BP decides where you go to law school Forum

[09042014]

Why not...

NYU ~$100k
Chicago $60k
Columbia TBA

Interested in public interest, clerking, academia
Lots of personal ties to east coast

NYU unless you get Columbia with a similar offer. Chicago is really better for academia, but your chances are so slim with that I wouldn't consider it.

[tintin]

chicago sticker
upenn sticker


interests: gov, PI, clerking, academia

lesbian, from california & want to work on west coast probably

I would typically say Chicago, but I remember your impressions of the schools. IIRC, there was a big difference in how you felt at UPenn vs. Chicago, right?

yeah, that was the problem. quality of life (especially for the gay stuff) seems way better at upenn.

thus my indecision. chicago just seems way serious and kind of a grim place.

[legalease9]

chicago sticker
upenn sticker


interests: gov, PI, clerking, academia

lesbian, from california & want to work on west coast probably

I would typically say Chicago, but I remember your impressions of the schools. IIRC, there was a big difference in how you felt at UPenn vs. Chicago, right?

yeah, that was the problem. quality of life (especially for the gay stuff) seems way better at upenn.

thus my indecision. chicago just seems way serious and kind of a grim place.

UChic does have that rep. I say go with your gut (UPenn). They are both excellent schools, even though UChic is better by the numbers.

[dutchstriker]

Wants to clerk and do non-profit work...how in the world is the debt from HLS going to outperform Columbia for free?

I don't know how poor he's planning on being the decade after graduation, but clerking -> non-profit could equal very little debt. If it was biglaw, yeah, Columbia in a heartbeat.

Oh, I'm planning on being poor. But LIPP would make me less poor than Columbia because of my undergrad debt.

Counter-intuitive (and more risky).

[Helmholtz]

chicago sticker
upenn sticker


interests: gov, PI, clerking, academia

lesbian, from california & want to work on west coast probably

I would typically say Chicago, but I remember your impressions of the schools. IIRC, there was a big difference in how you felt at UPenn vs. Chicago, right?

yeah, that was the problem. quality of life (especially for the gay stuff) seems way better at upenn.

thus my indecision. chicago just seems way serious and kind of a grim place.

I would go with Penn if I were you.

[Helmholtz]

Why not...

NYU ~$100k
Chicago $60k
Columbia TBA

Interested in public interest, clerking, academia
Lots of personal ties to east coast

NYU unless you get Columbia with a similar offer. Chicago is really better for academia, but your chances are so slim with that I wouldn't consider it.

agree with this

[legalease9]

Wants to clerk and do non-profit work...how in the world is the debt from HLS going to outperform Columbia for free?

I don't know how poor he's planning on being the decade after graduation, but clerking -> non-profit could equal very little debt. If it was biglaw, yeah, Columbia in a heartbeat.

Oh, I'm planning on being poor. But LIPP would make me less poor than Columbia because of my undergrad debt.

Counter-intuitive (and more risky).

For what you want go Harvard and LIPP/IBR it away in 10 years. And if you ever change your mind and want the fat paychecks, you can easily work your debt in 10 years or less with a Harvard degree.

[ughOSU]

curiosity got the best of me...

UVA
Penn
Cornell
UGA $$
OSU $$

Sports teams loyalty: Phillies, Cavs, Eagles, Flyers.

Goals are biglaw and money, preferably specializing in something transactional from which I could transition into something more heavily business-involved.

[09042014]

curiosity got the best of me...

UVA
Penn
Cornell
UGA $$
OSU $$

Sports teams loyalty: Phillies, Cavs, Eagles, Flyers.

Goals are biglaw and money, preferably specializing in something transactional from which I could transition into something more heavily business-involved.

Penn.

[D-hops]

chicago sticker
upenn sticker


interests: gov, PI, clerking, academia

lesbian, from california & want to work on west coast probably

I would typically say Chicago, but I remember your impressions of the schools. IIRC, there was a big difference in how you felt at UPenn vs. Chicago, right?

yeah, that was the problem. quality of life (especially for the gay stuff) seems way better at upenn.

thus my indecision. chicago just seems way serious and kind of a grim place.

I assume you mean at the school itself and not the city. Recognizing that UChicago is far away from the strong gay centers of the community, the city of Chicago actually has pretty strong quality of life for LGBT.

[Helmholtz]

curiosity got the best of me...

UVA
Penn
Cornell
UGA $$
OSU $$

Sports teams loyalty: Phillies, Cavs, Eagles, Flyers.

Goals are biglaw and money, preferably specializing in something transactional from which I could transition into something more heavily business-involved.

UVA or Penn, pick which one you would be happiest at. Probably Penn for your goals.

[tintin]

chicago sticker
upenn sticker


interests: gov, PI, clerking, academia

lesbian, from california & want to work on west coast probably

I would typically say Chicago, but I remember your impressions of the schools. IIRC, there was a big difference in how you felt at UPenn vs. Chicago, right?

yeah, that was the problem. quality of life (especially for the gay stuff) seems way better at upenn.

thus my indecision. chicago just seems way serious and kind of a grim place.

I assume you mean at the school itself and not the city. Recognizing that UChicago is far away from the strong gay centers of the community, the city of Chicago actually has pretty strong quality of life for LGBT.

yeah, the school itself. both cities seem to have decent gay communities, of course chicago's is much further away from the law school...

[D-hops]

yeah, the school itself. both cities seem to have decent gay communities, of course chicago's is much further away from the law school...

Can't argue with you choosing Penn then. I think that some people at Chicago do commute from the lakeview area, but you would need to have a car to do that.

[Holly Golightly]

ithinkimightbeleaningtowardsnubutimstillunsure

[strike]Holly, where do you want to work? I know you want an LLM in int'l stuff.[/strike]

For god's sake come to NU and stop considering things outside the T13!

This.

Your alternative is to be unit number 65209456 at the Georgetown Amalgamated JD Factory.

No real location preference, but I feel like the U.S. market for what I want is in NY/DC. Also not opposed to living overseas.

One advantage to the JD/LLM is that it requires a semester-long externship with an international org., so I'd get some decent experience to put on the resume.

[09042014]

[strike]Holly, where do you want to work? I know you want an LLM in int'l stuff.[/strike]

For god's sake come to NU and stop considering things outside the T13!

This.

Your alternative is to be unit number 65209456 at the Georgetown Amalgamated JD Factory.

No real location preference, but I feel like the U.S. market for what I want is in NY/DC. Also not opposed to living overseas.

One advantage to the JD/LLM is that it requires a semester-long externship with an international org., so I'd get some decent experience to put on the resume.

For firms at least NU does better in NYC. I dunno how it does in the type of org you want to work for.

[ughOSU]

I was kinda hoping for something more bitterly pessimistic like "Your best hope is to go to Cornell. That way, when you inevitably don't land that V5 gig that would make your life worthwhile, you can make quick friends with the bottom of a Gorge."

Instead I got sober and cogent advice. I kinda already decided to go to Penn, but thanks for the reinforcement guys.

[alaskaman]

I'll bite --

GULC, UCLA or NU?

Considering government/policy work, litigation/AUSA, or regulatory work. Would like to clerk, would like the ability to do biglaw anywhere in the country with an eye on DC, California or Arizona (in that order).

Big law anywhere? NU

California? UCLA

DC? Gtown

Arizona? NU/Gtown but that is a guess.

Bump == any other thoughts? Just want a portable degre and optimal possibility of clerkship/biglaw/good govt fallback/ Not sure what or where exactly, but your thoughts make sense.

[NayBoer]

No real location preference, but I feel like the U.S. market for what I want is in NY/DC. Also not opposed to living overseas.

One advantage to the JD/LLM is that it requires a semester-long externship with an international org., so I'd get some decent experience to put on the resume.

Maybe look into the organizations doing what you want to do, see if you can get a sense of what schools they like to hire from.

I imagine LLM plus externship would be at least as valuable for finding work as going to a school in DC. Especially given how hard it is to differentiate in a class of 600.

It probably also helps to have an LLM in the field. It show public interest was your first choice, not a second backup after biglaw and DOJ fell through.

[existenz]

Was talking to a friend who went to Yale, who in turn has a friend who went to UVa. The one who went to UVa got a job at Skadden after graduation, but left the job after a year or two to do a district clerkship followed by an appellate clerkship. Now he can't find a damn job and doesn't know what to do. Great resume but he's fucked.

Anyway, moral of the story, don't think anything is guaranteed ITE and take the damn scholarship money when possible. If you can do T14 without $200k in debt, do it.

UCLA is now offering me $100k
Michigan $67.5k
NU, of course, still offering jack squat

The UCLA offer is tempting in many ways, but I still think I'm taking Michigan. Wish I had more time to decide though.

[violinst]

Was talking to a friend who went to Yale, who in turn has a friend who went to UVa. The one who went to UVa got a job at Skadden after graduation, but left the job after a year or two to do a district clerkship followed by an appellate clerkship. Now he can't find a damn job and doesn't know what to do. Great resume but he's fucked.

Anyway, moral of the story, don't think anything is guaranteed ITE and take the damn scholarship money when possible. If you can do T14 without $200k in debt, do it.

UCLA is now offering me $100k
Michigan $67.5k
NU, of course, still offering jack squat

The UCLA offer is tempting in many ways, but I still think I'm taking Michigan. Wish I had more time to decide though.

What about the friend who went to Yale (Law, I presume)?

[flyingpanda]

Was talking to a friend who went to Yale, who in turn has a friend who went to UVa. The one who went to UVa got a job at Skadden after graduation, but left the job after a year or two to do a district clerkship followed by an appellate clerkship. Now he can't find a damn job and doesn't know what to do. Great resume but he's fucked.

Anyway, moral of the story, don't think anything is guaranteed ITE and take the damn scholarship money when possible. If you can do T14 without $200k in debt, do it.

UCLA is now offering me $100k
Michigan $67.5k
NU, of course, still offering jack squat

The UCLA offer is tempting in many ways, but I still think I'm taking Michigan. Wish I had more time to decide though.

Michigan definitely. WAY WAY higher chance at big law and UCLA as good a school it is, is not a t14.

[calicocat]

Why don't I know about this thread?

[flyingpanda]

Why don't I know about this thread?

You've already decided your school, are you here to pitch in?

[calicocat]

Why don't I know about this thread?

You've already decided your school, are you here to pitch in?

Yeah that's what I meant. Has my BP membership been revoked or something?

[09042014]

Why don't I know about this thread?

You've already decided your school, are you here to pitch in?

Yeah that's what I meant. Has my BP membership been revoked or something?

Dude we were pretty upfront about No Corneilians.