Between Penn and Berkeley. Help me with making a decion
Posted: Mon Mar 18, 2013 7:22 pm
I am debating between Penn and Berkeley. Although I will attend admitted student weeks for both schools, I want to discuss my concerns with TLS-ers first.
My biggest concern is finding a job at a firm. It doesn't have to be big, but the more prestigious, the better (obviously, I guess). I know some might be tempted to say, "For East Coast, choose Penn; for West, choose B," but I have no preferences when it comes to a location (I prefer CA slightly more, just because of its weather, but it's a minor point really). I am also highly interested in working in Asia, so regardless of a location, a school that will help me the most in finding a job at a firm is what I care about.
In addition, I am interested in corporate law.
I was leaning toward B because of its grading policy, but TLS-ers' constantly talking about Penn's high placement in big law adds to the difficulty of making a decision. I feel like much more students from Penn would be interested in working at big firms, so I wonder if it could be a bad thing as well by having to compete with many other peers (but there would be more 'firms' to apply at Penn thanks to its proximity to NY, I guess?). Also at Berkeley, I am curious if it is true that, unlike most TLS-ers say here, those from Berkeley trying to work at a NYC firm are better positioned than others from the east coast because only a few Berkeley students are interested in working in NY anyway, hence less competitive. I visited some of the major law firms' websites and looked up the schools their attorneys are from, and couldn't find a much difference in the numbers of graduates between B and P.
I would appreciate if you could give me some advice based on the factors I mentioned I care the most. Thank you so much!
My biggest concern is finding a job at a firm. It doesn't have to be big, but the more prestigious, the better (obviously, I guess). I know some might be tempted to say, "For East Coast, choose Penn; for West, choose B," but I have no preferences when it comes to a location (I prefer CA slightly more, just because of its weather, but it's a minor point really). I am also highly interested in working in Asia, so regardless of a location, a school that will help me the most in finding a job at a firm is what I care about.
In addition, I am interested in corporate law.
I was leaning toward B because of its grading policy, but TLS-ers' constantly talking about Penn's high placement in big law adds to the difficulty of making a decision. I feel like much more students from Penn would be interested in working at big firms, so I wonder if it could be a bad thing as well by having to compete with many other peers (but there would be more 'firms' to apply at Penn thanks to its proximity to NY, I guess?). Also at Berkeley, I am curious if it is true that, unlike most TLS-ers say here, those from Berkeley trying to work at a NYC firm are better positioned than others from the east coast because only a few Berkeley students are interested in working in NY anyway, hence less competitive. I visited some of the major law firms' websites and looked up the schools their attorneys are from, and couldn't find a much difference in the numbers of graduates between B and P.
I would appreciate if you could give me some advice based on the factors I mentioned I care the most. Thank you so much!