Top Law Schools

Cornell Law School. The 3rd best CLS. The fifth best Ivy. Yadda yadda.

I wasn't seriously considering Cornell for a number of reasons mainly involving the location, but a recent left-field visit changed my mind altogether (I really liked Ithaca and realized it could work well for my wife and kid, while helping keep COL down for the 3 of us). Anyway. What's the general consensus about Cornell, especially in relation to the schools it directly competes with (GULC, NU)?

I know it largely feeds to NY biglaw, has reasonably solid employment numbers (especially compared to GULC), it's a small class setup with large-ish sections, tuition is like Columbia expensive, Ithaca is colder than the fortress of solitude, etc. My casual observation of Ithaca helped me realize it's totally a hippie town, but it wasn't entirely insufferable.

What am I missing? Anything else that Cornell is particularly strong/weak for? Any major considerations to keep in mind? Where do kids typically do their internships? (NYC?) I'd love to hear from current or former Cornell kids if they feel like chiming in to make the case for or against the school.

Cornell seems to be a great option for people looking for NY Big Law. I didn't apply because that's not my goal (and they didn't give me a fee waiver...) but if I wanted NY Big Law I could easily see myself taking Cornell with $ over NYU or Columbia. Their numbers are very favorable for qualified applicants looking for decent scholarships and they place much better than GULC. Their tuition is ridiculous though, but I guess if you don't mind Ithaca, you can at least save on COL.

Obviously your choice is only as good as your next best options so it depends on what else is on the table.

By the way, is Cornell really considered the 5th best Ivy? I remember reading somewhere that cross admits to the UG program largely select every other Ivy over Cornell.

aboutmydaylight wrote: By the way, is Cornell really considered the 5th best Ivy? I remember reading somewhere that cross admits to the UG program largely select every other Ivy over Cornell.

I'm almost certain he was referring to Ivy's with law schools, of which there are only 5: Yale, Harvard, Columbia, Penn, & then Cornell,

El Principe wrote:

aboutmydaylight wrote: By the way, is Cornell really considered the 5th best Ivy? I remember reading somewhere that cross admits to the UG program largely select every other Ivy over Cornell.

I'm almost certain he was referring to Ivy's with law schools, of which there are only 5: Yale, Harvard, Columbia, Penn, & then Cornell,

That makes more sense.

El Principe wrote:

aboutmydaylight wrote: By the way, is Cornell really considered the 5th best Ivy? I remember reading somewhere that cross admits to the UG program largely select every other Ivy over Cornell.

I'm almost certain he was referring to Ivy's with law schools, of which there are only 5: Yale, Harvard, Columbia, Penn, & then Cornell,

Yeah, just meant amongst the heal of ivy law schools.

So are there any vague generalizations about the kids who go to Cornell? In the sense that we like to generalize the cutthroat gunners at Columbia, the hopeless nerds at Chicago, the sharks in business suits at Northwestern, the theory-minded unicorns at Yale, etc?

Glasseyes wrote:

El Principe wrote:

aboutmydaylight wrote: By the way, is Cornell really considered the 5th best Ivy? I remember reading somewhere that cross admits to the UG program largely select every other Ivy over Cornell.

I'm almost certain he was referring to Ivy's with law schools, of which there are only 5: Yale, Harvard, Columbia, Penn, & then Cornell,

Yeah, just meant amongst the heal of ivy law schools.

So are there any vague generalizations about the kids who go to Cornell? In the sense that we like to generalize the cutthroat gunners at Columbia, the hopeless nerds at Chicago, the sharks in business suits at Northwestern, the theory-minded unicorns at Yale, etc?

I mean, not sure what those characterizations are worth to you because they are pretty inaccurate IRL. Students at T14s tend to be somewhat nerdy across the board (with a couple celebrity outliers), there will be a few gunners and a few chill people at each school, and at the end of the day most of each class shows up to the office in a dark suit.

jbagelboy wrote:

Glasseyes wrote:

El Principe wrote:

aboutmydaylight wrote: By the way, is Cornell really considered the 5th best Ivy? I remember reading somewhere that cross admits to the UG program largely select every other Ivy over Cornell.

I'm almost certain he was referring to Ivy's with law schools, of which there are only 5: Yale, Harvard, Columbia, Penn, & then Cornell,

Yeah, just meant amongst the heal of ivy law schools.

So are there any vague generalizations about the kids who go to Cornell? In the sense that we like to generalize the cutthroat gunners at Columbia, the hopeless nerds at Chicago, the sharks in business suits at Northwestern, the theory-minded unicorns at Yale, etc?

I mean, not sure what those characterizations are worth to you because they are pretty inaccurate IRL. Students at T14s tend to be somewhat nerdy across the board (with a couple celebrity outliers), there will be a few gunners and a few chill people at each school, and at the end of the day most of each class shows up to the office in a dark suit.

Fair enough. Doesn't seem like there's much to say or know beyond what I already know.

You should PM Lavitz. He chose Cornell over CCN (Cornell gave him 150K IIRC), he is TLS's resident Cornell expert.

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Cornell is cool. I go there. I feel like its a great place for you to raise a family. The law school is very tight nit. Most of your friends will probably be law students, which can be a good and bad thing. If you have any questions and want to PM you can. I'm a 2L btw. Have a job, no regrets so far.