Northwestern (Sticker) vs Michigan (Sticker) Forum

[rayiner]

Stop failing, TLS. Everyone knows Michigan is a mini-tier above Northwestern.

Doesn't seem to have done jack for their placement.

[CanadianWolf]

This really should not be a difficult decision since the law school environments are so different. If you want to work in Chicago, then Northwestern seems to be the better choice due to year-round opportunities.

[homestyle28]

Ann Arbor is a whore.


OP how old are you? If older you might find NU more to your liking. And again, ann arbor really is a whore.

[goodolgil]

Isn't Michigan supposed to have a much better faculty? Isn't NU's weak faculty what's keeping it stuck at the bottom of the T14 (it certainly isn't the admissions standards and job placement stats, because those are stringent and excellent respectively)?

So if you care about that then maybe choose Michigan? Michigan may be better for academia also, but the chances are still pretty remote.

[IAFG]

Michigan is a TTT in decline

[rayiner]

Isn't Michigan supposed to have a much better faculty? Isn't NU's weak faculty what's keeping it stuck at the bottom of the T14 (it certainly isn't the admissions standards and job placement stats, because those are stringent and excellent respectively)?

So if you care about that then maybe choose Michigan? Michigan may be better for academia also, but the chances are still pretty remote.

NU arguably has a better faculty too: http://www.leiterrankings.com/new/2010_ ... pact.shtml

What Michigan has is historical scholarly prestige.

[09042014]

TCR is Chicago firms have one SA and they are gay-black-related to SCOTUS (AliTTTo doesn't count)-have a 4.2 GPA- and are beautiful

Go east son.

[09042014]

Also FWIW two NU 1L's who are Michigan Alums turned down Michigan to attend NU at sticker.

[rayiner]

Also FWIW two NU 1L's who are Michigan Alums turned down Michigan to attend NU at sticker.

This happens all the time.

[verdandi]

Are you 100% set on Chicago? When I was in your shoes (and picking between the same schools) I thought for sure that I was going to start my career in Chicago.

Now I just finished OCI, and didn't bid on a single Chicago firm. I went all NYC. Career plans change, interests change, personal life stuff changes -- and if you aren't 100% committed to Chicago for the next 5+ years, I think Michigan is a better bet. It has much better placement all over the U.S. compared to Northwestern.

Disclaimer: I'm a Michigan 2L, so maybe not an unbiased source.

[clint4law]

Ann Arbor is a whore.


OP how old are you? If older you might find NU more to your liking. And again, ann arbor really is a whore.

i'm 26

[clint4law]

Are you 100% set on Chicago? When I was in your shoes (and picking between the same schools) I thought for sure that I was going to start my career in Chicago.

Now I just finished OCI, and didn't bid on a single Chicago firm. I went all NYC. Career plans change, interests change, personal life stuff changes -- and if you aren't 100% committed to Chicago for the next 5+ years, I think Michigan is a better bet. It has much better placement all over the U.S. compared to Northwestern.

Disclaimer: I'm a Michigan 2L, so maybe not an unbiased source.

yea...I'm pretty set on Chicago.

[rayiner]

Are you 100% set on Chicago? When I was in your shoes (and picking between the same schools) I thought for sure that I was going to start my career in Chicago.

Now I just finished OCI, and didn't bid on a single Chicago firm. I went all NYC. Career plans change, interests change, personal life stuff changes -- and if you aren't 100% committed to Chicago for the next 5+ years, I think Michigan is a better bet. It has much better placement all over the U.S. compared to Northwestern.

Disclaimer: I'm a Michigan 2L, so maybe not an unbiased source.

I agree re: "LOL @ jobs in Chicago."

I disagree re: Michigan's national placement. I think the Michigan name might carry better into random secondary markets, but Northwestern has strong placement in NY and decent placement on the West coast (*tons* of NU people from there with desire to go back). The major holes in NY and west coast placement are that Debevoise and Gibson Dunn don't recruit here.

[tome]

My sister in law went to Michigan law and moved out the the West Coast and no one knew that Michigan was a good school--we are talking lawyers here, too. Go to the school that you like the most. Assuming you are awesome, that school will be NU.

[irishman86]

My sister in law went to Michigan law and moved out the the West Coast and no one knew that Michigan was a good school--we are talking lawyers here, too. Go to the school that you like the most. Assuming you are awesome, that school will be NU.

Why are you bumping this? I go to Michigan and mass mailed firms in California and got callbacks from mid-sized firms that know Michigan is a top 10 school - these attorneys were all West Coasters. (In biglaw offices nationwide, they obviously know the top tier schools because hiring committees have rubrics on assessing applicants.) I ended up accepting an offer on the East Coast that came from OCI, but still...lawyers know Michigan.

Also, just so the OP knows...CHICAGO IS A DEAD MARKET.I wouldn't be surprised if people who bid on Chicago this year did worse than those who bid on DC. Chicago is a TTT market with no signs of improving. I wouldn't risk bidding on Chicago unless I had LR grades from any non-HYS t-14.

[tome]

My sister in law went to Michigan law and moved out the the West Coast and no one knew that Michigan was a good school--we are talking lawyers here, too. Go to the school that you like the most. Assuming you are awesome, that school will be NU.

Why are you bumping this? I go to Michigan and mass mailed firms in California and got callbacks from mid-sized firms that know Michigan is a top 10 school - these attorneys were all West Coasters. (In biglaw offices nationwide, they obviously know the top tier schools because hiring committees have rubrics on assessing applicants.) I ended up accepting an offer on the East Coast that came from OCI, but still...lawyers know Michigan.

Also, just so the OP knows...CHICAGO IS A DEAD MARKET.I wouldn't be surprised if people who bid on Chicago this year did worse than those who bid on DC. Chicago is a TTT market with no signs of improving. I wouldn't risk bidding on Chicago unless I had LR grades from any non-HYS t-14.

Yeah, you changed my mind dude, thanks. OP, go to school with this guy, it sounds like it would be a fucking blast.

[FlightoftheEarls]

My sister in law went to Michigan law and moved out the the West Coast and no one knew that Michigan was a good school--we are talking lawyers here, too. Go to the school that you like the most. Assuming you are awesome, that school will be NU.

Why are you bumping this? I go to Michigan and mass mailed firms in California and got callbacks from mid-sized firms that know Michigan is a top 10 school - these attorneys were all West Coasters. (In biglaw offices nationwide, they obviously know the top tier schools because hiring committees have rubrics on assessing applicants.) I ended up accepting an offer on the East Coast that came from OCI, but still...lawyers know Michigan.

Also, just so the OP knows...CHICAGO IS A DEAD MARKET.I wouldn't be surprised if people who bid on Chicago this year did worse than those who bid on DC. Chicago is a TTT market with no signs of improving. I wouldn't risk bidding on Chicago unless I had LR grades from any non-HYS t-14.

Yeah, you changed my mind dude, thanks. OP, go to school with this guy, it sounds like it would be a fucking blast.

Solid post, bro. Look, I am obviously biased because I go to Michigan (and gladly took it over Northwestern). That said, both are great schools. You sound like an idiot saying no attorneys out west know that Michigan is a good school, though. You can make great arguments for either school, but when you paint it in that light you tarnish your credibility completely.

Also, why did you bump this old thread just to say that stupid anecdote?

[aheisman]

Yeah, you changed my mind dude, thanks. OP, go to school with this guy, it sounds like it would be a fucking blast.

Solid post, bro. Look, I am obviously biased because I go to Michigan (and gladly took it over Northwestern). That said, both are great schools. You sound like an idiot saying no attorneys out west know that Michigan is a good school, though. You can make great arguments for either school, but when you paint it in that light you tarnish your credibility completely.

Also, why did you bump this old thread just to say that stupid anecdote?

Both are good schools. However, I also turned down Northwestern to attend Michigan. It just felt like a better fit for me.

Fwiw, job prospects are probably similar at both schools. I do, however, think Michigan has stronger placement into New York and DC.

[Patriot1208]

So.... TCR is Virginia?

[CanadianWolf]

"Everybody knows Michigan is a mini-tier above Northwestern", except those that actually want a job with an NLJ Top 250 law firm.

[IAFG]

So.... TCR is Virginia?

i chose NU > UVA because i thought the job prospects were slightly better. if i didn't have average-to-strong WE i would not want to be compared to my classmates though, who largely do.

[aheisman]

"Everybody knows Michigan is a mini-tier above Northwestern", except those that actually want a job with an NLJ Top 250 law firm.

This is a weird argument to make. The reason why NU historically placed a higher percentage into the NLJ 250 than other t-14 schools is because almost everyone has 2+ years of work experience. Having just finished OCI, I think that good work experience may be more beneficial than writing on, rather than grading on, to law review.

This person would likely fare similarly well at other t-14 schools, including Michigan, during OCI, if not better, because most other t-14 schools have a significant population of straight out of undergrads. Therefore, this person would be considered "more mature" to their t-14 counterparts. After all, to get through to the callback phase, you are only competing against those in your class. (Hence, IAFG's post...)

So.... TCR is Virginia?

i chose NU > UVA because i thought the job prospects were slightly better. if i didn't have average-to-strong WE i would not want to be compared to my classmates though, who largely do.

[rayiner]

Yeah, you changed my mind dude, thanks. OP, go to school with this guy, it sounds like it would be a fucking blast.

Solid post, bro. Look, I am obviously biased because I go to Michigan (and gladly took it over Northwestern). That said, both are great schools. You sound like an idiot saying no attorneys out west know that Michigan is a good school, though. You can make great arguments for either school, but when you paint it in that light you tarnish your credibility completely.

Also, why did you bump this old thread just to say that stupid anecdote?

Both are good schools. However, I also turned down Northwestern to attend Michigan. It just felt like a better fit for me.

Fwiw, job prospects are probably similar at both schools. I do, however, think Michigan has stronger placement into New York and DC.

Possibly DC. New York, I'd say it's a wash based on the data I've seen.

I think in a normal economy NU places more people into top firms. Latham, Skadden, Kirkland, Sidley, Mayer, all take a bunch of NU people every year in their Chicago offices. NU is like Penn for the Chicago market, and as Penn shows, it's a big advantage for a school to have a pipeline into big firms within a particular market like that.

[chadwick218]

Trolling for NU.

Based on an early consensus, I would say that OCI went very well at NU.

Approximately 60% of my 60 person section has received offers from NLJ250 firms (almost entirely V100), with ~27% having received offers/accepted from V20s. Of the remaining 40%, half are either JD/MBAs or PI folks who did not particpate in OCI. I feel that the same could be said across sections.

Of those having accepted offers, ~45% did so with firms in Chicago, ~20% in NYC, ~10% in California, and the remaining ~25% were scattered across the country.

[chadwick218]

As for my take on NU v. Michigan, I think that you really have to visit both schools and see which school is a better personal fit. I think that job placement and scholarly prestige are really a wash though. If nothing else, play the schools against one another and see who offers the best scholarship package.