Ruby/Hamilton/Levy/Stanford/Harvard/Yale Forum

[rehbands]

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[Mullens]

Anyone else lucky enough to have to make this decision? I would love to hear other opinions, in particular those of current students and others who are making this decision. I have not yet heard back from Yale, but am including it in this thread for others.

My goal is to secure the best clerkship possible coming out of law school. Besides grades, close relationships with well-connected professors seem to be the name of the game here. In that sense, I think a small school is the way to go, leaving me with Ruby/Stanford.

Money wise, I'm expecting a decent amount of grants from H/S, although I'd still be looking at around $140k in loans. I could probably attend Chicago on the Ruby and be loan free.

As for geographical presence, I currently reside in the Bay Area and love it, but at some point I'd like to move East. I'm not sure how difficult it is to secure a NYC/DC job coming out of Chicago, but I hear it's straightforward as a Stanford grad.

First post here!

This topic has been beaten to death here so I'm not sure how many responses you are going to get. The search feature on this site kinda sucks but you should still be able to find several threads debating this same question.

[Mack.Hambleton]

Yeah look at the other threads, but for your goals Stanford seems to be TCR (although Yale would be better if you get in). If you are ok with lowering your clerkship chances and your debt, then take the Ruby. Just depends how much a clerkship is a priority and how much that debt matters to you.

Also numbers?

[goldenboy514]

retake

[A. Nony Mouse]

retake

People need to stop with the "retake" joke. It's worn paper-thin and lost any amusement value it once had.

[Carter1901]

retake

People need to stop with the "retake" joke. It's worn paper-thin and lost any amusement value it once had.

I thought it was pretty funny.

[rehbands]

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[mnindc]

I'm currently deciding between Stanford/Harvard/Ruby. Leaning toward the Ruby. I know I don't want to do BigGov work in DC and will most likely end up in BigLaw (hoping for Chi/TX/DC/ home secondary market) but could see myself doing State-level government work in my home state. Also not sure if I want to do corporate or litigation. I think Stanford provides a big advantage for litigation types due to the clerkship placement and if I was absolutely sure I wanted to go that route, then this would definitely be a tougher decision.

However, I'm not willing to take out over 100k in debt because I want a bigger chance to possibly get a job relevant to the type of work I might want to do. If I do end up wanting to do litigation, Chicago's clerkship numbers are fairly good and I wouldn't see myself at too much of a disadvantage anyway (plus I'd be debt free!).

Basically, Ruby=flexibility. I'm still waiting to hear back from H/S on aid, but I am also not expecting too much.

Good luck, this is definitely a tough call.

David Rubenstein is basically buying you a house. You will be paid to learn from federal judges and leading legal scholars at one of the top law schools in the US. Not a bad deal.

[patogordo]

you have a lot of good options but just know that if you make the wrong choice you will regret it for the rest of your life

[Yukos]

OP sounds like he should go to Stanford because he wants a clerkship and he's going to get some need-based aid.

The later poster who wants biglaw should absolutely take the Ruby. There is literally no better financial outcome for law school.

[Tiago Splitter]

What do you want to do for the next 35 years after your clerkship is over? If private practice, take the Ruby. If public interest or government...hard to say right now.

[bryanjbay12]

retake

People need to stop with the "retake" joke. It's worn paper-thin and lost any amusement value it once had.

I thought it was pretty funny.

Ha, same here. But maybe that's bc I haven't been around for too long.

Stats are 177/3.91, Ohio State undergrad, spent the last 3 years travelling around Asia launching Uber, but I'm back in SF for now. Any other Buckeyes here?

And thanks for the info guys, I just found several threads discussing similar topics, although they seem to revolve around Yale v Ruby and Harvard v Ruby. Harvard is probably out of the running- after spending 4 years at OSU, I'm looking for a smaller school.

Buckeye here, class of 2014 though. Maybe I'll see you at Chicago if I manage to get accepted (Probably will end up at UM or Cornell). Congrats on your options! Go Bucks!

P.S. I would go to Chicago, the clerkship numbers aren't as good as Stanford or Harvard, but you can't beat going to a T6 for free + living stipend. My two cents

[Ohiobumpkin]

I would have said go to Stanford if you are gunning for a clerkship, but not now. Given the recently proposed budget changes to some important aspects of student loans, I would not count on the good faith and credit of the U.S. federal government right now. I would take Ruby at Chicago. It fits your preference for small classes, places third or fourth best nationally for clerkships, and it has great job placement back East where it sounds like you want to end up.

After that, I would go to Columbia, Penn, and then Stanford. The best thing about going with one of your full ride options is that it allows you to not worry about debt at all. Congratulations on such a fantastic outcome!

P.S.: If you get into Yale, I recommend that over everything else I just said. Good luck!

[rehbands]

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[jbagelboy]

Voted Ruby for your goals unless Stanford offers substantial need based aid.

[CanadianWolf]

OP: Harvard Law School is not large in the same sense that Ohio State University is among undergraduate schools, therefore your reason for summarily dismissing HLS because of its size is not convincing, in my opinion.

The only absolutely correct choice in your situation lies in the hands of the Yale Law School admissions office; if you are rejected by Yale, then you will know without doubt & for all of eternity that that was the correct choice. Barring Yale admissions doing that favor for you, then you should take an offer of guaranteed scholarship for law school.

[aboutmydaylight]

Well imo Ruby > Hamilton > Levy, and Stanford > Harvard. So it really would come down to Ruby vs Stanford for me. If you get Yale well that's another good choice though at that point nothing anyone on here tells you SHOULD convince you one way or the other. Those are all excellent options and its going to come down to preference/risk aversion which depends entirely on the person.

[jk148706]

retake

People need to stop with the "retake" joke. It's worn paper-thin and lost any amusement value it once had.

I thought it was pretty funny.

+1. I thought it was very funny

[teampeeta]

First, congrats on an amazing cycle! I'm sure most of us- myself included- would kill to have your choices.

I may be biased because I'm not the biggest fan of the idea of going to school in NYC. So I think, of the scholarships, Rubenstein>Hamilton>Levy.

I'd take Stanford over Harvard because of class size/ the environment seems friendlier. Plus, Stanford's clerkship placement stats are slightly better than Harvard's, which is relevant given your interests.

So, if I were you, I'd weigh the Ruby vs. Stanford. I think it honestly comes down to how much you like U of C (is it worth $200K if you're going to hate Chiberia and all the crazy gunners in your class? Or, might you love it there so that giving up Stanford and Harvard seems like a shrewd decision you could make without regret?) and how debt averse you are.

I think I'd take Stanford because it's a dream school and because you only live once. But it's a tough call. If you get into Yale then I don't know what to tell you. Maybe buy a lottery ticket?

[jbagelboy]

I think I'd take Stanford because it's a dream school and because you only live once. But it's a tough call. If you get into Yale then I don't know what to tell you. Maybe buy a lottery ticket?

I guess I can't really rag on people who follow this carpe diem logic, since I went to my dream school, but I did so at significantly lower cost than sticker. Dream school rarely correlates to dream debt (except for where rich generous parents are concerned, obviously).

[nebula666]

I personally think it's insane to take HYS over full ride at CCN and Penn. Maybe I'm just super debt adverse. I just think that having Ruby on your resume already sets you apart and any employer knows that you could have gone to HYS if you wanted.

[nedstarksbastard]

I'm in a similar position (minus Stanford and Levy). I'm leaning towards the Ruby, but I'm struggling a bit because I want to do PI and Chicago doesn't have a great reputation for that, as far as I can tell.