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For some background, I'm interested in working at big private law firms after graduation. I got offered 50k at NYU (over 3 yrs) and 25k at Columbia.

Also, I understand that they both do not release class ranks. Does that mean that there is nothing to differentiate someone who is at the 90th percentile with say someone at the 70th percentile (Other than Law Review)?

I think the difference in $ is too minimal to be a significant factor. Go with your heart on this one. In other words, Columbia, just because I know you want to go there.

People can pretty easily figure out where they are in class by look at the numbers given out by the school and by talking to others. Employers can figure it out pretty roughly as well.

I'd choose Columbia over NYU for only 25k more debt.

jman77 wrote:I think the difference in $ is too minimal to be a significant factor. Go with your heart on this one. In other words, Columbia, just because I know you want to go there.

i really do want to go to columbia, but the $ is not that minimal... plus, i'm a bit pissed off they waited till after the NYU deadline to give me the award (loss of NYU $600 deposit)...

Columbia for the better name. Seriously that is not a lot of $ difference in the scheme of things. Its a lot when deciding to buy a car, it is not a lot when deciding to buy a law degree.

Also, admissions has nothing to do with anything, getting mad that they did that is not a factor.

I had the same difference in money (shifted down, 0 at CLS and 25k at NYU) and I just deposited at NYU... granted I liked NYU a little better upon visiting, but in the end I was waffling between the two and I decided that the $25k made the decision for me...Also given that NYU is about 5k cheaper than Columbia to begin with, once could see the actual difference in COA as $40k.

Yes the 25k is small in the grand scheme of law school costs, but it's still 25k (plus interest) that you won't have to pay back later. As someone who made less than 25k last year (stupid entertainment industry), it's not just chump change. Among those in the legal industry, the difference in name doesn't matter that much (it's not like the difference between HYS and Columbia) and I really don't think 25k is worth being able to show off that you went to an Ivy League school. It's just a football league after all.

chasgoose wrote:I had the same difference in money (shifted down, 0 at CLS and 25k at NYU) and I just deposited at NYU... granted I liked NYU a little better upon visiting, but in the end I was waffling between the two and I decided that the $25k made the decision for me...Also given that NYU is about 5k cheaper than Columbia to begin with, once could see the actual difference in COA as $40k.

Yes the 25k is small in the grand scheme of law school costs, but it's still 25k (plus interest) that you won't have to pay back later. As someone who made less than 25k last year (stupid entertainment industry), it's not just chump change.

I still think that $25K is not significant enough to justify someone picking the school with the higher offer over the school he has his heart set on. In your case, you indicated that you liked NYU better, hence the $25K becomes somewhat significant. Just my opinion, though.

Also, it's my understanding that COL would be a bit higher at NYU than CLS, so that may negate at least part of the difference in tuition.

Law Sauce wrote:Also, admissions has nothing to do with anything, getting mad that they did that is not a factor.

That was just me venting... The Fin Aid office definitely had something to do with that... They got back to a lot folks before the NYU deadline and didn't get back to me about my award till today even though I send them a specific e-mail about it with the NYU award...

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SentinelsOfEvil wrote:For some background, I'm interested in working at big private law firms after graduation. I got offered 50k at NYU (over 3 yrs) and 25k at Columbia.

Also, I understand that they both do not release class ranks. Does that mean that there is nothing to differentiate someone who is at the 90th percentile with say someone at the 70th percentile (Other than Law Review)?

I took NYU at equal money (25k each). The non-release of class ranks is silly - they both give grades and have GPAs. Law firms, in NYC at least, take the NYU and CLS resumes and sort them together by GPA.

The name thing is silly - anyone who doesn't know what NYU is, probably doesn't work in big law.

Also...

SentinelsOfEvil wrote:That was just me venting... The Fin Aid office definitely had something to do with that... They got back to a lot folks before the NYU deadline and didn't get back to me about my award till today even though I send them a specific e-mail about it with the NYU award...

I think you'll like Columbia. Head north and don't look back.

ahduth wrote:

SentinelsOfEvil wrote:For some background, I'm interested in working at big private law firms after graduation. I got offered 50k at NYU (over 3 yrs) and 25k at Columbia.

Also, I understand that they both do not release class ranks. Does that mean that there is nothing to differentiate someone who is at the 90th percentile with say someone at the 70th percentile (Other than Law Review)?

I took NYU at equal money (25k each). The non-release of class ranks is silly - they both give grades and have GPAs. Law firms, in NYC at least, take the NYU and CLS resumes and sort them together by GPA.

The name thing is silly - anyone who doesn't know what NYU is, probably doesn't work in big law.

Also...

SentinelsOfEvil wrote:That was just me venting... The Fin Aid office definitely had something to do with that... They got back to a lot folks before the NYU deadline and didn't get back to me about my award till today even though I send them a specific e-mail about it with the NYU award...

I think you'll like Columbia. Head north and don't look back.

Thank you for being very level-headed in all the CLS vs. NYU discussions =D

thunderflesh wrote:

ahduth wrote:

SentinelsOfEvil wrote:For some background, I'm interested in working at big private law firms after graduation. I got offered 50k at NYU (over 3 yrs) and 25k at Columbia.

Also, I understand that they both do not release class ranks. Does that mean that there is nothing to differentiate someone who is at the 90th percentile with say someone at the 70th percentile (Other than Law Review)?

I took NYU at equal money (25k each). The non-release of class ranks is silly - they both give grades and have GPAs. Law firms, in NYC at least, take the NYU and CLS resumes and sort them together by GPA.

The name thing is silly - anyone who doesn't know what NYU is, probably doesn't work in big law.

Also...

SentinelsOfEvil wrote:That was just me venting... The Fin Aid office definitely had something to do with that... They got back to a lot folks before the NYU deadline and didn't get back to me about my award till today even though I send them a specific e-mail about it with the NYU award...

I think you'll like Columbia. Head north and don't look back.

Thank you for being very level-headed in all the CLS vs. NYU discussions =D

(bows)

It's possible to live much more cheaply in Columbia with much higher apartment quality & still being a walking distance. Should be worth about a $30K diff in COA right there.

sbalive wrote:It's possible to live much more cheaply in Columbia with much higher apartment quality & still being a walking distance. Should be worth about a $30K diff in COA right there.

the COA diff is usually a little more than offset by the higher columbia tuition... in the net, they seem to be very close in total expenditure...

chasgoose wrote:Also given that NYU is about 5k cheaper than Columbia to begin with, once could see the actual difference in COA as $40k.

Just wanted to make sure that you know that this is false. It was pointed out in the last few posts but its good to realize that NYU simply low-balls your living expenses a bit. The two schools will be about the same in cost. But, by saving the 25k (plus interest on it), that could be ultimately mean that you need to work at least 6 months less in biglaw to pay off your debt. Not insignificant but also not major enough to determine your choice. If you really want Columbia, go. If you're honestly on the fence, take the money at NYU.