Iowa $$ or Northeastern $$ Forum

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Should I go to Iowa or Northeastern?

Iowa
32
80%
Northeastern
8
20%
 
Total votes: 40

bemidiji41

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Iowa $$ or Northeastern $$

Post by bemidiji41 » Tue Apr 27, 2010 10:59 pm

I need help deciding between Iowa and Northeastern. I want to do public interest work and have received (nearly equal amounts of) money from both schools. Don't know really where I want to live or practice after graduation, so that's really not helpful at this point. Thoughts??

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apper123

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Re: Iowa $$ or Northeastern $$

Post by apper123 » Wed Apr 28, 2010 1:24 am

I mean everything else seems equal, so go with the higher rank? I dunno. I think Iowa here.

fwaam

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Re: Iowa $$ or Northeastern $$

Post by fwaam » Wed Apr 28, 2010 2:20 am

Iowa's rank is significantly better and I'd guess it does a better job of dominating its market. But the more important question here is: where do you want to live? You say you don't know, but the difference between Iowa and Boston is huge. Do you have a preference at all for Midwest vs New England, big city vs small city, metropolitan area vs the country? I'd guess both of those schools have fairly limited portability. Have you lived in either of these places, or do you have family there?

If you really have no preference, Iowa seems to me like the safer choice for career prospects--but only if you're willing to live in Iowa, quite possibly for decades, and that's a big if.

bemidiji41

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Re: Iowa $$ or Northeastern $$

Post by bemidiji41 » Wed Apr 28, 2010 11:59 am

I'm from Ann Arbor, Michigan (really used to the Midwest) but also lived in Manhattan for a number of years (so familiar with the big city vibe also). That being said, I didn't really like Boston as much as NY when I visited - the city might be large, but it hardly felt like a "city" - trains stop running at midnight, wtf?? There are pros and cons to each location for me, mainly related to apartment rents and search costs, which I why I'm still on the fence. I want to (eventually!) work for the ACLU's National Prison Project in D.C., so that seems to speak to staying on the coast. But it's also a more competitive placement and so I might be better off with the more highly ranked school (Iowa). Also, my boyfriend will be moving with me and the job market looks better for him in Boston due to personal circumstances.

Informative

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Re: Iowa $$ or Northeastern $$

Post by Informative » Wed Apr 28, 2010 12:14 pm

If you want to work in the northeast, go to NU. If you want to work in the midwest, go to Iowa.

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slowdiver

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Re: Iowa $$ or Northeastern $$

Post by slowdiver » Wed Apr 28, 2010 12:17 pm

FYI, most people graduating from Iowa don't live there anywhere close to decades. And a degree from Iowa doesn't mean you can only find jobs in the Midwest. I'm working in CA this summer (along with dozens of my classmates) and plan to move there after graduating. While many people who do stay in Iowa have degrees from here, that's mostly because they want to stay or came to school knowing they were going to work in the state. The only reason, in my opinion, to choose Northeastern over Iowa would be if you definitely want to live and work in the Boston legal market, and even then, you'd be fighting for jobs with all the other Boston law school grads.

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traehekat

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Re: Iowa $$ or Northeastern $$

Post by traehekat » Wed Apr 28, 2010 12:22 pm

Iowa seems like an easy choice to me!

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JOThompson

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Re: Iowa $$ or Northeastern $$

Post by JOThompson » Wed Apr 28, 2010 12:24 pm

Go to Iowa. While it's not a national school, if you look at its placement stats, it offers some portability. Both schools heavily emphasize PI, yet I think Northeastern has stronger clinics. The only reason to take Northeastern is if you're absolutely sure you need to work in the eastern corridor. Even then you should keep in mind that competition will be stiff.

bemidiji41

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Re: Iowa $$ or Northeastern $$

Post by bemidiji41 » Sat May 08, 2010 4:32 pm

i see a few more people have voted for northeastern. could you please give your reasons why?

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Regionality

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Re: Iowa $$ or Northeastern $$

Post by Regionality » Sat May 08, 2010 5:06 pm

bemidiji41 wrote:I need help deciding between Iowa and Northeastern. I want to do public interest work and have received (nearly equal amounts of) money from both schools. Don't know really where I want to live or practice after graduation, so that's really not helpful at this point. Thoughts??
You got a partial scholarship from Iowa? I thought they weren't doing that this year...

Numbers? URM?

bemidiji41

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Re: Iowa $$ or Northeastern $$

Post by bemidiji41 » Sat May 08, 2010 10:28 pm

[/quote] You got a partial scholarship from Iowa? I thought they weren't doing that this year...

Numbers? URM?[/quote]

No, they're not, at least not to my knowledge. I have a family friend who is an Iowa alum who has offered to match the offer I got from NU, but only if I decide to go to Iowa. To be perfectly frank, that was the reason I applied there in the first place ...

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Regionality

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Re: Iowa $$ or Northeastern $$

Post by Regionality » Sat May 08, 2010 10:31 pm

bemidiji41 wrote: You got a partial scholarship from Iowa? I thought they weren't doing that this year...

Numbers? URM?

No, they're not, at least not to my knowledge. I have a family friend who is an Iowa alum who has offered to match the offer I got from NU, but only if I decide to go to Iowa. To be perfectly frank, that was the reason I applied there in the first place ...
HA! You have a fam friend who will give you money for law school but only if you go to Iowa?? That's crazy! Are you in-state at Iowa?

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daddymike

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Re: Iowa $$ or Northeastern $$

Post by daddymike » Sun May 09, 2010 2:15 am

Northeastern sells bullshit with a smile IMO. They like saying "You're going to graduate from here with a shit load of debt, and we know that, and we empathize, and all we can offer is a 40k/year job... but at least you'll feel good about yourself."

Bullshit.

If anyone really wants to work in PI, the most logical thing to do is get into a great state school. Reputation is important, yes, but debt load is just as important. Northeastern provides you with neither. While I understand that tuition will be the same for you at both schools, keep in mind that Boston is way more expensive than Iowa City. Yes, you can get a 7x10 room in Boston for $500 a month, but it will be pretty nasty. $500 a month in Iowa City gets you a room in a pretty nice house. Anyway, this is all moot considering the disparity in the schools' rankings.

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Kilpatrick

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Re: Iowa $$ or Northeastern $$

Post by Kilpatrick » Sun May 09, 2010 2:24 am

Go to Iowa. Better job prospects, end of story. Northeastern doesn't give grades, you get written evaluations instead. Sounds terrible.

splinter23x

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Re: Iowa $$ or Northeastern $$

Post by splinter23x » Sun May 09, 2010 7:56 am

As someone who thinks Iowa is by far the most overrated law school in the country (it's easier to get into than a lot of tier 2's), I still say Iowa here. Northeastern is pummeled by being low dog in a (relatively) small market. It doesn't get a whole lot of respect inside Boston, and virtually none outside Boston. Iowa can at least get you a job in Iowa, if you can bear it.

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traehekat

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Re: Iowa $$ or Northeastern $$

Post by traehekat » Sun May 09, 2010 1:14 pm

splinter23x wrote:As someone who thinks Iowa is by far the most overrated law school in the country (it's easier to get into than a lot of tier 2's), I still say Iowa here.
Hmm, well Iowa has been "overrated" for quite some time then, because it has an average ranking of 22 since 1987, and has never been ranked outside the T30. I don't think having a lower LSAT median in comparison to similarly ranked schools equates to being an overrated school.

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Regionality

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Re: Iowa $$ or Northeastern $$

Post by Regionality » Sun May 09, 2010 2:38 pm

splinter23x wrote:As someone who thinks Iowa is by far the most overrated law school in the country (it's easier to get into than a lot of tier 2's), I still say Iowa here. Northeastern is pummeled by being low dog in a (relatively) small market. It doesn't get a whole lot of respect inside Boston, and virtually none outside Boston. Iowa can at least get you a job in Iowa, if you can bear it.
I think this happens for the same reason UNC's admissions are so random...they have in-state requirements (they strive for 50% of their class to be in-state)

This brings their medians way down, just like at UNC...

For an out of stater I think it's comparably equivalent to similarly ranked school (well...actually it's a smudge easier, but not substantially)

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fwaam

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Re: Iowa $$ or Northeastern $$

Post by fwaam » Sun May 09, 2010 3:15 pm

How sure are you that this family friend is actually going to follow through for all 3 years?

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Regionality

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Re: Iowa $$ or Northeastern $$

Post by Regionality » Mon May 10, 2010 2:10 am

fwaam wrote:How sure are you that this family friend is actually going to follow through for all 3 years?
+1....he giving it all to you up front?

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apper123

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Re: Iowa $$ or Northeastern $$

Post by apper123 » Mon May 10, 2010 2:22 am

Regionality wrote:
fwaam wrote:How sure are you that this family friend is actually going to follow through for all 3 years?
+1....he giving it all to you up front?
This was seriously a Ks hypo I saw 82483284 times this year. X offers to pay for Y years of law school for Z. Z goes to law school and does AB and C. X stops paying. What legal rights does Z have?

lololol

Informative

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Re: Iowa $$ or Northeastern $$

Post by Informative » Tue May 11, 2010 5:02 pm

You probably aren't going to get biglaw from either. So I think it comes down to which gave you more money and where would you rather live, a big East Coast city or the collegial Midwest. I think its just a matter of preference.

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Regionality

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Re: Iowa $$ or Northeastern $$

Post by Regionality » Tue May 11, 2010 5:16 pm

Informative wrote:You probably aren't going to get biglaw from either. So I think it comes down to which gave you more money and where would you rather live, a big East Coast city or the collegial Midwest. I think its just a matter of preference.
Probably not, but I think Iowa has a much higher percentage getting biglaw the northeastern...isn't Iowa's like 20%?

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Re: Iowa $$ or Northeastern $$

Post by Informative » Tue May 11, 2010 5:17 pm

I think that is firms over 100 attorneys. If you look at vault firms, the stats are probably about equal (and very low). Northeastern may actually have more active attorneys in vault firms due to the big East Coast firms.

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