BC/BU vs U Mich/Northwestern for Boston Hard-IP Forum

[IPman00]

Not going to waste people's time, yet, with gritty details, but here are the specs:

I was an EE undergrad, a couple years EE experience under my belt, looking to start with hard-IP in Boston at biglaw (would like both prosecution and litigation experience) and then transfer in-house in Greater Boston suburbs after a few years.

What's better, BC/BU or U Mich/Northwestern? Why? What factors should I be considering?

My naive thoughts:
BC/BU ranked (much) lower, but it seems like they saturate the Boston market. I went to websites of the largest firms in Boston that have large patent staff (see link below), and tallied where the firms do OCI. Got ~7 for U. Michigan, ~9 for Northwestern, 21 for BC, and 21 for BU, OUT OF 21 FIRMS!

So, what good is U. Michigan's/Northwestern's high rank going to do me if most of these Boston firms never even set foot on their campus? I understand that I can be lower ranked in my class and get into biglaw from higher ranked school, but still, if there's no OCI, what good does that do me?

http://www.averyindex.com/patent_city_f ... ston&st=MA

Just in case it matters: my LSAT is ~25%tile of U. Mich and Northwestern, and ~60%tile for BC/BU.

Thanks all!

EDIT
I would expect to get about 1 year of tuition from BC/BU, and nothing from U. Mich/Northwestern (as my LSAT would suggest).

I am not URM.

I would be willing to leave Boston if necessary, but would greatly prefer Boston. To me, my understanding of the "best law school for me" is the school that gives me the biggest chances of working where I want. In this case, Boston.

EDIT2
I suppose I should add, that I grew up and went to school in the Boston area. My family is here. So I do have ties to the region.

[K Rock]

What scholarship offers do you have from each school? What is the total cost of attendance at each school? You need to answer these questions before anyone can give you good advice.

[bk1]

How many of the Boston firms go to Loyola PLIP? That could shore up the deficiencies in OCI. Also you can mass mail (which is how you can use NU/UM prestige to get a school that doesn't come to OCI) but that is not as ideal as them coming to OCI. If you are a diverse law student there is likely a Boston diversity fair.

As for much is better, I'm not sure. I think the question is whether you are Boston or bust and the cost of BU/BC.

[IPman00]

I would expect to get about 1 year of tuition from BC/BU, and nothing from U. Mich/Northwestern (as my LSAT would suggest).

I am not URM.

I would be willing to leave Boston if necessary, but would greatly prefer Boston. To me, my understanding of the "best law school for me" is the school that gives me the biggest chances of working where I want. In this case, Boston.

[09042014]

Look at which IP firms go to the Loyola Patent Fair. That is where a good chunk of IP hiring is done. And most of the big dogs from Boston come, Fish, Goodwin, Wilmer, etc. etc.

This really comes down to cost. If you have significant scholarships, then BC/BU is the correct choice. If you are paying near sticker anyway, I'd take Northwestern. Not only will firms go a lot further down in NU's class, but it also has better name brand in California (where you definition should do some looking, if even for backup, if you want EE IP).

But if you have good scholarships from BC/BU, your good grades from UG (I assume since you got into NU and Mich with a low LSAT) will probably get you a job at a prosecution shop.

Come back with scholarship data, it'll give people a better idea.

EDIT I just saw your edit. That's a gray area. Depends how risk vs. debt averse you are. Tough call. I'd probably say, NU and Mich are prob worth the extra 60-70K, but I could easily see someone going the other way.

[09042014]

What I'd like to know is what happens to people with poorish grades at BC/BU who have IP creds. It's hard to extrapolate from what I
know. I wouldn't be surprised if they do well, or if they strike out.

[cinephile]

What I'd like to know is what happens to people with poorish grades at BC/BU who have IP creds. It's hard to extrapolate from what I
know. I wouldn't be surprised if they do well, or if they strike out.

I know someone with top grades at BU who is patent bar eligible and he managed to strike out. But that might be a personality thing.

[09042014]

What I'd like to know is what happens to people with poorish grades at BC/BU who have IP creds. It's hard to extrapolate from what I
know. I wouldn't be surprised if they do well, or if they strike out.

I know someone with top grades at BU who is patent bar eligible and he managed to strike out. But that might be a personality thing.

Yea he must have been super aspie. He should have cleaned up.

[AllTheLawz]

What I'd like to know is what happens to people with poorish grades at BC/BU who have IP creds. It's hard to extrapolate from what I
know. I wouldn't be surprised if they do well, or if they strike out.

I know someone with top grades at BU who is patent bar eligible and he managed to strike out. But that might be a personality thing.

Patent bar eligible isn't the same as having IP creds in Boston from what I have been told. I am technically "IP eligible" and only one Boston firm even mentioned the possibility of me working in their hard-IP department. From what I have been told, an advanced degree is pretty much expected for non-engineer IP candidates.

In addition, the Boston market in general seems to be somewhat down in terms of hiring. Given the amount of love I had heard for BC/BU I was shocked that there Boston placement isn't a bit better than it is. The top two firms in Boston basically only took a couple from each this year (unless just a lot of BC/BU people turned down offers).

[IPman00]

AllTheLawz, are you implying that these firms took more U. Mich/Northwestern folks?

Trying to weigh the two here...

Thanks!

[09042014]

AllTheLawz, are you implying that these firms took more U. Mich/Northwestern folks?

Trying to weigh the two here...

Thanks!

You should also consider how big the Boston EE market is. I have no clue, but it's not big. If it's kinda small, you may be forced to search wider, in which case Mich/NU comes in handy.

[AllTheLawz]

AllTheLawz, are you implying that these firms took more U. Mich/Northwestern folks?

Trying to weigh the two here...

Thanks!

Its kind of difficult to make a direct comparison since I have no idea how many U. Mich/Northwestern people target Boston and my sample size of EE people from law schools outside the top 10 or so is small. I can't remember which but one of Wilmer/Ropes/Goodwin in Boston only has a single BU student coming in this summer and the number of BU/BC combined was in the low single digits. Again, I can't directly say what that means for a median BC/BU student with an EE background but I found the number shocking.

[cinephile]

AllTheLawz, are you implying that these firms took more U. Mich/Northwestern folks?

Trying to weigh the two here...

Thanks!

Its kind of difficult to make a direct comparison since I have no idea how many U. Mich/Northwestern people target Boston and my sample size of EE people from law schools outside the top 10 or so is small. I can't remember which but one of Wilmer/Ropes/Goodwin in Boston only has a single BU student coming in this summer and the number of BU/BC combined was in the low single digits. Again, I can't directly say what that means for a median BC/BU student with an EE background but I found the number shocking.

I heard it was Ropes.

[IPman00]

I suppose I should add, that I grew up and went to school in the Boston area. My family is here. So I do have ties to the region.

[patrickd139]

Have you actually received offers of admission from any of these schools?

[IPman00]

I would like this approached as a "useful hypothetical scenario".

[patrickd139]

I would like this approached as a "useful hypothetical scenario".

Good luck then, hypothetically.

Also,

cart ------- horse

cmon bro