Top Law Schools

Hello everyone, longtime lurker, first time poster here.

As the deadlines approach I thought it might be best for some outside opinions. Thanks in advance for your help!

Choices: Debt load - financed with Loans.
- Michigan: 120K
- UVA: 170K
- Chicago: >200K
- NYU: At Sticker

Goals: Clerkship first. Long term is Public Interest or Government work after school. I do realize that BigLaw in NYC is an amazing option for a few years at least to gain training/experience which is beneficial in Government jobs. I also currently have undergrad student loans and hate it, so would not like to live in massive amounts of debt long term. I am not really attached to a region of the US but I have ties in DC and Michigan.

Right now I am pretty torn between UVA and Michigan because of the money but wanted to list all options. Both places also seem to have a better quality of life than many schools- a more positive, supportive vibe. Since Michigan would be cheaper, that is what I am leaning, however its hard not to look at the employment numbers and wonder if a 60K difference is worth it. I love both AA and Charlottesville so weather/surroundings kind of even out.

Extras before you ask: 170/3.75, definitely set on going this year. Negotiating $$ up with UVA did not get me anywhere.

any particular sort of PI?

LeslieKnope2012 wrote:Hello everyone, longtime lurker, first time poster here.

As the deadlines approach I thought it might be best for some outside opinions. Thanks in advance for your help!

Choices: Debt load - financed with Loans.
- Michigan: 120K
- UVA: 170K
- Chicago: >200K
- NYU: At Sticker

Goals: Clerkship first. Long term is Public Interest or Government work after school. I do realize that BigLaw in NYC is an amazing option for a few years at least to gain training/experience which is beneficial in Government jobs. I also currently have undergrad student loans and hate it, so would not like to live in massive amounts of debt long term. I am not really attached to a region of the US but I have ties in DC and Michigan.

Right now I am pretty torn between UVA and Michigan because of the money but wanted to list all options. Both places also seem to have a better quality of life than many schools- a more positive, supportive vibe. Since Michigan would be cheaper, that is what I am leaning, however its hard not to look at the employment numbers and wonder if a 60K difference is worth it. I love both AA and Charlottesville so weather/surroundings kind of even out.

Extras before you ask: 170/3.75, definitely set on going this year. Negotiating $$ up with UVA did not get me anywhere.

I'd eliminate UVA (not worth saving only $30k compared to Chicago) and NYU (not worth $100k more than Chicago), and choose between Michigan and Chicago.

goldenbear2020 wrote:I'd eliminate UVA (not worth saving only $30k compared to Chicago) and NYU (not worth $100k more than Chicago), and choose between Michigan and Chicago.

Ok thanks!

nyu2019maybeplease wrote:any particular sort of PI?

LeslieKnope2012 wrote:Hello everyone, longtime lurker, first time poster here.

As the deadlines approach I thought it might be best for some outside opinions. Thanks in advance for your help!

Choices: Debt load - financed with Loans.
- Michigan: 120K
- UVA: 170K
- Chicago: >200K
- NYU: At Sticker

Goals: Clerkship first. Long term is Public Interest or Government work after school. I do realize that BigLaw in NYC is an amazing option for a few years at least to gain training/experience which is beneficial in Government jobs. I also currently have undergrad student loans and hate it, so would not like to live in massive amounts of debt long term. I am not really attached to a region of the US but I have ties in DC and Michigan.

Right now I am pretty torn between UVA and Michigan because of the money but wanted to list all options. Both places also seem to have a better quality of life than many schools- a more positive, supportive vibe. Since Michigan would be cheaper, that is what I am leaning, however its hard not to look at the employment numbers and wonder if a 60K difference is worth it. I love both AA and Charlottesville so weather/surroundings kind of even out.

Extras before you ask: 170/3.75, definitely set on going this year. Negotiating $$ up with UVA did not get me anywhere.

Not in particular so I would love to leave options open. A lot of different areas seem extremely interesting. The only thing I'm committed to is litigation.

.

..

If you want to do PI out of law school, NYU.

If you are confident that you're going to do biglaw for a few years before moving on, do not go $200k in the hole. Just save the money at Michigan (that's a substantial savings, even compared to UVA).

Try to get some clarity on goals before you decide this.

I feel like the people who aren't hellbent on PI (as in they skip OCI, etc.) will join the Biglaw train, so I went with Michigan since it seems like bigLaw for atleast a few years is where you'll end up.