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PILS @ G-town + merit aid (unsure of exact amount)
Chi + Penn = 75 each, deans at chi, james wilson at penn.

interested in PI. interested in clerking but not confident in getting good grades. am leaving nyc for law school but if i dont fall in love with the new city, i will prob go back, though this doesnt factor in the decision much. i hate the hyde park area. i have way better social networks in dc and philly. idk anyone in chicago and hyde park isn't exactly in the center of things.

so, does TLS dogma insist I go to chi for the higher ranking?

btw - chi's clinics and journals seem /are ubercompetitive and that's a huge draw for penn, where msot people find some good extracurrics as their niche.

Penn because you dislike Hyde Park & the competiveness for Chicago's extracurriculars & because you want to return to NYC.

Chicago's not the best for PI, and considering you hate HP I would definitely say Penn if the choice were only between Chi/Penn. Especially since the East Coast job placement at Penn vs. Chi is enough to account for the difference in rank. HOWEVER, the actual amount of merit from Gtown seems to me an important factor in your decision. If you are only getting PILS or slightly more than PILS Gtown would be out of the question. If, however, you are going to get close to full tuition with PILS+merit, then because you already have PILS, which gives summer stipends and has a great mentoring program, I would be leaning heavily towards GULC.

So, I'm not sure if that is of ANY help, but my more simple answer is this: it depends on the merit aid from GULC.

CanadianWolf wrote:Penn because you dislike Hyde Park & the competiveness for Chicago's extracurriculars & because you want to return to NYC.

I did not say I want to return to nyc.

artichoke wrote:Chicago's not the best for PI, and considering you hate HP I would definitely say Penn if the choice were only between Chi/Penn. Especially since the East Coast job placement at Penn vs. Chi is enough to account for the difference in rank. HOWEVER, the actual amount of merit from Gtown seems to me an important factor in your decision. If you are only getting PILS or slightly more than PILS Gtown would be out of the question. If, however, you are going to get close to full tuition with PILS+merit, then because you already have PILS, which gives summer stipends and has a great mentoring program, I would be leaning heavily towards GULC.

So, I'm not sure if that is of ANY help, but my more simple answer is this: it depends on the merit aid from GULC.

I think Chi's LRAP prog and summer funding is better than penn's - so - why isn't it the best for PI?

artichoke wrote:Chicago's not the best for PI, and considering you hate HP I would definitely say Penn if the choice were only between Chi/Penn. Especially since the East Coast job placement at Penn vs. Chi is enough to account for the difference in rank. HOWEVER, the actual amount of merit from Gtown seems to me an important factor in your decision. If you are only getting PILS or slightly more than PILS Gtown would be out of the question. If, however, you are going to get close to full tuition with PILS+merit, then because you already have PILS, which gives summer stipends and has a great mentoring program, I would be leaning heavily towards GULC.

So, I'm not sure if that is of ANY help, but my more simple answer is this: it depends on the merit aid from GULC.

Penn's not good for PI either...I'd (unhesitatingly) give Chi the point for PI career outlook.

OP, since your goals are PI/clerking, pick Chi. Penn's a great school, but U of C gives you a much better shot at clerking.

Also, if you're looking to pursue other forms of PI (beyond clerking), $$$ at GT looks pretty attractive, esp since DC.

dukey wrote:

artichoke wrote:Chicago's not the best for PI, and considering you hate HP I would definitely say Penn if the choice were only between Chi/Penn. Especially since the East Coast job placement at Penn vs. Chi is enough to account for the difference in rank. HOWEVER, the actual amount of merit from Gtown seems to me an important factor in your decision. If you are only getting PILS or slightly more than PILS Gtown would be out of the question. If, however, you are going to get close to full tuition with PILS+merit, then because you already have PILS, which gives summer stipends and has a great mentoring program, I would be leaning heavily towards GULC.

So, I'm not sure if that is of ANY help, but my more simple answer is this: it depends on the merit aid from GULC.

Penn's not good for PI either...I'd (unhesitatingly) give Chi the point for PI career outlook.

OP, since your goals are PI/clerking, pick Chi. Penn's a great school, but U of C gives you a much better shot at clerking.

Also, if you're looking to pursue other forms of PI (beyond clerking), $$$ at GT looks pretty attractive, esp since DC.

Yeah, but it's not necessarily $$$ right? I mean, PILS only pays UP TO 1/3 of tuition and merit beyond that is TBD.

artichoke wrote:Chicago's not the best for PI, and considering you hate HP I would definitely say Penn if the choice were only between Chi/Penn. Especially since the East Coast job placement at Penn vs. Chi is enough to account for the difference in rank. HOWEVER, the actual amount of merit from Gtown seems to me an important factor in your decision. If you are only getting PILS or slightly more than PILS Gtown would be out of the question. If, however, you are going to get close to full tuition with PILS+merit, then because you already have PILS, which gives summer stipends and has a great mentoring program, I would be leaning heavily towards GULC.

So, I'm not sure if that is of ANY help, but my more simple answer is this: it depends on the merit aid from GULC.

Just put two and two together - artichoke is WL at Chicago. Duhhh

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 5#p3839185

artichoke wrote:Chicago's not the best for PI, and considering you hate HP I would definitely say Penn if the choice were only between Chi/Penn. Especially since the East Coast job placement at Penn vs. Chi is enough to account for the difference in rank. HOWEVER, the actual amount of merit from Gtown seems to me an important factor in your decision. If you are only getting PILS or slightly more than PILS Gtown would be out of the question. If, however, you are going to get close to full tuition with PILS+merit, then because you already have PILS, which gives summer stipends and has a great mentoring program, I would be leaning heavily towards GULC.

So, I'm not sure if that is of ANY help, but my more simple answer is this: it depends on the merit aid from GULC.

deathviaboredom wrote:I think Chi's LRAP prog and summer funding is better than penn's - so - why isn't it the best for PI?

jeremysen wrote:Just put two and two together - artichoke is WL at Chicago. Duhhh
http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 5#p3839185

Lol artichoke, caught red-handed. OP, suck it up for 3 years; go to Chicago. Then clerk @ CoA --> Profit.

jeremysen wrote:

artichoke wrote:Chicago's not the best for PI, and considering you hate HP I would definitely say Penn if the choice were only between Chi/Penn. Especially since the East Coast job placement at Penn vs. Chi is enough to account for the difference in rank. HOWEVER, the actual amount of merit from Gtown seems to me an important factor in your decision. If you are only getting PILS or slightly more than PILS Gtown would be out of the question. If, however, you are going to get close to full tuition with PILS+merit, then because you already have PILS, which gives summer stipends and has a great mentoring program, I would be leaning heavily towards GULC.

So, I'm not sure if that is of ANY help, but my more simple answer is this: it depends on the merit aid from GULC.

Just put two and two together - artichoke is WL at Chicago. Duhhh

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 5#p3839185

Haha, caught me. Although I was flat out rejected at Penn, so I'm not sure you can claim I'm biased on that count.

dukey wrote: OP, since your goals are PI/clerking, pick Chi. Penn's a great school, but U of C gives you a much better shot at clerking.

glewz wrote: OP, suck it up for 3 years; go to Chicago. Then clerk @ CoA --> Profit.

Not weighing in on the Chicago vs. Penn for PI debate, but would either of you two like to explain why you see Chicago as providing such a clear advantage for clerkships? I'll agree at the SCOTUS level, but for Article IIIs?

I'm going to Penn this fall but I think if you can stomach Hyde Park (which doesn't seem so horrible) you should choose Chicago. Chicago seems to be really building up their PI side with their new LRAP which is leaps and bounds better than Penn's (at least for now!)

Clerkship-wise, Penn has a higher percentage of the class clerking overall but Chicago gets more Article III clerkships so I'd put it at a wash.

But with Chicago being the better school and with the recent boosting of their PI programs, I'd choose Chi.

absolutazn87 wrote:
But with Chicago being the better school and with the recent boosting of their PI programs, I'd choose Chi.

This.

HP isn't that bad any you'll be too busy during 1L to really care that much. A few people live up north even for 1L, but I'd recommend HP for your first year then move.

anyone else want to weigh in on this?

anyone?

IMO, Penn.

deathviaboredom wrote:
I think chicago might be extraordinarily socially isolating.

Really? I've met some friends here who I am confident will be some of my best friends for the rest of my life. I've found our class to be very socially adept, charming, kind, and fun.

Emma. wrote:

deathviaboredom wrote:
I think chicago might be extraordinarily socially isolating.

Really? I've met some friends here who I am confident will be some of my best friends for the rest of my life. I've found our class to be very socially adept, charming, kind, and fun.

That's good to hear! Did you meet them before or after law school begin?