Top Law Schools

Hello all,

Just received my financial aid packages from GULC and Cornell and kind of torn. I want to do BigLaw, ideally in NYC, but I would not mind DC at all. In fact, the preference is fairly minor.

169/3.77
Cornell is offering me 35k/yr and GULC is offering me 34.4k/yr

I've read all the past posts and it seems that the consensus is:
(a) Difference between schools in terms of prestige is minor
(b) Although Cornell places better for NYC Biglaw, GULC would be fine as well
(c) Location is biggest difference between the two

Any feedback would be appreciated, especially from current Cornell/GULC. Also, tips on negotiating scholarships would also be appreciated

coocooforcoacoapuffs wrote:Hello all,

Just received my financial aid packages from GULC and Cornell and kind of torn. I want to do BigLaw, ideally in NYC, but I would not mind DC at all. In fact, the preference is fairly minor.

169/3.77
Cornell is offering me 35k/yr and GULC is offering me 34.4k/yr

I've read all the past posts and it seems that the consensus is:
(a) Difference between schools in terms of prestige is minor
(b) Although Cornell places better for NYC Biglaw, GULC would be fine as well
(c) Location is biggest difference between the two

Any feedback would be appreciated, especially from current Cornell/GULC. Also, tips on negotiating scholarships would also be appreciated

If I wanted NYC biglaw, I'd feel more comfortable at Cornell. I do think it's possible that Georgetown's lower BL + FC percentages are due to self-selection into government, PI, etc, as well as people heavily bidding the super competitive DC market. That being said, it just feels safer to take the school that traditionally places a massive portion of its class into NY firms.

This is easy. For BigLaw in NYC, Cornell is the way to go.

The consensus is not that GULC is fine for NYC biglaw. There is a huge placement difference between Cornell and GULC. Go to Cornell.

Mullens wrote: Go to Cornell.

This. And you're getting a nice discount to do it. Before you commit, see if they will give you a little more $ based on the GULC offer. If so, great. If not, deposit anyway.

The employment numbers should really speak for themselves. If you want a job in NYC Biglaw, go to Cornell. Employment outcomes from Georgetown, let alone specifically NYC Biglaw, are not nearly as certain as they are at Cornell, and in the end that's all that matters.

Thank you all for your replies.

Seems like I was mistaken about Cornell & GULC having similar employment prospects in NYC. Can someone comment on the prospects of both schools if I was thinking of DC Biglaw?

i.e. How does the difference between Cornell and GULC for NYC compare to the difference between the two for DC?

DC BigLaw is hard to get no matter what school you're coming from. Don't make your decision based on DC prospects. You need to be top of the class pretty much whatever school you're at to get DC.

coocooforcoacoapuffs wrote:Thank you all for your replies.

Seems like I was mistaken about Cornell & GULC having similar employment prospects in NYC. Can someone comment on the prospects of both schools if I was thinking of DC Biglaw?

i.e. How does the difference between Cornell and GULC for NYC compare to the difference between the two for DC?

The prospects at any school (sans HYS) are not good. There aren't all that many SA spots in DC period, and the firms with the biggest classes are some of the most grade selective in the country. DC firms are also just extremely grade selective in general. There are certainly more GULC grads than Cornell grads at DC firms, (again, it's basically impossible to know how much of this is self selection) but I doubt that GULC "places" significantly better in DC. The bottom line is that without excellent grades DC big law is probably tough, although not impossible, to land from either.