Lower T14: Cornell vs. GULC? Forum

[balenciagar]

I haven't been to either schools, and as far as I've learned by reading TLS (correct me if I'm wrong):

Cornell
pros: decent job placement in New York. I do like NYC.
cons: ...still 3rd after Columbia/NYU. Cold, snowy winter. Nothing much to do except for 6"S"s. (Study ski sleep etc...)

GULC
pros: great DC placement. Good international law programs.
cons: High rent. Big school (which might work against my chances to get a job). I don't know much about DC, so I'm not sure if I want to spend my next 6-7 years (3 yrs LS, 3-4 yrs work at the minimum).


Any ideas? How good is the global scholars law program at GULC?
I haven't got fee waivers from either, and I really want to apply to only one of them for now. Probably it's because I don't know much about the two compared to other schools, so if I get convinced about how good both schools are I might end up sending in applications for both


Thanks thanks

[AreJay711]

D.C. is a cesspool (no literally it used to be a swamp). I think it takes a special person to be happy living there. It's hyper politically charged all the time, the women are ehhh even if they are really smart, the museums and monuments and all that get old quick, the city shuts down around 11 during the week, random roads will be shut down for marches and motorcades, and the weather is god-awful during the summer (because, once again it was built on a humid ass swamp). Having lived in both, NYC and DC are very different cities. Plus if you've lived in NYC ans keep saying how much better it is than DC people will hate you -- even if they know it to be true.

That said I grew up in the D.C. area and part of me wants to go back to the area after law school but objectively NYC>>>DC in nearly every way other than cost of living. 6 years might be just enough time to get sick of DC and want to go somewhere else though so thins might not be you experience.

[plenipotentiary]

Apply to both. Weigh them if/when you get in.

[Patriot1208]

D.C. is a cesspool (no literally it used to be a swamp). I think it takes a special person to be happy living there. It's hyper politically charged all the time, the women are ehhh even if they are really smart, the museums and monuments and all that get old quick, the city shuts down around 11 during the week, random roads will be shut down for marches and motorcades, and the weather is god-awful during the summer (because, once again it was built on a humid ass swamp). Having lived in both, NYC and DC are very different cities. Plus if you've lived in NYC ans keep saying how much better it is than DC people will hate you -- even if they know it to be true.

That said I grew up in the D.C. area and part of me wants to go back to the area after law school but objectively NYC>>>DC in nearly every way other than cost of living. 6 years might be just enough time to get sick of DC and want to go somewhere else though so thins might not be you experience.

I wholeheartedly disagree. I loved my time living in DC. But Cornell places better than GeorgeTTTown so i'd apply there (it's also easier to get into.)

[cinephile]

Nothing much to do except for 6"S"s. (Study ski sleep etc...)

I'm curious about the other 3 s's. I'm assuming one is sex, but can't figure out the others.

[plenipotentiary]

.

[whymeohgodno]

Nothing much to do except for 6"S"s. (Study ski sleep etc...)

I'm curious about the other 3 s's. I'm assuming one is sex, but can't figure out the others.

Study ski sleep sex smoke? sing?

[czelede]

There is no such thing as international law

Bear in mind that as a Cornell grad you aren't necessarily 3rd in NYC after Columbia/NYC considering a lot of higher ranked schools also feed into NYC (Penn especially, Mich/UVa/Chicago as well).

Would you prefer working in DC or NYC after graduation?

[nealric]

Cornell
pros: decent job placement in New York. I do like NYC.
cons: ...still 3rd after Columbia/NYU. Cold, snowy winter. Nothing much to do except for 6"S"s. (Study ski sleep etc...)

GULC
pros: great DC placement. Good international law programs.
cons: High rent. Big school (which might work against my chances to get a job). I don't know much about DC, so I'm not sure if I want to spend my next 6-7 years (3 yrs LS, 3-4 yrs work at the minimum).

I graduated from GULC class of 2010.

GULC NYC placement is pretty strong (probably as strong as Cornell for those who want it). In fact, I know more people going to NYC than DC. You aren't committing to DC for more than 3 years by going to GULC.

The real difference between the two schools is size and setting. Cornell is a small school in a small town. GULC is a big school in a big city.

[balenciagar]

I wholeheartedly disagree. I loved my time living in DC. But Cornell places better than GeorgeTTTown so i'd apply there (it's also easier to get into.)

Really? I thought Georgetown had higher LSAT median (or I might be wrong...:S)

There is no such thing as international law

Bear in mind that as a Cornell grad you aren't necessarily 3rd in NYC after Columbia/NYC considering a lot of higher ranked schools also feed into NYC (Penn especially, Mich/UVa/Chicago as well).

Would you prefer working in DC or NYC after graduation?

Regarding "international law", I guess I wasn't really specific enough and the term of course includes whole bunch of different things. I was thinking about the global scholars program.

I slightly prefer NYC to DC for now, but again, I haven't never been to DC...

I graduated from GULC class of 2010.

GULC NYC placement is pretty strong (probably as strong as Cornell for those who want it). In fact, I know more people going to NYC than DC. You aren't committing to DC for more than 3 years by going to GULC.

The real difference between the two schools is size and setting. Cornell is a small school in a small town. GULC is a big school in a big city.

How did you like GULC? What are the pros and cons for having a large class? More diversity/less (or more) opportunity/more(or less) competition/Get to know more people?

Thanks for the replies btw.

[Patriot1208]

I wholeheartedly disagree. I loved my time living in DC. But Cornell places better than GeorgeTTTown so i'd apply there (it's also easier to get into.)

Really? I thought Georgetown had higher LSAT median (or I might be wrong...:S)

Sorry if my post is unclear but I meant Cornell is easier to get into.

[nealric]

How did you like GULC? What are the pros and cons for having a large class? More diversity/less (or more) opportunity/more(or less) competition/Get to know more people?

Thanks for the replies btw.

It was a lot of hard work, but I liked it well enough.

The class really doesn't feel all too big. It's strange when people who came from undergrad programs with 5,000 per class talk about how GULC (with about 600 per class) is a "factory". I don't think it really made jobs more ore less competitive. It did mean that essentially every large law firm came to campus in the Fall, so you could pretty much to interview with any firm you desired. A smaller school like Cornell doesn't get quite such a large range.

Hard to really quantify the difference in social life because I've never attended a small program. I didn't think getting to know people was all too hard.

[Excellence = a Habit]

I've never been to Ithaca but I grew up in DC and then worked there after UG. I would agree with the assessment that it is not a great place to live, especially compared with NYC (where I live now), but a) this opinion may be stronger in people who grew up there than in those who have moved there as adults, and b) this might not matter so much when you're in school since you've got to study all the time anyway, and if GULC placement in NYC is decent (I don't know) then you don't have to stick around afterward. But FWIW, yeah, the city shuts down pretty early on weeknights (the Metro stops running at midnight which is insane), and "everyone" (aka most of the people you will probably meet) is obsessed with politics and networking and how they can use you to further their career goals.

Another consideration for me would be campuses. I took my LSAT at Georgetown Law and realized (as you may know) that it's separated from the rest of Georgetown's (beautiful) campus, and there didn't seem to be much to it other than a building or two. To me it seemed kind of isolated, not near a real hot spot (except for Chinatown, which is full of high schoolers). Whereas Cornell's campus is supposed to be nice and old and pretty. This matters, at least to me.

But I would welcome more input on the reputations of the two schools and whether they tend to attract the same kind of student, since I am applying to both and may be looking seriously at them both down the line.

[JG Hall]

GULC
pros: great DC placement. Good international law programs.

former is murky at best. and the latter means... relatively little.

[bk1]

Nothing much to do except for 6"S"s. (Study ski sleep etc...)

I'm curious about the other 3 s's. I'm assuming one is sex, but can't figure out the others.

Study ski sleep sex smoke? sing?

Suicide?

[cinephile]

Nothing much to do except for 6"S"s. (Study ski sleep etc...)

I'm curious about the other 3 s's. I'm assuming one is sex, but can't figure out the others.

Study ski sleep sex smoke? sing?

Suicide?

+1

[whymeohgodno]

Nothing much to do except for 6"S"s. (Study ski sleep etc...)

I'm curious about the other 3 s's. I'm assuming one is sex, but can't figure out the others.

Study ski sleep sex smoke? sing?

Suicide?

Makes perfect sense now!

[danidancer]

Employment prospects from both are honestly SO similar, if you get into both your decision should come down to some combination of fit/money. Gtown is a large school/Cornell is tiny. Gtown is in DC/Cornell is essentially in the middle of nowhere. Etc. If money ends up being equal: visit both if possible, get a feel for both, talk to current students, and go where you'll be happier. Otherwise follow the money.

[Zabini]

If you're a big city type of person, I can't fathom that you would survive in Ithaca. The closest city of any size at all is Syracuse, and that's over an hour away. I can't comment on the job placement opportunities from either but assuming they're about the same think about quality of life lonng and hard.

To whoever it was that said DC closes down at 11 on weekdays...are you serious? Really doubt you've lived in DC...

[danidancer]

If you're a big city type of person, I can't fathom that you would survive in Ithaca. The closest city of any size at all is Syracuse, and that's over an hour away. I can't comment on the job placement opportunities from either but assuming they're about the same think about quality of life lonng and hard.

To whoever it was that said DC closes down at 11 on weekdays...are you serious? Really doubt you've lived in DC...

Commenting on this, I'm a HUGE city person. The only reason I'm at Cornell is because it was the best school I got into, and coming from 7 years in NYC, I thought I would die in Ithaca. But it honestly hasn't been a bad adjustment for me at all. The law school is incredibly close knit and the university is big enough that there's always something fun and interesting going on. Also, you're a first year law student - you'll be spending most of your time in class or studying or hanging out with classmates anyway. 3 years, in the grand scheme of things, is nothing. The cost of living is outstanding as well.

[JG Hall]

If you're a big city type of person, I can't fathom that you would survive in Ithaca. The closest city of any size at all is Syracuse, and that's over an hour away. I can't comment on the job placement opportunities from either but assuming they're about the same think about quality of life lonng and hard.

To whoever it was that said DC closes down at 11 on weekdays...are you serious? Really doubt you've lived in DC...

Commenting on this, I'm a HUGE city person. The only reason I'm at Cornell is because it was the best school I got into, and coming from 7 years in NYC, I thought I would die in Ithaca. But it honestly hasn't been a bad adjustment for me at all. The law school is incredibly close knit and the university is big enough that there's always something fun and interesting going on. Also, you're a first year law student - you'll be spending most of your time in class or studying or hanging out with classmates anyway. 3 years, in the grand scheme of things, is nothing. The cost of living is outstanding as well.

not if you live in a city.

[danidancer]

If you're a big city type of person, I can't fathom that you would survive in Ithaca. The closest city of any size at all is Syracuse, and that's over an hour away. I can't comment on the job placement opportunities from either but assuming they're about the same think about quality of life lonng and hard.

To whoever it was that said DC closes down at 11 on weekdays...are you serious? Really doubt you've lived in DC...

Commenting on this, I'm a HUGE city person. The only reason I'm at Cornell is because it was the best school I got into, and coming from 7 years in NYC, I thought I would die in Ithaca. But it honestly hasn't been a bad adjustment for me at all. The law school is incredibly close knit and the university is big enough that there's always something fun and interesting going on. Also, you're a first year law student - you'll be spending most of your time in class or studying or hanging out with classmates anyway. 3 years, in the grand scheme of things, is nothing. The cost of living is outstanding as well.

not if you live in a city.

I find this dubious. Sure it's true if you're going to school in a city where you already have a large social network. But if you're moving somewhere new where you don't know anyone outside of the law school...

[JG Hall]

If you're a big city type of person, I can't fathom that you would survive in Ithaca. The closest city of any size at all is Syracuse, and that's over an hour away. I can't comment on the job placement opportunities from either but assuming they're about the same think about quality of life lonng and hard.

To whoever it was that said DC closes down at 11 on weekdays...are you serious? Really doubt you've lived in DC...

Commenting on this, I'm a HUGE city person. The only reason I'm at Cornell is because it was the best school I got into, and coming from 7 years in NYC, I thought I would die in Ithaca. But it honestly hasn't been a bad adjustment for me at all. The law school is incredibly close knit and the university is big enough that there's always something fun and interesting going on. Also, you're a first year law student - you'll be spending most of your time in class or studying or hanging out with classmates anyway. 3 years, in the grand scheme of things, is nothing. The cost of living is outstanding as well.

not if you live in a city.

I find this dubious. Sure it's true if you're going to school in a city where you already have a large social network. But if you're moving somewhere new where you don't know anyone outside of the law school...

Ok.

All you need to know is one or two people in whatever major city you're in (you don't need a "large social network"). And it seems that most people know at least one person living in New York/DC/LA they could go to drinks with or something. Also, it's really not hard to meet people, even if it's only different grad students.

[irishman86]

I'd go to Cornell. I think the average number of screening interviews a GULC student received through OCI was 11...yes, 11.

It's just 3 years people.

[s0ph1e2007]

Always ignore the
"all the women are ugly"
comments

It always simply means that whoever is writing it couldn't get a date, not that there aren't pretty girls. There are always pretty girls. Sometimes there are fewer than at other schools, but the schools that have a TON of pretty girls, those girls are really dumb, and although that may not seem like a big problem at first, you will be SO bored with them after a while... bored leads to annoyed leads to avoiding her completely