. Forum

[Law2020!]

.

[cavalier1138]

What's your cost of attendance at each? That needs to be your first priority.

[UVA2B]

Hello,

I have a BA and MS in bioscience fields. I want to practice patent law, most likely patent litigation. I have been accepted to UVA, Berkeley, NYU, Michigan, and Northwestern. I think UVA is the best fit for me overall in terms of school culture, location, non-IP academics, etc, but would it be unwise for me to choose UVA over Berkeley/NYU since they are ranked so high in IP law? I know everyone says not to focus too much on specialty rankings, but if I have am choosing between schools that are all T14s, should I place more emphasis on the IP-specific rankings?

No, you shouldn't ever rely on specialty rankings. You should place emphasis on cost, and if cost is equal, geographic preference. Berkeley and UVA can both get SV/CA, but it'd be foolish at equal cost to pick UVA over Berkeley if you exclusively wanted CA (absent having other compelling reasons to pick UVA).

[Law2020!]

.

[UVA2B]

I would not graduate with debt from UVA or Berkeley. I want to end up in Denver (to which I have ties) so I do not think either has an advantage in terms of geographic proximity.

In that case, enjoy UVA. You're gonna love it here.

[OneHandedEconomist]

I would not graduate with debt from UVA or Berkeley. I want to end up in Denver (to which I have ties) so I do not think either has an advantage in terms of geographic proximity.

6 of one half dozen of the other.

I think this'll come down to preference, though I may give Berk a slight edge in Colorado placement.