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Hey all! I have sort of ruled out UT since I want to stay primarily on the East Coast, so the big questions now is Cornell or GULC? Have not received $$ from either as of yet and I am not assuming I would get a whole lot if anything. The only type of law I am 100% ruling out is PI, but I feel like I am heavily leaning toward corporate/business law.. maybe even international business law. Thoughts? Be uncensored I want to know real pros and cons for both.

The consensus will be Cornell because GULC's monster class size makes its placement power look worse than it is. Given that you want biglaw, Cornell is probably a marginally better choice due to superior NYC firm placement per capita. Still, these are peer schools and you should go to whichever is cheaper or to whichever you have a strong preference for location-wise. I personally would probably lean towards GULC because Ithaca blows.

I would say that unless you have a strong preference for DC, go to Cornell because of the better placement. Full disclosure, I am a Cornell student who didn't want to go to law school in a city. Some may suggest that the disparity in placement has something to do with more GT students self-selecting PI.

I'm making this same decision and I want corporate/biglaw also. From the info I have gathered it seems like Cornell is the best bet for biglaw placing at least 50% of their class into biglaw. Thus, I am pretty much set on Cornell. Feel free to PM me if you want to talk about this more as we're making the same decision.

KMaine wrote:I would say that unless you have a strong preference for DC, go to Cornell because of the better placement. Full disclosure, I am a Cornell student who didn't want to go to law school in a city. Some may suggest that the disparity in placement has something to do with more GT students self-selecting PI.

This is what I am trying to figure out. If you do well at GULC ( at least top 30%) and want corporate/biglaw, will you really not receive equal offers compared to Cornell?

Also, what if you want biglaw...but not necessarily NYC biglaw?

Nelson wrote:The consensus will be Cornell because GULC's monster class size makes its placement power look worse than it is. Given that you want biglaw, Cornell is probably a marginally better choice due to superior NYC firm placement per capita. Still, these are peer schools and you should go to whichever is cheaper or to whichever you have a strong preference for location-wise. I personally would probably lean towards GULC because Ithaca blows.

It doesn't just make the placement worse than it looks, it makes it worse in general.

Though I heard they cut a lot of their part time program. Maybe that will help.

So I am having a hard time determining if I am going to face many more obstacles to get biglaw job offers at GULC? Outside of NYC

This has been discussed so many times...Use the search function

msblaw89 wrote:Also, what if you want biglaw...but not necessarily NYC biglaw?

Given all the crap that GULC gets, they are peers. Placement stats seem to suggest that Cornell fares better than GULC in NYC, but no one can really give a definitive answer. For biglaw placement on east coast, I would wager they perform about the same. A hiring partner isn't really going to give you the nod over a person with equal grades from GULC because it is ranked 1 spot higher. Pick based on COA and where you want to live.

I'm a Cornell 2L who is from Baltimore and wanted to work in DC. During OCI, I had over 20 screener interviews and got more than a dozen callbacks with DC firms, and landed a great summer associate position with a highly reputable firm in DC.

My friend at Georgetown had to rank over 60 firms in order to get 6 screener interviews, and got no callbacks.

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Ostrizr316 wrote:I'm a Cornell 2L who is from Baltimore and wanted to work in DC. During OCI, I had over 20 screener interviews and got more than a dozen callbacks with DC firms, and landed a great summer associate position with a highly reputable firm in DC.

My friend at Georgetown had to rank over 60 firms in order to get 6 screener interviews, and got no callbacks.

So Cornell will reach farther than GULC for biglaw? I am slightly concerned about which degree will give me more mobility

Cornell seems to place really well in Boston (where I will be working), though I did have a GULC student in my summer class. It is tough, because it is all anecdotal. If you have your heart set on DC, then it seems GULC would give you more opportunity, elsewhere, probably a wash. I think the small class at Cornell does have some advantages (better chance at Law Review). I have heard people don't get many screeners at GT OCI, though their large class size probably means they have a greater number/variety of firms visit. Cornell does primarily place in NYC, but I do know people working in most major markets (with a good number of us in Boston).

If you want to do corporate law NYC BigLaw is a good place to start your career. As such, Cornell seems like the better choice based on the school's uncanny ability to place in NYC.

msblaw89 wrote:

Ostrizr316 wrote:I'm a Cornell 2L who is from Baltimore and wanted to work in DC. During OCI, I had over 20 screener interviews and got more than a dozen callbacks with DC firms, and landed a great summer associate position with a highly reputable firm in DC.

My friend at Georgetown had to rank over 60 firms in order to get 6 screener interviews, and got no callbacks.

So Cornell will reach farther than GULC for biglaw? I am slightly concerned about which degree will give me more mobility

Um, not sure you drew a valid conclusion from the anecdote you quoted.

As far as mobility, although it won't give you a definitive answer, I would suggest looking up some websites for firms in major markets and see where their lawyers hail from.

Wait until the new NLJ250 numbers come in and consider the degree to which GULC's part time program may skew the stats.

Preface: GULC 2L (w/ SA) here. Chose it over Cornell for personal reasons. Love it here.

Unless you get significant cash at GULC or have strong personal reasons for being in DC, go to Cornell. Job prospects are much better. Cornell beats GULC in NY and GULC isn't good at getting you DC SA positions. National reach is probably a coin toss.

The representations above about GULC OCI are not typical. First off, you only rank 50 firms (not 60). Second, if you only got 6 screeners then that's because you're an idiot and picked only DC firms. DC firms are incredibly popular here and they have few interview slots, so you'd be wise to avoid bidding on them. The average student got 12 through the lottery, plus whatever they could add through mass mailing. Those who bid straight NY firms got about 20 screeners through the lottery. Whether you get a callback from those screeners will have more to do with your personality than whether you're at GULC v. Cornell.

rad lulz wrote:

Ostrizr316 wrote:I'm a Cornell 2L who is from Baltimore and wanted to work in DC. During OCI, I had over 20 screener interviews and got more than a dozen callbacks with DC firms, and landed a great summer associate position with a highly reputable firm in DC.

My friend at Georgetown had to rank over 60 firms in order to get 6 screener interviews, and got no callbacks.

Without class ranks, that was definitely a riveting tale.

This slayed me for some reason

is 61 transfer a lot? it seems like gtown likes to inflate their #s by accepting a somewhat smaller 1L class and then using transfers to fill the rest

laxbrah420 wrote:is 61 transfer a lot? it seems like gtown likes to inflate their #s by accepting a somewhat smaller 1L class and then using transfers to fill the rest

If GULC wanted to inflate their numbers, they'd eliminate the part time program. FT LSAT scores (25%/50%/75%) 169/171/172, PT scores 164/167/170.

Nobody has ever accused GULC of having a small 1L class before! The larger number of transfers is inherent with a large class size. People transfer/drop-out after 1L and need to be replaced.

GULC 3L. The bashing of GULC on this board aside (uncalled for, IMO), if you want to go to NY, sure, Cornell may be the better option simply because there are fewer students so placement (percentage-wise) is better there. DC is going to be competitive no matter what school you attend and you should do well. The anecdote above re: 20 v. 6 screeners and such is crock without GPA/rank information, not to mention that it's quite well known that you should not solely bid on DC. And even if you have 6 screeners, if you have the grades and at least some personality, you should get callbacks, and there are plenty of ways to get more screeners. Blaming GULC the institution for personal shortcomings is laughable, IMO.

You should visit both and pick which one you like the most. If you do well at both, your prospects are pretty much the same for biglaw. It comes down to what you want.

Flip a coin...

Joking aside, there is much to be said for choosing the law school that is the best fit since we really aren't comparing a TTT with a t14 or even something like HYPCC with lower t14. Go visit both and weigh your options (and see what kind of finaid package you get).

Thank you for all of your opinions. It is really helpful!

t14fanboy wrote:Flip a coin...

Joking aside, there is much to be said for choosing the law school that is the best fit since we really aren't comparing a TTT with a t14 or even something like HYPCC with lower t14. Go visit both and weigh your options (and see what kind of finaid package you get).

Elegant Penn trolling.

If you did reasonably well your 1l at either GULC or Cornell...how easy would it be to transfer to Duke and upward?