Top Law Schools

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Pishee77 wrote:My boyfriend right now sees people working their asses off in law school and they're barely passing their classes (SCARY).

Eh. At all of the schools you are considering, you can be quite lazy and still pass your classes. But, as you've correctly identified, the important thing is staying out of the bottom half of the class. And you're right that UChi/NU/Berk will give you a greater cushion than UCLA.

My concern with NU is similar because not only do I have to do well with a high caliber of students,

The caliber of students at NU is basically the same as the other schools you're considering.

but I also have a harder time finding a job in Los Angeles and not Chicago?

If you go to NU, it will be easier for you to find a job in Chicago than LA. But, given your scholarship situation, the real question for you is whether NU will give you a better chance at LA big law than UCLA. I'm not sure on this one, but I suspect the answer is "yes." (Both Boalt and UChi will give you a better shot at the LA market than either UCLA or NU, but I don't think the extra COA is worth it.)

Also, I am pretty young. I have only taken a year off...will I not be able to relate to people at NU? Are these concern merited or am I over thinking things?

You're overthinking things. On average, students at NU are just a year or two older than the students at UChi and UCLA (and roughly the same average age as students at Boalt). You'll essentially be the same age as most of the students at NU.

Berk seems really nice and I thought I would for sure want to go there but after I got my scholarship from NU...I don't know if Berk is worth 120k more than NU.

Berk gives you a better shot at LA big law. If you choose NU, you run the risk that you'll need to work in Chicago for at least a couple of years. But is avoiding that risk worth $120K? Probably not.

I think Boalt has a matching scholly protocol so def look into that. If you can get 120k from them, easily choose Boalt. And yes, that NU deadline is rather restrictive but don't worry about depositing if you aren't entirely sure what your financial picture will look like at your contenders; that deposit could very well be a very good hedge.

retaking23 wrote:I think Boalt has a matching scholly protocol so def look into that. If you can get 120k from them, easily choose Boalt. And yes, that NU deadline is rather restrictive but don't worry about depositing if you aren't entirely sure what your financial picture will look like at your contenders; that deposit could very well be a very good hedge.

So the NU deposit doesn't require withdrawal from the other schools?

retaking23 wrote:I think Boalt has a matching scholly protocol so def look into that. If you can get 120k from them, easily choose Boalt. And yes, that NU deadline is rather restrictive but don't worry about depositing if you aren't entirely sure what your financial picture will look like at your contenders; that deposit could very well be a very good hedge.

Does Berkeley even acknowledge that Northwestern has a law school?

Looks like Chicago is the only school that can be used:
https://www.law.berkeley.edu/6957.htm

Berk gonna Berk

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Northwestern with that scholly is the obvious choice. Maybe get Chicago to bump their scholarship based on Duke and/or Northwestern, and if they do, then use Chicago to get Berkeley.

BigZuck wrote:

retaking23 wrote:I think Boalt has a matching scholly protocol so def look into that. If you can get 120k from them, easily choose Boalt. And yes, that NU deadline is rather restrictive but don't worry about depositing if you aren't entirely sure what your financial picture will look like at your contenders; that deposit could very well be a very good hedge.

Does Berkeley even acknowledge that Northwestern has a law school?

Looks like Chicago is the only school that can be used:
https://www.law.berkeley.edu/6957.htm

Berk gonna Berk

How do they pick who is a peer? I feel like they just kick out T-14s that start throwing around a lot of cash so they can continue to Berk, and not have to match those scholarships.

Winston1984 wrote:

BigZuck wrote:

retaking23 wrote:I think Boalt has a matching scholly protocol so def look into that. If you can get 120k from them, easily choose Boalt. And yes, that NU deadline is rather restrictive but don't worry about depositing if you aren't entirely sure what your financial picture will look like at your contenders; that deposit could very well be a very good hedge.

Does Berkeley even acknowledge that Northwestern has a law school?

Looks like Chicago is the only school that can be used:
https://www.law.berkeley.edu/6957.htm

Berk gonna Berk

How do they pick who is a peer? I feel like they just kick out T-14s that start throwing around a lot of cash so they can continue to Berk, and not have to match those scholarships.

I think you hit the nail on the head. I believe UVA used to be included until they lost their mind last cycle or the cycle before.

Winston1984 wrote:

BigZuck wrote:

retaking23 wrote:I think Boalt has a matching scholly protocol so def look into that. If you can get 120k from them, easily choose Boalt. And yes, that NU deadline is rather restrictive but don't worry about depositing if you aren't entirely sure what your financial picture will look like at your contenders; that deposit could very well be a very good hedge.

Does Berkeley even acknowledge that Northwestern has a law school?

Looks like Chicago is the only school that can be used:
https://www.law.berkeley.edu/6957.htm

Berk gonna Berk

How do they pick who is a peer? I feel like they just kick out T-14s that start throwing around a lot of cash so they can continue to Berk, and not have to match those scholarships.

. +1 I've heard that Berkeley is not very generous when it comes to scholly, even their in-state tuition isn't great

Bump. So NU seems to be the clear answer. Would it still be the choice is Columbia was added to my options? Berkeley hasn't given me merit aid yet but how much do you think I would need from Berkeley to choose it over NU?

Northwestern.

Pishee77 wrote:Bump. So NU seems to be the clear answer. Would it still be the choice is Columbia was added to my options? Berkeley hasn't given me merit aid yet but how much do you think I would need from Berkeley to choose it over NU?

NU with 120k is better than Columbia with no money if you want to do biglaw.

I would say around 75-90k for Berkeley to even be in the conversation.

Doorkeeper wrote:

Pishee77 wrote:Bump. So NU seems to be the clear answer. Would it still be the choice is Columbia was added to my options? Berkeley hasn't given me merit aid yet but how much do you think I would need from Berkeley to choose it over NU?

NU with 120k is better than Columbia with no money if you want to do biglaw.

I would say around 75-90k for Berkeley to even be in the conversation.

I agree Cal with $75K for someone who wants LA biglaw can make sense over Northwestern. Consider also your total CoA. Berkeley in-state is nearly $10K cheaper tuition per year than NU, and they are supposedly instituting a "freeze" on absolute cost. I'm sure your relocation & travel costs from SoCal would be cheaper too. So it could be as low as a $20K total differential.

My concern is that you have no school in the $75-90k range to match with Boalt, and they traditionally won't accept NU as peer offer.

CLS is a top school for your goals but it cant be justified at sticker when you have other very good options on the table.

I'm a 0L who will be attending NU and will likely target LA/SF/NYC. I have limited ties to CA: a year of work in the bay and family in LA. I've heard reassuring things from upper class people at NU. Namely that a non-negligible portion of the class comes from CA, targets CA, and gets CA from NU. Go ahead and ask what the upperclasspeople think: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... start=6950

Also, ppl from NU make it to CA after spending a few years in the Midwest, even without ties. Of course, this likely depends on the type of work you secure out of LS. (I'd love to go to Berk if they weren't so stingy, btw.)

Finally, does everyone really think it's worth it to choose NU over UCLA at these prices, if OP wants LA?

Oh yeah, and I'm 25. Peeps at the Admitted Students Dinner weren't oldies. They just had 1-3 years of work experience.

rpupkin wrote:

but I also have a harder time finding a job in Los Angeles and not Chicago?

If you go to NU, it will be easier for you to find a job in Chicago than LA. But, given your scholarship situation, the real question for you is whether NU will give you a better chance at LA big law than UCLA. I'm not sure on this one, but I suspect the answer is "yes." (Both Boalt and UChi will give you a better shot at the LA market than either UCLA or NU, but I don't think the extra COA is worth it.)

This is wrong. You will have a better shot at LA than Chicago coming from NU. NU has a steady stream of students who come from CA and go back, but it's not a huge number and there isn't a lot of fighting for OCI interview spots with LA firms. The best students from So. Cal at NU might opt to pursue opportunities in another market too. UCLA on the other hand is probably most competitive for spots in LA, with the best students taking the best spots (can't speak from experience since I go to NU).

Chicago and Columbia are probably similar to NU, can't speak to Boalt. Given the scholarship differential I think NU is the obvious choice.

ETA: Also try not to listen to people who generalize about a "California" market. SF is much different than LA in terms of job prospects, allegiance to local schools, and difficulty of breaking in without grades/ties.

bdubs wrote:

rpupkin wrote:

but I also have a harder time finding a job in Los Angeles and not Chicago?

If you go to NU, it will be easier for you to find a job in Chicago than LA. But, given your scholarship situation, the real question for you is whether NU will give you a better chance at LA big law than UCLA. I'm not sure on this one, but I suspect the answer is "yes." (Both Boalt and UChi will give you a better shot at the LA market than either UCLA or NU, but I don't think the extra COA is worth it.)

This is wrong. You will have a better shot at LA than Chicago coming from NU. NU has a steady stream of students who come from CA and go back, but it's not a huge number and there isn't a lot of fighting for OCI interview spots with LA firms. The best students from So. Cal at NU might opt to pursue opportunities in another market too. UCLA on the other hand is probably most competitive for spots in LA, with the best students taking the best spots (can't speak from experience since I go to NU).

Chicago and Columbia are probably similar to NU, can't speak to Boalt. Given the scholarship differential I think NU is the obvious choice.

There's an upperclassperson, when you need one.

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bdubs wrote:

rpupkin wrote:

but I also have a harder time finding a job in Los Angeles and not Chicago?

If you go to NU, it will be easier for you to find a job in Chicago than LA. But, given your scholarship situation, the real question for you is whether NU will give you a better chance at LA big law than UCLA. I'm not sure on this one, but I suspect the answer is "yes." (Both Boalt and UChi will give you a better shot at the LA market than either UCLA or NU, but I don't think the extra COA is worth it.)

This is wrong. You will have a better shot at LA than Chicago coming from NU. You will have a better shot at LA than Chicago coming from NU. NU has a steady stream of students who come from CA and go back, but it's not a huge number and there isn't a lot of fighting for OCI interview spots with LA firms.

Can anyone else from NU to confirm this? I often hear lines like this from schools about their non-home markets (e.g., "NYU students do great in the Chicago market because there isn't much competition here from other NYU students," "Berkeley does great in NYC because there isn't a lot of competition from other Berkeley students at OCI."). It just strikes me as implausible, but perhaps it's true.

ETA: I'm not disputing the idea that NU grads do well in the LA market; I'm just skeptical of the claim that LA is a better market for NU grads than Chicago.

rpupkin wrote: ETA: I'm not disputing the idea that NU grads do well in the LA market; I'm just skeptical of the claim that LA is a better market for NU grads than Chicago.

It's actually a bit of the opposite. NU places a lot of students in Chicago and "does well" here. It's just that Chicago becomes competitive because lots of people want to be here. The "best" students wind up getting the best spots and some people who might be on the cusp of competitive wind up getting shut out of the market because it's saturated (and wind up NYC, a non-NLJ Chicago firm, etc...). I don't think a student who wouldn't be competitive for biglaw generally will get a spot in LA just because there is less competition, but I do think a borderline student will have more shots at landing a position coming from NU with appropriate ties.

I made an assumption that UCLA is the same in that LA would be the most desired market and the top students tend to crowd out the people that are on the borderline.

This is an easy one. Barring any left-field Berk scholarship, go NU.