Chicago v. Yale Forum

[4real]

Long-time lurker, just registered.

Interested in clerking and firm work (no particular region of interest)

Chicago CoA: ~30k (financial help from parents + scholarships)
Yale: ~150k (financial help from parents + small grant)

[Muenchen]

Long-time lurker, just registered.

Interested in clerking and firm work (no particular region of interest)

Chicago CoA: ~30k (financial help from parents + scholarships)
Yale: ~150k (financial help from parents + small grant)

I'm going to Chicago, and I'm even going to say Yale. Yale is TCR unless there's some incredibly overwhelming reaon that you MUST go to Chicago. Enjoy CT.

[Law Sauce]

Not sure where the question is... any poll with yale in it = go to yale every time

[MrPapagiorgio]

Whenever it is X vs. Yale, the answer is always Yale with two exceptions:

1) You are a lay prestige whore and thus attend Harvard instead;
2) The thought of Palo Alto makes you wet.

Since you are dealing with neither, Yale.

[barry]

Yale is always TCR barring huge personal reasons

[4real]

2) The thought of Palo Alto makes you wet.

lmao. what if Hyde Park makes me wet? Ok so it doesn't... but neither does new haven!


also, where do the 50 or so people per year that choose not to go to Yale end up? They can't all be at Harvard or Stanford

[boushi]

I'm not so sure on this one. The fact that you will be able to write Rubenstein Scholar on your resume and such may level the playing field for you (assuming you don't bomb at Chicago), as most people would assume you took the money over YHS. In that sense, there may not be as big of a prestige hit among those in the know as you. Of course, the Yale LRAP program is also worth something and could potentially make Yale just as cheap as Chicago in the long run.

[4real]

I'm surprised that it's not even close right now. Apparently I shouldn't be surprised though since "Yale is always TCR"

[trudat15]

whoops i clicked Chicago in the poll, but TCR is Yale. And this is also coming from someone in love with and attending Chicago.

[bk1]

Since you want to clerk, go to Yale.

If your sole interest was biglaw, I would lean towards Chicago, but it isn't.

[4real]

Since you want to clerk, go to Yale.

If your sole interest was biglaw, I would lean towards Chicago, but it isn't.

Would anyone agree with this? I'm definitely inclined to biglaw (moreso than clerking), I just thought it might be an option I want to pursue. Goal is biglaw though

[sonervous88]

i would go to yale. but i also still haven't heard from yale. so if you want to turn them down i encourage you to do so for my sake.

but seriously. go to yale

[Knock]

Yale.

[bk1]

Would anyone agree with this? I'm definitely inclined to biglaw (moreso than clerking), I just thought it might be an option I want to pursue. Goal is biglaw though

Most clerks go on to biglaw afterwards. It's not like those things are mutually exclusive.

What I didn't include in my response is that Yale opens up pretty much every door for you so that if you change your mind you have the entire plethora of legal opportunities to pick from and that really cannot be overstated.

[Knock]

Also, unless you have some outstanding circumstances (savings, family, etc.), you are looking at more than $30k debt from Chicago. Probably more like $60k+, even with a full tuition scholarship.

[clintonius]

Yeah, that's kinda tough -- graduating with only $30k in debt and heading into biglaw will give you a pretty nice financial start, though going to Yale will provide a bigger safety net in basically every way (better LRAP as I understand it, better shot at top firms with less-than-stellar grades, much better shot at clerkships). I would take Yale, but Chicago is a great option here too.

Edit: what BK said.

[gbpackerbacker]

Federal clerk job = eventual biglaw if wanted, no?

[4real]

Also, unless you have some outstanding circumstances (savings, family, etc.), you are looking at more than $30k debt from Chicago. Probably more like $60k+, even with a full tuition scholarship.

I understand but circumstances make these numbers very close estimates. I spent a lot of time figuring them out

[Fresh]

Did you visit both schools? If not, you'll probably have an easier time making the choice afterwords. You can't really go wrong.

Being ranked last at Yale (I know they don't rank) will still leave you with some decent choices.
Being ranked last at Chicago is fine too, since you can probably pay back 30k with most jobs (assuming you get shut out of firms).

[flexityflex86]

I think Yale is worth an extra 100k over the course of your career. Either way, you have a pretty enviable future.

[CanadianWolf]

Chicago as a Rubenstein Scholar is impressive. Yale has some name recognition & prestige as well. No wrong choice. Enjoy Chicago !

[flexityflex86]

Chicago as a Rubenstein Scholar is impressive. Yale has some name recognition & prestige as well. No wrong choice. Enjoy Chicago !

You're assuming that OP won't take a third choice like a conditional scholarship to Cooley or an addiction to PCP.

[bigkahuna2020]

2) The thought of Palo Alto makes you wet.

lmao. what if Hyde Park makes me wet? Ok so it doesn't... but neither does new haven!


also, where do the 50 or so people per year that choose not to go to Yale end up? They can't all be at Harvard or Stanford

Exactly 25% Harvard, 25% Stanford, 25% Goldman Sachs and 25% to the Valley to become porn stars.

[Attorney]

also, where do the 50 or so people per year that choose not to go to Yale end up? They can't all be at Harvard or Stanford

Sure they can. If I had to guess, I bet 35-ish end up in Cambridge, 10-ish in Palo Alto, and 5-ish in Hyde Park or Morningside Heights on fuller-than-full scholarships. (The 5 or so who do the latter probably went to Harvard, Stanford, Yale, MIT, or Princeton for undergrad and have the prestige whoredom completely out of their systems.)

25% Goldman Sachs

MY GAWD, Goldman gets a lot of unwarranted prestige attention on TLS. Here's a hint, peoplez. Goldman is an investment bank. As with all the other i-banks, the best GS talent leaves after 2-3 years to make a lot more money in private equity and hedge funds. The really uber talents never make the pit stop at Goldman or Morgan Stanley in the first place. Goldman is like the 418th most prestigious place to work on Wall $treet.

[cornellbeez]

also, where do the 50 or so people per year that choose not to go to Yale end up? They can't all be at Harvard or Stanford

Sure they can. If I had to guess, I bet 35-ish end up in Cambridge, 10-ish in Palo Alto, and 5-ish in Hyde Park or Morningside Heights on fuller-than-full scholarships. (The 5 or so who do the latter probably went to Harvard, Stanford, Yale, MIT, or Princeton for undergrad and have the prestige whoredom completely out of their systems.)

My friend who got into Yale, Harvard, and Stanford decided not to go to law school (probably the smartest guy I know).