U Illinois (full ride) vs. Northeastern (15k) Forum

[schan]

Hello everyone!

I'm having a hard time deciding which school to accept (although it might be blatantly obvious to others.)

I am interested in either Public Interest / criminal/ dispute resolution. I am open to going into academia. Its important to me that I am in an intellectually challenging environment with like-minded peers.

I would prefer to live in Boston but do not mind Chicago. I am Canadian so I am pretty much indifferent to any city near the border. Although, I would like to move to Southern California one day.

I'm very debt averse and so Illinois appears very attractive as the full scholarship is guaranteed for all three years. They don't seem to have many public interest courses but they have a decent number of criminal/dispute resolution courses.

I really like the unique co-op program at Northeastern (and the location) but can't seem to justify turning down a full scholarship from T40 for Northeastern (which works out to be 23K+/yr)

Please help. Thanks

[life2323]

haha...this is easy....U Illinois period!!!!!

[BigZuck]

Weird post

Being open to academia doesn't mean anything, it won't happen. To get that you've got to gun for it. At Yale.

Neither school will get you anything outside their home market. California isn't happening.

Course work doesn't matter and law students are probably pretty law student-y at most any school.

One school is pretty decent and cheaper, the other is not so good and more expensive.

What effect will being a foreigner have on getting a job? I was under the (perhaps false) impression that pretty much the only employers who sponsor visas were big firms.

[NYC-WVU]

You know that Illinois is about two and a half hours from Chicago, right? Two if you're lucky?

[NYC-WVU]

Also, your opportunities to work in California some day will probably have a lot more to do with where you work after you graduate than where you go to school. TLSers seem to know a lot about people's chances of getting in to certain schools and their prestigious opportunities immediately after graduation - but they also seem to think life ends two years after you graduate from law school and that non-biglaw jobs aren't real jobs.

[BigZuck]

Also, your opportunities to work in California some day will probably have a lot more to do with where you work after you graduate than where you go to school. TLSers seem to know a lot about people's chances of getting in to certain schools and their prestigious opportunities immediately after graduation - but they also seem to think life ends two years after you graduate from law school and that non-biglaw jobs aren't real jobs.

Naw

Virtually nobody is big law or bust and of course people have free will but its unlikely a lawyer with a book of business at a small firm or who works in a PD office in one state is just going to pack up and become a lawyer somewhere across the country. People get married and buy houses and have kids and stuff, basically life happens. But it is technically a possibility.

Solid strawmen though, would read again

[NYC-WVU]

Also, your opportunities to work in California some day will probably have a lot more to do with where you work after you graduate than where you go to school. TLSers seem to know a lot about people's chances of getting in to certain schools and their prestigious opportunities immediately after graduation - but they also seem to think life ends two years after you graduate from law school and that non-biglaw jobs aren't real jobs.

Naw

Virtually nobody is big law or bust and of course people have free will but its unlikely a lawyer with a book of business at a small firm or who works in a PD office in one state is just going to pack up and become a lawyer somewhere across the country. People get married and buy houses and have kids and stuff, basically life happens. But it is technically a possibility.

Solid strawmen though, would read again

I misinterpreted. I thought you said that the schools that OP is looking at won't get anything outside the home market and that California wasn't going to happen. I didn't realize you were just saying, it's highly unlikely that you will still want to move to Cali one day, and therefore won't try to lateral to California in the future.
I don't know if other practices are different, but my mid-sized firm hires laterals from all over and people move even within our firm to other offices. I would assume that a third year wouldn't have a book of business they couldn't skip town on. Even if it was already sizeable, they've already proven that they can build one in only three years, so why not go wherever you want and do it again.
Also, my life is firmly in the "happening" phase, and it won't stop us from moving if California, the Pacific Northwest, or NY come calling.

[BigZuck]

Also, your opportunities to work in California some day will probably have a lot more to do with where you work after you graduate than where you go to school. TLSers seem to know a lot about people's chances of getting in to certain schools and their prestigious opportunities immediately after graduation - but they also seem to think life ends two years after you graduate from law school and that non-biglaw jobs aren't real jobs.

Naw

Virtually nobody is big law or bust and of course people have free will but its unlikely a lawyer with a book of business at a small firm or who works in a PD office in one state is just going to pack up and become a lawyer somewhere across the country. People get married and buy houses and have kids and stuff, basically life happens. But it is technically a possibility.

Solid strawmen though, would read again

I misinterpreted. I thought you said that the schools that OP is looking at won't get anything outside the home market and that California wasn't going to happen. I didn't realize you were just saying, it's highly unlikely that you will still want to move to Cali one day, and therefore won't try to lateral to California in the future.
I don't know if other practices are different, but my mid-sized firm hires laterals from all over and people move even within our firm to other offices. I would assume that a third year wouldn't have a book of business they couldn't skip town on. Even if it was already sizeable, they've already proven that they can build one in only three years, so why not go wherever you want and do it again.
Also, my life is firmly in the "happening" phase, and it won't stop us from moving if California, the Pacific Northwest, or NY come calling.

I was saying it ain't happening immediately after school, and its probably not happening any time in the near future (assuming a lawyer job was even attained). But free will and world is your oyster and YOLO and stuff so maybe.

[schan]

Thank you for the input guys.

I think I should clarify- When I said I would like to live in California, that is something I see far into the future; maybe 10-15 years down the road. Definitely not right after graduating.

I am leaning towards Illinois but sometimes its hard to think straight when you hear so many things and there are so many factors to consider, especially being a foreign student.