Top Law Schools

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Well if you want to work in NYC, CLS is the choice.

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tell columbia what chicago gave you and see if they match it
good luck! this looks like such a hard decision. my only advice would be dont go somewhere you're not excited about; it'll probably adversely affect your performance.

Chi.

Knock wrote:Chi.

This. It's a peer to CLS and you can get NYC from UChi just fine. Take the $50k and run with it.

I would have voted Chicago because I do think it is the clear choice here except that you said you don't want to go there.

1. Try to get money from Columbia
2. Take a trip to Philly -- Penn's campus is beautiful, and it doesn't shut you out of NYC by annnyyy means.

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eaa1537 wrote:I had already sent Columbia my offer from Chicago and still only got $25,000, which is extremely frustrating because I am above both medians (even though I guess technically it was a need-based award. I feel like I have nothing else to throw at them except begging for more money.

I hadn't planned on going to Chicago's ASW but am thinking this was probably not a good idea based on responses here...

And even if I know I want big law, is $50,000 really a big enough difference to make Chicago the clear choice?

Frankly I think the money isn't significantly more at Chi to justify attending a school you're not that hot on to begin with. Your experience at the school will affect your performance, and your performance is the most important factor in your chances at paying off your debt, plus or minus 50,000.

eaa1537 wrote:I had already sent Columbia my offer from Chicago and still only got $25,000, which is extremely frustrating because I am above both medians (even though I guess technically it was a need-based award. I feel like I have nothing else to throw at them except begging for more money.

I hadn't planned on going to Chicago's ASW but am thinking this was probably not a good idea based on responses here...

And even if I know I want big law, is $50,000 really a big enough difference to make Chicago the clear choice?

Yes 50K is enough. UChi is TCR answer here.

bk187 wrote:

Knock wrote:Chi.

This. It's a peer to CLS and you can get NYC from UChi just fine. Take the $50k and run with it.

This. Chi places well all over the country: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... =wander%2A.

Also see the employment location data here:

Employment Location (Class of 2009)

Graduates employed in-state 32%
Graduates employed out-of-state 66.0%
Graduates employed in foreign countries 2%
Number of states where graduates are employed 23
New England (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT) 1.5%
Middle Atlantic (NY, NJ, PA) 21.5%
East North Central (IL, IN, MI, OH, WI) 35.5%
West North Central (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD) 2.5%
South Atlantic (DE, DC, FL, GA, MD, NC, SC, VA, WV) 8.5%
East South Central (AL, KY, MS, TN) 1.0%
West South Central (AR, LA, OK, TX) 7.0%
Pacific (AK, CA, HI, OR, WA) 18.0%
Mountain (AZ, CO, ID, MT, NV, NM, UT, WY) 2.5%
Employment location unknown 0.0%

piccolittle wrote:

eaa1537 wrote:I had already sent Columbia my offer from Chicago and still only got $25,000, which is extremely frustrating because I am above both medians (even though I guess technically it was a need-based award. I feel like I have nothing else to throw at them except begging for more money.

I hadn't planned on going to Chicago's ASW but am thinking this was probably not a good idea based on responses here...

And even if I know I want big law, is $50,000 really a big enough difference to make Chicago the clear choice?

Frankly I think the money isn't significantly more at Chi to justify attending a school you're not that hot on to begin with. Your experience at the school will affect your performance, and your performance is the most important factor in your chances at paying off your debt, plus or minus 50,000.

50k is a lot of money. Plus OP is basing her perceptions about Chi without even visiting. See if you can still sign up for ASW.

Desert Fox wrote:

eaa1537 wrote:I had already sent Columbia my offer from Chicago and still only got $25,000, which is extremely frustrating because I am above both medians (even though I guess technically it was a need-based award. I feel like I have nothing else to throw at them except begging for more money.

I hadn't planned on going to Chicago's ASW but am thinking this was probably not a good idea based on responses here...

And even if I know I want big law, is $50,000 really a big enough difference to make Chicago the clear choice?

Yes 50K is enough. UChi is TCR answer here.

Those who currently live in Chicago can chime in on this, but I have a feeling COL near UChi is cheaper than COL near Columbia.

tea_drinker wrote:

Desert Fox wrote:

eaa1537 wrote:I had already sent Columbia my offer from Chicago and still only got $25,000, which is extremely frustrating because I am above both medians (even though I guess technically it was a need-based award. I feel like I have nothing else to throw at them except begging for more money.

I hadn't planned on going to Chicago's ASW but am thinking this was probably not a good idea based on responses here...

And even if I know I want big law, is $50,000 really a big enough difference to make Chicago the clear choice?

Yes 50K is enough. UChi is TCR answer here.

Those who currently live in Chicago can chime in on this, but I have a feeling COL near UChi is cheaper than COL near Columbia.

This is certainly something worth factoring in, as is the tuition differences. Chi is about 5k cheaper per year than CLS if I am recalling correctly. And at least another 5k cheaper in COL. So it's really more like an 80k+ difference between the schools.

tea_drinker wrote:

Desert Fox wrote:

eaa1537 wrote:I had already sent Columbia my offer from Chicago and still only got $25,000, which is extremely frustrating because I am above both medians (even though I guess technically it was a need-based award. I feel like I have nothing else to throw at them except begging for more money.

I hadn't planned on going to Chicago's ASW but am thinking this was probably not a good idea based on responses here...

And even if I know I want big law, is $50,000 really a big enough difference to make Chicago the clear choice?

Yes 50K is enough. UChi is TCR answer here.

Those who currently live in Chicago can chime in on this, but I have a feeling COL near UChi is cheaper than COL near Columbia.

It's got to be, CLS is in Manhattan. Even the most expensive parts of Chicago are cheaper.

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It seems like a lot of people voted without reading the OP.

For Biglaw and clerkships, Penn is just as competitive as Chicago, especially when NYC/DC are your target markets. For Biglaw, NLJ250 numbers put Chicago at 58% vs Penn's 53% placement. The OP said she doesn't want to work in Chicago and you can definitely assume that more than 5% of Chicago's class stays there to work. As far as clerkships go, Penn actually placed 15% of it's class in clerkships in 2008 (most recent data) versus Chicago's 9% and Penn had 10.4% AIII clerkships vs Chicago's 9%.

Penn has the Wharton certificate which you like and a lot more clinics/journal opportunities than Chicago. I'm not bashing Chicago. It's an awesome school and you should totally visit their ASW to see for yourself but IMO, given the OP, Chicago is far from the clear choice.

absolutazn87 wrote:It seems like a lot of people voted without reading the OP.

For Biglaw and clerkships, Penn is just as competitive as Chicago, especially when NYC/DC are your target markets. For Biglaw, NLJ250 numbers put Chicago at 58% vs Penn's 53% placement. The OP said she doesn't want to work in Chicago and you can definitely assume that more than 5% of Chicago's class stays there to work. As far as clerkships go, Penn actually placed 15% of it's class in clerkships in 2008 (most recent data) versus Chicago's 9% and Penn had 10.4% AIII clerkships vs Chicago's 9%.

Penn has the Wharton certificate which you like and a lot more clinics/journal opportunities than Chicago. I'm not bashing Chicago. It's an awesome school and you should totally visit their ASW to see for yourself but IMO, given the OP, Chicago is far from the clear choice.

This is pretty retarded post.

Desert Fox wrote:

absolutazn87 wrote:It seems like a lot of people voted without reading the OP.
For Biglaw and clerkships, Penn is just as competitive as Chicago, especially when NYC/DC are your target markets. For Biglaw, NLJ250 numbers put Chicago at 58% vs Penn's 53% placement. The OP said she doesn't want to work in Chicago and you can definitely assume that more than 5% of Chicago's class stays there to work. As far as clerkships go, Penn actually placed 15% of it's class in clerkships in 2008 (most recent data) versus Chicago's 9% and Penn had 10.4% AIII clerkships vs Chicago's 9%.
Penn has the Wharton certificate which you like and a lot more clinics/journal opportunities than Chicago. I'm not bashing Chicago. It's an awesome school and you should totally visit their ASW to see for yourself but IMO, given the OP, Chicago is far from the clear choice.

This is pretty retarded post.

Could you elaborate please on why you think this?

eaa1537 wrote:

Desert Fox wrote:

absolutazn87 wrote:It seems like a lot of people voted without reading the OP.
For Biglaw and clerkships, Penn is just as competitive as Chicago, especially when NYC/DC are your target markets. For Biglaw, NLJ250 numbers put Chicago at 58% vs Penn's 53% placement. The OP said she doesn't want to work in Chicago and you can definitely assume that more than 5% of Chicago's class stays there to work. As far as clerkships go, Penn actually placed 15% of it's class in clerkships in 2008 (most recent data) versus Chicago's 9% and Penn had 10.4% AIII clerkships vs Chicago's 9%.
Penn has the Wharton certificate which you like and a lot more clinics/journal opportunities than Chicago. I'm not bashing Chicago. It's an awesome school and you should totally visit their ASW to see for yourself but IMO, given the OP, Chicago is far from the clear choice.

This is pretty retarded post.

Could you elaborate please on why you think this?

A lot of Chicago grads are self selecting themselves into the Chicago market, and so do UPenn grads to NYC/DC market. So it is like apples to oranges if you compare them that way.

eaa1537 wrote:For those voting Chicago- I realize it's a good offer, but will I have a more difficult time coming back to the east coast compared to graduating from Penn or Columbia?

No, you won't have any difficulty at all. This is U-Chicago, easily, go visit.
OR, take your UChicago $75k to Penn and ask for more than $75k to make it worth your while.
OR, take your UChicago $75k to Columbia and ask for $75k+.

eaa1537 wrote:

Desert Fox wrote:

absolutazn87 wrote:It seems like a lot of people voted without reading the OP.
For Biglaw and clerkships, Penn is just as competitive as Chicago, especially when NYC/DC are your target markets. For Biglaw, NLJ250 numbers put Chicago at 58% vs Penn's 53% placement. The OP said she doesn't want to work in Chicago and you can definitely assume that more than 5% of Chicago's class stays there to work. As far as clerkships go, Penn actually placed 15% of it's class in clerkships in 2008 (most recent data) versus Chicago's 9% and Penn had 10.4% AIII clerkships vs Chicago's 9%.
Penn has the Wharton certificate which you like and a lot more clinics/journal opportunities than Chicago. I'm not bashing Chicago. It's an awesome school and you should totally visit their ASW to see for yourself but IMO, given the OP, Chicago is far from the clear choice.

This is pretty retarded post.

Could you elaborate please on why you think this?

They aren't the same for big law, but that is the retarded part.

It's the way he does this retarded math where he subtracts people who go to Chicago to work from UChicago's numbers as if they couldn't get NYC. Even for a UChi student NYC is easier to get than Chicago. So damn near everyone who got big law at Uchi could have gotten it in NYC.

Desert Fox wrote:

eaa1537 wrote:

Desert Fox wrote:

absolutazn87 wrote:It seems like a lot of people voted without reading the OP.
For Biglaw and clerkships, Penn is just as competitive as Chicago, especially when NYC/DC are your target markets. For Biglaw, NLJ250 numbers put Chicago at 58% vs Penn's 53% placement. The OP said she doesn't want to work in Chicago and you can definitely assume that more than 5% of Chicago's class stays there to work. As far as clerkships go, Penn actually placed 15% of it's class in clerkships in 2008 (most recent data) versus Chicago's 9% and Penn had 10.4% AIII clerkships vs Chicago's 9%.
Penn has the Wharton certificate which you like and a lot more clinics/journal opportunities than Chicago. I'm not bashing Chicago. It's an awesome school and you should totally visit their ASW to see for yourself but IMO, given the OP, Chicago is far from the clear choice.

This is pretty retarded post.

Could you elaborate please on why you think this?

They aren't the same for big law, but that is the retarded part.

It's the way he does this retarded math where he subtracts people who go to Chicago to work from UChicago's numbers as if they couldn't get NYC. Even for a UChi student NYC is easier to get than Chicago. So damn near everyone who got big law at Uchi could have gotten it in NYC.

I'm not trying to compare the math or say that Chicago is worse than Penn or even that they're the same. I'm just saying it's comparable, especially when talking about clerkships.

And you're not really backing up the assertion that any Chicago grads that self-select into Chicago can DEFINITELY get NYC. I don't see any numbers backing that up.

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