HYS vs CCN $$$ Forum

[justinp]

This thread is terrible, but I figured I'd chime in as someone who picked Harvard over a Hamilton. Worked out great and I'm skeptical that I'd have the same outcomes at CLS. See copy paste from a different thread below for my general thinking on the decision. Pm if you want more details.

COPYPASTA: Don't regret it at all, but that's largely a function of what I wanted to do. Agreed w/ above poster that if you want NYC biglaw then you should almost certainly take the Hamilton/Rubenstein(? the UChi one...) if you get it. (And obvi if you want Chicago biglaw and get offered a Rubenstein, run don't walk.) But if you want to practice in a competitive secondary market (Atlanta, Seattle, etc.) the HLS network makes a huge difference. Every top firm in a decent-sized American city has a couple HLS grads around who for whatever reason wanted to go back to their/their spouse's home city. That's not really the case for most other schools, which despite national placement ability do tend to open fewer doors in small, competitive markets. Case in point: one of the top TX firms has an Austin summer class this year composed only of HLS students. END

I'd also add that if you want a high end litigation boutique HYS takes you MUCH farther than CCN. Again that's not relevant to everyone but it was relevant to me.

[20141023]

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[NYstate]

This thread is terrible, but I figured I'd chime in as someone who picked Harvard over a Hamilton. Worked out great and I'm skeptical that I'd have the same outcomes at CLS. See copy paste from a different thread below for my general thinking on the decision. Pm if you want more details.

COPYPASTA: Don't regret it at all, but that's largely a function of what I wanted to do. Agreed w/ above poster that if you want NYC biglaw then you should almost certainly take the Hamilton/Rubenstein(? the UChi one...) if you get it. (And obvi if you want Chicago biglaw and get offered a Rubenstein, run don't walk.) But if you want to practice in a competitive secondary market (Atlanta, Seattle, etc.) the HLS network makes a huge difference. Every top firm in a decent-sized American city has a couple HLS grads around who for whatever reason wanted to go back to their/their spouse's home city. That's not really the case for most other schools, which despite national placement ability do tend to open fewer doors in small, competitive markets. Case in point: one of the top TX firms has an Austin summer class this year composed only of HLS students. END

I'd also add that if you want a high end litigation boutique HYS takes you MUCH farther than CCN. Again that's not relevant to everyone but it was relevant to me.

Do you mind posting the cost difference or about how much debt you have from Harvard and how much you would have owed if you went to Columbia? I'm just curious, because to me the cost matters. But I wanted NYC biglaw transactional practice, so I'm really happy as well with my choice and my freedom from loan payments.

[Nonconsecutive]

Guys, I think I've figured out the real reason that abl values going to the same school as highly-successful people...

(And this as well as this are hilarious extensions of the above.)

Thanks for these gems.

[crit_racer]

Just take the money, man. You'll thank me when you realize how much working biglaw sucks and want out after a year

[Doorkeeper]

After all of this talk the end result is the same.

If your goal is biglaw, then CCN without a doubt.

If your goal is PI/bigfed/academia, then it's debatable between the two.

/end thread

[smaug_]

After all of this talk the end result is the same.

If your goal is biglaw, then CCN without a doubt.

If your goal is PI/bigfed/academia, then it's debatable between the two.

/end thread

More likely, if your goal is immediate bigfed or academia and you can't handle the idea of something else, you shouldn't go to law school.

[Doorkeeper]

More likely, if your goal is immediate bigfed or academia and you can't handle the idea of something else, you shouldn't go to law school.