Top Law Schools

I've seen quite a few posts that mention a difference in atmosphere or vibe between Columbia and NYU but have never really seen specifics about what that means. I was wondering if anyone could explain the differences between the atmosphere in the two places and how the student bodies differ. I'm aware that questions like this are heavily affected by bias but I still think it'd be interesting to hear about it.

I went to one of the preppiest bro schools there is for undergrad and although I met people here that I get along with I would like to go to a different kind of law school. Not a huge fan of bros.

I'm leaning towards Columbia already because I plan on going into Big Law, specifically patent law, but I'm not set on it yet.

just my take...

Students' Appearance

Columbia: people were very well dressed, often a bit preppier or more fashionable. Saw a lot of leather boots or ballet flats for girls, polos for guys. No one looked overdressed, just very professional and well-put-together.

NYU: many people looked just like the Columbia kids, but there were more jeans/old sweatshirts and a few people who looked less conventional.

Location/Campus

Columbia: a little more gated-off from the city, with a nice quad for people to hang out. Very nice and "college-feeling" architecture. The law school buildings are on a corner of a fairly busy street, so it feels less campusy right there. Super nice, modern buildings. Lots of Columbia undergrads around the main quad and walkways.

NYU: very well integrated with the neighborhood, which is a blessing or curse. The streets are narrower and smaller downtown, and the buildings lower. Feels less like Seinfeld-land. The buildings were nice and historic-feeling, though not as modern as at Columbia. Washington Square Park was great: much bigger than I realized. Though its not just an NYU spot, it's a NYC spot.


What the schools said

Columbia: I felt like I heard "congratulations" a thousand times. They had a bit of a "you have arrived" message, and they talked a lot about their impressive alumni (some have been presidents, etc). They also played up their resources... like how you can really do anything there, they're good at all types of law.

NYU: I think the dean said at some point that they were not trying to be a better version of the other top schools, they were trying to be what they thought the best law school was. Or something. The point was, there was an "NYU is different" message a bit. They talked a lot about public interest, but also a lot about faculty interaction, the fact that a bunch of big name faculty has come to NYU recently because they just like NYU, etc.

^^ that's actually a really fair assessment, I'd say.

Renzo wrote:^^ that's actually a really fair assessment, I'd say.

+1.

I would just add this: The law students I've met from NYU, Chicago, Penn, UVA, etc. are eerily similar to the law students I know at Columbia. Law students are, for better or worse, a somewhat standardized bunch.

chris0805 wrote:I would just add this: The law students I've met from NYU, Chicago, Penn, UVA, etc. are eerily similar to the law students I know at Columbia. Law students are, for better or worse, a somewhat standardized bunch.

My experience, too.

spondee wrote:

chris0805 wrote:I would just add this: The law students I've met from NYU, Chicago, Penn, UVA, etc. are eerily similar to the law students I know at Columbia. Law students are, for better or worse, a somewhat standardized bunch.

My experience, too.

Generally agree. the one big difference I noticed at the Columbia and NYU ASWs (as I mentioned above) was that they schools had very different things to say about themselves. Not sure if that actually matters once you're a student, though, or if they're just different marketing strategies.

chris0805 wrote:

Renzo wrote:^^ that's actually a really fair assessment, I'd say.

+1.

I would just add this: The law students I've met from NYU, Chicago, Penn, UVA, etc. are eerily similar to the law students I know at Columbia. Law students are, for better or worse, a somewhat standardized bunch.

I think that's generally true. I did notice, however, that Berkeley Law students seem more relaxed and, well, happy than Columbia Law students. It wasn't the difference between night and day, but it was noticeable.

Dignan wrote:

chris0805 wrote:

Renzo wrote:^^ that's actually a really fair assessment, I'd say.

+1.

I would just add this: The law students I've met from NYU, Chicago, Penn, UVA, etc. are eerily similar to the law students I know at Columbia. Law students are, for better or worse, a somewhat standardized bunch.

I think that's generally true. I did notice, however, that Berkeley Law students seem more relaxed and, well, happy than Columbia Law students. It wasn't the difference between night and day, but it was noticeable.

People in California are more relaxed and happy than people in New York.
That's just a fact.

M51 wrote:

Dignan wrote:

chris0805 wrote:

Renzo wrote:^^ that's actually a really fair assessment, I'd say.

+1.

I would just add this: The law students I've met from NYU, Chicago, Penn, UVA, etc. are eerily similar to the law students I know at Columbia. Law students are, for better or worse, a somewhat standardized bunch.

I think that's generally true. I did notice, however, that Berkeley Law students seem more relaxed and, well, happy than Columbia Law students. It wasn't the difference between night and day, but it was noticeable.

People in California are more relaxed and happy than people in New York.
That's just a fact.

CA > NY.

NYU has a rep for being cutthroat. Columbia is known for its international vibe, but also for being highly competitive. Without direct experience at each school, it is difficult to assess rumored reputations. the most obvious difference to me is that Columbia has a beautiful campus, while NYU has a dynamic city.
While this is what I have been told by several students in the past, the most recent edition of USNews Ultimate Guide To Law Schools paints a different picture of NYU and portrays Columbia as overly competitive.

CanadianWolf wrote:NYU has a rep for being cutthroat. Columbia is known for its international vibe, but also for being highly competitive.

NYU has a rep for being cutthroat?

scribelaw wrote:

CanadianWolf wrote:NYU has a rep for being cutthroat. Columbia is known for its international vibe, but also for being highly competitive.

NYU has a rep for being cutthroat?

Lol. Insofar as it has a rep for being a top-ranked law school, I suppose.

M51 wrote:

Dignan wrote:

chris0805 wrote:

Renzo wrote:^^ that's actually a really fair assessment, I'd say.

+1.

I would just add this: The law students I've met from NYU, Chicago, Penn, UVA, etc. are eerily similar to the law students I know at Columbia. Law students are, for better or worse, a somewhat standardized bunch.

I think that's generally true. I did notice, however, that Berkeley Law students seem more relaxed and, well, happy than Columbia Law students. It wasn't the difference between night and day, but it was noticeable.

People in California are more relaxed and happy than people in New York.
That's just a fact.

I lol'd, after which I acknowledged it was true. +1 to the standardized bunch comment, btw, though there is a huge difference in atmosphere between urban and non-urban schools. Visiting UVA felt like vacationing in another land.

Note to OP: it's not like you can screw this choice up. I am supposed to be an objective and disinterested observer, and I say that both are wonderful, for different reasons. Also, the student appearance comment is credited. The Columbians of my acquaintance are quite well dressed, and I have to pull out all the sartorial stops when I go out with them. They don't seem unhappy, though, at least objectively speaking, and they like CLS enough to praise the school lavishly and pointedly when they talk to me.

ITT: we discover how easy it is to apply a stereotype of one law school to any other law school

CanadianWolf wrote:NYU has a rep for being cutthroat. Columbia is known for its international vibe, but also for being highly competitive. Without direct experience at each school, it is difficult to assess rumored reputations. the most obvious difference to me is that Columbia has a beautiful campus, while NYU has a dynamic city.
While this is what I have been told by several students in the past, the most recent edition of USNews Ultimate Guide To Law Schools paints a different picture of NYU and portrays Columbia as overly competitive.

100% of everything in this post is absurd.

Renzo wrote:

CanadianWolf wrote:NYU has a rep for being cutthroat. Columbia is known for its international vibe, but also for being highly competitive. Without direct experience at each school, it is difficult to assess rumored reputations. the most obvious difference to me is that Columbia has a beautiful campus, while NYU has a dynamic city.
While this is what I have been told by several students in the past, the most recent edition of USNews Ultimate Guide To Law Schools paints a different picture of NYU and portrays Columbia as overly competitive.

100% of everything in this post is absurd.

No, Columbia really does have a beautiful campus.

100% of everything is also repetitively redundant. Just merely sayin.

tomhobbes wrote:

Renzo wrote:

CanadianWolf wrote:NYU has a rep for being cutthroat. Columbia is known for its international vibe, but also for being highly competitive. Without direct experience at each school, it is difficult to assess rumored reputations. the most obvious difference to me is that Columbia has a beautiful campus, while NYU has a dynamic city.
While this is what I have been told by several students in the past, the most recent edition of USNews Ultimate Guide To Law Schools paints a different picture of NYU and portrays Columbia as overly competitive.

100% of everything in this post is absurd.

No, Columbia really does have a beautiful campus.

No, UCSB has a beautiful campus. The University of Colorado has a beautiful campus. Columbia has a campus.

"RENZO" has spoken.

Renzo wrote:

tomhobbes wrote:

Renzo wrote:

CanadianWolf wrote:NYU has a rep for being cutthroat. Columbia is known for its international vibe, but also for being highly competitive. Without direct experience at each school, it is difficult to assess rumored reputations. the most obvious difference to me is that Columbia has a beautiful campus, while NYU has a dynamic city.
While this is what I have been told by several students in the past, the most recent edition of USNews Ultimate Guide To Law Schools paints a different picture of NYU and portrays Columbia as overly competitive.

100% of everything in this post is absurd.

No, Columbia really does have a beautiful campus.

No, UCSB has a beautiful campus. The University of Colorado has a beautiful campus. Columbia has a campus.

I think Columbia has a beautiful campus. It's an urban campus--it's got a different kind of beauty than, say, UC Santa Cruz--but its architecture and sense of space are pretty spectacular, imo. (The horrific law school building excepted, of course.)

Dignan wrote: I think Columbia has a beautiful campus. It's an urban campus--it's got a different kind of beauty than, say, UC Santa Cruz--but its architecture and sense of space are pretty spectacular, imo. (The horrific law school building excepted, of course.)

Yeah, it is laid out well, I'll admit that. For an urban campus I guess it's pretty nice, but there aren't many competitors in the 'nice urban campus' category. And you are right to except the law school building--it's flat out ugly.

Deep.

CanadianWolf wrote:Deep.

You're really easily offended, it appears.

Well, I'm sorry you were so wrong.

Not really, just enjoying the ride.

Renzo wrote:

Dignan wrote: I think Columbia has a beautiful campus. It's an urban campus--it's got a different kind of beauty than, say, UC Santa Cruz--but its architecture and sense of space are pretty spectacular, imo. (The horrific law school building excepted, of course.)

Yeah, it is laid out well, I'll admit that. For an urban campus I guess it's pretty nice, but there aren't many competitors in the 'nice urban campus' category. And you are right to except the law school building--it's flat out ugly.

That's what makes it so spectacular... that it's in the city. Get out of the subway, you're on broadway, some tall buildings, nothing too special. Then, you make that turn into the gate, and in a few steps the world opens up. Neo-Classical architecture, twin fountains, the lawn, etc... home to three national historic landmarks on the campus itself.

Made quite an impression on me when I first visited, still kindda in awe every day walking through it on my way to class.