to this area after Chris graduates: we have the ability to go anywhere if we want to move after that. Another plus--we don't have to move! I can't express how happy that makes me. We remain in the great Quince Orchard ward; we remain fifteen minutes from the Washington DC temple...the list goes on.

That's the story from the Killion side of life! We enjoyed General Conference and Easter this past weekend. Did you notice that many of the speakers emphasized the importance parents teaching gospel truths to their children? We definitely did and we know that it is vitally important in today's society. AND, we have our camera back! Many pictures coming your way soon! :D