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NYU isn't really much better than the rest of the t13 outside of NYC. You'd be much better off attending UChi or NU for Chicago PI. Networking is really important with PI, and being 800 miles away from your target market makes networking more difficult.manti5 wrote:If I am interested in practicing public interest law in the midwest, would it make more sense to attend Northwestern to build my network in Chicago or attend NYU, a school that has a better reputation overall and a better record of public interest placement. (Not into either yet, though I have the numbers to hopefully get in both.)
Appreciate any thoughts.
Did you not apply to UChi? ... If you actually end up having to decide between Columbia and NU, take a look at Columbia's placement in Chicago PI. See what Chicago organizations have Columbia grads to determine what Chicago PI organizations Columbia grads typically enter into. FWIW, while I know biglaw is different, in 2010, when I was doing OCI, the number of large Chicago law firms at Columbia's OCI was significantly lower than the number of large Chicago law firms doing OCI at each NU, UChi, & Mich, which suggested to me that the latter three schools had a stronger network in Chicago biglaw (well that and the fact that most Columbia grads tend to go to NYC biglaw). Not sure if it's similar with respect to Chicago PI, but I wouldn't be completely surprised if it was (there really aren't that many Columbia grads working in Chicago relative to NU grads)... With that said, it also depends on the type of PI you want to go into. Some organizations care a lot more about prestige than others. Columbia has a lot more prestige.manti5 wrote:How about Columbia vs NU?