Top Law Schools

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To me, this clearly pulls in Michigan's favor. Even without considering the financial advantage (scholarship + lower cost of living) -- i.e. even if it were Michigan sticker vs. NYU sticker -- I would probably vote UMich, given your interests.

Michigan has a stronger + longer tradition of sending grads out to California, and I believe its clerkship placement is better than NYU's. NYU is a higher-ranked school, but not by much. It certainly trumps Michigan in many areas (P.I., NYC, etc.), but they're still in the same ballpark. Couple this with the fact that Michigan will be markedly cheaper and I think it's your best choice.

Duke wouldn't be a bad choice either, for that matter, but Michigan is still a bit stronger in the areas you're considering (clerkship + California work).

This might be unhelpful, but you don't seem to have a bad or crazy option. choosing NYU over the other schools would make a lot of sense if you want to be in New York and want the little bump that its higher ranking might give- you wouldn't be passing up a ton of money at Michigan and Duke. On the other hand, if you really like Ann Arbor or Durham, the money makes either of those options totally sensible. Even choosing GULC wouldn't be insane, because you'd certainly save at least 15k a year by living with your family, if that's what you want. Sometimes the money or prestige that a certain school offers makes one option really obvious, but I don't think that's the case here.

In terms of Tangerine's comments that Mich has better clerkship and California placement: she might be right, but the differences we're talking about here are probably negligible. Go where you want to go, and you'll probably get where you want to be after law school.

garrett09 wrote:In terms of Tangerine's comments that Mich has better clerkship and California placement: she might be right, but the differences we're talking about here are probably negligible. Go where you want to go, and you'll probably get where you want to be after law school.

garrett09 wrote:...you wouldn't be passing up a ton of money at Michigan and Duke.

Don't listen to this lady, georgebailey. I don't know where she's coming from, but to me, $45k (more like $55k after you factor in cost of living) actually is a ton of money -- especially considering that you said you're "very concerned" about taking on sticker-price NYU debt. As for a difference in rank, #6 vs. #9 ain't a big deal. It's the same shit when you flip it upside down.

I agree with garrett09 that you don't have a bad choice on the table...but since you're asking, I think that Michigan has more points on its scoreboard, given your goals and concerns. Considering the fact that your three stated objectives (clerkship, JAG work, and NorCal life) are not going to necessarily be any easier coming out of NYU, I would make the quick assessment that the NYU J.D. is deifnitely *not* worth your extra $55,000.

ha, sorry tangerine... made a snap judgment on gender and apparently i was wrong. apparently i associate tangerines with women...

and maybe i misspoke in saying that mich and duke aren't offering a lot of money: what i meant is that it's not, for many people, an insane amount of aid to turn down for a school that you think is a better fit (like if you really want to be near home at GULC or in NYC). maybe it is insane to turn down 45k... who knows.

and tangerine: i'm unconvinced that mich is actually significantly better than Duke/NYU for the stuff you mentioned. Yes, they have good clerkship numbers, but do Mich students just apply for less competitive/more geographically diverse clerkships than NYU kids (who have a NYC obsession)? Perhaps. And for JAG or prosecutor work, why is Mich better? And in NorCal (I'm thinking of San Francisco here), will Mich really give you a boost over NYU? I'd think it'd be the other way around. Do you have any stats for this stuff?


But again: all this seems like hairsplitting.

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Did you apply and get YP'd at Virginia? Since you want to do JAG, it seems like UVA would have been your best bet, considering the JAG school or training center or whatever is there.

Also, I would say that NYU is the most liberal school of the T-14 by reputation, so it may not be your best choice if you have an interest in going into the military.

Michigan.

I think this is Michigan vs. NYU. Duke should be off the table because it costs the same as Michigan and will not place as well (especially in CA). GULC is tempting with free COL, but I would be wary of chancing it on GULC in the current market.

I don't think you can go wrong between Michigan and NYU. Personally I'd probably do Michigan in your situation because the slight placement differential (if any in CA) isn't worth the extra money.

garrett09 wrote:and tangerine: i'm unconvinced that mich is actually significantly better than Duke/NYU for the stuff you mentioned. Yes, they have good clerkship numbers, but do Mich students just apply for less competitive/more geographically diverse clerkships than NYU kids (who have a NYC obsession)? Perhaps. And for JAG or prosecutor work, why is Mich better? And in NorCal (I'm thinking of San Francisco here), will Mich really give you a boost over NYU? I'd think it'd be the other way around. Do you have any stats for this stuff?

But again: all this seems like hairsplitting.

I agree, it's hairsplitting. And I'm cool with pretending to be a chick.

Clerkships are the only thing I have concrete info on; while I agree that the self-selection factor is an issue, the numbers definitely show that Michigan sends way more grads into clerkships, even when you adjust for class size:

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... =1&t=75513

As far as JAG stuff, I know very little about that (but don't think either school has an edge...outside of HYS, I was under the impression that UVA was a good bet). As for Cali placement, Mich sends more people to California than NYU, but self-selection obviously plays a role here. Again: definitely hairsplitting, and if it weren't for the money, it'd be a toss-up.

All in all, in my previous post, I wasn't necessarily saying that Michigan trumps NYU in all of these categories...I was saying, rather, that given OP's goals (none of which, in my opinion, give NYU an edge), I didn't think that the NYU J.D. would be worth the $55,000 extra. If he had expressed an interest in NYC work or P.I. work or northeast Biglaw, I would have hesitated a little more.

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When you're dealing with these 4 schools, I think $45k is truly negligible, since you're going to get a job. Law school loans are repaid over 30 years, right? Don't ditch the school you really want for a couple thousand bucks a year.

Having said that, for what you want, I don't think NYU is all that much better than Michigan, Duke or Georgetown. If you don't like the Michigan location, I wouldn't suggest going there. You only live once, three years of the prime of your life in a part of the country you don't like is silly when you have other, great options, in my opinion.

I have almost the exact same decision to make. NYU at sticker, money at Michigan, and slightly more money at Duke. I have decided on Michigan for several reasons. Would have been more interested in NYU but I want to eventually end up back West and have no interest in working in NYC. If I was aiming more for east coast or the south I would have probably ended up at Duke. Visited Michigan and loved it. And don't let anybody fool you, 45k is a lot of money (especially when you are making interest payments on it). In the end it comes down to your personal preferences. All are great schools.