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This is a post that will bend the rules for this forum slightly, but with good reason. My apologies for the bad form.

The choice is NYU vs Michigan, straight up. Given scholly, the COA will be roughly twice as large as at NYU as it would be at Michigan, however i'm not including exact figures, since this won't be debt financed. I really want to get to the heart of the matter here, which is...does NYU or Michigan offer a better shot at clerkships and government work?

I have both a unicorn set of dreams, and a more realistic set of goals. I've worked in politics and government for four years now, and have, all in all, loved it. I would love to get an appellate clerkship and possibly continue working in government after at a high level.

I'm realistic about the difficulty of getting said clerkship and working at a high level in the federal government from any school. I'm also well acquainted with the life of a BigLaw associate in the major east coast cities (come from a family of lawyers old and young), and happy with that outcome.

I'm inclined to think the educational environment at Michigan suits me better, but having developed a network in New York City for the last few years, and given the marginally better statistics, I'm hesitant to leave.

Also, please spare me the retake noise, since given both my age and the aforementioned non-debt financing, it's not an option I'll be considering.

Your sassiness is duly noted, but you still need to provide more info if you want a grown-up response. Namely, what's the source of the money, and what's the actual cost difference (as opposed to a ratio)?

Like, I feel one way if you're cashing in a retirement nest egg, and another way if you have an eccentric-billionaire uncle who would otherwise spend the money on helicopter rides. Relatedly, there's a difference between NYU at $300k, Mich at $150k on one hand, and NYU $60k, Mich $30k on the other, you know?

Of course NYU is better than Mich in a vacuum. Unless your money is TRULY infinite or irrelevant, tho, there's always SOME advantage to spending less of it.

No sass, just time crunch so dispensing with pleasantries.

Likely works out to a 100k difference, but again, it's truly not important for this exercise, in any situation other than a near tie (Which , mind you, it seems like it might be).

To be clearer, the question isn't which school I should go to (I admit, could have been phrased far better), but rather, which is more likely to result in the opportunities i described desiring.

cron1834 wrote:Your sassiness is duly noted, but you still need to provide more info if you want a grown-up response. Namely, what's the source of the money, and what's the actual cost difference (as opposed to a ratio)?

Like, I feel one way if you're cashing in a retirement nest egg, and another way if you have an eccentric-billionaire uncle who would otherwise spend the money on helicopter rides. Relatedly, there's a difference between NYU at $300k, Mich at $150k on one hand, and NYU $60k, Mich $30k on the other, you know?

Of course NYU is better than Mich in a vacuum. Unless your money is TRULY infinite or irrelevant, tho, there's always SOME advantage to spending less of it.

http://www.lstscorereports.com/schools/ ... ends/2015/

http://www.lstscorereports.com/schools/nyu/trends/2015/

Michigan does a bit better with federal and state clerkships than NYU. It may be due to self selection since most people at NYU tend to go biglaw than those over at Michigan.

NYU is better than Michigan.

It's definitely not $100k better.

OTOH, if this is truly someone else's money, then that doesn't matter.

I don't know what else to say with this fact situation.

Take Mich.

The strongest argument I can think of for michigan so far is that, having talked to students at both, it seems like those at Michigan truly felt taken care of and nurtured, and learned in an intense but friendly environment, while NYU is a bit larger and has a more of sink or swim feel (not the same cutthroat nature as Columbia, but definitely closer to that than Michigan. Anyone who's attended either have thoughts on this?

cron1834 wrote:NYU is better than Michigan.

It's definitely not $100k better.

OTOH, if this is truly someone else's money, then that doesn't matter.

I don't know what else to say with this fact situation.

I go to Mich. I like it. I'd like it even more if someone slipped $100k in my pocket. So, again, I think I'd conclude that if this is your money on the line, it's hands down Mich.

If it's someone else's money, then maybe NYU makes more sense. Campus here is lovely and it's a friendly college town, which is nice, but that's kinda marginal for me.

I doubt the schools and student bodies are that drastically different. If anything, that feeling probably comes from the environment and setting of the school. Just pick where you'd rather spend 3 years if money doesn't matter. NYU is a better school though.

I've heard that there is an inferiority complex at NYU and the students are constantly trying to show how they are the "fun" New York law school compared to Columbia.

Michigan is an excellent law school. They have committed significant resources to keep their standards high, and to improve employment outcomes. The vibe is more mid-west. More collegial. Less cut-throat. It's distance from NYC hurts it's placement abilities for certain jobs. I didn't go to NYU so I really have no first hand knowledge. What I could say based on some profs who were from NYU, is that I think NYU is more progressive, more international, more theoretical, more nouvelle law as a state of mind. Depends on how you want to spend your 3 years. Both can open up pretty much any door short of the HYS stuff.

Your unicorn goal is "to get an appellate clerkship and possibly continue working in government after at a high level." I don't know what "working in government at a high level" means or why you think that an appellate clerkship will get you there, but NYU and Mich give you basically the same chance at a clerkship.

As for your back-up goal--working in a law firm on the East Coast--NYU is a little better.

Can't speak to faculty support at NYU, but I attend Mich and professors have been extremely supportive of my desire to clerk and goal of ending up in federal government. That's not enough to realize those goals, of course, but I suspect that their support has helped (and likely will continue to help) push me over the top/break ties. And if doesn't actually help, it makes me less stressed about the process, which is valuable in its own right.

deuceindc wrote:Can't speak to faculty support at NYU, but I attend Mich and professors have been extremely supportive of my desire to clerk and goal of ending up in federal government.

Not to diminish all the pro-Michigan anecdata in this thread, but the above could be said of all the T14 law schools. It's true for many of the non-T14 law schools as well. Professors generally like to help out students who show an interest in something to which the professor is connected.

NYU. ywia

Why? Not trying to be rude, just want to hear an opinion.

Dr. Nefario wrote:NYU. ywia

NYU 2L here - the student body is fantastic, and we have a lot of resources for people who want to clerk. Clerkships are pretty doable out of NYU, but I think more people self-select into biglaw or PI.

I'm more familiar with government positions that people take during school as opposed to after graduation (lots of opportunities for 1L/2L summer and with our Legislative and Regulatory Process Clinic), but you may be able to build on those positions and also start in the government after you graduate/clerk. You might also want to consider starting in biglaw and then moving to a government position later on.

PM'ed, thanks!

So, Mich grad here. Michigan is awesome, and I enjoyed Ann Arbor. In terms of high level government work, depending on what you mean by high level, it's an equally improbable dream from either school. Long road and the odds of making the right connections aren't great. Getting a fancy clerkship is a heck of a lot easier than getting a presidential appointment. Why not save the money and devote it to being able to travel more / eat better / have a nice car etc. at Michigan?