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I received a 75k scholarship from Chicago and a 120k scholarship from Northwestern.

More info:
I want to go into government law or if I worked in a private law firm I'd want to go to California, NY, or in Asia.
I'm potentially interested in a JD/MBA.
I'm hoping to defer for another year. I called Chicago and they said it would be fairly simple to do so. Northwestern said that they would have to look at it on a case-by-case basis.
I obviously prefer to graduate with as little debt as possible but I am also willing to invest in a good education.

adoseofwendy wrote:Hi I just heard back about a 120k scholarship to NU. I was wondering what you guys think.

I wanted to go into government international trade law or if I worked in a private law firm I'd want to go to California, NY, or in Asia.

What does this even mean?

Samara wrote:

adoseofwendy wrote:Hi I just heard back about a 120k scholarship to NU. I was wondering what you guys think.

I wanted to go into government international trade law or if I worked in a private law firm I'd want to go to California, NY, or in Asia.

What does this even mean?

I was thinking working for the USTR or an organization that deals with FTAs. I'll change it to government law.

adoseofwendy wrote:

Samara wrote:

adoseofwendy wrote:Hi I just heard back about a 120k scholarship to NU. I was wondering what you guys think.

I wanted to go into government international trade law or if I worked in a private law firm I'd want to go to California, NY, or in Asia.

What does this even mean?

I was thinking working for the USTR or an organization that deals with FTAs. I'll change it to government law.

That seems like a very difficult road right outside of law school. Is it something that's easier to get with a few years of transactional practice?
These are both great options. I'd probably take the money at NU since you seem to have unique career goals and less debt inherently gives you more options.

If you defer, I'm not sure you keep your offered scholarships. I know that's not the case for some schools, I don't know if Chicago/NU explicitly okayed that but food for thought.

adoseofwendy wrote:

Samara wrote:

adoseofwendy wrote:Hi I just heard back about a 120k scholarship to NU. I was wondering what you guys think.

I wanted to go into government international trade law or if I worked in a private law firm I'd want to go to California, NY, or in Asia.

What does this even mean?

I was thinking working for the USTR or an organization that deals with FTAs. I'll change it to government law.

Your employment goals are too narrow unless you have significant relevant work experience. Government jobs are extremely competitive, especially in "international law." YHS dominates in that area, but Chicago gives you a better shot than NU.

My gut instinct is Chicago will have a significant leg up on Northwestern with respect to careers with high barriers to entry. If you just wanted to get a $160,000 paycheck then I would say NW but I think for your circumstances Chicago is worth the $45k. I think it will change the odds of getting your dream job from 0.1% to 0.5% and will also give you a somewhat better shot at the cream of the crop firms that might open those doors for you down the road.

I vote Northwestern because once you realize that the kind of legal job you want doesn't exist, you'll be happier knowing that you have ~$50k(plus interest) less debt. The outcomes at Chicago are not appreciably different than at NU.

I want legislative electoral congressional law. I quickly realized that such a ridiculously narrow/non existent field should not drive my decisions in which law school to attend. I balanced expense, reputation, and atmosphere after asw and made a decision. Unfortunately, I am not a Congressman yet.

So for everyone that picked Chicago, can you tell me more about the benefits of attending Chicago or NU that is equal to ~40k?