NYU vs Columbia comparison Forum

[bistduverrueckt]

Just one comment about the access to bars debate, it's not like if you go to CLS, you can never make it down to the wonderful dive bars in the Village area. And it seems like it would be a nice change to be able to get away from them for the night when you're done.

But seriously, other than lay-prestige (where CLS wins hands down), what makes the huge, monumental difference between the two?

[Reinhardt]

I didn't look into this that much because I didn't seriously consider either, but looking at various measures I always got the sense that NYU belonged in the MVP tier. There's a bit of a gap between it and Columbia+Chicago, US News aside. It's true NYU places better than any of MVP in New York, but NYU is...in New York. It seems to have rather bad placement elsewhere in the country, as compared to Columbia.

[jcunni5]

NYU has lagged in placement two years now, go to C to play it safe ( i still think NYU is great tho)

[bistduverrueckt]

NYU has lagged in placement two years now, go to C to play it safe ( i still think NYU is great tho)

Hmmmm. They're both so great. This decision is going to be VERY difficult.

[Magnificent]

Just one comment about the access to bars debate, it's not like if you go to CLS, you can never make it down to the wonderful dive bars in the Village area. And it seems like it would be a nice change to be able to get away from them for the night when you're done.

But seriously, other than lay-prestige (where CLS wins hands down), what makes the huge, monumental difference between the two?

placement data the past 3 years shows that there is a significant difference between the two

NYU outside of NY is really on a lower tier than Columbia or Chicago

outside NY there is CCN.....there is CC then NMVP on a lower tier

even in NY schools like Penn place just as well as NYU

I really don't get where this TLS myth of NYU being the equal of CLS came from.

[Renzo]

placement data the past 3 years shows that there is a significant difference between the two

Show me, please.

[ahduth]

placement data the past 3 years shows that there is a significant difference between the two

Show me, please.

Am I looking at the right NLJ numbers here?

2011: http://pdfserver.amlaw.com/nlj/Go%20To% ... 202011.pdf
2010: http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNL ... hbxlogin=1
2009: http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNL ... 2428438260

That 43% number from this year made me do a double take.

[thecilent]

Why couldn't you just accept me cls.

[jcn4]

I really don't get where this TLS myth of NYU being the equal of CLS came from.

Columbia, Chicago, and NYU trade spots on the USNews rankings. NYU was higher than CLS a few years ago. That's where it comes from.

[ahduth]

I really don't get where this TLS myth of NYU being the equal of CLS came from.

Columbia, Chicago, and NYU trade spots on the USNews rankings. NYU was higher than CLS a few years ago. That's where it comes from.

Yeah they're essentially equal in New York from what I'm seeing. I don't have as clear an understanding of how the schools play on the west coast or here in Chicago, but no one's really presenting any meaningful evidence that either school would get a closer look than the other.

I scanned through the attorneys who work at a few of the bigger west coast firms (Cooley, Orrick, Quinn, Gibson), and I didn't see a substantial difference in terms of volume? Quinn has a lot more NYU people I guess. Penn does not seem to place nearly as many people out there though, so pushing that poster pushing them into the T6 is getting a little aggressive maybe.

[BToutant]

Could anyone tell me when the Deans' Cup will be held this year? I figure it will make a good tie-breaker.

I'm pretty interested in the gym / court facilities at these schools, or at least in the area (probably more than is entirely rational). Can anyone give me a link or fill me in on what to expect at either school?

[chasgoose]

I think also the older someone is the more likely they are to see CLS as better than NYU. For better or worse, NYU's rise in prestige and quality only happened relatively recently. Many people in my parents' generation (they are both ex-lawyers) don't see NYU as an equal to CLS the way that our generation does.

[JG Hall]

Could anyone tell me when the Deans' Cup will be held this year? I figure it will make a good tie-breaker.

I'm pretty interested in the gym / court facilities at these schools, or at least in the area (probably more than is entirely rational). Can anyone give me a link or fill me in on what to expect at either school?

Deans' alternates between the schools. 2009 & 2010 were at CLS, 2011 is at NYU. This is New York, where space is at a premium, and neither student body is incredibly devoted to physical fitness. Pick a new criteria.

[UnitarySpace]

holy f. columbia's gym is atrocious. and crowded. NYU's is not.

[JG Hall]

holy f. columbia's gym is atrocious. and crowded. NYU's is not.

I went to a big school. Once it's below a certain level of quality, it's all the same to me. Whatever, who needs a gym when you have CP, RP and p90x?



Edit: Actually, you know what? Fuck this thread. If you have to ask, go to NYU.

[ahduth]

holy f. columbia's gym is atrocious. and crowded. NYU's is not.

I went to a big school. Once it's below a certain level of quality, it's all the same to me. Whatever, who needs a gym when you have CP, RP and p90x?



Edit: Actually, you know what? Fuck this thread. If you have to ask, go to NYU.

lulz. Dean Iwerebon's personal emissary right there. If you disparage the athletic facilities of our school, we no longer want you.

[rayiner]

The consensus on TLS seems to be:

Prestige: Columbia>NYU
NYC BigLaw Placement: Columbia=NYU
Non-NYC BigLaw Placement: Columbia>NYU
Public Interest/Government Placement: Columbia<NYU
Location: Columbia<NYU

Also, in past threads, many people have posited the stereotype that the NYU student body is more laid-back and less gunnerish.

please...

Columbia > NYU (at prestigious firm placement)

check Wachtell, Cravath, & Sullivan Cromwell's attorney pages then come back to me...

only school that competes with CLS when it comes to prestigous biglaw placement is Harvard

V10 firm I'm going to this summer sent a list of its summer class. Number of CLS students: 11, number of NYU students: 23. Last year 70% of NYU students that did EIW got biglaw, 69% of CLS students did. The difference is minimal and at this point more likely self selection than anything else(ie number of students that want it, and attrition rates over time)

Similar story (with smaller margin in favor of NYU) at my firm too, this year and last. Also hilarious to include Wachtell in that list - they love NYU!

[BToutant]

holy f. columbia's gym is atrocious. and crowded. NYU's is not.

I went to a big school. Once it's below a certain level of quality, it's all the same to me. Whatever, who needs a gym when you have CP, RP and p90x?



Edit: Actually, you know what? Fuck this thread. If you have to ask, go to NYU.

Not trying to divert the thread onto trivial matters, just trying to get human feedback on some of the "quality of life" aspects that job placement statistics, faculty bios, and google maps can't really demonstrate. You've probably been where I am now -- scrounging for scraps of candid information with a major life decision bearing down on me. I do appreciate the input.

[Stanford4Me]

I try to put this out there as often as possible, if anyone has any questions about NYU feel free to PM me. I can't make any comparisons . . . obviously because I go to NYU, but I will be frank in my assessment of my experience so far.

[JG Hall]

holy f. columbia's gym is atrocious. and crowded. NYU's is not.

I went to a big school. Once it's below a certain level of quality, it's all the same to me. Whatever, who needs a gym when you have CP, RP and p90x?



Edit: Actually, you know what? Fuck this thread. If you have to ask, go to NYU.

Not trying to divert the thread onto trivial matters, just trying to get human feedback on some of the "quality of life" aspects that job placement statistics, faculty bios, and google maps can't really demonstrate. You've probably been where I am now -- scrounging for scraps of candid information with a major life decision bearing down on me. I do appreciate the input.

At the risk of being blasted for this, any QoL differences between CLS and NYU are entirely personal. You're in law school in Manhattan, and lest we forget, this is the most free time you're going to have for the next 40 years. So if you're not having fun at either school, it's (probably) because you're not a fun person. If you have trouble making friends, it's probably because your personality sucks (and your not hot enough for people to look past it... jk, kinda). It's not like either school is so small where you can ostensibly feel ostracized from the student body. (And even if you could, there are 1.9 millions people on this island. Make new friends. Wait- this is universal advice. Have a life outside of law school people. It makes your world a better place.) Also, when people say one school is anything *more* than other, remember that a) the classes are big enough where you only really know half the class, b) the personalities of each class vary from year to year (with the caveat that all of CCN has a tendency to attract a certain type of person, no matter the school), c) anyone's opinion of the other student body is going to be insanely skewed by sample size, nature of encounter, etc., and d) again, like attracts like.

As for the response earlier: if the quality of athletic facilities is something that you would even consider using as a determining factor between the schools, then ostensibly you should be serious enough to realize that both suck hard enough to pay for equinox/crunch/david barton/NYSC/NYHRC. Actually, my friends who pay for gym memberships think it's the best thing that's ever happened to them, because they feel so icky about paying for the gym every month that they want to get the most out of their memberships and go all the time. So yeah, it's a stupid criteria, thus I encourage anyone who uses it to not come to my school.

[ahduth]

So if you're not having fun at either school...

Are you having fun at school? You sound pretty crabby.

Thank you for pointing out that students at Columbia who like to work out regularly pay extra to go to other gyms. That comment at least was on point.

[Lem37]

So if you're not having fun at either school...

Are you having fun at school? You sound pretty crabby.

Thank you for pointing out that students at Columbia who like to work out regularly pay extra to go to other gyms. That comment at least was on point.

Both gyms suck. If you're serious about working out, you'll find a gym membership in the City - otherwise you're going to be vying with undergrads and grad students from either school for equipment and space. That being said, I use the CLS gym for treadmill and other light activities and have no qualms with it; it's free for law students and it gets the job done.

[ahduth]

From the stickied thread up top here, regarding LRW grading:

Columbia- HP/P/LP/F, does not count towards your GPA

Is Columbia's scale a curve, and then either way, what's the breakdown look like percentage-wise? People on this site tout the advantages of ungraded LRW - I'm not clear on what to expect, but that seems to be one the few things people can agree on around here.

[BruceWayne]

I didn't look into this that much because I didn't seriously consider either, but looking at various measures I always got the sense that NYU belonged in the MVP tier. There's a bit of a gap between it and Columbia+Chicago, US News aside. It's true NYU places better than any of MVP in New York, but NYU is...in New York. It seems to have rather bad placement elsewhere in the country, as compared to Columbia.

[JG Hall]

So if you're not having fun at either school...

Are you having fun at school? You sound pretty crabby.

Thank you for pointing out that students at Columbia who like to work out regularly pay extra to go to other gyms. That comment at least was on point.

One can be both bitchy and have fun at the same time. WHO. KNEW.

Also, distinction between people who like to work out regularly and people who are very serious about working out.