Top Law Schools

Hi everyone!

I`m from Colombia and need to make a choice between these two schools.

Northwestern:
2 year JD FOR INTERNATIONAL LAWYERS. This is not the typical AJD from Northwestern. Here I have a full year forgiven from the fact that I am an experienced attorney in my country.
COA around 140k

Cornell:
3 year JD with 21k scholarship (7K x year).
COA around 195 K

Preferences:

Corporate and/or financial law in NY, Chicago or Miami. Money is a huge concern, so the cheaper (in this case Northwestern) has an important advantage, but don`t know if the fact that the degree could be completed in two years may affect my employability.

Please vote and share your thoughts!!

pferaso wrote:Hi everyone!

I`m from Colombia and need to make a choice between these two schools.

Northwestern:
2 year JD FOR INTERNATIONAL LAWYERS. This is not the typical AJD from Northwestern. Here I have a full year forgiven from the fact that I am an experienced attorney in my country.

Cornell:
3 year JD @ sticker

Preferences:

Financial law in NY biglaw, although Chicago would be ok. Money is a huge concern for me, so the cheaper (in this case Northwestern) has an important advantage, but don`t know if the fact that the degree could be completed in two years could affect my employability.

Please vote and share your thoughts!!

I'd generally say go to Cornell over Northwestern if you want NYC, but this is a huge time/cost difference. Why aren't you applying to Cornell's LLM program? Is it that you want a "JD" rather than an "LLM"?

I'd try and look at how these two-year international JDs have placed (employment-wise) from Northwestern. I'm not familiar with that program... is it new? Is it functionally like an LLM? I think you're right to wonder if the traditional 3-year JD program is more respected. Look into this and see what you discover. If you have any doubt on the employability of NU's two-year JD, I'd say go to Cornell (which places better in your desired location anyway).

Also, do you have any money from Northwestern or is it just that you have one year less of tuition? If you have some money you can try to negotiate with Cornell.

woeisme wrote:

pferaso wrote:Hi everyone!

I`m from Colombia and need to make a choice between these two schools.

Northwestern:
2 year JD FOR INTERNATIONAL LAWYERS. This is not the typical AJD from Northwestern. Here I have a full year forgiven from the fact that I am an experienced attorney in my country.

Cornell:
3 year JD @ sticker

Preferences:

Financial law in NY biglaw, although Chicago would be ok. Money is a huge concern for me, so the cheaper (in this case Northwestern) has an important advantage, but don`t know if the fact that the degree could be completed in two years could affect my employability.

Please vote and share your thoughts!!

I'd generally say go to Cornell over Northwestern if you want NYC, but this is a huge time/cost difference. Why aren't you applying to Cornell's LLM program? Is it that you want a "JD" rather than an "LLM"?

I'd try and look at how these two-year international JDs have placed (employment-wise) from Northwestern. I'm not familiar with that program... is it new? Is it functionally like an LLM? I think you're right to wonder if the traditional 3-year JD program is more respected. Look into this and see what you discover. If you have any doubt on the employability of NU's two-year JD, I'd say go to Cornell (which places better in your desired location anyway).

Also, do you have any money from Northwestern or is it just that you have one year less of tuition? If you have some money you can try to negotiate with Cornell.

In my situation the LLM is a very bad investment. It gives me a negligible advantage in my country and is almost useless in the U.S.

Unfortunately, I have no statistic or hard data to measure how well a 2year int. JD from Northwestern does in the labor market. That´s why I´m looking for opinions about the program.

Now, the worst case scenario would be being unemployed after 3 years of law school, with a 200k debt and having lost three years of potential earnings. I have not received any financial aid from either school yet.

Mi long term plan is working a couple of years in the U.S. or other common law country, and then return to Colombia.

woeisme wrote:

pferaso wrote:Hi everyone!

I`m from Colombia and need to make a choice between these two schools.

Northwestern:
2 year JD FOR INTERNATIONAL LAWYERS. This is not the typical AJD from Northwestern. Here I have a full year forgiven from the fact that I am an experienced attorney in my country.

Cornell:
3 year JD @ sticker

Preferences:

Financial law in NY biglaw, although Chicago would be ok. Money is a huge concern for me, so the cheaper (in this case Northwestern) has an important advantage, but don`t know if the fact that the degree could be completed in two years could affect my employability.

Please vote and share your thoughts!!

I'd generally say go to Cornell over Northwestern if you want NYC, but this is a huge time/cost difference. Why aren't you applying to Cornell's LLM program? Is it that you want a "JD" rather than an "LLM"?

I'd try and look at how these two-year international JDs have placed (employment-wise) from Northwestern. I'm not familiar with that program... is it new? Is it functionally like an LLM? I think you're right to wonder if the traditional 3-year JD program is more respected. Look into this and see what you discover. If you have any doubt on the employability of NU's two-year JD, I'd say go to Cornell (which places better in your desired location anyway).

Also, do you have any money from Northwestern or is it just that you have one year less of tuition? If you have some money you can try to negotiate with Cornell.

The LLM degree is useless for some students. It is really country-dependent. Plus, and LLM degree will at times relegate the holder a return to their home country after a few years in London or NYC doing M&A or Capital Markets. If they want to stay where the action is at, they may want a JD.

OP: I would recommend the 2-year program at NU if you already have something lined up, or have work experience which will stand out. I believe the two schools are equal in terms of prestige. Cornell may be better if you want to work on deals in NYC.

Northwestern students have lots of opportunities in NY generally, but the 2 year JD program sounds like it has a substantial drawback when it comes to recruiting (I don't think I know anyone who is in it). Since you can't do OCI in August, you would primarily have to rely on non-traditional recruiting methods for your summer position. Since US legal recruiting is 98% driven by summer internship programs, this sounds like a deal killer. I would say you should contact the administrators and some current students to get an accurate picture of how recruiting for that program actually works.

bdubs wrote:Since you can't do OCI in August, you would primarily have to rely on non-traditional recruiting methods for your summer position.

I don't think it this is how NU's 2 year foreign JD works. I talked to someone who is in it right now and he did OCI with all the 2L's (aka before he even took a single class). Not having any grades didn't seem to hurt him since he ended up at a NYC V10 (granted he was IP and had stellar work experience in his previous country).

@OP: I'm not sure which is better. NU is obviously cheaper but it's not worth it if it ends up hurting your job prospects. I'd ask NU's admissions office to put you in touch with current 2 year foreign JD's and ask them personally what they think about it and how it has hurt or helped them.

bdubs wrote: I would say you should contact the administrators and some current students to get an accurate picture of how recruiting for that program actually works.

Thanks, that´s what I need to do. Now, according to Nortwestern´s OCI registration instructions : "Two-Year JD students are completely integrated into the regular JD program and are considered 2Ls during the fall on-campus interviewing
process". So they have a shot at OCI. The question is: is it a good one? -or if it is a bad one, whether an extra year of Law School is justified-

I just received an e-mail from someone at NU´s career services. He told me that despite being able to participate in OCI, people from the 2yr JD for int. lawyers were on a significant disadvantage given their lack of grades by the time of OCI. So, that leaves me with the non-OCI small-to-medium firm option in order to recover my investment. Does that justify an extra year at Cornell??? please help!!!!

I know someone who is in the two year JD program, and was at Weil in NYC this past summer.

pferaso wrote:I just received an e-mail from someone at NU´s career services. He told me that despite being able to participate in OCI, people from the 2yr JD for int. lawyers were on a significant disadvantage given their lack of grades by the time of OCI. So, that leaves me with the non-OCI small-to-medium firm option in order to recover my investment. Does that justify an extra year at Cornell??? please help!!!!

If you want to work at a big firm it most definitely does justify an extra year at Cornell.

(Side Note: I'm impressed with my school for being so upfront about the fact that their 2 year foreign JD's did suffer during OCI due to lack of grades.)

pferaso wrote:I just received an e-mail from someone at NU´s career services. He told me that despite being able to participate in OCI, people from the 2yr JD for int. lawyers were on a significant disadvantage given their lack of grades by the time of OCI. So, that leaves me with the non-OCI small-to-medium firm option in order to recover my investment. Does that justify an extra year at Cornell??? please help!!!!

Uh yeah...

pferaso wrote:I just received an e-mail from someone at NU´s career services. He told me that despite being able to participate in OCI, people from the 2yr JD for int. lawyers were on a significant disadvantage given their lack of grades by the time of OCI. So, that leaves me with the non-OCI small-to-medium firm option in order to recover my investment. Does that justify an extra year at Cornell??? please help!!!!

Here is the question: Can you participate at OCI, and then drop out and never pay any money if you don't get a job, because school hasn't started. And then apply to Cornell.
Or heck, why not double deposit at NU and cornell, and then drop out and go to cornell that year.

ben4847 wrote:

pferaso wrote:I just received an e-mail from someone at NU´s career services. He told me that despite being able to participate in OCI, people from the 2yr JD for int. lawyers were on a significant disadvantage given their lack of grades by the time of OCI. So, that leaves me with the non-OCI small-to-medium firm option in order to recover my investment. Does that justify an extra year at Cornell??? please help!!!!

Here is the question: Can you participate at OCI, and then drop out and never pay any money if you don't get a job, because school hasn't started. And then apply to Cornell.
Or heck, why not double deposit at NU and cornell, and then drop out and go to cornell that year.

That would be a huge pain in the ass, but potentially worth the difference in tuition.

ben4847 wrote:

pferaso wrote:I just received an e-mail from someone at NU´s career services. He told me that despite being able to participate in OCI, people from the 2yr JD for int. lawyers were on a significant disadvantage given their lack of grades by the time of OCI. So, that leaves me with the non-OCI small-to-medium firm option in order to recover my investment. Does that justify an extra year at Cornell??? please help!!!!

Here is the question: Can you participate at OCI, and then drop out and never pay any money if you don't get a job, because school hasn't started. And then apply to Cornell.
Or heck, why not double deposit at NU and cornell, and then drop out and go to cornell that year.

This sounds impossible since callbacks will happen after school starts and rejections by snail mail after screeners likely won't arrive until after school starts. It also seems incredibly shady.

bk187 wrote:

ben4847 wrote:

pferaso wrote:I just received an e-mail from someone at NU´s career services. He told me that despite being able to participate in OCI, people from the 2yr JD for int. lawyers were on a significant disadvantage given their lack of grades by the time of OCI. So, that leaves me with the non-OCI small-to-medium firm option in order to recover my investment. Does that justify an extra year at Cornell??? please help!!!!

Here is the question: Can you participate at OCI, and then drop out and never pay any money if you don't get a job, because school hasn't started. And then apply to Cornell.
Or heck, why not double deposit at NU and cornell, and then drop out and go to cornell that year.

This sounds impossible since callbacks will happen after school starts and rejections by snail mail after screeners likely won't arrive until after school starts. It also seems incredibly shady.

Just getting a sufficient number of callbacks would probably be enough to stick it out at NU. The real hard part would be having to pack up and leave for Shithica if it didn't work out.

ben4847 wrote:

pferaso wrote:Here is the question: Can you participate at OCI, and then drop out and never pay any money if you don't get a job, because school hasn't started. And then apply to Cornell.
Or heck, why not double deposit at NU and cornell, and then drop out and go to cornell that year.

I can´t. I will arrive to the U.S. with a student visa sponsored by only one law school, so I have to choose before July.

Will NU let you stay for a full three years if you fuck up at LOLCI? Like, if it doesn't work out, you just convert to a regular JD. Or maybe even a JD/LLM so you can redo OCI?

Desert Fox wrote:Will NU let you stay for a full three years if you f--- up at LOLCI? Like, if it doesn't work out, you just convert to a regular JD. Or maybe even a JD/LLM so you can redo OCI?

This is a good angle

ben4847 wrote:

Desert Fox wrote:Will NU let you stay for a full three years if you f--- up at LOLCI? Like, if it doesn't work out, you just convert to a regular JD. Or maybe even a JD/LLM so you can redo OCI?

This is a good angle

If possible, you get the benfits of the 2 year, and the benefits of Cornell, all in the same school. And it won't screw up anything because 2year JD's are treated like 1Ls at NU. I had one in my section.

If you ask this, OP, try to frame it "if after attending a semester or so, can I convert to full time if I feel it academically rewarding?"

Desert Fox wrote:

ben4847 wrote:

Desert Fox wrote: If you ask this, OP, try to frame it "if after attending a semester or so, can I convert to full time if I feel it academically rewarding?"

Sounds good, if it works I´ll buy you a beer!!!

pferaso wrote:I just received an e-mail from someone at NU´s career services. He told me that despite being able to participate in OCI, people from the 2yr JD for int. lawyers were on a significant disadvantage given their lack of grades by the time of OCI. So, that leaves me with the non-OCI small-to-medium firm option in order to recover my investment. Does that justify an extra year at Cornell??? please help!!!!

pferaso wrote:I just received an e-mail from someone at NU´s career services. He told me that despite being able to participate in OCI, people from the 2yr JD for int. lawyers were on a significant disadvantage given their lack of grades by the time of OCI. So, that leaves me with the non-OCI small-to-medium firm option in order to recover my investment. Does that justify an extra year at Cornell??? please help!!!!

Pferaso, I am in a similar situation as you. Were you able to check with the admissions office on whether they'll allow you to change your enrollment to a 3 year JD after the OCI?

Logically, there shouldn't be a problem for taking courses for which one is granted credits at the outset.

ieyeispy wrote:

pferaso wrote:I just received an e-mail from someone at NU´s career services. He told me that despite being able to participate in OCI, people from the 2yr JD for int. lawyers were on a significant disadvantage given their lack of grades by the time of OCI. So, that leaves me with the non-OCI small-to-medium firm option in order to recover my investment. Does that justify an extra year at Cornell??? please help!!!!

pferaso wrote:I just received an e-mail from someone at NU´s career services. He told me that despite being able to participate in OCI, people from the 2yr JD for int. lawyers were on a significant disadvantage given their lack of grades by the time of OCI. So, that leaves me with the non-OCI small-to-medium firm option in order to recover my investment. Does that justify an extra year at Cornell??? please help!!!!

Pferaso, I am in a similar situation as you. Were you able to check with the admissions office on whether they'll allow you to change your enrollment to a 3 year JD after the OCI?

Logically, there shouldn't be a problem for taking courses for which one is granted credits at the outset.

Hey, its great to know that somebody is in the same boat as I am.

I haven`t asked that question to the admissions office yet because I am affraid of contacting the wrong person and thereby closing that possibility prematurely.

However I have contacted a couple of current students from the program and they have provided me valuable impressions that I can share with you if you pm me. I will ask them that question and give you the answer.

PMd

Northwestern.

I´m somewhat surprised that the scholly from Cornell didn´t help it to get closer in this poll......