TaipeiMort wrote:irishman86 wrote:For NYC biglaw, Columbia/NYU > Chicago. I'm not convinced Chicago is better for NYC than some of the lower ranked schools.
This is simply not true. I would go as far as to say that because of Chicago's small class size, that kids at the median who really want NYC get it at a higher rate
The problem with Chicago's NYC biglaw numbers is that many aspie kids self-select into the school (no chance at NYC biglaw), and a higher of students percentage skew towards academia and clerkships than Columbia or NYU. They also have a good number of grads who aim west coast and a ton who aim midwest. Therefore, the NYC big-law seeking (and eligible) crop is pretty small.
The feedback that I go from 2 and 3Ls is that anyone normal who really wanted NYC biglaw got it. In fact, because DC and Chicago were so hard hit in the recession, many applicants applied to lower NYC vault firms as safetys.
I'm not sure why everyone thinks Chicago places comparatively more into academia/clerkships. The recent academia/clerkship placement rates suggest otherwise. Certain lower ranked schools like M and V place more into clerkships percentage wise, including COA clerkships.
I'm sure a lot more aim for the Midwest, etc. than at CLS/NYU, but I was arguing that firms have no reason to be biased towards Chicago students because there are not a lot of Chicago partners in NYC, and therefore, there's a lack of "firm ties." And ITE, I think CLS and NYU are majorly owning biglaw placement because of these firm ties. I don't think Chicago students get a notable boost in NYC hiring, unlike CLS/NYU students. Therefore, median at CLS/NYU is more likely to land NYC biglaw than Chicago median.
As for the awkwardness of Chicago students, supposedly the awkward reputation mainly stems from the undergrad population and the grad students are different. (I really don't get the reputation though, and assume it is exaggerated, as the average Chicago undergrad isn't nerdy/smart enough to be legitimately awkward, like those at MIT or Cal-tech.) I assume that Chicago law students are just as awkward as any other t-14's students.