Penn ($$) vs Chicago ($$) Forum

[marlinsfan27]

Hey all,

New to this forum but here goes..

I have a seat deposit at Penn. Last week, Chicago accepted me, and matched Penn's scholarship offer in the process. Penn refused to further negotiate so this is my final scholarship situation. I have until Friday to potentially place a deposit at Chicago.

FINANCIALS: 90k merit aid at each school; COA is nearly identical. I'll be financing with loans.

CAREER GOALS: Biglaw. Likely in NYC but I'm not dead-set on that city in particular. I have no previous experience with Chicago and am neither for nor against living in Chicago post-grad.

"FIT": I'm from Florida and had never previously visited Philly or Chicago. I thought Penn's ASW was nice and liked it, but didn't fall in LOVE. I'm currently visiting Chicago now (what's up Hyde Park!) and I find the area/atmosphere to be comparably enjoyable to Penn's. Chicago students seem to be more intellectual as opposed to Penn students being friendly. The studious vibe isn't a turn off to me. I have no strong thoughts about the quarter system. In terms of fit.. I don't think there's any clear winner.

I'm mostly concerned that Chicago students are at a disadvantage in getting SA gigs in a place like NYC or DC. I'm not sure how real (if at all?) that disadvantage actually is; or rather, perhaps Chicago students are at an advantage for NYC SA spots, because the school is arguably a bit more "prestigious" and ranked a bit higher. I'm honestly not even sure I want to start off in NYC. At equal cost and equal 'fit'.. are these differences tangible at all?

Help! Thanks

[TheRealSantaClaus]

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[Tiago Splitter]

Don't know about DC but I don't think any school has an easier time placing people into NYC than Chicago.

[WheninLaw]

Chicago does incredible in NYC, but Penn does well also. I choose Chicago in a similar situation as you, but either choice is great.

[Glacial]

Tough choice indeed. Employment-wise, both schools are virtually peers. Academically, Penn seems to be stronger in corporate though. You can't go wrong with either school for NYC BigLaw.

[marlinsfan27]

Forgot to mention that the Cubs are stronger than the Phillies lately.

(Which is mostly to say-- I made a poll. Because the advice is invaluable but I'm still painfully unsure.)

[landshoes]

I'm a UChi 1L.

Visiting now is going to be weird because it's finals week. So if you're cool with how friendly we are then you'll be 100 times cooler with it when we're not in the most stressful week of 1L year, lol

Either school you go, you'll be good. UChi doesn't have any disadvantage in East Coast hiring at all. Firms are constantly trying to get us to come to NYC and DC. They fly people out to Chicago to recruit us, hold events for us over the summer, and hire us for 1L SAs.

[marlinsfan27]

I'm a UChi 1L.

Visiting now is going to be weird because it's finals week. So if you're cool with how friendly we are then you'll be 100 times cooler with it when we're not in the most stressful week of 1L year, lol

Either school you go, you'll be good. UChi doesn't have any disadvantage in East Coast hiring at all. Firms are constantly trying to get us to come to NYC and DC. They fly people out to Chicago to recruit us, hold events for us over the summer, and hire us for 1L SAs.

That's awesome to hear. Thanks, man. And yeah! I didn't expect anybody to be too friendly or in the mood to chat. Everyone seems to have time and a good outlook and positive things to say. I'm loving it.

[L’Étranger]

They're essentially the same in terms of East Coast biglaw placement.

Anectdotally, it seems that C places better nationally.

C does place better in terms of clerkships if you care about that.

[landshoes]

I'm a UChi 1L.

Visiting now is going to be weird because it's finals week. So if you're cool with how friendly we are then you'll be 100 times cooler with it when we're not in the most stressful week of 1L year, lol

Either school you go, you'll be good. UChi doesn't have any disadvantage in East Coast hiring at all. Firms are constantly trying to get us to come to NYC and DC. They fly people out to Chicago to recruit us, hold events for us over the summer, and hire us for 1L SAs.

That's awesome to hear. Thanks, man. And yeah! I didn't expect anybody to be too friendly or in the mood to chat. Everyone seems to have time and a good outlook and positive things to say. I'm loving it.

Glad to hear it. I heard that there were a lot of 1Ls at the law school today, so if you got to meet some of them, that's awesome. If you have any questions about anything, let me know!

[Glacial]

C does place better in terms of clerkships if you care about that.

Since 2010, both schools have placed on average 26 graduates a year in FC. Considering class size, however, that gives a marginal advantage (2.76%) to Chicago.

C/O 2015
Chi : BL (101+) 134/196 (68.37%) + FC 28/196 (14.28%) = 162/196 (82,65)
Penn : BL (101+) 161/246 (65.45%) + FC 28/246 (11.38%) = 189/246 (76.82%)
C/O 2014
Chi : BL (101+) 126/210 (60.00%) + FC 33/210 (15.71%) = 159/210 (75.71%)
Penn : BL (101+) 192/278 (69.06%) + FC 25/278 (8.99%) = 217/278 (78.05%)
C/O 2013
Chi : BL (101+) 134/215 (62.33%) + FC 22/215 (10.23%) = 156/215 (72.56%)
Penn : BL (101+) 155/259 (59.84%) + FC 25/259 (9.65%) = 180/259 (69.49%)
C/O 2012
Chi : BL (101+) 121/215 (56.28%) + FC 32/215 (14.88%) = 153/215 (71.16%)
Penn : BL (101+) 180/270 (66.66%) + FC 28/270 (10.37%) = 208/270 (77.03%)
C/O 2011
Chi : BL (101+) 91/203 (44.82%) + FC 19/203 (9.36%) = 110/203 (54.18%)
Penn : BL (101+) 160/274 (58.39%) + FC 26/274 (9.48%) = 186/274 (67.88%)
C/O 2010
Chi : BL (101+) 117/195 (60.00%) + FC 24/195 (12.31%) = 141/195 (72.31%)
Penn : BL (101+) 162/276 (58.69%) + FC 29/276 (10.51%) = 191/276 (69.20%)
Avg. c/o 2010-2015
Chi : BL (101+) 723/1234 (58.59%) + FC 158/1234 (12.80%) = 881/1234 (71.39%)
Penn : BL (101+) 1010/1603 (63.01%) + FC 161/1603 (10.04%) = 1171/1603 (73.05%)

[marlinsfan27]

Thanks to everyone for their input. I'm going with Chicago!

[jbagelboy]

Thanks to everyone for their input. I'm going with Chicago!

Good choice, at equal cost.