UChicago vs. UPenn Forum

[timbs4339]

I appreciate all of the responses, but think I failed to clearly articulate my question. Basically, I went to Penn on the notion that law school was going to be a three-year grind and, if I'm going to spend the majority of my time at school working/studying, that I would prefer to spend those three years at a school with a collegial atmosphere. I preferred Chicago to Philadelphia, and had a much larger group of friends in Chicago, but was under the impression that if I attended UChicago I would not be able to really take advantage of either of these qualities since I would be so busy. However, I found that law school did not occupy as much of my time as I had anticipated. My question is essentially, thus, whether I had so much free time due to the general non-competitive nature that pervades Penn, or whether my cousin could expect to have the same general amount of free time in Chicago so that he would be able to actually enjoy the city and his weekends.

I am not attempting to paint UChi with a broad brush. I know that some UChi students unquestionably enjoy their weekends there, but do these people's grades suffer immensely since they are in the minority? Also, I am not saying I did not put in a lot of work at Penn. However, I found that if I worked during the week, I generally had Friday night and all day Saturday to enjoy bars or partake in other social activities while maintaining good grades.

All top schools are going to be the same. I had a similar experience at CLS. Most people worked pretty hard during 1L, and studied constantly during finals. Once 1L was over, some people continued to take school as seriously as before, but most people severely fell off in effort and did all sorts of stuff with their free time. I can't imagine Chicago would be any different.

[Monochromatic Oeuvre]

Think of it this way. CLS is a school for tall people. NYU is a school for heavy people. Both select from an applicant pool of people who are between 6'6" and 6''8" and weigh between 275-325 pounds.

There may be some people who choose between CLS/NYU based on reputation. But I didn't, and neither did most of my friends. We selected based on other factors- money and location being the most prominent. The self-selection effect was at best marginal (say 5% PI students vs 10% at NYU). The vast majority of the student body was probably exactly the same, and if NYU had offered me 25K more than CLS I would have jumped at that number.

Side note: CLS is a school for tall people. At least as far as the 1L class goes. Probably half the dudes are six feet. Tallest collection of people I've ever seen outside of a basketball court.

[sinfiery]

NYU is like 5-0 at the Dean's cup for the last five years. We are pretty tall too.

Also, this whole PI thing at NYU is pretty prominent so far.

[timbs4339]

NYU is like 5-0 at the Dean's cup for the last five years. We are pretty tall too.

Also, this whole PI thing at NYU is pretty prominent so far.

It's pretty prominent at every elite law school. Professors will talk about doing justice, lunch talks on social justice will be overbooked vs talks about international commercial trade statutes, and you'll get a dozen emails a week about various PI projects and internships. Look at the list of clubs, journals and centers at CLS. For every "business law club" or "tax law journal" there's five or six social justice or political organizations.

That is, of course, until 90% of the class shows up to OCI dressed in the same dark suits to interview at the same private law firms for the same corporate law jobs.

[sinfiery]

Yeah, that does seem like a fairly possible course of action here. I've just noticed a fairly substantial amount of people with PI related backgrounds that I think one may not see at some schools like NU. Not that this would stop them from vying for the biglaw job come OCI.

[timbs4339]

Yeah, that does seem like a fairly possible course of action here. I've just noticed a fairly substantial amount of people with PI related backgrounds that I think one may not see at some schools like NU. Not that this would stop them from vying for the biglaw job come OCI.

I thought that about some students at CLS too, but they were right there at the Doubletree with the rest of us. There are always some true believers, and their voices are amplified because law schools try to portray themselves as having a progressive atmosphere, with the exception of the whole don't bilk your students out of tuition money to buy yourself a vacation house thing, which seems to be pretty prevalent at both CLS and NYU.

[tidymnstr]

I feel that Penn is somewhat under-represented in these comments, but that's OK.

[PRgradBYU]

You made the right decision, and you'd be wise to advise your cousin to do the same.
...

Stay away from Chicago if you ever want to see your friends or have fun.

Sheesh, Reg -- is the semester not going well so far?

[20141023]

.

[twenty]

Except for the fact that CHICAGO IS WHERE THE FUN GOES TO DIE. D:

[31415926]

I picked Penn over Chicago at equal COA, against popular TLS wisdom . It was 100% the right choice for me.

I think these schools are both excellent; Penn's collegiality is overhyped and Chicago's reputation for rigor/awkwardness is as well (from what my friends there have told me, at least). I feel your chances at biglaw from either are fairly even. That is, going to one school won't preclude you from job opportunities you'd have at the other. The exception to this is if you want Chicago biglaw and have no ties, of course.

In the end, its three years of your (his) life, and its not a decision that should depend completely on what the Internet tells you. Visit both places, get a feel for the surrounding areas, talk to some current students, and trust your instincts. Go where you'd rather be. If you'd be absolutely miserable at one school, chances are you'd be miserable at another. Similarly, its unlikely the "rigor" of Chicago would land you in the bottom of your class there but happily above median at Penn.